My first step towards my health was giving in to stopping work – basically I was just too ill to even try and continue. So I ditched the guilt and took on acceptance. I think acceptance is also an important step with an illness rather than fighting. However, that is not giving up on getting better, it is learning to live with the way you are second by second with hope that it will improve. Plus on course in building my platform for health for me away from ME.

My next step from 2nd January was to stop eating any processed foods and consumption of sugar. My sugar consumption was not in adding a spoonful to porridge, tea or coffee (which I do not drink anyway), but to eradicate sugar from my life unless it is part of a fruit or added in the form of honey to a recipe, but to absolutely avoid consumption of sugar or see if in a recipe it can be excluded totally or another flavour added in to replace it. I did this with home made flapjacks made of gluten free oats, banana instead of sugar, nuts, seeds, dried fruits (which themselves have natural sugars which are quite concentrated), some grass fed butter and a spoonful of honey. I will work towards a recipe without the honey / dried fruits. I then froze the delicious results and in January enjoyed one as a small occasional treat.

For me giving up sugar, has meant no chocolate, no squash – that was a multi-drink a day staple, no processed foods amongst other things, but also cutting down on the amount of fruit, plus of course no fruit juice!

Actually I did not find this difficult to do. I also gave myself a day off on my birthday, but was amazed then at how ridiculously sweet the cake tasted. I do not think I will lead a sugar free life, but certainly will aim for 99% no sugar and 90%-95% no processed or overall bad foods / calories.

I think being able to look after my poor ME attacked body in January, letting go of work, sleeping and resting and just getting used to being at home and switching off was a good stage one.