I have recently started Huel and I’d like to commend your product, as it is a truly great meal replacement shake. I have a couple of questions which you might be able to help with;
I am finding that a diet predominantly consisting of Huel leaves me feeling uncomfortably hungry after an hour or two of consumption; I am slim and have a fast metabolism. Thus, my question is regarding the effect of calorie consumption in liquid form. Liquids digest quicker…does this mean that calories through Huel aren’t as significant as those in food? Would I need to consume more calories to maintain my weight were I to live off this drink, as it digests quicker and leaves me hungry?
Secondly, is there any negative effect of 100% huel diet using the original flavour - in terms of the sweetener content and consuming that too much. It is a very sweet drink and almost makes me feel like it must be unhealthy if consumed in excess.
Huel has protein, fat and fibre which will cause it to digest more slowly than if it was just pure juice, for example. However, I think it might possibly digest more quickly than a solid meal, just because it’s so finely ground up and therefore the stomach has less to do. I’m not a nutritionist, doctor or scientist, so I can’t say for sure. But that’s my theory anyway.
What I find works well for me is to have a decent amount of it for breakfast, then drink small amounts of it throughout the day. So I make up 3 litres of it, drink 1 litre for breakfast, then 2 hours later I start having 250ml every hour all the way up until dinner time when I have a normal evening meal. This sounds like an oddly specific way to drink it, but it works extremely well for me. My energy level is totally constant all day and I don’t get hungry.
Everyone has their own way though, so do whatever works for you
Liquids to tend to be absorbed a bit quicker I think but a calorie is a calorie - your body is getting the same energy and nutrition from Huel as it would from other healthy foods, you aren’t getting less calories from it than is stated on the nutrition advice.
It might well be that your base metabolic rate is a bit higher than average and you might need to tweak the amount you consume balanced against whether you want to lose/gain/maintain your weight, especially if you’re active/athletic. Taking it little and often is also a great way to combat hunger, as well as considering healthy filling snacks in between Huel meals.
As for the sweetener aspect, I think Sucralose is the agent they use in the original flavouring, which is widely used. I’m no expert so you may want to do some Googling but I’m sure I’ve heard it mentioned that it doesn’t interact with or accumulate in your body and so is much “better” for you than other artificial sweeteners.
