I have a tendency to waffle, so going to try and keep this short(ish)!
I’m 25, female, and live and work (office job) in London.
At 5"7 (172cm) and 13 stone (82kg) I am currently hovering at an undesirable BMI of about 28
I do absolutely bugger all exercise, sometimes hit 10k steps per day but more often than not somewhere around 5-7k thanks to my commute. I’ve finally cancelled the gym membership I’ve been paying for but not using for over a year. I blame all of this on fatigue and an ankle injury but it’s exacerbated by laziness!
I’ve been somewhat fixated on my weight/size since I was very young, but that hasn’t stopped me from getting bigger and bigger over the years! I remember weighing just over 70kg when I first went to the gym around age 15, which to me sounds very slim but was still only just under the maximum healthy BMI of 25!
I absolutely love food, especially carbs and dairy, and have got to be quite a good cook which is definitely the main source of my problems. Thankfully I don’t have much of a sweet tooth at all and would take savoury first every single time, but I do associate favourite foods with happiness too which makes them hard to resist -
dinner at home with my boyfriend tonight (we don’t really “do” valentines, but conceded that using it as an excuse will do) is pizza made from scratch, including the base and sauce. YUM!
I ordered Huel on a bit of a whim, hoping really for some quick weight loss to get me motivated and to help shrink my appetite as I could probably eat more in a sitting than most people I know. So far I’ve been using it for a week or so, blending up a batch of unflavoured with a banana and some frozen berries in the evenings and trying to have nothing other than that from morning until dinner time, so spreading out 800ml or so of quite thick Huel over the day, having a cupful when I get hungry at work. I then have a normal dinner but a smaller portion than I used to. Not weighed in yet but hoping to have lost a tiny bit in the first week!
Not sure I’ll stick to it, but quite like the idea of posting here regularly to make myself more accountable and track any progress. Can’t find anyone on here with a lifestyle that sounds like mine so hoping this may help someone else too
Welcome to the Huel Community! you’ll find loads of helpful advice and great people here to spur you on. Weight loss can be pretty tricky so I’m hoping we can help you out. Healthy eating habits need to become a sustainable part of your lifestyle to keep weight off - looking for a quick fix will be just that, only a quick fix.
Using Huel for weight loss is about calorie control, which Huel makes quite easy by being completely measurable - 1g = 4kcal. Be sure to check out our Guide to Fat Loss here.
The update that no one asked for - weighed in before dinner today and just dipped under 80kg! First time in a v long time I have an annual hospital appointment on Monday and hoping to weigh in under 80kg for the first time since I started having them 3 years ago! Fingers crossed I don’t ruin it all with booze and food at the weekend…
Thanks for the replies (though they’re coming across a little patronising, I have to say!)
I know willpower > fingers crossed, maybe I should have elaborated to add that I was just pointing out that this is a factor of being a twentysomething in London. I can control what I eat all day every day, but when it comes to socialising it’s more difficult to be the awkward one.
Going for dinner with 4 people where we all share bottles of wine and order from the same set menu is an easy even split… me being the one that orders a salad is a pain, and reminds me of when I had no choice but to do this when I was a poor student going for dinner with older (and better off) friends.
Just need to find a balance - and would love to know if anyone else has figured out a good way to handle this?
I’ve stuck religiously to my 2 meals a day huel, with a smaller normal meal for the third. Swig of huel if I get hungry, although I did go wild and have some carrot sticks and hummus just now - I needed to crunch
In terms of how I’m getting on with huel, it’s actually been pretty easy and pleasant! I’ve been throwing bananas in every time, they really help with texture and flavour. Usually a pinch of cinnamon too, and I’ve just received PB2 that I ordered and am looking forward to adding a little nuttiness too! Don’t feel desperate to try going down the savoury route yet, quite happy to just think of what I’m having as a smoothie and get on with it’
Will try to resist weighing myself again until Sunday, it’s easy to get obsessed with the numbers. Feeling a little “lighter” already if that makes sense, although once I get past being a little “bunged up” in the bowel department I’m hoping that will be even more noticeable!
Stick with it, you’re doing really well! I’ve lost over 9 stone in my weight loss journey and the one thing I quickly learnt was to not be swayed by what friends are eating and drinking ( I gave up the booze as well) Its real easy for someone to say ‘Oh go on, treat yourself…’ etc etc and to feel like you should. Make a plan, stick to it and you’ll reach your goal. I agree with @GTIPuG alot of it is will power. The only way to loose weight is to be in a calorie deficit xx
Good luck with your journey. I wanted to add a different suggestion which may or may not help. I’ll try not to be condescending . Have you thought of maybe watching some good documentaries on food etc. Two come to mind, What the Health and also Food choices.
You seem to have really good will power and I found these two docs very informative and interesting. They opened my eyes as to what is in food and to what food makers do to their products in order for us to want more of them.
I am on huel pretty much 100 % with fruit as well and also Vegan and am very fit/healthy which huel definitely helps with but watching docs like the ones I’ve mentioned really help me at times when I maybe have a craving for something not very healthy as it sort of instills a sort of determination not to give in and eat rubbish. There is also getting the balance right of eating healthy and eating to maintain or lose weight and having the odd treat as well. I just know that watching these documentaries gives me more information as to making the right choice. The truth about alcohol is also another one.
Maybe these would help your willpower when out for a meal and a drink.
I used to be a 14 st 6 lb heavy smoker (I’m only 5 ft 6 ) now I’m a 10 st 2lb non smoker and avid runner and feel fantastic so it can be done and I wish you well on your journey all the best Kev
Hi! I am 34 but the exsact weight and height as you…and female …and would like support too! I do a lot of exercise tho… and I hate cooking…I exercise most nights of the week and work a physical job… I’ve been using Huel on and off for around 6 months I love it but I’m a bit of a binge eater and some times can’t control myself around Huel either (I really love it just plain and lumpy!) I’ve started using a app called - ‘ate’ to record my food each day… it’s great because it’s stopped me obsessing over every calorie and has a simple ‘on track’ ‘off track’ arrow for each meal… so rather than thinking ‘I’ve mucked it up I’m gona eat everything’ I think ‘let’s get back on track! … I really recommend it if your the same
Unfortunately I’m a bit of an information hoarder (for want of a better way to describe it) and during a few weeks signed off work after an op last year, I think I watched every documentary on Netflix that I could get my hands on, so have seen those and more! I may well re-watch a couple and see if my mindset is better now, but I am really in the position of being well informed and just not putting the knowledge into practice haha
I’ve always cooked a lot of my food from scratch so have a good understanding of what’s in it, but it’s when I have a craving or just want to eat something really tasty when I’m out that I struggle to control myself! Over the weekend I had a meal out on Friday, a small portion of homemade pizza on Saturday, and a roast at my mum’s on Sunday. I just made smarter choices, filled more of my plate with veg than the other stuff, and ate Huel for the rest of my meals, so I averaged out my calories intake to be pretty much on track.
Weighed in at 78kg at my appointment yesterday (Monday) so it’s obviously been doing the trick! I’m being put on a medication that interacts badly with alcohol, so that will make it much easier to cut down as I know it will be risky if I do drink.
Hi there, body twin! Although I’m willing to bet we’re built rather differently since you’re so active and I’m so… not. As I’m starting at such a horrifically poor fitness level, with a long-term injury that stops me running, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks concentrating on sorting out my diet. I’ve found a local yoga class that I’m going to try and go to once a week, just to get used to moving a bit more, and carry on increasing the amount I walk (when getting something from a further-away shop on the weekend, I ended up doing a 4 hour round trip on foot with some exploring the local area, when I could’ve just got a bus and done it within 40mins.)
What sort of exercise do you like? I used to go to the gym but get bored/frustrated easily and I end up finding excuses not to go. I get quite bad fatigue from an illness too, so I’m going to start trying some more stuff I can do at home then it doesn’t seem quite so off-putting!
Thanks for the app recommendation, I’ll definitely look at it. Found myfitnesspal far too cumbersome so have taken to just mentally adding up my calories over the course of the day instead, but it would be good to keep a record somewhere.
Yes I write a rough calorie amount under each picture on the ‘ate’ app so I can go back and round up roughly what I ate… but its just alot easier… takes alot less time and has made me less obessesive with stuff!
Well done on adding in the extra walking and slowly increasing exercise… thats definitly the way to do it! I was always a larger kid and teen and i only really started regular exercise about 5 or 6 years ago…when I started yoga!!
That really really helped me feel like I could move and not so long after I found running! At my happist I was doing alot of yoga and running 15+ miles a week… sitting around 10 / 10.5 stone !
Then a year and a half ago iI injured my food (planta fascitis) and went from running 10 miles as a easy route to not being able to walk… Im a self employed dog walker and couldn’t not go to work so spent months hobbling in pain and healing very slowly… got down and depressed for about 5 months once the pain had gone I found the gym… started doing weight/kettlebells/cycling … anything that was less strain on my foot.
I have to do stuff in a class.I dont have the willpower to make myself work out with out a teacher shouting at me… so maybe try some classes if your finding the gym boring?
And that takes us to today… 3 stone heavier than a year and a half ago and now I want to run again… the only thing that will make me drop weight and feel great!
I have run on and off last year the odd parkrun but nothing much over 5ks… ! I do so much on my feet they still twinge and ache… and weights tend to even hurt them so I think the way to stop my feet hurting is to drop weight… carrying this extra fat is not good for me
And as of today ive decided im giving up all my gym and classes and am gona slowly start running again! (and yoga) . BUT the main issue for me is eating! Its that i need to get under control… Il be good for a week or two maybe drop a few pound then go crazy and put on half a stone in a week! Im not trying to diet im trying to change habits but its so hard!
I can’t rate Huel enough but a few times ive had 3 in a row within 5 minutes… (3 scoops each with 500ml) because once i start binging i cant stop… and i love the taste of it so much… so altho its a great product i do know it actually dangorous for me because its way easier to consume too many calories drinking than eating… haha…
. Have you thought of maybe watching some good documentaries on food etc. Two come to mind, What the Health and also Food choices.