If you’re going to give up something, this is the time of year to do it.

People are abandoning all sorts of habits for Lent, and this year I’ve been forced into joining them.

The difference is, my forfeit isn’t based on religion, and it isn’t for 40 days and 40 nights. Terrifyingly, it could be forever. Thanks to a problem with my inner ear causing all sorts of weirdness in mind and body, I’ve got to steer clear of a few things – some of which are my reasons for getting up in the morning.

Giving up salt is easy – I never shake it on to food, rarely eat crisps, and can check the sides of ready-meals to ensure I’m not overdosing. And since the cold snap we haven’t a grain in the house, the last of the shaker having helped clear the path to the bins.

Going without vinegar I can handle, although I am partial to a bit of salad dressing, and love beetroot. But I feel I can let it go without causing major disruption to my lifestyle.

It is sad, though, that the first two things on the list of foods to avoid are, in my opinion, vital ingredients to a plate of fish and chips.

Even caffeine hasn’t been as hard to give up as I’d imagined. At one time I was never seen without a mug of tea. Now I’m drinking less than five cups a day – and that’s decaffeinated. At first I missed the buzz of a great cuppa, but now I don’t know the difference.

Giving up anything you are accustomed to eating, or doing, is hard. My husband behaved like a rabid dog when I hid his cigarettes as he attempted to give up smoking. I’m faced with the same withdrawal symptoms over the two things I’m finding hardest to go without – chocolate and alcohol.

How I look forward to them on a weekend – the bitter-sweet flavours of dark chocolate and the mellow taste of a full-bodied glass of red wine, consumed while watching meaningless rubbish on TV.

My husband helped me choose a soft drink alternative, but ginger and rhubarb cordial didn’t quite hit the spot.

I’ve only endured one weekend and don’t think I’ve got the willpower to sustain it. What I can’t understand is that dark chocolate, red wine and caffeine have their own good-health properties, supposedly reducing cholesterol, helping hearts and warding off dementia, so why are they so bad for me?

I’ve asked my husband and friends to join me in my abstinence – at least for Lent – but have so far had no takers.