Hi everyone! I am 68, retired and gaining weight at an alarming rate! Am hoping to start 5:2 regime tomorrow. Can anyone give me an example of what 500 calories looks like on the plate? or in divided amounts (of what?) over the fast periods?

Thanks simcoeluv, your advice is much appreciated. Have followed the links. find I have a TDEE of 1679 calories and yes, I have been far exceeding that daily! Mostly with my love of fatty meats! I always found them the most filling on the run. It all had to come to a sticky end and finding myself in type two diabetes mode is the catalyst. There are so many roads to travel on the health path these days. I do know the general values of foodstuff, but was checking if there is some revolutionary twist to this program (as many new ideas are reversing time held beliefs!) Having been an RN on the traditional path for 45yrs I have come to the conclusion that it’s not working. So change here I come! I like that the most revolutionary aspect of 5:2 is that it is based on common sense. It WILL work! One just has to pick a direction and do it. Thanks for the focal point! Happy New Year to all!

Hi Nama! Great to meet you. Thanks for the kind words and I’ll certainly try the links. Dunno about you, but all my years in the field probably did more to complicate my natural ‘she’ll be right’ optimism and gave me just enough scientific insight to be jittery about any ‘proven fact’, if not downright dangerous! I have certainly reverted to my mum’s prehistoric ‘old wives’ cures for most things. (cackle) and since you like stories, must tell you that I only went nursing to disprove My Gran’s ( and the ancestor’s) theories. I come from a looong line of healers (actual hedge witches in the old country) who reckoned the key to any diagnosis lay in the arts of anything from tea leaves to palmistry! Village Midwives in England (on the gold fields of Charters Towers here, my great gran emigrated to) and ‘fortune tellers’. Classic bunch of charlatans! I reckoned I could fix their wagon and go legit. Ha! It didn’t take long for me to check out my patient’s hands on the quiet! To their great advantage, and my peace of mind (or the reverse! I had a rep for hitting alarms before the event!) Especially if they were infants or unconscious, and long before the modern electronic monitors took the guess work out of it. Even the shapes of hands tell me a story about the strength of their life force and character. I could pick a wimp or a stoic at a glance(you know, the dicey extremes). and though neither science is one I regret learning now. I lean more towards the family business (and supplement my pension reading palms and taro cards for who ever finds my scrub hut (on the referral system). I grow my own herbs and generally take an uncomplicated view of life wherever possible. Cheers to you mate!

Thank you too Simcoeluv (Just love the intriguing names on here!! bound to be a story behind them all… ) . I Have pretty much reversed my early stage type two diabetes(NIDDM). The brain went ape when a routine BSL turned up a reading of 15! and it was my wake-up call. Have been on the fat to fit warpath for six months now. Exercise and a bit of dietry common sense got me fitter and the sugars down, but the weight just would NOT move. I’m happy to say it has begun to now. and I operate on the certainty that however much you learn it only highlights how much one still doesn’t know! Plus, I have forgotten more than I’ve retained on most theories, so the links and practical advice is always welcome. The encouragement is great and it’s amazing how many of my ‘own kind’ I am finding. Good on us! Cheers, gypsy

Agreed, Nama, There’s no denying technology has made astronomical strides in longevity stakes, (plus required nurses to become more technician than hands on carer) but the old ways (of natural healers) still saved lives. And so did every era the nursing profession has spanned (sez I, who used the old resuss method quite successfully, thanks! And thirty straight compressions may save the rescuer from mouth to mouth contamination, but it’s a pain in the ass to keep count!)
It is also true that mistakes and casualties abounded. And still do in this minefield of chemicals we have created(I spent the final 10 yrs of my hospital career in the cancer unit). To get sick is to become a guinea pig, (or perhaps victim?) of big pharma. Since it is human nature to take the easiest appearing route to our comfort zone, even ‘prevention’ now rests with a pill rather than healthy life choices. You are what you eat and it’s killing us! You’d be surprised how many learned scholars come looking for a reading in search of old wisdom. Or magic cures! And nothing I learned has proven Granny was wrong on any count!

You’re right, Nama, it is too fragmented and no one science as yet has holistic understanding of how the body and brain (not to mention the spirit)really works. Or the origins of the life force (don’t get me started on the mystical possibilities!) It’s time they got it together. Ah, but it’s happening slowly. I can always pick a truly educated person (and that is NOT confined to uni degrees by any means, I relate to life learning).. they are either heading for the scrub to live more naturally, or exploring ancient wisdom with new eyes wherever they are. Certainly not into accepting the status quo verbatim. Nurses I have found, generally lead the pack, if not rebels to the end! Heh, heh, they certainly can’t call us ‘handmaidens’ anymore! Cheers! Gypsy

Thanks jaque, am into my second week now and getting the ghist of it. So far have found good standby’s for hunger in salad greens like chard, kale and spinach and boiled egg. plus cos lettuce as ‘sandwich’ holder in place of bread, for tinned tuna. As well as miso soup, Green tea and water. I’m getting there and happy to have lost almost 2 kgs so far. Thanks to all for handy tips and encouragement. Cheers!