Fasting is something you are best off preparing for – like a marathon.  Don’t just wake up one morning and decide to do it.  Our suggestion is to pick a start date not less than a week ahead, to give yourself a bit of time to prepare.

And once you’ve decided on your start date, you might want to try and block off any social engagements that will involve eating or drinking.  Unless you’re like me, that is, who is quite happy to shamelessly bring out my bottle of fasting drink

If you have any concerns about doing a short period of fasting and whether it’s suitable for you. 

If you usually drink a lot of coffee, or tea, or eat a lot of sugary foods normally, then think about weaning yourself off these in the week before you start your fast. Because if the start of your fast coincides with the withdrawal from such addictive delights, you’ll make it a harder experience for your body than weaning off them while you still eating normally! 

…and try to get them to be supportive of your efforts! The more you share what you are doing with others the more likely you are to see it through.

Consider mixing up each morning a batch of tree syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper sufficient to last the whole day. As a concentrate, it’s much easier to then carry around all day; and then you simply add the water to make a glass as and when you want one.  

For a bit of variety, try using different types of water to make up the drink. Everyone has a favourite – hot, cold, sparkling etc  – so give them a try.  Sometimes just the variety is nice – especially when you’re sticking to one thing for days 

You can also try varying your “pinch of …” – if you don’t like the spice, then try a pinch of ginger instead.

The Lemon Detox Diet book by Dr K A Beyer is a really interesting and easy read – and good whether you’re fasting for dieting or for cleansing.

Again this is a good way to get give your taste buds a bit of variety during the fast. There are lots out there now.  Choose herbal teas, not fruit teas though. 

You will probably be able to do some light exercise during the fast, but we’d recommend avoiding during strenuous exercise or workouts for the days of the fast.

You’ll get through a lot of lemons, so buy them in one go at the beginning of the week. You’ll make a good friend of your local greengrocer! 

One of the great things about fasting is appreciating how much time in our normal day is spent doing food-related stuff: planning meals, shopping for food, cooking, eating, cleaning up …

When you fast, you’ll have all this as free time, so find something nice to do during meal times.  And you may well want to avoid other people’s meal times, so maybe go for a walk, or do some yoga (we’ve made some nice yoga videos for people fasting lemondetox.com/freebe ) 

Although you’re drinking lots of the Lemon Detox drink during the day and teas, but it’s really important to also drink lots of water as well. Aim for 2 litres a day.  

Short periods of fasting is more a mental challenge than anything, so we hope you’ll keep mentally strong and persevere – because you’ll achieve amazing things if you do.

But of course, if you feel unwell, then just stop.  You may want to take a break for a day or two, or do a more relaxed version where you allow yourself one healthy meal a day.  But if you really feel it’s not working for you, then stop.  Fasting is not for everyone, but at least you’ll know if you’ve tried! 

Give yourself time (at least a week) to gradually reintroduce solid foods, avoiding processed or fatty foods where possible.