YES! Today, I will wrap up my oft-polished draft of “A Creed in Stone Creek”. There will be some revisiting the manuscript, as always–my beloved editor, Joan Marlow Golan, always has strong, at times remarkable, insights, thus making a good book better still.
I feel like a member of a championship team, celebrating a victory by jumping up and down and yelling for joy under a shower of champagne. 🙂 Only difference is, I won’t be going to Disneyland–not in the immediate future, anyway.
Weatherwise, we’re in for another hot one here in Spokane, and that’s good. The tomatoes are finally doing something, and the strawberries are actually starting to ripen. The d.i.e.t goes well–I’m definitely shrinking!
Lots of people have asked me about the program, so I will break my rule of not discussing it just this once. The basic program includes 3 1/2 ounces of lean meat or chicken, or fish, and an equal amount of non-starchy vegetables, twice a day. Also included are 3 1/2 ounces of fruit, twice a day. I usually have an egg fried with cooking spray for breakfast, but that’s a special tweak my doctor made because I’m a protein girl. I also eat raw celery and dill pickles when I get hungry between meals.
Doesn’t sound like much food, does it? The special hormone drops, called HCG, make the difference. It was tough in the beginning–I got pretty hungry–but after the first week, my stomach had adjusted and so had I. Although I occasionally wish I could have chicken enchiladas or some other personal favorite, for the most part the plan is easy because there aren’t all that many food decisions that need to be made. 🙂
Now, if you’re thinking about trying this plan, LISTEN UP. Do NOT simply go on the internet and order HCG drops, no matter what the claims the website may be making–they could contain anything. At best, they are useless, at worst, a threat to your health. The plan I’m on is strictly monitored by Dr. Sam Walters, of Wellspring Clinic, in Scottsdale, Arizona, a man I have known and trusted for YEARS. Weight loss franchises offering HCG as part of their program are springing up all over the place, but I think they use powdered shakes, and that concept doesn’t work for me. On Dr. Sam’s program, I eat real food, prepared in a healthy way. PLEASE, if you’re undertaking this or any other weight loss plan, consult your doctor first.
Plan for today: write the last chapter of the new book, visit my mom, and (hopefully) welcome Banjo home from the horse hospital. (And make some ATCs, too.)
And that’s the latest from my kitchen table.