31 (M) professional with gut issues

Putting this out here because I got value out of reading other’s experiences and you never know

LIFE BACKGROUND

  • Just moved to London with my job, I’m a bit of a workaholic so tend to work 45-60hrs p/wk on a very consistent basis throughout the year. It’s odd hours too, we’re a global company based in Australia so there’s calls in the morning and night all the time.

  • Semi-professional DJ, I took the move to London with work basically to expand this hobby.

^^^ long story short, I’m a classic time poor Gen Y type

  • I just don’t like cooking. It’s a pity, because I can cook (I believe the world’s obesity epidemic is hugely driven by adult’s inability to cook and unwillingness to ask to learn) but I just don’t enjoy it. Never have. I eat out a lot because of this.

HEALTH BACKGROUND

  • Long-term gut problems since a nasty food poisoning incident hospitalised me in 2009. I saw a really good doctor in who focus on gut flora and got a me a long way back, but I’ve gone backwards a lot in the last year through slipping with the eating disciplines.

  • Lactose intolerant, but also having pronounced issues with carbs lately. I had Nandos the other night and the side of chips gave me gut pain, digestive issues and put me in a tired haze that led to sleep. A bagel the week prior did the same, carbs are almost like lactose right now in their affect on me. I am convinced this is due to me not managing my gut flora, carbs haven’t always been an issue.

  • Weight fluctuates a lot. If I keep on top of my diet (rare) and exercise it’s easy to keep off… If I do what I’ve done the last 3 months and eat take away in the office I end up 15kg overweight like I am now.

So then… Huel

  • Is the first thing I have ever bought based on an ad popping up on the internet. There I was scrolling through Facebook, 15mins later I’d spent 40 odd pounds. (Well done to the marketing team but it’s a case of right place + right time.)

  • The appeal is to eat healthy without having to do much work. I already cut a lot of flavour out of my diet (at least when I prepare my food) to try and save time + be healthy, i.e. recent dinners have just been steamed veggies, so why not keep effort to an absolute minimum?

  • The fact it’s vegan also appeals. I am trying to eat a lot less meat I’d love to say I’m going vegan but I know it would be hard…

Day 1 - yesterday
Box arrived. I worked until 7:30pm, and had nothing in the fridge. By the time I got hime it was ~8:30 so Huel was far more appealing than finding food and cooking it.

Had two scoops with water as I wasn’t that hungry after a big, late lunch. Extremely surprised by the taste (!) I was expecting blandness at best. It’s much sweeter than I expected (which suits me as I’m a sugar addict) and I like both the vanilla and the broader oat-esque flavor. (It’s worth noting I loved porridge but haven’t eaten it in a decade since the stomach diagnosis.)

Went to bed around 1:30am after staying up doing music. That’s often my life. Felt full all night.

Day 2 - today
I really struggled to get out of bed today. I set an alarm that would have got me 7hrs sleep but repeatedly reset it + snoozed for >1hr after I was meant to be up. I ended up deciding to work from home. I also felt tired for the first 30mins I was awake, which is abnormal.

I had a bag of corn chips lying around so had those for brunch at 10:30 (bad… I know…)
Had Huel for lunch, another 2 scoops. Enjoyed it again, felt full all day. I did feel a bit tired, and I’m a bit paranoid that I feel a very mild version of how I feel after carbs right now, but I also consider:

  • I’ve had no digestive issues all day (inc no gas)
  • I had a big party on the weekend and am very behind on sleep anyway
  • I hate my work right now so I could just be tired from life lethargy

I had veggies to steam for dinner but enjoyed the Huel so much I only steamed half and had another two scoops of Huel to round the meal out.

So far, extremely promising. I will keep this updated.
I have a concern over carb content in Huel making me tired and thus wouldn’t be sustainable… But that would be my problem for letting my gut get this bad again rather than Huel’s. I am interested to see how this pans out over the coming weeks.

2 Likes

Good to see it’s not causing you digestive issues, some people find huel causes digestive problems at first.
There are ways to alter huel to change the macros if you want less carbs, such as adding dessicated coconut (for fat) and protein powder (for protein). There’s a guide for low carb huel in the guides section I think.

Have you thought its not the Carbs themselves but actually the food source itself, like the “corn chips” and other over refined stuff? Huel is Oats for its main carb source so you might find the stomach does better on that.

I’m gluten and mildly dairy intolerant so I kinda get your predicament.

Last night after I posted the above I had a little bit of gas but nothing too bad at all.

Day 3

Awoke from my 7hr slumber just fine.

Two scoops of Huel for brunch after work calls in the morning.

Have felt fuzzy and tired all day and have had a mild headache for ~70% of the time. Today has not been too productive. It’s eased off as we hit the post-4pm mark. I had a burrito bowl for lunch.

I am thinking I might have dived in a bit quick having so much so soon. Having normal food for dinner, will get back on the Huel tomorrow for 1 full serve and a half serve and see how I go.

Interested in the flora thing, having never been the same since a fairly strong antibiotic dose a few years ago.

I get the impression medical professionals really dont know much about restoring good flora. There’s more and more evidence about how important it is, but little practical knowledge about what we can do to help.

What was your experience?
Did professional help result in an obvious improvement?
How does Huel fit in to your flora routine?

The headache could be caused by a lack of sodium, I’ve seen a few posts on this forum about salt helping headaches and lack of salt causing all sorts of problems.