How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

John Wesley was an Anglican from his birth in 1703, to his death on March 2, 1791. At Oxford, where he and his brother Charles studied religion, they formed a club which promoted a strict method of study among the members. John was convinced that this is what it meant to be a good Christian: observance of all the rules. The club members were teased by fellow students for being ‘methodists.’ Upon graduation, he was called to the pulpit of an Anglican church in Georgia. On the ship on the way over, he met some Moravians who would be missionaries to the native population. During a storm, John was terrified but the Moravians were calm, pacifically singing hymns until the gale passed. When he asked them how they were able to stifle their fears, they replied, “Don’t you believe in Jesus?” Wesley sadly concluded that their’s was a type of faith that eluded him, and he began to doubt his calling. Once back in England, he went to Bristol to help a fellow clergyman with his growing congregation. His friend was a fiery preacher and John was uneasy at how the sermons would arouse the congregation’s emotions. But he saw the goodness of their faith and how they helped each other. Wesley believed that God’s grace was for everyone and not limited to a chosen few. John Wesley was superb at organizing the growing flock. The faithful were divided into ‘classes’ of 12, with a lay leader. They would meet and pray and share experiences, then plan to help the needy. Lay leaders met potential adherents where they were: in the streets, the fields, the factories, the mines, and told them about how God’s love would free them from sin. The lay leaders helped to increase membership — but it was more of a social movement than a religious group. The only “Methodist Church” that Wesley started was in the United States, when he sent two leaders there to organize. John Wesley did not want to supplant the Anglican Church, but to improve and revitalize it. “Methodists” embraced the once derogatory name, and had a wide-spread influence on the zeitgeist: a. The ideas of Methodists and their affect on people is illustrated in George Eliot’s novel Adam Bede, when Dinah Morris arrives in a village and begins to preach. b. Methodists were known for singing loudly, in and out of church, using any of the 6000+ hymns penned by Charles Wesley. c. “Methodist Punch” means a drink that is non-alcoholic. Today there are 40 million Methodists in 138 nations and not one of them is an Anglican.

The mackerel and leeks are typical foods of western England where Methodism took root. In the American Heartland, Methodists are known for good, plain cooking — nothing fancy, but wholesome and delicious. Our dinner might appear at a church picnic. Wesley, not wishing people to succumb to the temptation of gluttony, advised his flock to “eat less than you desire.” He might have been on to something: this article in Barron’s tells of a study in which people who ate fewer calories aged more slowly.

Mackerel-Leek ScrOmelette: 157 calories 9.5 g fat 1 g fiber 12.6 g protein 6 g carbs [6.2 g Complex] 61 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB GF If you can’t find fresh mackerel, substitute another high-Omega-3 fish like salmon or arctic char. 

1½ eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume, into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week  1 oz cooked mackerel 1.5 oz leeks ½ tsp Dijon mustard 1 oz strawberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait[65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

Spritz a hot saute pan with non-stick spray and stir in the leeks and mackerel, to soften the leeks and warm the fish. Whisk the eggs with the seasonings and mustard. Pour into the pan and scramble to your taste or prepare as an omelette. Pour the beverages and plate the berries. Oh my!

Chicken Salad Sandwich: 283 calories 7 g fat 7 g fiber 26 g protein 35 g carbs 134 mg Calcium  PB GF – if using GF bread If you bought a chicken salad sandwich, it might ‘cost you’ 500 calories and 16 g fat. This sandwich is much less ‘expensive’ and tastes great.

2½ oz cooked chicken breast 2 Tbsp part-skim ricotta cheese 1 tsp yellow Sriracha  2 tsp chopped onion 2 tsp chopped celery 2 tsp chopped cilantro leaves salt + pepper to taste 2 slices 70-calorie whole-grain bread with seeds [such as Dave’s Killer ‘Good Seed’] lettuce + 1 oz sliced tomato ½ cup Swedish Cucumber Salad  

Shred or chop the chicken. Mix with the ricotta and flavorings, including Sriracha. Add more Sriracha if the mixture needs to be moistened. Spread on one slice of bread, lay on the lettuce and tomato. Top with the other piece of bread and plate with the Cucumber Salad. Good meal for a busy day.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

2 pao de queijo	hummus: chickpeas + tahini + garlic + lemon juice + onion
uncured bacon	whole-wheat unleavened bread [or pita]
plain yogurt	melon
applesauce, unsweetened	grapes
Optional smoothie
optional hot beverage	water

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

salt cod + fish stock	lentils + bay leaf + thyme
bell peppers + scallion	tomato sauce + carrot
tomato + garlic	celery + onion
onion	optional: ham stock + ham + sherry
Sparkling water	Sparkling water