As I pulled out my shorts, strappy tops and cute little dresses to cope with this summer’s heatwaves, I couldn’t help but think how I would have been struggling just a few years ago and how far I’d come.In 2023, having hit perimenopause in lockdown and, like a lot of people, eaten my feelings, I emerged that January having put on two stone. At 5ft 5in, I was almost 12st and a size 14. I’d started a new job as a marketing manager before lockdown, so gone from being active every day, walking around an office, to sitting at home in Essex with my now 20-year-old son, snacking on bread, ham and cheese and opening a bottle of wine in the evening.I was 49 and up to then, had been a 10-12 and 10st. I’d always exercised, doing boxing, CrossFit, capoeira and yoga, but I’d struggled with irritable bowel syndrome since I was a teen. Sometimes I’d bloat so much, I looked pregnant.I vowed to get back to normal but just couldn’t and reluctantly accepted this was my life now, giving my too-small clothes to my nieces.Scrolling through Instagram one day, I saw a woman who had done the Human Being Diet and was shocked to see her ‘before’ body was very similar to mine. I bought The Human Being Diet book by nutritionist Petronella Ravenshear and decided to go for it.The HBD is a mix of a reset (fasting) and Mediterranean-style diet, that follows four stages. Phase One is the hardest – two days detoxing on nothing but vegetables, followed by Phase Two, for 14 days, where you eat three meals a day, leaving five hours in between and no snacking. This stage includes protein, but no oil, sugar, grains, dairy, alcohol or nightshades (which include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and even paprika). Plus, black coffee or tea, with meals. Cassy says, I had always been a size 10-12 and 10st but after lockdown I emerged at almost 12st and a size 14 Sometimes I’d bloat so much, I looked pregnant, she adds I vowed to get back to normal but just couldn’t and reluctantly accepted this was my life now, giving my too-small clothes to my nieceYou have to really commit to the first 16 days and I found it extremely hard as I’d been a snacker – I’d start my day with two milky coffees and scrambled eggs, then graze on rolls of ham and cubes of cheese, with meals such as cheese on toast, spaghetti bolognese or homemade pizzas and wine in the evening.I kicked off on January 7, 2023, lost a stone in two weeks and six months later was down to 9.5st and a size 10, which I’ve maintained ever since. I look and feel so much better and my IBS – which I’ve had for 35 years and was sometimes so bad I had to go to A&E – has completely gone. I’d tried everything for it – exclusion and low FODMAP diets (in which certain foods are avoided and then reintroduced to try to identify which are causing problems), nutritionists, kinesiologists and gastroenterologists – but nothing had worked.Phase Three, for ten weeks, is the same three meals a day, but reintroduces dairy and nightshades, olive oil and a weekly treat meal of anything you like, including a glass of wine. At this stage, I started to get clear signals from my tummy about which foods don’t work for me, such as cheese and gluten.Now I’m on the Forever Phase and have learnt what works best for me, so through the week I eat the three meals a day, then whatever I want at weekends and have sourdough and an oat latte occasionally. In the week, I’ll eat a mushroom and asparagus omelette for breakfast, prawn or chicken salad for lunch and steamed salmon and vegetables for dinner, with a daily apple and a square or two of 90 per cent dark chocolate. I lost a stone in the first two weeks and six months later was down to 9.5st and a size 10, which I’ve maintained ever since Now I’m on the Forever Phase and have learnt what works best for me I feel like my body had been screaming at me for years, but I didn’t listen and HBD has given me my life back I feel like my body had been screaming at me for years, but I didn’t listen and HBD has given me my life back.Here’s how I did it and you can too…Eat mindfullyBefore, I’d mindlessly grab food on the go; now I sit at my table and eat mindfully, for no longer than an hour. An average day is eggs for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and dinner of chicken or salmon and vegetables, with black coffee or tea with meals.Avoid processed foodI eat food as close as it can be to its original state – lots of vegetables, lean protein, seeds, nuts, eggs, a little fruit and some yogurt. I don’t eat supermarket bread – I’ll have sourdough now and then, or rye. After 35 years, my IBS is not just ‘manageable’, it’s gone.Don’t grazeA lot of hunger is habit – my body was so used to having a constant influx of food, it prepared for it. Your migrating motor complex (MMC) is the process where your stomach and small intestine sweeps away leftover food particles and bacteria. It is your stomach’s cleaning wave and kicks in an hour or two after eating. It stops when you eat, so if you’re constantly eating, your guts aren’t in a good place.Do gentle exerciseOn the HBD, you have to think about the first two phases as being like a convalescence, so you don’t put your body through any form of stress, like cardio. I did gentle yoga and walked my dogs and have recently added in Pilates.Write a diaryKeeping written notes of what I was feeling when I was thinking about hunger helped me realise I was using food and alcohol as a reward. Similarly, taking before, during and after photos helped me see my progress.thehumanbeingdiet.comAs told to Kerry Parnell