Calories Off Somebody Else’s Plate Don’t Count

It was too hot to cook,  so lunch at the pub it was.

Four late middle-aged ladies sat at the next table, all retired teachers to judge by their very lively conversation. Three of them were eating the speciality of the house, fish and chips, with a side order of mushy peas and a large dish of tartare mayonnaise; the fourth woman had a salad. As she was also the plumpest I wasn’t surprised when she explained that she was on the 5:2 diet. I’d only recently been told by somebody else that this is a relatively painless way of shedding a few pounds, so I was interested in what she had to say.  I looked over and saw her take a chip (French fries) off her friend’s plate.

“Go on, have another,” her friend said. “O no, I won’t, just the one will do”, the dieter said.

“It’s really quite easy to stick to this regime”, she continued, “I eat what I want for 5 days of the week and on two days I reduce my calorie intake to 500. I’m allowed 200 calories for my lunch today and tonight I’ll just have some chicken. I had a boiled egg and fruit for breakfast, so all in all, I shouldn’t be over my limit."

The four of them continued to eat and talk and I turned my attention back to my own food, also fish and chips. The portions were very generous, too much for me, and I started to wrap up my leftovers to take home for Millie. She loves a bit of fish and chips.

The ladies too had eaten what they needed and pushed their plates away, leaving some chips. The salad lady reached over and took another chip. “Nothing nicer than a well-cooked chip, is there,” she said, chewing. “Here you are,” her friend said, “ take them before they get too cold to eat.” One of the others pushed the half full dish of tartare mayonnaise over. “A bit of mayo to go with the chips?” All four giggled.

“O all right, then,” the dieter said, dipping chips into mayonnaise and popping them into her mouth. “Delicious !” she said, “they really do chips well here."