I’m almost afraid to say it, but it looks like after being delayed two times our new book is actually coming out on September 8. As we have done with all our books, we will be expected to be available for all kinds of media appearances and interviews. It is a giant pain, but it has to be done. It’s part of the book-writing gig. If you don’t sign up to do the PR, they don’t sign up to publish your book. (If you want to see a little of what a book tour is like, read this piece by Joe Queenan to see what we’re up against. Sometime I’ll write a piece on the nightmare of my first three-week-long book tour and my dealings with the escorts that are a part of the book tour experience.)
MD and I have been in discussion with our publisher and have gotten permission to excerpt part of the book, which I will do on this blog soon. The book is about the weight gain that seems an inevitable part of moving into and through middle age and how this weight is different from that gained in the younger years. It’s a kind of bad news, good news story because middle-age weight comes from a more dangerous kind of fat (the bad news), but a kind of fat that is fairly easy to lose (the good news). But despite its being easier to lose, it still requires some effort…and a little different approach. And, surprisingly, most of this fat can be lost in a 6-week window. That doesn’t mean that we promise that all weight will be lost in a 6-week window, but most of the middle-aged weight can be ditched or at least significantly shed in this time period – thus the title.
Since we don’t have an active practice right now, most of the subjects we’ve given the diet to are former patients, friends and relatives. We have had almost unbelievable success with those who gave the program a fair try. We had one middle-aged friend who had struggled with lipid problems for years. Despite our telling her not to worry and not to go on a statin because those drugs have never been shown to be beneficial for women, she was worried. Her doctor was hectoring her, telling her that she would have to go on a statin if her lipids didn’t come into line. She had an appointment in two weeks, so she went on the first two weeks of the program, then went to her doctor. Not only did she lose eight pounds in her first two weeks, her lipid numbers plummeted. Her total cholesterol fell from 240 to 174; her triglycerides dropped to below 100; and her HDL ran up to 60. Happily, this all happened during the editing phase of the book, so we were able to include her story. Other subjects have done as well if not better.
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