Lemon Detox Retreat at Seaham Hall

NO food for three days apart from a drink made of lemon, syrup and cayenne pepper. I'd rather rub it in my eyes.

But what if you could spend those days lounging around in a five star spa hotel by the sea, having a daily massage, lolling in a hot tub, watching TV in the bath...

While the idea of going without food for three days seemed bonkers, it was no sillier than a habit of compulsive, mindless eating. I wanted to see if I could do it, and get some control over what I consume.

It was the thought of staying at Seaham Hall and Serenity Spa rather than the idea of detoxing itself that first tempted me on this retreat. Perched on the North East coast just below Sunderland, it was named by Condé Nast Traveller as the Best UK Spa Destination and has a facilities list that dwarfs that of most residential spas.

It's also the only spa in the North to offer the lemon detox diet as a three-day retreat. This semi-fast, which you do for five to ten days, replaces food with a drink made of fresh lemon juice, Madal Bal Syrup (a blend of palm syrup and maple syrup) and cayenne pepper. According to the diet's founder, this contains all the nourishment you need to keep going while also stimulating the body's natural cleansing process.

It's a detox rather than a diet, but it has become famous for its fat-melting abilities thanks to celebrity followers such as Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Madonna. Although it was the destination that first got my attention, the idea of losing some weight appealed to me almost as much as the brochure's photograph of the spa's beautiful swimming pool.

Until I hit my early 30s, I could consume whatever I liked and not gain weight. But recently, my all-you-can-eat approach has started to catch up with me. Whole sections of my wardrobe have been decommissioned and regular exercise isn't making much difference.

The problem with being skinny for 30 years is that I've never developed the ability to refuse food. It doesn't occur to me that I shouldn't have eaten that bag of Haribo / plate of curry, until it's already in my stomach and hot-footing its way to my waistline. And even when I'm aware of what I'm eating, I've not built up the willpower to resist.

So while the idea of going without food for three days seemed bonkers, it was no sillier than a habit of compulsive, mindless eating. I wanted to see if I could do it, and get some control over what I consume.

I arrived at the Serenity Spa on a Sunday morning on an empty stomach, feeling forlorn at the thought of no food until Wednesday at least. Rachel, the therapist who would be overseeing the retreat, questioned me about my eating habits and health then prepared a flask of the lemon drink that would be my only sustenance while I was there.

You can have the drink hot or cold, and choose fresh ginger rather than cayenne pepper if you prefer. All these options tasted good to me. It's not the kind of drink you have to force down, eyes closed and holding your nose. The combination of lemon and syrup made it taste like pancakes (minus the actual pancakes). Perhaps this wasn't going to be so difficult after all.

The three-day spa retreat takes you through the first days of the detox – the hardest part when willpower is low and toxins are being drawn out of the body. You're advised to spend these initial days relaxing away from everyday stresses. The Serenity Spa is well set up for that.

In addition to that swimming pool, there's a mini theme park of thermal facilities including a bubbling cauldron of a hydrotherapy pool, a hammam (a joint steam room and Jacuzzi), and an ultra calming sanarium (a less dry, less hot sauna). In the evenings, when the spa's day guests have left, you can have them almost to yourself – and they're all lit up prettily like in the photograph.

When you're finished in the spa, you follow an underground walkway past a giant elephant sculpture and a golden Buddha to the hotel. With a Michelin-star, a helicopter pad and a guest book that includes Lord Byron (he got married here in 1815), Seaham Hall is quite a place.

My suite had sea views from two sides, a huge, cushion-laden bed, and a black granite bathroom with a clawfoot bathtub. Despite this luxury, and despite knowing I had two days of spa indulgence ahead of me, I still had a feeling of 'poor me'.

I was missing my friend, the Food. I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat. In fact, I barely felt hungry at all while on the detox – the syrup takes care of that. I did however have numerous moments when I felt at a loss, like I was missing something more nebulous than just a hot meal.

It made me understand how much my appetite for food is about emotional rather than physical nourishment. It's boredom relief, a reward, a distraction from uncomfortable feelings. It's also a structure for the day. Breakfast is the reason I get up in the morning – going without it was tough.

Thankfully the spa offers other diversions. The retreat includes two massages; a vigorous, cellulite-pounding, colon-stimulating one, and a soothing, relaxation-inducing one. And then there was the hot tub, and the sauna-hopping, and the people-watching by the pool.

As the second day went on, the moments of downheartedness passed and I began to feel something like elation. It wasn't a starvation-induced delirium, more a feeling of freedom and power, like food no longer held a tyranny over me.

Friends have suggested this was just a sugar rush from the syrup. I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

I just wasn't that bothered about eating anything. Food had shrunk in my consciousness, and by the time I returned home on Tuesday evening, my stomach had shrunk too (by two belt notches).

The retreat put me in-tune with my natural appetite, and helped me notice (and resist) when I'm using food as a substitute rather than as sustenance. The mental change it inspired, rather than the physical change to my figure, is what I valued most about it.

The Lemon Detox Three Day Retreat is priced £520 for one person and £840 for two people sharing. To book your retreat, please call Seaham Hall on .

For further information on the Lemon Detox  Retreat or to order the Madal Bal Syrup for home use, please visit www.lemondetox.com.

The Retreat is also available in four further Von Essen spa hotels nationwide. More information can be found on the Lemon Detox website.