Once upon a time, I would never have contemplated giving up meat and dairy. I worried that my muscles would disappear – and I loved the taste of a good steak. But some of my vegan friends seemed to have so much energy and so few digestion problems that I decided to give it a go.

I started with a four-day vegan detox and juicing retreat at La Crisalida in southern Spain. Salt, refined sugar and carbohydrate were also off the menu. By the end, my stomach was flatter, I was calm and I felt exceptionally smug. Yet I also relished my welcome-home burger and was suspicious about the amount of fruit sugars I had consumed by drinking so much juice over those four days.

My stay at The Well Connected’s three-night vegetarian yoga retreat in the Lake District suited me better. The eggs and cheese I ate there helped stabilise my energy levels, while I relied less on sweet drinks to keep me going.