I had the brilliant idea that I would do a fast/cleanse of sorts every Monday and maybe Tuesday, possibly Wednesday. And maybe, just maybe, I would do this every week.

I stocked my fridge with coconut water and ordered more from Amazon as back up. I bought a truck load of kale, chard, spinach, carrots, celery, parsley, a few apples, pears and pineapple for juicing. There are enough bananas on my counter for a zoo.

The plan: Only raw fruits and vegetables in their recognizable form or spun into juice. Loads of water and a couple coconut waters a day.

The back-up plan: All of the above plus steamed fresh veggies with a bit of ghee. And maybe a dash of salt and pepper.

The back-up to the back-up plan: All of the above and maybe a hard-boiled egg or two if I was feeling particularly weak.

• No caffeine
• No sugar
• No meat
• No legumes
• No grains
• No dairy (except ghee)
• No spices other than salt and pepper

Unfortunately all of that seemed to add up to no energy. So I cheated. Right. Outta. The. Gate.

An hour into my Monday morning, post coconut water, I was fading fast. I have a four cup coffee maker and my typical morning brew is half caf/half decaf – and all four cups – but I really didn’t think I’d miss it that much.

It called to me from the kitchen, it was moaning and bargaining and it just wouldn’t shut up. So I had 1 of those four cups with less than half of it caffeinated. BUT (in the interest of honesty) I also added a dab of sugar and a splash of milk.

I am not one of those brave souls who take their coffee black.

The rest of the day went according to plan until about 4. You know, that hour. At which time I gobbled up a handful (or 3) of macadamia nuts.

Dinner was steamed veggies with ghee as planned. And there was plenty of water and juice throughout the day.

It wasn’t a total fail.

I learned a long time ago not to shame myself. I’ve also learned that one “mistake” doesn’t ruin the whole plan. It would be so easy to give up and eat the chocolate. But I didn’t and I call that a win.

The whole reason behind the plan was to disrupt the crap fest I suddenly found myself in the middle of. Habits creep back. Sugar wants sugar. Carbs want carbs and so on.

If I can make this my base and go back to it a day or two a week, even with the coffee, I imagine I’ll be feeling pretty good.