I’ve been using Huel for just over a week. I weighed myself this morning and even though I’ve been soooo good, I’ve lost nothing, not even half a pound. What am I doing wrong?!
I’m 33, female, lightly active, 5ft 5ins and weigh 10st 6lbs. I’d like to lose a stone if possible.
According to an online calculator I need to consume 1200cal per day.
The first 3 days of using Huel I was having 2 scoops per shake for breakfast and lunch, and a meal in the evening and tracking everything with my fitness pal, and staying within my calories. After 3 days I had put on 1.5lbs. So I cut down to 1.5 scoops of huel per shake, lost the 1.5lbs but nothing else.
Am I being too impatient, expecting too much too soon?
I can’t cut down to 1 scoop per shake, I’ll be starving
I have a health condition where I lose consciousness without warning up to 30 times per day, this can make it difficult to exercise, but I do have a rowing machine that is pretty safe for me to use even if I do blackout whilst using it. I have used it 3 times in the last week, although I’m ashamed to say I’m only lasting 15 minutes per session at the minute so I’m aware this isn’t enough to aid weight loss, but I’m working on increasing my time.
Sorry for the long post, just feeling a little disheartened and thinking I may be doing something wrong.
Any help would be great.
The thing with weight that is easy to forget, is that your weight is made up of several things:
your body mass
partially digested food
water (90% of your body is water if pop science is right about that, but more specifically I’m talking about water you’ve drunk, and the fact that a urination = “weight loss” in this sense)
clothes
other things I might not have thought of
Body mass is what you’re trying to lose, but on an individual day by day basis, the other factors have a much bigger effect on what the scales say that day, whereas body mass loss will be more noticeable over several weeks.
Especially with the heat at the moment, if you’ve any sense you’re drinking like crazy and there might be wild variations in weight day by day
My start was very similar to you. I’m also 33, my start weight was about 10st 7lb but I’m a bit taller at 5’7”. My goal is also to lose just over a stone. I do yoga most days but apart from that I don’t really exercise but do go for long walks or maybe a run every week or so. My calorie limit worked out at only 1100 a day when I calculated it for weight loss so I wonder if you’re still eating too much given that I’m taller than you (sorry! And sorry if I’m completely wrong, I’m just going on what the magical computer thingy told me) I guess conversely you might not be eating enough?
I’ve done the same as you with Huel - breakfast and lunch Huel and then a sensible dinner. During my first week I lost quite a few lbs and was super excited but then for the next week my weight kept going up, even though I was sticking within my calories. It took me a good few weeks to steady my weight loss but it has become more consistent. I’m just over a month in and I’ve lost 8lb. Your body needs to get used to it and your toilet routine might need to stabilise (lol sometimes TMI on here). Keep at it, a week is super early. Make sure you drink enough too!
Thank you both for your replies, it’s a great help.
Danlking, your points make sense, and yes I am too impatient, lol. I’m drinking like crazy because of the heat, but regardless of the weather am very good with water intake and always have a minimum of 2 litres per day.
I’ll keep going and hopefully by this time next week there will be some weight loss.
Salp123, that’s really interesting that your daily calories came out less than mine, I agree that I should be needing less due to me being shorter. I’ll do the calculator thing again and try a couple of different ones and see what it says.
How many scoops are you using per shake? I panicked when I saw my weight go up, lol. So dropped to 1.5 scoops per shake and I’m pretty hungry all of the time, haha.
Well done on your weight loss. 8lbs is good going
I’ll keep at it and not expect miracles over night
I’ll be soooo pleased when I lose this weight
I do 1 scoop for breakfast and 2 for lunch, but I do sometimes have a small snack in between, usually some quark with either a bit of honey or a stick of celery, or a couple of plain rice cakes. I do get hungry in the afternoon and sometimes I just have to eat something more as I start to feel a bit woozy! Sometimes though it’s just boredom hunger/thinking about food and I’m not actually that hungry! I’m trying to resist those pangs and have a cup of tea or something instead. Let us know how you get on!
The best advice is to record your weight daily (record, rather than just look at) and then track your progress weekly. For example, here’s a couple of weeks out of my weight log - on average per week I’ve lost a couple of pounds over this period, but on a day by day basis there are quite a lot of bumps.
It’s easy to get disheartened looking at daily progress, but if you keep a record over time it’s much easier to see the actual progress you’ve made
I just came across this post which is a link to an app that works out how many calories and therefore how much Huel to eat based on your height/weight etc.
I don’t have Huel for dinner but keep my evening meal around 500cal so I just put that in when it asked me to split the calories between meals and snacks. Wish I’d found this earlier!!
Hope the link works…
If weight loss is your goal, I would suggest weighing out the huel, at least initially. Those scoops can vary significantly in how much they hold. I know it’s a bit of a faff, but that way at least you know exactly what you’re eating.
I will definitely start weighing out my Huel, I have noticed that some do seem thicker than others so maybe that’s why.
Now I know that everyone has bumps in their weight daily I feel much better, lol. I’m sure if I stick to it I’ll get my weight loss soon. Also, losing a little bit each week will be much better than a rapid loss.
Thanks all for the motivation…really appreciate it xx
@Emmajane Do you mind telling me which calculator you used to calculate the calories? 1200 kcal seems absurdly low. Unless it’s your intake aim, in which case you should give it more time, since that would put you on a rough estimate at a 500-1500 kcal deficit which should lead to a rather fast body weight drop , assuming that your metabolism isn’t extremely slow. Best of luck with the weight loss!
Hi Creyzi56, I used the calculator recommended on the Huel FAQ page, calculator.net.
I have no idea what my metabolism is doing, bit after being so inactive due to a health condition I’ve been really struggling to lose weight, it’s not anything I’ve ever had to worry about before. So thought I’d try Huel and see how I get on. Fingers crossed it will work soon
Alright, due to the medical condition, you might want to take some tests regarding what food suits best for you. Sadly can’t remember the name of the test right now but could look it up later. Although I do believe that you should give it some time, 1-2 months maybe to get more conclusive information regarding huel diet. After that if you don’t see any results, it might be best to consult food specialist/doctors that could recommend a diet designed specially for you, if you really feel that you want to lose some weight. Fingers crossed that Huel works out for you though!
Hello,
If I’m getting this right, you’re doing 2 huel meals out of 3. Which is fine, just don’t let loose at dinner. You say you’re logging your food intake so I assume that includes your dinner. Make sure to include any snacks you might be having as those add up quick.
I’d recommend upping the huel intake to get parity with your regular calorie intake. Keep it at that for ~2 weeks to get adjusted to the diet, and only after that slowly start decreasing your Huel making sure not to compensate with anything else. This should make it easier to notice if your other eating habits suddenly change. Also, don’t starve!
I remember ~1 year of my life when I was eating only salad (or so I thought) without loosing any weight. Turned out the ~1 baguette plus regular coffee & chocs breaks were making up the bulk of my diet Who would have guessed chocolate and bread are very caloric foods?..
As others pointed out, weight fluctuates widely over short periods of time and you’ll need more data to notice trends. Keep it up!
Don’t feel disheartened 
Who would have guessed chocolate and bread are very caloric foods?.. 