I’ve ordered some Huel to see how I react to it. I have been a member on Muscletalk for the best part of 10 years and have huge respect for James, and that is actually the reason I took the plunge and decided to order.
I have a complex history with food and digestion but the basics are this. I have followed bodybuilding style diets for 10 years and always trained hard alongside. 3 years ago while prepping for a local competition I was derailed 2 weeks out from competing. I needed surgery and was out of action. The antibiotics they gave me damaged my digestive system and it hasn’t been the same since. I have tried everything I can think to resolve the problems, and I am much better as a result, but no where near where I was. I had to have a second surgery which also resulted in problems, but this time I was diagnosed with epilepsy (I had a seizure the day after the operation). I received a 1 year ban, medication for life (lamotrigene) and I also lost my job. Woohoo!
As a result I have changed my priorities. I no longer want to pursue bodybuilding or strength sports. I just want to feel good again and my appetite and digestion are not great and very inconsistent which I feel is the foundation to achieving my goal. My primary goal is to get healthy. I am hopeful that huel can help me, although I know it’s not necessarily directed towards people in my situation and not a ‘fix’. I hope it allows me to consume the level of nutrition I need and begin the healing process.
I intend to keep this post updated with how I am finding the product and my experiences. I am unsure how best to implement Huel and would welcome advice. I do not wish to remove all solid foods. 1-2 meals per day with huel making up the remaining calorie requirement was my plan but I am open to suggestions.
I’m 200lbs, 14% body fat, 28 years old. I resistance train 2x and swim 1-2x per week currently which is the minimum I need to do to maintain some of my former physique without killing myself. (my body and mind both need a break and to get healthy again). I currently consume 2-2.5kcal depending on appetite and how my digestive system is behaving.
Sorry for the long post but I felt it necessary to paint a picture.
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about the problems you have had.
What is your current goal? Reduce fat, maintain or grow muscle? I assume maintain, 14% bf is pretty good.
But can you check your calorie requirement. I’m only 5’ 10’ and 156 lbs and my daily requirement with light active (3 times per week) is 2200 cals.
In terms of Huel I personally like using it during the day to replace my breakfast, morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. This saves me time and effort. Then eat a “traditional food” evening meal with the family.
My goal is pretty basic right now - I need to make sure I’m consuming enough calories and adequate nutrition to fuel what I’m currently doing. It’s not something I have ever struggled with until the last few years. So, I guess I’m maintaining whatever I have left of my physique! I have been slowly shrinking and seeing my literal body of work slowly melt away feeling helpless to stop it.
My relationship with food used to be a good one but now not so much. Prepping meals and sticking to a rigid plan was no issue at all but since my life has forced me down a different path I have struggled to adapt and continue to move forward. I used to live to eat, but these days it’s more eat to live.
Having food which is easy to consume and has good macros and micros will hopefully make it easier to get the nutrition my body requires. I honestly never thought I’d be trying something like this as I was always very wary of any powdered meal replacement since 99% are packed with rubbish.
The way you use it sounds like the way I will also be using it
With regards to calorie requirements I need more than I have been eating for some time, but my weight has stabilised at 200lbs or there abouts, so I can only assume my metabolism has slowed down. For reference I used to maintain on 3500kcal but had a manual job in construction and trained 4x per week. Now I struggle to get 2k in me because I just don’t enjoy eating.
Welcome to the Huel forum. Sorry about your problems.
It will be interesting to see how your digestive system deals with Huel, but I’m confident Huel will help you reach a desired energy intake and you’ll feel energised.
My Huel finally arrived today and I have to say, it tastes a lot better than I thought it was going to. I’m used to drinking greens drinks or home made shakes (protein powder, oats, peanut butter etc) and this tastes just as good as they do. It tastes ‘clean’ but with enough of an edge to make it tasty too. I think the amount of vanilla in there is spot on.
I will be using Huel at 300-400g quantities daily and making up my extra calories and macros with 2-3 snacks/meals.
That is really interesting and helpful to me to read about your situation. I started Huel today to see if it would benefit me in any way as I have an autoimmune disease(Behcets) for which I take fairly hefty medication. The disease means my body is in parts constantly inflamed & painful. I have a fair amount of tissue damage in my eyes and various other organs including my gut. Its painful and I have never had successful treatment to resolve it. I have tried many food “programs” with little success. When I read about Huel I decided to try it and I am hopeful because of the purity of the compound and the way in which you use it.
My plan is to use it twice day and gradually move to full time use for a period of a couple of weeks or so to gauge the benefit.
If anyone else has any similar experience I would really appreciate a couple lines to let me know how you have got on with Huel.
A few days in now and I’m loving it - 120g in 600ml of chilled filtered water keeps me full for around 2.5-3 hours and tastes really good.
I’ve been using 360g daily (3x120g) and have managed to get the calories I need into my body, and more importantly, I have had a massive reduction in digestive stress over the few days I have been using it. I haven’t managed to get to this stage for a long time since my health declined - getting 2,500+ kcal and managing to digest it without having to go to the toilet 4-5 times a day…I am VERY pleased so far.
Its great to hear you are doing so well and reflects my own experience of Huel so far. I started on Monday and have noticed that bloating, gut pain and general discomfort have reduced. It has been a very long time since I have felt like this. I have stepped put to using Huel 3 times day as I like the taste and the effect it has on my gut. I am using chilled filtered water with ice cubes blitzed in a nutribullet. It is so easy to use and knowing that I am getting everything I need nutritionally is a major factor for me.
No digestive issues at all for the last few days, but upon waking this morning it’s not so great (terrible actually!). Hoping it’s just a one off upset stomach unrelated to Huel. I still plan on having my Huel so we will see how that goes.
Hope you are feeling better. I had a one off upset too but it passed in a few hours and since then I have felt great. I have feeling it was just my body getting used to a considerable change in my diet. On Huel 95% of each day now and I notice more benefit the longer I take it. My blood sugar has levelled out, no dips, I have more energy and generally feel well. I’ve lost the puffy look around my face and I think I may have lost couple of pounds.
I have found that a small quantity of fresh ginger blitzed in with Huel not only makes it taste great, (I like the taste as it is, but a little variety is good) but aids the digestion.
Just a quick update to say everything is still good.
Using 300-400g Huel a day along side a couple of meals and my digesitve system seems to be coping fine with it. Something it definitely wasn’t doing with whole food. I am finding I have a better relationship with food now and actually look forward to my meals. Food for me is primarily a fuel source and something which has been very frustrating with my digestive problems. Try cooking and eating 5-6 times a day and knowing you’re just going to end up on the toilet and it’s all a wasted effort…very demoralizing and the way you look at food changes.
My 1 problem is that the transfer on the shaker is almost totally worn away now and it’s very sticky! If you guys could throw a replacement in with my next order it would be appreciated.
@Richie Yes I will certainly send you a new shaker with your next order.
I have similar problem with the logo wearing away, have your been washing it in the dishwasher?
If you do the logo won’t last long. There should have been a note inside the shaker saying “handwash only” which is a bit annoying I agree, but unfortunately it the only way to preserve the logo. Long term we will find a way to make them dishwasher safe.
Thanks! The shaker hasn’t been in the dishwasher, I guess it’s the temperature that’s the issue? Either way I appreciate you sending another one out next time I order.
I do have some feedback from others regarding the product and it’s mostly to do with the fact that is isn’t gluten free. Is there a reason you didn’t go down that route? I’m sure you have considered it and just wanted to know. Seems like you’ve left part of the potential market out.
