Morning everyone! I started using Huel last year and lost around a stone and was really pleased but then life got in the way and I fell off the wagon. I’ve put on just over half a stone which I know is not terrible but I’m so disappointed. I only have myself to blame so it’s up to me to fix it!
So, today I ordered some RTD Huel. It’s expensive and I don’t like the idea of all the plastic bottles really but for now til I get back to a routine it’ll have to do. My current weight is 10st7lb and I’d like to go to at least 9st 7lb. For my height and build this is a healthy weight so I’d be happy with that. I find it hard to lose weight and don’t really have the best relationship with food- I tend to stress eat and binge a bit.
Has anyone else restarted Huel after a break? Any inspiration or motivation right now will be a massive help! I’m also wondering what people eat as snacks? The rtd bottles are 400 calories so I need to be careful not to over eat. My plan is to try and make my Huel last throughout the day, with some healthy snacks, and have a healthy dinner in the evening. Thoughts?
Hello,
Good luck with restarting Huel. I also have had an on and off relationship with Huel but am back on it now.
Firstly have you worked out how many calories you are going to have a day by using a calorie calculator and looking at your TDEE and Basil metabolic rate?
Do you track your foods, I know you have said a healthy meal, but do you weigh it and keep track of the calories?
By doing the above now and sticking to it, even if you cut Huel out again you should be able to keep the weight off in the future.
Thanks for the advice! I’m a bit confused as the TDEE calculator says to lose weight I need 1453 cal per day- this seems too much? I currently weigh 147lb am 5’8”, female, exercise 1-2 x per week. It says my ideal weight is 138-141lb which seems about right.
I will go back to putting my meals into my fitness pal - I did this when I was huelling before but have slipped and I know my portion sizes and what I’m eating haven’t stayed as they should be.
I need to work on convincing myself that I’m not hungry. As soon as I think about losing weight/eating more healthily, all I can think of is food and then I get hungry but in my head I know I don’t NEED any more food… I know it’s mind over matter but it’s something I really struggle with.
I’m not sure, but it sounds like you’re implying that’s a lot of calories? There’s no reason to make that bottle last until dinner. It’s one meal, a small one at that. 
@salp123 you need to get back on MFP and weigh and log every single thing you eat and drink. Stay within your daily calorie allowance. You did it before, you can do it again!
If you spread that bottle of Huel too thinly over the day and supplement with snacks you won’t be getting a good balance of nutrients. Huel isn’t a magic bullet or a weight loss product, it’s a balanced meal replacement which is easy to measure.
How come you chose Huel RTD this time around? I find powdered Huel very easy to portion to my own needs. If I bought a bottle I would want to drink the whole bottle in one sitting.
I restarted Huel a couple of months ago after a gap of about 18 months. I stuck with the powder though rather than the RTD (not knowing if I’d like the taste of RTD, the cost and the versatility of the powder are my reasons). I’ve also started trying to log more on MFP, well with packaged stuff as I just don’t work out the details on homecooked Asian food 
I think as others have said one bottle over the whole day isn’t enough, though I do think it depends on what you mean by healthy snacks. Do you mean you’d have 2/3 snacks over the course of the afternoon rather than lunch? I know some people prefer snacks/smaller meals more frequently (in comparison to 3 meals a day). I tend to have Huel for breakfast, but spread out over the morning. That helps me be more controlled with my lunch choice/portion as I feel still pretty satiated by then.
Thanks so much everyone for replies so far! [quote=“Bee, post:5, topic:12659”]
You did it before, you can do it again!
[/quote] this is definitely what I needed to remind myself!
@Moon @surrealsai What I meant with the bottle is that I know I’ll still want to nibble and snack through the day to feel like I’m “eating” so I suppose I have to make sure I’m careful not to treat it as a drink but more of a meal… I’m not sure that makes sense. I do see what you mean though @Bee - I do need to be careful about the nutrition of the snacks. I do remember Huel being filling before but I do like to graze and eat little and often (well actually, lots and often haha) so it’s finding the balance.
I chose RTD out of convenience. I know it isn’t that much of a deal to put powder in a shaker and probably once I get back into the swing of it I’ll switch back to powder but one of the reasons I put the weight back on is that I wasn’t having time to prepare anything in the morning so I was having the dreaded supermarket sandwich meal deal for lunch. If I can just pick up the bottle I am more likely to stick it out. I can feel the “prepare it the night before” gang and the “seeeeeriously, you can’t even be bothered to make a shake” gang all coming at me with pitchforks right now but that’s just the place I’m in for now and I’m juuust about accepting that and trying to make small changes to make life a little more manageable and not be overwhelmed.
Keep it coming, this is really helpful. I’m off to put my dinner into MFP now - not something I particularly enjoy but it is a good measure and does make you realise how many more calories are going in than you thought!
LOL keeping a journal in MFP is a real eye-opener, isn’t it? 
MFP - More Food Please? 
More like meat, fat and pies! 
Music For Pleasure.
This should not be too much, it is actually a fairly small amount. We have been conditioned to think that 1200 calories is what you need for weight loss however for most people this is too little and you certainly shouldn’t eat less than this. Go with what the calculator said. MFP also seems to have a habbit of giving you a low amount of calories (although they may have fixed that now) so go off the online calculators.
Your body will likely burn around 1400 at rest, (this can be more or less depending on a lot of fctors) no physical exercise included, then you add on all of your daily activites and you use more than you think.
Ah thank you, that’s helpful. I think I did expect it to be more around the 1200 mark but now I’ve logged back into my fitness pal, 1400ish was where I was at last time. I am eagerly awaiting my delivery today and hopefully I can get myself back on track. I’m setting myself the goal of my holiday at the end of August to lose at least a stone which I think is doable.
Last time I threaded 14 paper clips onto a ribbon and stuck it to a bottle of wine, each paper clip was 1lb so when I’d lost 1lb I took off a paper clip, when the ribbon was empty I could undo the wine! I did get there in the end so hopefully I can do it again. 
Definitely no pitchforks here! If RTD works for you that’s the way to go.
It makes sense. That’s why I have a normal lunch rather than Huel 
For me, my BMR and the recommendation in MFP is pretty much the same.
So my package of RTD arrived today, yay. Think I burned a thousand calories trying to get into the box though. And then what was inside? ANOTHER BOX! Why?!?!
I like the packaging of the bottle (except for plastic guilt but ok) and I am looking forward to trying it tomorrow!
Me again! I just had a sneaky taste while decanting the RTD into a thermos to keep it cool. It tastes really good, better than I remember the powder tasting. Does anyone who’s tried the vanilla ready to drink know which powder it tastes most like? New vanilla or old vanilla??
In my opinion more like old.
3 months later and I feel like I am coming back to this thread with my tail between my legs and my head hanging low… I didn’t do very well.
However, I am all of 3lb lighter than I was in Feb which I’m kind of laughing at myself for actually thinking that’s good… I’ve got all the excuses under the sun for why I haven’t lost more (and didn’t stick with Huel) but I’m back for another round and feeling a lot more determined
I’ve decided to make some changes to my life, the biggest one being that I have never made myself a priority. I’d skip the gym if I though a meal needed to be made, the washing machine needed emptying or the cat had been indoors too long. I don’t live alone so it’s not like no one else could do it, I just always took on the responsibility. But at the same time I’d still complain that I’m too fat, too ugly, not fit enough etc etc and get into horrible downward spirals (and what do I do at the bottom of that spiral? Stuff my face with crap.)
It’s very hard for me not to feel in control of things but I have had to look at it as taking control of the choices I make and my priorities and my health. So, I have joined the gym and I’ve started sessions with a PT to push me. I do yoga once a week and I’m trying to fit in at least 1 more workout during the week and do some long walks or be active at weekends. It’s not a lot I realise but it feels ok and manageable for me. I got a real shock when my body fat % was a lot higher than I thought it’d be and my metabolic age was 10 years older than I actually am. I’m not overweight per se but I need to control my eating and increase my energy and exercise levels. My overall goal is just to feel a bit better about myself. My body confidence is zero so much that I won’t even change in front of my bf because I’m so ashamed of my body. I don’t think I’ll ever be super confident but I’d love just to feel a little bit attractive.
One thing I learnt while I was drinking huel for my lunch was that I don’t feel full immediately after and that made me want to “eat” more. Now I know I need to go do something to distract myself to let the hunger fade.
I’m going to come back here and use this as a bit of accountability so I will be updating my weight loss and fitness progress and id love it if anyone has any good tips for me along the way to keep me motivated. Thanks guys!