A woman has shared her experience with the Human Being Diet (HBD), detailing how she lost significant weight and found relief from severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) after struggling with weight gain and digestive issues. Following perimenopause and lockdown-induced lifestyle changes, she gained two stone, moving from a size 10-12 to a size 14.
The Human Being Diet Approach
The HBD, developed by nutritionist Petronella Ravenshear, consists of four stages. The initial phase involves a two-day vegetable-only detox, followed by Phase Two, a 14-day period where three meals are consumed with five hours between them, and no snacking is permitted. This stage excludes oil, sugar, grains, dairy, alcohol, and nightshades, allowing only black coffee or tea with meals. The individual found this phase particularly challenging due to her previous habit of snacking.
Phase Three, lasting ten weeks, reintroduces dairy and nightshades, along with olive oil and one weekly treat meal. During this stage, she began to identify specific foods, such as cheese and gluten, that negatively affected her digestive system. The final "Forever Phase" involves maintaining the three-meals-a-day structure during the week, with more flexibility on weekends. She now includes sourdough and oat lattes occasionally.
Personal Transformation and Health Benefits
Starting the HBD on January 7, 2023, she reported losing one stone within the first two weeks. Six months later, her weight had decreased to 9.5 stone, fitting into a size 10, a size she has maintained. Beyond weight loss, the diet led to the complete disappearance of her IBS, a condition she had managed for 35 years, which had sometimes required emergency medical attention. Previous attempts with exclusion diets, low FODMAP diets, and consultations with specialists had not yielded the same results.
Lifestyle Adjustments
Key to her success were several lifestyle changes. She adopted mindful eating, ensuring she sat at a table to consume meals, a stark contrast to her previous habit of eating on the go. Her daily diet now typically includes an omelette or eggs for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and steamed fish or chicken with vegetables for dinner, accompanied by black coffee or tea. She emphasizes consuming food in its most natural state, prioritizing vegetables, lean proteins, seeds, nuts, and fruit, with occasional sourdough or rye bread instead of supermarket varieties.
She also stresses the importance of avoiding grazing, explaining that consistent eating prevents the body's natural digestive cleaning processes, known as the migrating motor complex (MMC), from functioning effectively. Gentle exercise, such as yoga and walking, was also part of her regimen during the initial phases of the diet, which are considered a recovery period for the body. She also kept a diary to track her feelings related to hunger and food cravings, which helped her recognize emotional eating patterns, and used progress photos to monitor her journey. The HBD website is thehumanbeingdiet.com.