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. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

 “Passing” means living your life as someone you are not, and getting away with it. The term can be used for people living as a member of another race or of a different sex. Charley Parkhurst was a rip-snortin’, rough-ridin’, rootin’-tootin’, six-gun-shootin’ stagecoach driver of the Old West. Being a stage coach driver, or ‘Whip’, was the job for only the strongest, bravest, most daring of men. They were highly respected, and little boys wanted to be just like them. Parkhurst was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1812. Orphaned as a child, there were some hard years spent in an orphanage. Charley escaped and went to Rhode Island, getting employment at a livery stable. The boss took a shine to Parkhurst, teaching the youth about horses and coach-driving. When gold was discovered in California, Charley headed there and on the way, acquaintance was made with a man who owned a carting business. He hired the 37-year-old to drive delivery carts. Shortly after arriving in the Gold Fields, Parkhurst was kicked in the face by a horse, losing the use of one eye and earning the sobriquet “Cockeyed Charley”. Parkhurst reconnected with his old boss from Rhode Island, who ran a stagecoach line. Thus, Charley became a Whip. The other drivers soon recognized that, despite short stature and small hands, Charley was one of the best. Roads were muddy and rocky, steep and twisty through the mountains. Other dangers included bandits who wanted the bank strong-boxes that the coaches carried, plus bears, and mountain lions. Despite bad weather, floods, and washed-out bridges, Charley’s coaches were always on time, cargo and passengers intact. In 1868, Parkhurst registered to vote and participated in the election. Eventually, railroads took over the transport of people and goods, so Charley retired to a small property, farming in the summer and logging in the winter. When arthritis made motion less easy, Charley down-sized to the cabin where death finally overcame the famous coachman on December 28, 18–. Friends and neighbors had encouraged Parkhurst to see a doctor for his tongue cancer symptoms, but he refused. They found out why when they found him dead and began to prepare Charley for burial — Charley Parkhurst, who had been born “Charlotte”, was in fact a woman. Many of his friends refused to believe it. Parkhurst was so well-known, and the revelation so amazing, that newspapers across the country carried the obituary. Would Charley be considered a trans man today, or was Charley astonishingly adept at concealing his sex? [Before you try to correct me, ‘sex’ is determined by your chromosomes, while ‘gender’ is how you present yourself. Charlotte Parkhurst had the sex of a woman, but presented herself in the gender of a man.] Whatever. Does it matter? Charley showed that a woman can indeed do a “man’s job”, and that they can vote, too.

What did Charlie Parkhurst eat? Most likely simple, hearty foods found at a post stop while the horses were being changed, or meals prepared at home.

Ham ScrOmelette:  150 calories… 7.6 g fat… 1 g fiber… 12.4 g protein… 7 g carb… 45 mg Calcium…  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages. PB  GF Here’s another classic of the breakfast table.

++ 1½ eggs per person  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. ++++ ½ oz ground or chopped 3%-fat ham ++++ 2 oz melon or apple ++++ herbs to taste ++++ Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] ++++  Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories] ++

Chop the ham, slice the fruit, prep your beverage. Heat a cast iron or non-stick pan and spritz it with oil or cooking spray. Whisk the eggs and pour into the pan. When the bottom begins to set, distribute the ham over half of the eggs. {OR warm the ham briefly in the hot pan, pour in the whisked eggs and scramble together until cooked.] Fold the omelette and cook to your favorite degree of doneness. Pour your beverages, and you are off to a good start to your day.

Chicken/Turkey Dinner: 284 calories… 4.5 g fat… 9 g fiber… 31.6 g protein… 34 g carbs… 58 mg Calcium…  PB Perfect use for left-over roasted or lemon-marinated grilled chicken breast. Instead of potatoes, enjoy the crunch of high-fiber crackers. So low in calories that you may even have some lovely fruit for dessert!

++4 ounces roasted breast meat, without skin ++++ ½ cup/3 o z green beans ++++ 2 oz carrots, sliced as coins ++++ 2 pieces Finn Crisp crackers ++++ ½ cup sliced strawberries ++

Warm the cooked meat or not, according to your taste. Cook the vegetables and plate with the meat and crackers. Enjoy those strawberries as a sweet conclusion to the meal.