I was in a terrible mood for these two weeks. I was dog sitting for my favourite dog in the world at the time but even our beautiful walks in the country didn't seem to touch my mood. In fact most days I barely even noticed the countryside as I walked through it. I also had two sofa depression days, both came on really quickly as I sat down at my laptop to work. The first day I opened my laptop after our morning walk and felt a crushing sense of anxiety. I tried to work through it but after an hour I curled up on the sofa and slept the day away. The second day occurred two days later and as soon as I opened my laptop I felt a crushing sadness and I did the same. I have never had a sofa day come on like that before or since. Perhaps my body was reacting to the sugar detox after all.

In my third week of no sugar at all (five weeks into the programme) PMS arrived. Never in my life have I thought about chocolate more than in that week. But not milk chocolate or the Wispa bar that was in the door of my fridge, just dark chocolate, because my taste for sweetness had reduced a great deal. I was tested when at an elderly relative’s house I was handed a slice of orange chocolate tart. I sat with it in front of me thinking that she might not notice I wasn’t eating it if I played with it a bit because I couldn’t be bothered to have The Conversation. It didn’t work. I took a couple of small bites to avoid offending her after she pointed out that I wasn’t eating. Despite the chocolate cravings, it was too sweet and I actually felt unclean afterwards.

Sugar had really lost its appeal by now. I started to see my meals as the real treat and I took more care in planning them and preparing them. It does help that I love cooking and also that cooking helps to calm me when I am stressed (okay I might have stolen that quote from Fearne Cotton – but after she said it I agreed.) I was feeling happier in myself. It had, in fact, been a really stressful few weeks for work and money but I didn’t feel like my depression was biting. Simple tasks like washing dishes become insurmountable when I’m truly depressed but here I was making three meals a day, washing my dishes and not craving a naughty snack every five minutes. I was achieving something even if that was all it was. I can’t say it was definitely down to going sugar-free but it seemed to have an impact.

In the middle of week six, I went on holiday and decided that no one should have a holiday without Gelato, so I ignored Sarah’s eight week no sugar rule and indulged. But now I am back from holiday and all I can think about are vegetables, so I'm back off sugar. Not in a strict way, because if I’ve learned anything it is that it isn’t about doing things by the book, not even if it's Fearne Cotton's book, it’s about doing things by your book. Having quit sugar, I have also learned that a treat doesn’t have to mean something "bad"; it can be fresh clean sheets in a bed to yourself, a well cooked meal, a coffee with a friend, a good book or indulging a craving and then letting it go. When you treat yourself well, feed yourself well and look after yourself, you do feel happier. So yes, quitting my old relationship with sugar has made me happier but it’s just one small part of a much bigger project for me: learning how to look after myself before, during and after a bad depression day.