Post-holiday detox diet starts today

After nearly two weeks in the UK in which Eddie and I massively over-indulged in salt snacks (Doritos, Skips, Walkers Salt'n'Vinegar Crisps*, Monster Munch, Space Raiders, Frazzles, Scampi Fries, Hoola-Hoops, Knick-knacks etc) it is time to start eating sensibly again. My body - newly accustomed to sodium diacetate, tartrazine, sodium caseinate, maltodextrin, benzaldehyde, and other choice chemicals found in British salt snacks - needs shock therapy, followed by a swift return to a healthy Polish diet.

So - for the next two weeks, it will be nothing else other than fruit and vegetables and fish - as much as I want, but nothing else. No dairy, no wheat-based products. No confectionary, no potato-based cuisine, no rice. And no alcohol, while I'm at it. Day One was today, plenty of salad, raw carrot, guacamole (thanks Marta), Polish apples (#jedzjabłka !), tuna, mackerel, a peach, a banana, two nectarines, beans. One coffee in the morning followed by fruit tea, unsweetened fruit juice, and unflavoured, unsweetened soya milk - the nearest thing to drinking liquid cardboard. A short, sharp diet half-way between Lent and the next Lent.

It will be interesting to see whether cutting out dairy and wheat has the same magic effect on me that other middle-aged people are reporting - such as various minor ailments cured, higher energy levels and better all-round samopoczucie.

The concept is to dramatically reduce the number of food groups being eaten, see the difference, then one-by-one bring back the proscribed foods into the diet to see which ones negatively affect well-being. Day Four is apparently the hardest, but as a seasoned veteran of 24 Lents, it should be a doddle.

Back also to doing sit-ups, after a three-month laziness break. Today a mere 33 in one go, one-third of the old bare minimum number. As Eddie says of sit-ups: "I don't mind the 'sit' part, it's the 'up' I object to."

*Britain's semi-detached stance on Europe has its roots in the fact that you can't buy salt and vinegar flavour crisps on the Continent, and you can't buy paprika flavour crisps in Britain.

This time last year:
Cycle ride up and down the S2 and S79 before they open

This time two years ago:
Kraks and back in a day by train

This time three years ago:
Fountains by the New Town

This time four years ago:
Old-School Saska Kępa

This time five years ago:
The land, the light

This time six years ago:
Rainbow over Jeziorki

This time seven years ago:
Previously in Portmeirion