I’ve just had my lap band WLS and am contemplating using huel in the liquid diet phase and beyond. I want something nutritionally correct as my goal is athleticism not simply to lose weight. Does anyone have any experience of using this following WLS? My gastric band provider had never heard of it and Instead recommend products like slim fast or other low cal meal replacement shakes
Hi Maeve, I hope everything goes well for you. I’ve already lost over a stone by replacing one meal a day with huel. Although i have made other changes to my diet as well. Personally as a diabetic I would go for Huel as it has less sugars than Slimfast. You have to look at the details in the ingredients list and understand that anything that ends in an ‘ose’ is a sugar, such and glucose, fructose, lactose etc is a sugar in one form or another. There are also hidden sugars like maltodextrin which have the same glycemic index (GL) as sugar and if you are diabetic will give you a sugar spike. When they say on the packet that there is no added sugar, it’s very misleading as there is already sugary ingredients in it, they just haven’t added any more ‘sugar’. As far as I’m concerned sugar is as bad as an illegal drug. Trust me I’ve been trying to give it up for years. And yes you need sugar in your diet but there is more than enough natural sugar in vegetables. So for all that I would try Huel over slimfast. If you try it, i would suggest not chugging it down in one go. It is a meal not just a drink. Go for a third up to a half in at a time, then leave it for half an hour then try some more. If you don’t like the watery taste, do a 50/50 mix with semi skimmed milk, then reduce the milk a little each time until you find a happy medium. Also buy an original vanilla pack with the flavour booster taster pack and try those to see which flavours you like.
Good luck.
Hi Maeve I strongly recommend you take a print out of the list of ingredients in Huel to your consultant and / or GP.
Huel is high in fibre and because of the ground oats, it is not completely liquid and some small particles and tiny lumps remain after mixing.
Certainly it is not as liquid as Slimfast which is much more easily absorbed.
Huel however is much healthier than slim fast or similar, but may not be suitable (I actually really don’t know - I have no knowledge or experience of gastric bands, but do know that Huel takes more effort to digest than other liquid drinks).
Maybe initially consider the Huel RTD which is a much smoother texture and is more of a liquid diet and is also lower in fibre so may be more suitable.
And move onto powder Huel once you are able to digest some solid food.
Maybe @JamesCollier or @Dan_Huel might have some specific knowledge on this (?)
In my non-expert opinion, half a Huel RTD diluted with water would probably be a good starting place.
@Maeve I just typed “gastric” into the top search bar and quite a few threads came up from people who have had gastric bypass or gastric bands.
Maybe have a read through these threads - you may find someone who has gone through a similar experience and you can message them for some personal advice 
Hi @Maeve
If you’re having Huel with a gastric band, stick to small portions and consume at regular times. Huel’s low GI will be advantageous in respect of a risk of dumping syndrome. Do bear in mind that Huel is nutritionally complete at 2,000 calories, so if you’re having a lower calorie intake then you might not be having sufficient of all vitamins and minerals.