The Human Being Diet (HBD), created by nutritionist Petronella Ravenshear, has gained popularity for its potential to boost energy, improve digestion, and promote weight loss. This article provides an overview of the HBD, with a focus on Phase 1 and its recipes.
What is the Human Being Diet?
The Human Being Diet is a three-month program designed to reestablish your body’s long-term balance. Petronella Ravenshear created the guidelines over six years ago, after years of advising clients on how to eat well. When she found herself struggling with weight gain during her 50s, she devised a personal plan focused around metabolic balance, a topic she’d studied in detail back in 2008.
Ravenshear began recommending her own program to clients, and word quickly spread about its effectiveness, with people reporting an average weight loss of five to 14 pounds in 16 days. During lockdown, Ravenshear began sharing information about her program online via Instagram, and soon developed a big following.
The HBD aims to create long-lasting, positive dietary habits. According to Ravenshear, the weight loss occurs as a side effect of reduced inflammation, and rebalanced hormones and blood sugar. This is why the beneficial effects are so wide-ranging.
The Four Phases of the Human Being Diet
The HBD consists of four phases:
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- Phase 1: The Reset. This is a radical detox which involves restricting your calorie intake to around 700 to 900 calories a day. For the first two days, you consume just vegetables in a bid to reset the gut, with no oil, dairy, protein or alcohol allowed.
- Phase 2. For the next 14 days, you can re-introduce pulses, fruit, nuts and some proteins, such as chicken, salmon, minced beef or tofu. The aim is to eat three meals a day, with five hour fasts between them.
- Phase 3. This phase is designed to last 10 weeks. During this period you can re-introduce oil, alongside a ‘treat meal’ once a week, which could involve sugar, dairy, alcohol or gluten. However, there are other rules to adopt, such as consuming breakfast within an hour of waking up, and keeping your calorie intake to around 1,200 calories per day.
- Phase 4. This is described as the ‘forever phase’, with the hope that ‘healthy habits’ are now embedded into your life - Ravenshear says ‘it’s a case of [keeping] the principles that work for you’.
Phase 1: The Vegetable Reset
Phase one of the Human Being Diet is designed to be done only once or twice a year, and it’s not recommended for under 18s or for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Generally, dieticians also advise against diets like this for people who have previously experienced eating disorders - and, indeed, some believe following the HBD could actually lead to disordered eating habits.
The first step, known as The Reset, is a radical detox which involves restricting your calorie intake to around 700 to 900 calories a day. For the first two days, you consume just vegetables in a bid to reset the gut, with no oil, dairy, protein or alcohol allowed.
Phase 1 Guidelines
- Duration: 2 days
- Food: 1.5kg of vegetables per day
- Meals: Three meals per day
- Spacing: 5-hour gaps between meals
- Drinks: Water, herbal tea, and black coffee (as much as your bladder can handle)
- Restrictions: No oil, dairy, protein, or alcohol
Phase 1 Recipes and Meal Ideas
The key to success in Phase 1 is to plan your meals and have a variety of vegetables on hand. Here are some ideas for meals during this phase:
- Steamed Vegetables: Steaming is a great way to cook vegetables without adding any oil. Try steaming broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and zucchini.
- Roasted Vegetables: Roasting vegetables brings out their natural sweetness. Toss vegetables like bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes with herbs and roast them in the oven.
- Vegetable Soup: A simple vegetable soup can be very satisfying. Use a variety of vegetables like celery, spinach, and vegetable broth.
- Salads: Prepare salads with leafy greens, cucumbers, and other non-starchy vegetables. Avoid oil-based dressings.
Personal Experience with Phase 1
One person described their experience with Phase 1 as "not fun," but acknowledged its importance in the overall HBD process. They followed the guidelines of consuming 1.5kg of veg over three meals with 5-hour gaps in between, along with water, herbal tea, and black coffee.
Phase 2: Reintroducing Protein and More
Today is Day 3 which means we’re into Phase 2 where protein makes an appearance again and the most exciting thing ever; an apple a day. (Apparently does literally keep the Doctor away).
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Phase 2 Breakfast Example
Breakfast was two boiled eggs, which given the time of a morning, I would have every day, with posh salt and an avocado. I knew it was going to be a good day when I cut into it and the flesh was perfectly ripe. No resistance and not one spot of brown decay. Now I know what you’re thinking because I was thinking it too. What’s a dippy egg without hot buttery toast to dip into it? Well, eat like a rabbit for two days and you too will be deeply excited by avocado flesh in place of dripping salty butter. We change huh?
The rules on drinks have changed now, though I may (whisper it so that Petronella doesn’t hear) bend them. Coffee and herbal tea only with meals now. If I weren’t so scared of Petronella I would message her and say ‘FGS P, why have the rules changed? WHY?’ but I know she would reply ‘Because Holly, you can’t be trusted’. She would definitely use my name because people who know stuff always do. So I am enjoying half a litre of coffee post eggs and avocado just to get my quota in. I may crap myself before midday but then that could speed along this whole process so I’m trying to see the possibility in a positive light.
Oh I almost forgot, I enjoyed an apple after my breakfast. Phase 2 means ONE apple per day, eaten with a meal. Sinking my teeth into a Pink Lady was close to ecstasy, let me tell you. It was delicious and crisp. If it’d revealed itself to be one of those mealy apples I don’t know what I’d have done. Cried most likely.
Considerations and Potential Risks
It’s worth noting that, while there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence surrounding the benefits, there are no dedicated scientific studies about the effects of the HBD. Phase one of the Human Being Diet is designed to be done only once or twice a year, and it’s not recommended for under 18s or for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Generally, dieticians also advise against diets like this for people who have previously experienced eating disorders - and, indeed, some believe following the HBD could actually lead to disordered eating habits.
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