Pancake Day is two weeks away, so what? you might say! well, get this! I have decided to do a fruit fast for Lent, crazy, I know. But the good news is, having undertaken extensive research, I have discovered that in the christian calendar Sunday is a day of celebration, so that means I get Sundays off, hooray!

The thought of going totally cold turkey on Ash Wednesday is already freaking me out, so, I have decided to start preparations early. Today I am going to juice fast! i.e. make my own juices and not eat any solid food. When looking at the bigger picture, not a huge leap of faith, but, have you ever done it? thought not! I will let you know what I have and when, and how I have felt throughout the day.

Now for some background and how I have arrived at this point.

IT'S ALL ME, ME, ME!

Same old boring story i'm afraid (but in a nutshell!). 'Put on' first diet at 13 by my lovely slim mother, I think I was about 10.7, she would probably remember if I asked her! In actual fact by today's obesity standards, not actually that fat. Fat enough, i admit! Then continued the serial dieting for the following 27 years! INSANITY! I cant help but wonder whether I may have naturally slimmed down given time. Anyway, needless to say, my weight has fluctuated ever since. Got fat having babies, then spent the next 15 years trying to get rid of it, you all know where I'm coming from, I don't need to spend hours typing what you already klnow!

Been on every diet under the sun, as has every other woman in the world. The only one thing that ever worked, I hate to say, was exercise. But, not a little bit here and there, but loads. And, as with diets, maintenance is the key. I kept it up and enjoyed it too, for a couple of years, got a bad back, then that was the end of that. But, as with everything we 'start' there has to be an end. My end of that period of my life was my bad back, I never managed to get into it again.

What I am hoping to achieve with this experiment is obviously weight loss. I walk my dog every day and that has to be enough, I don't want to go to the gym or go out for a run.

HOW DID I ARRIVE AT THE FRUIT FAST?

I fell upon an article on a raw foodie about 18 months ago. I was inspired by what I read. I then proceeded to research the idea quite extensively over the next few months. Failed hugely on a number of occasions when trying it myself I should add! But I still feel I want to give it a go. I have read reports on massive life changing experiences, increased clarity, calmness and any other new age expression you can come out with! I want that and I want it now! Here will be my experience, no more research I have decided.