Susannah Constantine Loses Stone in 12 Weeks!

 says her over-reliance on sugar bore all the hallmarks of chronic addiction before an enforced detox helped her lose a stone in weight. 

The former TV stylist dropped 14Ibs in weight over a 12 week period as a direct result of cutting sugar based foods out of her diet after one of her closest friends enlisted a nutritionist to help break her ruinous pattern of unhealthy eating. 

And Constantine, 63, a recovering alcoholic with 13 years of sobriety under her belt, believes relinquishing chocolate and other fatty foods was more challenging than quitting booze, because it was easier to justify. 

She told the Sunday Times: 'Oddly, giving up alcohol was easier than giving up sugar. A bar of Galaxy never changed my personality in the way alcohol did, but my behaviour around sugar had become alarmingly familiar: what began as a harmless reward for giving up booze had quietly taken on a darker edge. 

'And scientifically, it made sense. Sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain, releasing dopamine and opioids.' 

Arguably less destructive than addictions to alcohol or drugs, Constantine still recognised worrying behavioural similarities in her approach to chocolate. 

'It was when I started to hide so I could eat chocolate that I realised there was a problem,' she recalled. 'One of my greatest passions in life had become a dirty secret. 

'My daughters, Esme and Cece, had begun commenting on how much I ate. "Mum! You've already had half a bar. What's the point of eating healthily if you stuff your face with Maltesers?" 

'My defence was always the same: I ate healthily in order to consume the brown stuff. "Yeah, but not a whole family bag of Minstrels."' 

She added: 'Had I paid attention to  guidelines, I would have realised my sugar intake was roughly four times the recommended amount (we are advised to consume no more than the equivalent of seven sugar cubes a day). 

'But it was more than that; this was exactly how I used to drink  before getting sober 13 years ago. The secrecy. The obsession. The sense that the entire day revolved around the next hit.' 

Salvation would come in the form of close friend Lulu Hutley, who welcomed Constantine at her secluded home on the Algarve. 

Nestled into the hills behind local principality Olhão da Restauração, the property's remote location severed Constantine from her immediate access to chocolate, realigned her daily routines and gave her an opportunity to focus on healthier pursuits.

But Lulu had something extra planned for her short stay in the Portuguese hills - a dietary intervention.   

'Healthy food, great company and no domestic drama sounded heavenly,' she said.  'What I had not expected was that Lulu had secretly enlisted her nutritionist friend Edna to join us for six days and supervise a full detox involving enemas, gut and colon cleansing, and a highly prescriptive anti-inflammatory diet. 

'Unsurprisingly, sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods were forbidden.