A wise man once told me how he cured himself of a Snickers’ addiction in an afternoon. All sweet treat lovers, take heed: the story goes like this. Having always had a taste for chocolate, the man became increasingly fond of Snickers. This predilection evolved, until there came a point that every time the man yearned for something sweet, only a Snickers could satisfy this craving – cakes and other chocolate bars no longer interested him. And the craving had become self-feeding. Not only did he crave them at his usual sweet snack time – around 4pm – but at all sorts of other moments in the day and evening. A rational type, one day, Snickers in hand, he totted up just how many he was consuming in one week and how much this sweet vice cost him financially. He realised he had to act.

A man of resolute will in all respects other than Snickers, he understood that the cure must be extreme. The next day he headed to his local news agency and spent all the loose coins he had in his wallet on Snickers – ending up with at least six. He then ate them all in very close succession, whilst promising himself that he would never buy a Snickers again. 30 years on, he remains true to his resolution.

We all have our metaphorical Snickers. Mine? I’ve been through various. Rice crackers smothered with almond butter, Nutella straight from the jar (in my pre-health conscious days), thick slabs of brie. Right now, I’m a sucker for roasted almonds: raw, I stick to a modest handful; roast them and I’ll wolf down half a pack in five minutes. Even as I type, I am silently toying with myself as to whether I shall go and fill up a small bowlful to nibble on.

Far be it from me to suggest that you buy six of whatever your Snicker equivalent may be with your morning paper tomorrow, but there is a relevant moral in his tale …  That is: we all succumb to temptation, and that’s fine for a while, but also it is almost always possible to strengthen your resolve and desist. A few ideas on how. 

1. Accept that you do not have an iron will and that you may well eat more of something than you’d ideally like, at least for a little while. Accept this without self-loathing, because any self-loathing will only make you eat more.

2. In a perfect world, your vice will be relatively healthy (though admittedly not in large quantities) – roasted nuts, spiced pumpkin seeds, intensely dark chocolate, smoked salmon, expensive cheese … Cultivate your tastes for the finer things in life, and the chances are it will be. But it may not be, and that is no reason for self-loathing either.

3. Succumb to temptation and simply enjoy it for a few days. Decadently smother apple slices in almond butter, or recline on the settee and relish in the greediness of another cracker and camembert.

4. Then finish the packet and stop. Don’t replenish your stocks. Don’t go to the shop where you’d usually replenish your stock. Stay out of temptation’s way.

5. Assess what you’ve eaten with a cold, rational eye – was it terribly expensive, did it’s richness give you a couple of restless nights’ sleep, was that lethargy you felt all afternoon the result of its sweetness, is the waistband of your jeans starting to strain? Chances are you’ll answer yes to at least one of the above and you’ll feel suitably put off.

6. Now test your resolve. Go to the relevant shop and don’t buy it. You might even want to pick it up in your hand, and firmly put it back on the shelf. Mark my words, being strict with yourself is very, very satisfying. (See, I still haven’t gone to the kitchen for roasted almonds and I feel rather smug about it … )

Nourishing temptations (better than Snickers) for every now and then … 

• Rye bread and lashings of butter
• Cashew or macademia nuts
• Medjool dates
• Dark chocolate
• Any nut butter eaten off the spoon
• Chilli toasted pumpkin seeds
• Unsalted oat cakes and camembert
• Fresh mango
• Dried apricots (brown and unsulphured)
• Unsweetened whipped cream with fresh berries (a summer treat)
• Roasted almonds / pecans / hazelnuts (dipped in chocolate for those utterly decadent moments)