[Photo provided to China Daily]

My stomach was rumbling, and seeking a word of advice from one of my friends seemed like the best move.

"Can I have an apple?" I asked her on the phone.

"No," she said firmly, giving me the only word of advice I had not wanted to hear. "All you can have is vegetables, and no fruit," she said, sounding like a dog owner telling its charge that the only bone it can have is the one with no meat on it.

I opened the fridge a cabbage and two tomatoes, but decided to leave them alone.

It was 7 pm on a Saturday and the only sustenance I had let pass my lips since my big breakfast was a bit of water. I was in the final stretch on Day 1 of the big fast.

Three hours later, the rumbling of my stomach finally stopped, and I went to bed. After a good night's sleep I awoke refreshed and feeling light, and mentally prepared myself to face Day 2.

Early this year I decided that I would begin to eat more healthily, a resolution inspired by what I had heard of the 5:2 diet, which calls for those following it to have regular meals five days a week and to have breakfast only - but with enough nutrition - on the other two days.

The diet was formulated by a British doctor and journalist, Michael Mosley, and propagated through a BBC television program and a best-selling book he co-authored. One sentence he uttered strongly appealed to me: after two days' privation on the 5:2 diet you're allowed to eat and drink anything you like. Much more like the words of advice I love to hear.