DAY 30: My last day of detox! This morning I had some blood taken for a cholesterol test, and right now I’m preparing my last salt-free detox meal: marinated baked tilapia with brown rice and a mixed spring greens salad. Tonight I’m planning to have a big juicy steak and drink some beer!

So, how do I feel after 30 days of clean living? I feel pretty good, and am probably as healthy as I’ve ever been in my life, although I didn’t experience the almost supernatural level of physical wellbeing that I was vaguely hoping for. My energy level is consistently high throughout the day, compared with the peaks and troughs associated with “normal” living, and my general mood is more even, but I still don’t enjoy going to the gym very much, and I still find it very hard to get out of bed in the morning!

Both my average blood pressure and weight are a little lower than usual, but the change is not very dramatic; my average blood pressure during the detox was 123/72, compared to an average of 129/79 over 2004, whereas my average weight during the detox was 165.5 lbs, against a 2004 average of 167.8 lbs.

One good thing this experience has definitely given me is an improved relationship with food; I’ve had to think very hard about what I’m eating and how to prepare it in order to make vaguely enjoyable meals that comply with the dietary restrictions, and have learnt a few useful culinary tricks along the way, such as how to make a half-decent salad dressing, how to make a black bean soup and how to select and cook fresh fish from the local fishmonger. I also bought a $20 rice cooker, which made life much easier, and “re-learnt” a few things I’d forgotten, such as how good fruit, nuts and honey can taste.

Here’s a typical days menu:

Breakfast: Diced organic melon, pear and kiwi fruit, with sheep and goat’s milk yoghurt, raisins, walnuts, almonds, shredded coconut and honey (the breakfasts were delicious and easily my favourite meal of the day, although they were somewhat time consuming to prepare).

Lunch: “Make it up as you go along” black bean, chilli and roasted vegetable soup with rice cakes (if I never see another rice cake in my life, that’ll be fine with me).

Dinner: Pan seared pepper and coriander encrusted tuna steak with brown rice and mixed green salad.

Snacks, beverages etc.: Dried apricots, carob-coated almonds (these were a life-saver), fennel tea or lemon and ginger tea with honey.

So, overall it was a very positive and interesting experience (not to mention a good way to save money on going out!). I’ll hopefully also be able to make some small permanent changes to make my diet healthier, but I’m definitely looking forward to returning to normality!