Might be worth keeping an eye on this. I did 30 days exclusively Huel and didnāt have any problems diving straight back into a chicken dhansak on day 31.
Hope it feels better now!
Might be worth keeping an eye on this. I did 30 days exclusively Huel and didnāt have any problems diving straight back into a chicken dhansak on day 31.
Hope it feels better now!
Unless you are mildly gluten intolerant after allā¦?
@GTIPuG @Stole_My_Sweetroll wasnāt massively upset, just a slight stomach gurgle haha probably wasnāt used to digesting solid food? or it could be purely psychological.
LOL @ chicken dhansak on day 31 I cant imagine eating anything heavy after a week of HuelāI even feel a bit weird eating meat rn since itās the first time Iāve been vegan for a week??
Hahaha, in that case idk maybe Sweetroll is right about glutenā¦
Gosh I was the complete opposite, body literally starts shutting down without bacon and eggs!
Day 35
Weight: 58.3kg
Food Intake: (1495kcal)
Exercise: some walking & cycling for transport lel
Other observations:
~~ oh yes I forgot this, my goals moving forward from Huel week ~~
For this week, I may have 2 meals of Huel here and there, but Iām not going to go 100% this week. Just so I donāt get distressed and UNABLE to eat other food apart from Huel.
Sugar: My birthdayās in a week! Which lowkey scares me a bit because cake. So yeah, Iām going to remind myself that Iām NOT all or nothing. Iām not eating sugar now not because Iām forcing myself not to, but simply because I donāt want the sugar crash that comes with it. I WANT to take care of my body, to make it feel the beat it can. Iām honouring my cravingsāI just donāt crave it. So yes, Iām going to eat sweets, but I know I can live without them and be perfectly satisfied. And when I do eat sweets, Iāll savour every bite knowing I can eat them any time I want to.
Simple - Either smash that cake because itās your freakinā birthday and you deserve to enjoy it, or eat 100 cals a day less this week to make a little room for the extra next week
Hello, Iām new to starting Huel and yesterday I very much enjoyed reading your thread, including the one week 100% Huel.
Iām starting my journey today, and I just have a quick Q?
Do you factor in the drinks you consume everyday? I know you keep a food diary, but Iām just interested in what drinks you have throughout the day and if you include the calories from those into your daily allowance?
I normally only drink water, either hot or cold. But sometimes like a can of Pepsi (which Iām probably going to give up as theyāre heavy in calories!!)
Natalie x
Hello Luffers
Definitely include the calories from drinks if you are trying to stay within a calorie budget.
I recommend the MyFitnessPal app, which makes it much easier to keep track of what you are eating, and is easy to use.
The calories in various drinks can easily sneak up on you if you arenāt careful. (Milk in tea/coffee, hot chocolates, full sugar drinks, alcohol)
If i drink anything that contains calories, it goes into the app to keep track of it.
I found that the smoothies and juices i was drinking because they were āgood for meā, put me over my calorie budget by a good 500 kcal, easily.
Day 36
Weight: 58.0kg im trying so hard not to rejoice yet but THIS IS MY FIRST GOAL WEIGHT!!! that I set for myself to hit by the end of May! Ok now letās just keep this up for a coupla days xD
Food Intake: (1515kcal)
Exercise: 1.5h Ultimate Frisbee Match
Other Observations:
@GTIPuG hahaha thanks! Iāll probably try to fit cake into my calorie allowance and accept it just wonāt be a very balanced dayā¦especially since I have no idea what plans might happen! (like surprise cake/meals out with friends and where etc)
I guess I really do want to enjoy it, but am trying to figure out if eating so much junk will ACTUALLY be enjoyable or just make me feel like crapā¦and may feel pressured into eating junk because my friends bought it for me/want me to. (+gaining weight isnāt the best birthday present xD)
@Luffers Iām glad to hear that, hope itās been informative! (And good job on getting through 120+ posts ) Welcome to Huel!!
Re: Your q on liquid calories ā yup, youād be surprised how easily liquid calories can stack up, especially alcohol! And, Huelās liquid no? I donāt often drink soft drinks simply because I never grew up drinking them and would rather eat cake or cookies for the same calories
If you really do enjoy Pepsi, you donāt HAVE to give it up!
Feel free to ask if you have more questions
@Squizzle hahaha thanks man
Cool thread yo
Iām lurking here daily
Thank you!
Yesterday, I didnāt move off the couch, but just read your entire thread. I very much enjoyed reading your journey and your ups and downsā¦ I hope I can keep up with updating my own thread (Iāve started it just now)
I probably will still have the odd can of Pepsi, but never the zero/dietā¦ it just doesnāt taste right I like the real sugar taste I used to drink tons of smoothies and iced fruit drinks too, especially the Costa mango ones! I didnāt actually think to check their calorie content
Iāve just made my second shake, using the banana flavour and oh myā¦ itās so overly sweet! I love sweet thingsā¦ but I should have used half the little pouch!
I did actually just download the mfp app too. I will definitely start inputting everything Iām consumingā¦ should give me a good indication of either going over or under whilst Iām starting outā¦ is it easy to add the Huel? Iāve not got scales so going by scoops?!
Day 37
I havenāt had my Huel yet but I just had to share this hilarious exchange: so I was on the phone with my dad and said
"I love Huel!!!"
to which my poor daddy dearest replied
"I love you too!"
I hadnāt the heart to tell him otherwiseā¦I definitely do love him too though! #HuelSuperFans
Weight: 57.9-58.1kg
Food Intake: (1426kcal)
Other Observations:
Chris - I reckon this is about the best Huel journal Iāve come across here.
I love your energy, your use of language, your honesty and your consistent writing here. Brilliant!
Iām just coming to the end of my first year on Huel, and the past seven months or so Iāve been intermittent fasting, too, on a 16:8 basis. And I love it. I did want to lose a bit of weight, and in the first five months I went from 78kg to 69kg, which is right where I want to be. Maintaining that has been amazingly easy.
(Background - I donāt have a history or ED, or weight issues, or dieting, but a mate introduced me to Huel, and the big attraction initially was convenience and complete nutrition. Managing my weight down has been a bonus).
I weigh myself every morning, naked, as soon as I wake up, and write it down in a book. I also record how much Huel I have during the day (noted down in number of scoops) and note if I IFād or not, as Iām not too dogmatic about it.
Couple of FYIās for youā¦
I know itās a bit old skool, but I weigh daily in pounds, as they are smaller and more granular than kilos, and then on the first of the month I weight in pounds and stones and kilos.
Iāve learned not to worry about the small fluctuations day to day. Iāve seen me drop 2lbs after a poo! Iāve dropped a pound after a couple of hours working on a mateās farm. Thereās a lot of variables hour to hour, day to day, so try not to stress about the odd blip up - itās usually nothing.
Iāve also learned not to be too rigid about the IF. Sometimes a friend comes over and we get wired into chess, whiskey etc., and if the munchies strike late at night, as they sometimes do, Iāll just go with it, and the day gets a X in the IF column in my book. Overall, I IF 70% to 85% of the days in any given month.
Overall you seem to be really loving the journey youāre on, and thatās the main thing. Stress is not helpful, as youāve noted yourself, and stressing about small occasional weight gains or missing an occasional IF is something you can choose not to do pretty easily.
You keep writing - Iāll keep reading!
Day 38 (A Low Day)
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I donāt know whatās happening, but since itās the first time Iāve had goal weightsā¦ Iām very happy to be hitting my first goal weight. But I feel disordered irrational thoughts creeping in. Logically, I know this is all following the same trajectory. Iām losing weight gradually (not as fast as Huel 100% but I donāt think thatās socially sustainable anyways). Iām eating what I want. Iām still doing IF. I weighed myself a bit earlier. Iām happy to have maintained the weight I lost from last week. I know weight fluctuates.
But it seems like Iām getting subconsciously quite distressed about it all. Two nights in a row Iāve had dreams of eating sweets/binging/eating non-Huel foodā¦Iāve been kind of terrified to step on the scale and see that Iāve exponentially gained weightā¦I donāt know whatās happening. I thought I was doing so well being a lot more objective and calm when perceiving the scale. I thought I WASNT restricting myself from sweets āIāll eat it if I want to, I just donāt want toā: maybe I AM subconsciously developing an irrational fear of sugar. PLS HELP
Weight: 58.1kg
Food Intake: (at least 2107kcal)
Other Observations:
Troubleshoot/Plans for the After-Binge:
Hello! Iām following this thread as well and have been reading it with interest @jeffy89 thank you so much for documenting your interesting journey! I am coming back to this thread every couple of days to read your updates, as I myself have started eating Huel about two weeks ago for lunch only though I feel like Iām quite similar to you, Iām also tiny (5 foot 2 / 158 cm), tend to gain weight very easily and I am a graduate student so have studies / social life / drinking / stress and weird sleep patterns as well.
I also wanted to respond to some feedback/discussion regarding you taking a relaxed / chill disposition towards your weightloss journey (until here, I havenāt read the latest posts yet). I also really appreciate that youāre trying to ease yourself into weight loss without trying to feel restricted or pressured following your past eating experience, and I think you should hold onto that relaxed disposition.
Following @GTIPuG input, on the need for restriction for weight loss: For me, weight loss (or I donāt call it that either, I prefer to focus on body-fat / muscle ratio, how I look in my clothes and increases in stamina / body strength) is not about restriction at all. I love food and will never stop loving food, so as soon as I start feeling like Iām ārestrictingā myself, I know it will not be sustainable in the long run. Iāve lost 12 kg successfully without restricting any food (weighing 48kg / 106lbs at my lightest point), but changing daily eating habits, exercising (about 3-4 times a week of heavy exercise) and occasionally indulging. So instead of eating store-bought cookies/snacks/crisps, baking my own sweet potato egg muffins, or banana-egg pancakes or what not, and occasionally just indulging in whatever I want (for one meal though, not a whole day of that).
So @jeffy89 if youāll allow me to give you tips on what worked for me : I lost the most weight while I was still going to the pub nearly every night (for drinks, not food), eating out several times a week and going out clubbing about two times a week. The things I did that helped were: making tasty food that I liked and was healthy (I was eating more paleo then but am vegetarian now so eating more carbs) if you like cookies etc, how about trying to make these things yourself? e.g. peanut butter, honey and oatmeal bars take like 5 mins to make and 3 ingredients, and are tasty and healthy (even though high in calories) Fitmencook and blogilates have great tips on healthy, tasty snacks. Also, if you go out / drink multiple times a week, just replace your alcoholic drinks with ginger beer or soda water or something. And exercise does help, but try and do strength training instead if you donāt like exercise (you donāt need to go running or do cardio to lose fat, just train with some weights. Itās easier and less aversive than having to run for an hour, you get quick results (in fat loss) and donāt worry, you will not get bulky! trust me! if you build more muscle, you will lose fat mass in your body, making you look slimmer and toned, and burn more energy doing your daily activities. this is what helped me with weight loss. although I did also do HIIT workouts and I got to like running so did a 10 km run every week lol)
Also, I can understand that this is what you like, but I wouldnāt worry about weight so much. if youāre increasing muscle mass and losing fat, you might actually gain weight / maintain. I only weighed myself once a week or once every two weeks and it causes a lot less stress about these small fluctuations.
I have gained about 4kg again, but I am currently weighing 54 kg (119 pounds) at 5"2 and I am happy with that. Currently, I am not exercising much (just cycling about 40 minutes a day to the lab) and doing yoga (although trying to increase this) and just eating Huel for lunch and not restricting myself much otherwise, going out for drinks as well (but I donāt like eating cookies /sweets much, but I do love ice cream now and then).
Anyways, good luck with it!
@Lighteater Robert ā Wow, your post really made my day; itās such high praise and makes me want to keep writing
Thanks for your comments and advice, awesome to hear that Huel has been such a positive addition for you too. Itās great to have you following my little Huel journal-blog, read on!
@Clarius Whoa where did you lurkers suddenly come from Am very happy to read your in-depth response, I kinda always assumed I was writing to a blank-wall audience xD
Thank you for your tips, it helps reading about your experience too so I can see potential areas I can tweak my actions if I run into a dead-end.
And thanks for following me on my journey!
Honestly, I think Iāve said it before in this thread but with as little intentional offence as possible - Iād recommend therapy for getting over that final hurdleā¦ Something isnāt right up there and is setting you off, itād do wonders to get it sorted properly rather than battling your own mind.
Edit: Not sure who said it above but I honestly think engaging with weights/fitness would do wonders. It helps to see food as fuel for your gains rather than just something to eat and pass time. It helped me escape obesity and itās also helped a girl at work escape an ED. Sheās gone from eating 1200 cals a day and being paranoid to eating 2400 a day and gaining a booty and abs. Itās not hard to get into, /r/Fitness on Reddit has a cracking Wiki.
Day 39
Weight: 57.8-58.0kg sugar is not the devil! CICO. And yeah I know the weight may take a while to show but itās ok.
Food Intake: (1503kcal)
Exercise: Cycling & 1h Hip Hop
Other Observations:
@GTIPuG Hahaha donāt worry I take your comments with a pinch of salt so no offence taken; post away! Yeah, I HAVE gone for and am in therapy, since 2016. Trust me that post up was there was the tip of the ice berg, itās way better than what it used to be (imagine that, but every single day with more extremity and self destruction. Yep, thatās ED for you!). Unfortunately, itās kind of rare to ever be completely cured, and therapy isnāt magic. It just gives you tools you gotta apply to combat the ED and not let it take control of you, aka yea itās still a mind battle Oh well. Such is life. I keep trying.
Re: Fitness Iāll look into that more during my Summer holidays! Iām probably going to get into Krav Maga/MMA and condiitioning
Oi cheer up you! Look at it this way - If I put in 1KG of steak, the most I can physically gain is 1KG of weight the next day. If youāve eaten say 200g of sugar and it hasnāt shown on the scale, donāt expect it to. Gaining weight takes as much consistency as losing it, itās just much more easy to indulge in being consistent with eating too much. Easier said than done, I know, but chillllllll
Ahhh fantastic, if you get into it enough it can often become an addiction and lifestyle (in a good way!).