My family lost nearly 10 stone, here's how we did it

Christine Shead, 59, husband John, 64, and their daughter Emily, 24, went on the same diet together and it changed their lives. As well as them all losing weight, it also helped Emily dramatically improve the endometriosis symptoms she'd had since the age of 16.

‘Losing the weight made a massive difference to my confidence’

Christine Shead, 59, lost 3.5 stone, going from 13 stone 8lbs to 10 stone. She says:

Two years ago, I weighed 13 stone 8lbs (86kg) and my BMI was bordering on obese. I was 57 at the time – the same age my dad had passed away after developing ulcerative colitis and bowel cancer, so I knew I needed to take action.

I first came across the Human Being Diet in July 2022. My daughter Emily, who was 21 at the time, had just been diagnosed with endometriosis after years of painful symptoms, and so I started looking for help. A friend told me she had heard about a woman who had not only lost a considerable amount of weight on the diet, but had also got massive relief from endometriosis symptoms.

I immediately ordered the HBD book, took it away on holiday, and read it from cover to cover. What I learnt is that the diet reduces inflammation and excessive oestrogen, both of which are linked to endometriosis.

Encouraging each other

It was a lightbulb moment. John and I thought, 'Why don’t we do the diet and then it might be something Emily will try?' I wanted to lose just over two stone (12.7kg) to get to a healthy BMI but the weight loss kept coming, and John was aiming for 2.5 stone (15.8kg) but ended up losing another 20lbs on top. His eldest sons were getting married in December, so that gave us some extra motivation too.

The first two weeks are very strict, you’re not allowed any alcohol or sugar so it’s hard to go out, but we had a gap in our diaries, so we decided to give it a go. For the first two days, phase one, you only eat vegetables and aren’t allowed any oil, sugar, grains, beans or dairy and that’s tough. Then you move to phase two which is 14 days of three meals a day without oil, sugar, grains or legumes, but dairy is added back in. You are allowed protein, vegetables and one apple a day.

We had very little energy during those first two weeks, but the fact that John and I did it together was a massive help. We’d say to each other, "It’s only 14 days, in the grand scheme of things it’s a short space of time." We supported each other and if I had a weak moment, John would rally around me.

New-found confidence

It helped that the results were instantly incredible. By mid-August we’d both lost a stone (6.3kg) and had moved onto phase three for 10 weeks when you’re allowed one treat meal a week as well as olive oil, rye bread and dark chocolate.

The treat meal can be whatever you want. We went to the opera at Glyndebourne and packed the most amazing picnic with Champagne and it was wonderful, but afterwards, I realised that some of the things I used to have, like gluten and alcohol, didn’t agree with me.

The treat meal makes it easier to sustain the diet, and by the end of November, I had shed 50lbs (22.6kg) and reached my goal weight. I moved on to phase four, the 'forever phase' where you take all the principles of the diet and apply them to everyday life. You can eat a bit more protein, and experiment with adding grains and extra treat meals. We love to travel, and we’re retired, but it was the tail end of Covid so we weren’t going abroad which made it all easier to stick to as well.

Losing the weight made a massive difference to my confidence. I’d hit the menopause, and felt invisible and past my best. I thought I was just going to have to accept being overweight and frumpy, but suddenly the weight was dropping off, and I realised this had nothing to do with being menopausal, it was just to do with what I ate.

I went from a size 14 to a size 10 and it felt great to buy smaller clothes. My skin looked better and several friends went on the diet after seeing the changes in me. There were other benefits too, it lowered my blood pressure, and my resting heart rate went down by 10 beats a minute.

A new way of life

I also have a sleep disorder where I get night terrors and can sleepwalk in the night and injure myself. I take medication to control the terrors, but what I noticed after doing the diet was that I could massively reduce my medication. I think I had been eating too late, drinking and eating the wrong things and that had affected my sleep.

I see this as a way of life now rather than a diet. Food for us as a family has become way more interesting. I used to eat a lot of carbs, like cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch with some processed meat. But now we cook everything from scratch, we have salads, omelettes and beans and a lot of vegetables.

I used to be a latte queen, going into coffee shops and having whipped cream and all sorts, but now I only drink black coffee and tea, which has made a huge difference in my calorie consumption.

Things can slip a little bit when we travel. This year we’ve been to Antartica, the Maldives and Madrid, but when I get home I just put myself back into phase three and lose the extra weight.

The hardest moments are the evenings. We finish dinner at 7.30pm then we feel like a snack when watching TV, but it’s just a habit and if we drink a little water that urge usually goes away.

Overall this diet has been brilliant for our family. John has diabetes in his family, but now aged 64 all his tests are normal, and for Emily, well, the diet has given her her life back.

‘The diet helped with my endometriosis symptoms and meant I could give up painkillers’

Their daughter Emily Shead, 24, lost over two stone, going from 12 stone 11lbs (81.1kg) to 10 stone 7lbs (66.6kg).

From the moment I got my periods aged 12, they were irregular, but then around the age of 16 things got massively worse. I had severe and heavy bleeding, the longest period I had was 21 days. I had bloating, pain, constipation, vomiting and acid reflux as well as loads of urinary tract infections for which I’ve had multiple courses of antibiotics.

I saw the GP many times, but none of them knew what to do with me. Eventually, I saw a hormone doctor, and my diagnosis of endometriosis was confirmed in December 2021 by keyhole surgery.

My only options for treatment were invasive surgery, a laparoscopy under general anaesthetic every two years to remove the endometrial tissue, and then I’d need a month of sick leave to recover, or a course of highly addictive opioids for the ongoing pain. Then Mum came across the HBD diet. At first, I was sceptical – from pills to hormone injections, you name it, I’ve tried it. This diet didn’t sound fun, but more than that I didn’t think it would work.

But I had a nine-to-five office job at the time, I was applying for a law conversion course and doing work experience, and I was taking so much time off sick. I couldn’t cope with the demands of my life, so I was ready to try anything.

Reduced pain and clearer skin

I started in September 2022, it was hard, but I had a supportive partner who didn’t eat around me. One of the first things to happen was that my skin cleared up. I’d had terrible spots, but soon my skin was glowing. I felt tired in the first 16 days, but after phase two, I had so much more energy.

By December my periods were lighter, and had gone down to around seven days, the best they’d been in five years. My pain levels were manageable, I wasn’t vomiting and my heartburn had gone. I’d been taking anti-inflammatory drugs and prescription painkillers and by November I’d stopped taking both. I’m not saying my periods were perfect, but I was able to manage the pain with over-the-counter medication.

I got onto my law conversion course which starts in 2025 and now I’m working in a hotel restaurant. I do long days and I’m on my feet all day – I never would have been able to do this job before.

I batch cook and prep all my meals in advance, and my parents help as I’m currently living at home. I never eat in the restaurant canteen, and I barely drink at all, as that exacerbates my symptoms – instead now I have soda and lime.

Like my parents, I also saw the same weight loss benefits. I lost over two stone (14.5kg) going from 12 stone 11lbs (81.1kg) to 10 stone 7lbs (66.6kg). I’ve gone from wearing a size 14 or 16 to a size 10 and that’s massively boosted my confidence. But the biggest thing for me is that it’s made a massive difference to my mental and physical health – I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been.

‘People were astonished by how different I looked’

John Shead, 64, lost nearly four stone, going from 16 stone 9lbs (108kg) to 12 stone 10lbs (80.7kg)

In 2022, I weighed 16 stone and 9lbs (108kg) and was heading into the obese territory. I decided to do the diet for lots of reasons. I wanted to feel better about myself, there are traces of diabetes in my wider family and I smoked until I was 50, so I thought there might be lingering damage there. I also wanted to look decent for my son’s wedding in December 2022.

The key thing for me was that I retired at 58, so I had much more leisure time. The Human Being Diet is more of a way of life than a diet. The food is delicious even if the portion sizes are smaller. But the key challenge is the preparation time to cook everything from scratch.

More creative with cooking

I just made six portions of a butternut squash soup and it took me half an hour. When I think back to my working life, I was doing 14-16-hour days sometimes as a global marketing manager and travelling, I just wouldn’t have had that time for cooking.

Initially, the first two weeks of the diet were challenging, we didn’t understand how to make vegetables taste good, and it was tough. But we soon got into the shopping and cooking aspects of it, and we planned religiously. We’d have a morning coffee and plan the next three days’ meals. It’s transformed how we eat, we are way more creative with what we cook.

The weight fell off me, by December I’d lost around nearly four stone (24.9kg) and I finished at 12 stone 10lbs (80.7kg). People were astonished when they saw me.

I’d always been fit and active, I was a consistent runner and following my retirement I got into golf, I went to the gym and I walked with the dog. Yet I didn’t lose any weight, and I’ve now realised that you don’t lose weight in the gym, you lose it in the kitchen, and I think that’s a really important message.

The Human Being Diet - The four phases explained

Phase one: Preparation. Two days of vegetables only (no oil, sugar, grains, legumes or dairy).

Sample meals: Half an avocado with four cherry tomatoes, salad, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

Vegetable soup made with fresh stock.

Phase two: Reset. 14 days of eating three meals a day combining one type of protein and a mixture of vegetables, and eating one apple a day (continuing without oil, sugar, grains, legumes or starchy carbohydrates but dairy can be added back in). Intense/cardio exercise is prohibited – walking only. Keep a food/symptom diary.

Sample meals: 130g of grilled chicken breast with 130g steamed spinach, cabbage and courgette with thyme.

160g chickpeas sautéd in stock with herbs and 130g grilled vegetables.

Phase three: Burn. Ten weeks of a continuation of phase two-style eating. Extra virgin olive oil and a weekly treat meal are introduced, along with rye bread and dark chocolate as optional extras. Gentle exercise (swimming, yoga, pilates and resistance training) may be reintroduced.

Try 100g of 100% rye bread max twice a week with breakfast if you’d like to. Dark chocolate should be 85% and eat only one-two squares after a meal once a day.

Sample meals: Spanish vegetable breakfast tortilla, halloumi vegetable kebabs with slaw, chicken or tofu arrabbiata.

Phase four: Forever. A continuation of phase three type eating and experimenting with adding grains, extra treat meals and mixing proteins or having larger portions. More intense exercise is also recommended.

Listen to your body and the feedback it gives you if/when you re-introduce starchy carbohydrates – your food diary can help with this. Some people might be fine, others will find that extra carbs disagree with them and make them bloated, tired or sluggish. Don't go back to snacking.

Recipes for all phases can be found in The HBD Cookbook

Other rules:

• Leave five hours between meals.

• Eat just one type of protein per meal.

• No cardio exercise for the first 16 days of the diet.

• Eat one apple a day with a meal.

• Finish eating by 9pm.

• No sugar, except at weekly 'treat' meals.

• Drink lots of water – 35ml per kilo of body weight.

See a summary of The Human Being Diet here. The second edition of the book is also available on Amazon.