Huel and cycling

I approached Huel intrigued by its characteristics: a complete range of nutrients and a quick meal, available in seconds.

Both these aspects are relevant to me: being a cyclist who trains 4-5 times a week, often doing 3-4 hours rides which end past the usual meal hours and often in remote places, is essential to have something to eat for recovery, without having to turn to restaurants or pubs (most likely closed in the early hours of the afternoon).

And it’s not only that: often you find yourself at home alone, without something ready to eat, or, worse, actually there is something, but not something healthy.

After the initial experimental phase (only 150 cals for breakfast, really?!?), I decided to go as follows:
-for breakfast I take on 600 calories of Huel, sometimes plus one or two scoops of Whey protein according to the type of ride I have to face. If I don’t have to go out on the bike, 300 cal. are enough to go through the mid-morning snack. According to the type of ride I re-fuel with bars&gels, I have yet to try Huel during rides, but the extreme heat of these days forced me to have my two bottles full of water and Magnesium/potassium.
-after the rides, I can either have a traditional meal or 450 calories of Huel.
-mid-afternoon snack: again traditional food or 150 calories of Huel.
-traditional food for dinner, with family.

With this pattern I can go comfortably through 3-4 hours rides, usually in the 80-90 kms range, with one or more 30 minutes climbs (80 to 85% heart rate) and a calorie consumption of 1200 or more calories (flat sections are ridden at 50-65% HRR). You can find my data on Strava: I name the rides with “Huel” in the title.

After a very demanding ride today (for me): 105 kms at 30 kph, with 1600 calories burned, I tried Huel for recovery (500 cal) right after the ride. It proves again to be great, as it’s easy to prepare and digest, giving you more time to rest.

One of the most important things to me, it’s the feeling you have after breakfast and during the first part of the rides. Usually, with a traditional carb-rich breakfast, I felt bloated, while if I went for more sugars, the sugar crash had me in less than one hour into the ride. With huel I feel full, but not bloated and I can go longer without having the urge to re-fuel.

Will update here if I go through more experimentation.

A great “thank you” to the Huel staff for their creation and for their customer care service: one of the best I experienced, ever.

MM

2 Likes

Any updates on your trading with Huel?

Still going strong with the same routine: and still no better alteratives (to me) than having Huel plus some whey protein before and after my rides.

Thanks for that answered a lot questions for me as it seems our cycling is very similar.

Have you thought about or tried the Huel bars for fueling during your rides?

Interested to see if they melt in the jersey pocket or aren’t easily eaten while on the bike.