One evening about four weeks ago, I was lying in bed (as you do) reading 'Naked Chocolate' by David Wolfe and Shazzie. I had acquired this at a trade show last summer. For some reason, after six years of learning seriously about nutrition, the penny dropped and the raw philosophy finally clicked with me. I was fatigued, constantly close to tears, depressed, typically achieving almost nothing with my day and I was supposed to be studying for four exams and writing an undergraduate dissertation.

My knowledge of nutrition had given me access to symptomatic relief from many of my symptoms and I knew how to embark upon a detoxification regime if things got really bad, but I had never really got a handle on many of my deeply rooted problems, particularly behavioural ones. I was so inspired by 'Naked Chocolate' that I started to cry (those hormones again!!). My colleagues and myself had mocked the raw foodists coming into the health food shop as extreme, but I now realised with crystal clarity that this reaction had been out of fear. I was now ready for a really new life. I vowed there and then to go 100% raw. I now realise that this is quite a process, not something to be embarked on overnight by most.

The next day I ate about 80% raw and felt high and alert. For the first time in weeks, I didn't need an afternoon nap and I didn't cry. I had virtually no money at this time and had to wait for about four days before receiving my next student loan instalment. After persuading my boyfriend, I spent most of our last £40 on two books, 'Eat Smart Eat Raw' by Kate Wood and 'Living Cuisine' by Renee Loux Underkoffler; from Waterstone’s in Piccadilly Circus. I knew that they would be cheaper on Amazon, but I just couldn't wait. The next morning, there was nothing fresh left to eat so I reluctantly sat down to a bowl of organic muesli. After a few spoonfuls, I bust into tears. The familiar drowsy feeling had returned. As soon as my student loan came in, we went straight out and ordered a Stockli dehydrator and a second hand Twin Health twin gear masticating juicer online and bought a fancy Kenwood food processor from John Lewis.

My boyfriend and had a whale of a time playing with the various attachments and unpacking the stuff as it arrived from EBay a few days later. As our housemates glared at and mocked us, we restored the 1950's style juicer to a hygienic state (it had arrived in very poor condition, thick with sticky juice residue and with a lot of damage to the gears and screens, much to our initial disappointment) and rapidly started juicing everything in sight. My boyfriend, who had spent the previous 16 months working 65 hours a week for a very large and well known estate agent, quickly became my 'juice boy' and pretty much instantly swapped his Full House Double Decadence Domino's Pizza's for cocktails of celery, garlic, fennel, cucumber, apple, carrot and lemon juices.

Since then we have tried raw soups, a disastrous nut curry, corn crackers, chocolate puddings (for breakfast- yum!) and avocadoes in many guises. We have been far from 100% raw but I feel that this will not happen until we have got a sprouting factory set up in the kitchen and can start including flat breads in our diet. Additionally several other changes need to take place!!

Since my epiphany a new party-loving housemate has moved in with us and my boyfriend and I have been enjoying ourselves a little too much. In addition I have been co-directing a play and have had to finish my exams. My last exam was on Tuesday morning and I am really excited that instead of relying on my long-suffering boyfriend (who has been having a break from work these last few weeks- and he is not going back to that company thank goodness) I can now throw myself fully into a healthier high-raw lifestyle. It seems the perfect time to do a week long liver cleansing programme with a flush on the third day and I have miraculously persuaded my boyfriend and three housemates to join me!!!

We start tomorrow and I will document this as much as possible. A big challenge for me will be to reverse my nocturnal hedonism-warped sleeping pattern, as I know that my liver will need proper rest. Wish me luck!!!!