By the end of the second day, I was feeling sluggish and irritated, and this continued for another couple of days. The most difficult period was the 4pm slump, around about the time I’d usually make tea and have a piece of chocolate, a snack bar or a biscuit. “You might miss and crave your biscuits and chocolate,” Jay warned me. “It’s a habit and letting go of that can be difficult.”

She recommended trading cakes and biscuits for a piece of fruit or nuts and seeds. “If fruit doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, opt for dates, dried figs or mulberries as they are extremely sweet. And although nuts and seeds are not sweet, they can help when you are craving a snack.” Combining the two (like filling dates with nut butter) is a great, filling alternative that tastes decadent.

Dried fruit offers sweetness as well as vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants – something which cakes and biscuits don’t have. Still, it’s important to be mindful of portion size when it comes to eating dried fruit. Jay says: “All the water is zapped out of the dried fruit, making it high in concentrated sugar. A good portion of fresh fruit is 80g – although the equivalent for dried fruit would be 30g. To put that into context, one portion would be up to three dates, three prunes or three dried apricots.”

I took to my new snacks well; I discovered a love for coconut chips and dried apple rings and found myself eating more at mealtimes and snacking less, with herbal teas keeping me going between meals. By day five, I noticed that I’d been feeling less tired but having a sounder sleep by the time bedtime came.

“Why giving up refined sugar for 2 weeks was the best thing I've done for my health“