Huel 100%: 1 Week Challenge (Take II)

#1

–Background–
Tl;dr: My general Huel log can be found here 📓 Daily Journal: Intermittent Fasting (16:8), ED Recovery and Weight Loss. Been eating Huel for the last 225 days since April, and have documented the process.

–The Plan–
Not in a good place mentally and habitually regarding eating habits rn, and figure doing a 1 week Huel ‘detox’ would be great for both those aspects.

  1. Keeping a daily log for these 7 days to keep me accountable.
  2. Recording side-effects and thoughts and observations as I go 100% Huel for the 2nd time.
  3. Intermittent Fasting 12-8pm
  4. Consuming: 2x 112g Huel + 1 Huel bar + 60g Huel granola as my base, but if I’m still hungry I can have another bar or granola.

Feel free to join me if you’d like to do a week of 100% Huel! :smiley:

📓 Daily Journal: Intermittent Fasting (16:8), ED Recovery and Weight Loss
#2

Good stuff Chris. I’ll be keeping an eye out for how you’re getting on. Good luck. I’ve just completed 4 weeks of 100% and the benefits have been great. :muscle:t3:

#3

Day 1.1

Weight: 52.3kg

Food Intake: (1535kcal in)

  • 2 Americanos + 3 mints
  • 112g NewHuel, RaspberryFD
  • 60g Huel Granola
  • 1.5 Huel chocolate orange bars
  • 112g NewHuel, 3g MochaFS

Activity: (1805kcal out)

  • 8931 steps total

Other Observations:

  • Not gonna focus on exercise yet, gonna get my Huel in as my priority.
  • 1.28pm: Finished my first Huel shake of the day. Feeling hopeful and motivated.
  • Oh I realised I didn’t even write what my weight goal was… because tbh I don’t even have one right now. It’s stopped being about losing the weight a while back, although I’d be more than happy to start losing the weight gradually again. I suppose I mostly just want to
  1. Have a regular 100% Huel schedule as priority
  2. Bc discipline & then going to my activities
  3. And if it comes with weight loss, great. If not, it’s actually fine because I’m relatively okay with my body now and I can always increase exercise next time. Would be cool if I could get to say 51.8kg by the end of the week, especially since I haven’t gone below 52 yet haha
  • 3.53pm: Ate my Huel snacks at 2.18pm because I am very tired and am procrastinating doing work and hence was just snacky.
  • 5.24pm: Not craving any food tbh, just very sleepy. Feeling motivated to get stuff done and dance and do pushups etc.
  • 7.10pm: Actually feeling very satiated. Food pictures look nice, but I don’t feel the urge to want to eat them. Gotta love Huel!
  • 8.28pm: Full but not overly so. Done with food for the day!
  • 9.20pm: My stomach feels weird/hurts a bit…
  • 12.17am: Have been q hungry since 11+pm but it’s manageable!
  • NO BP WHO DIS
  • 12.29am: My digestive system is definitely getting used to the extra fibre—I can feel the difference in the general abdomen-bowel area LOL

@MarkyT thank you!!

@Coup Fair enough; sorry if you feel I’m spamming the forum! I think I just wanted to categorise it away from a 1-Huel-a-day log. Also for people who’d wanna see a shorter week-long experience.
And personally it also serves as a break away from the disorganised mental struggles there; I’m planning to focus more on the Huel experience over the ED thoughts on this log :slight_smile:
But yeah I do get your point, sorry!

#4

I don’t wish to dampen your spirits Chris but I don’t think it’s necessary to have a separate thread for this 1 week challenge.

You already have a diary thread that blogs your daily goings-on which has a regular following and the people who will want to follow what you are doing now will already be following you in that thread.

As well, once this week is over this thread will sort of become redundant as you go back to the other thread.

#5

Day 1.2

Weight: 51.7kg great positive reinforcement to keep going

Food Intake: (1230kcal in)

  • 112g NewHuel, ToffeeFD
  • 1/2 chocolate orange Huel bar
  • 60g Huel Granola
  • 1/2 coffee Huel bar kinda bitter, like the coffee kind of bitter. I like it better than the cocoa one but less than the cocoa orange bar.
  • 1/2 of (112g NewHuel, 3g MatchaFS)
  • 14g Huel Granola

Activity: (2185kcal out)

  • 1.5h ultimate frisbee
  • 13,954 steps total

Other Observations:

  • Didn’t sleep well yesterday—had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and woke up early so 5h 42min of weird non-REM sleep apparently.
  • Although BMI should be taken with a pinch of salt, mine’s gone from an overweight 26.2 to 22! :slight_smile: Aaand I now quite like dressing up haha, don’t have to feel like crying every time I try on clothes :’)
  • Huel’s been the perfect mental and physical antidote to my ED bullshit. It’s also freed me to function better in life, be productive, go to classes, go for activities etc. Don’t have to plan around meals either :’)
  • MY HUEL COFFEE BARS HAVE ARRIVED AND SO HAS MY BERRY HUEL!!! Ahh I’ve been waiting to try this for forever!
  • Haven’t had a BM & my stomach still feels a bit odd but ehh it’s okay.
  • Was gonna eat more Huel (has 1/2 left) but didn’t bc the kinda-bf came over and idk I don’t NEED to; not that hungry
#6

Think this needs a mini celebration! Hoping it stays below 52 all week for you :slight_smile:

#7

Day 1.3

Weight: 51.7kg

Food Intake: (1555kcal in)

  • 1/2 Huel coffee bar + 1/2 Huel Orange Bar
  • 1/2 Mocha NewHuel, 1/2 BerryHuel
  • 1/2 Huel Orange Bar
  • 1/2 of (112g ChocFS NewHuel)
  • 1 Huel Coffee Bar
  • 2 small mints + 2 big mints

Activity: (2347kcal out)

  • 2h rock & roll
  • 1/2h hip hop
  • 15,643 steps total

Other Observations:

  • No BM yet which is annoying but ehh it’ll come
  • 9.45am: Had a 9am lecture and for some reason decided to eat a Huel bar for breakfast bc I saw another girl eating breakfast LOL. And also was a bit hungry from not eating that much yesterday. It’s not tragic (I’m able to stop despite wanting to physically eat more) but I do prefer the ease of not thinking about or considering food before noon. Bc now I have to actively tell myself that I’m not gonna eat more (lunch) til 12.
  • It’s kind of interesting how I see weight loss now: I’m looking at my 51.7 and thinking that it’s largely food weight that’s gone (since Huel), and recognise that fat takes longer and a cumulative caloric deficit. Conversely, gaining weight is also cumulative caloric surplus. So yeah I guess I’m not getting as emotionally affected about my weight in both directions; I’m not super excited of having “lost weight” bc I know it needs to last for a coupla days before it actually counts.
  • 5.05pm: Being exhausted doesn’t help—I lowkey went into a slight binge mode on Huel…but I think I’m done for the day. 9am-5pm is still an 8h window so if I’m peckish later I’ll drink tea or chew gum or mints :slight_smile:
  • 10.53pm: HUNGREH. Had mints.
  • Don’t want my cals to go too low next time, bc if made me hungry this morning—>broke fast early—>started next fast early—>IM HUNGRY. Ugh it broke my routine a bit.

@MarkyT it may have taken a second shot, but 3 DAYS BP FREE!!! Phewww this is new territory!

#8

Well done with the weight! Really chuffed for you :grin:

#9

Hey Chris, I’m a long-time lurker who genuinely only comes back to see how you’re getting on. I’m gonna jump in here and say I couldn’t care less about what you weigh, but I am SUPER PROUD of how you’ve handled all the recent ED craziness and pulled back control. That shit is hard to do (generally speaking from a mental health perspective, I don’t have any personal experience of ED) but you are bossing it!! I am genuinely so happy for you that you’ve broken the b/p cycle, and I hope that you are giving yourself the credit you deserve x

#10

What Pavonine said!! :+1::kissing_heart:

#11

Day 1.4

Weight: 51.2kg whoa this is kinda cool! was planning on hitting 51.5 by the end of Nov

whoa HOOOOOLD UP I didn’t realise this, but if this weight remains, I’ll have lost 10.2kg?? For some reason the number ‘10’ has been on my mind for the longest time, just seemed like a nice round number to lose. Also 15.

image
E3A28CDF-1F17-4264-A0AE-A4CFA071EF67.jpeg750×461 75.2 KB

Food Intake: (1540kcal in)

  • 110g BerryHuel logged in MFP…does berry more cals?
  • 60g Huel Granola
  • 1 Huel Orange Bar my last one :’(
  • 1/2 of (112g NewHuel, ChocFS)
  • 60g Huel Granola
  • 45g Huel Granola
  • 3 mints

Activity: (1728kcal out)

  • 7437 steps total

Other Observations:

  • BMs still irregular.
  • I had a dream that after 3 days bp free I decided to go on a binge…but then I realised I did NOT want to break my Huel week, because even if I really wanted to binge I can do that next Monday LOL.
  • Not b/p-ing is doing wonders for my being able to go to all my activities and lectures and actually functioning like a normal human!!!
  • Also my weight trend is a lot more predictable and controllable since I don’t have to worry about calories retained from bp.
  • Made BerryHuel with less water and it tastes great! Love the subtlety of it, could defo drink it on its own :slight_smile:
  • 5.56pm: Having binge urges…not so much wanting to binge but more of kinda wanting to eat something non-Huel.
  • I’m having brain fog again!! Feels like this happens q a bit when I go 100% Huel hmm.
  • 11pm: Today hasn’t been the best day. Exhausted, unproductive, binge urges, lurking around looking at food, BUT I didn’t b/p so well, that’s a plus.
  • Am really stressed out about all my deadlines and just want to bp to get my mind off it :frowning:
  • 1am: Ugh I’m just so stressed all I have on my mind is bp bp bp because I want to take myself out of it all and give myself a reason to fall behind—it’s because of my ED not because I actually so incompetent

@Pavonine oh wow thank you so much!! Comments and people like you are what keep me going, and also make my day! :relieved:
(Also lowkey makes me wonder who’s lurking/been long-time lurkers—feel free to say Hi!! hehe)

#12

:wave: :+1:

(Man of few words)

#13

Yay! Well done with the weight…and everything else :grin::+1:

#14

I’m genuinely over the moon for you Chris. This is epic news. Well done. Onwards! :muscle:t3:

#15

Day 1.5

Weight: 51.1kg how even??

Food Intake: (1531kcal in)

  • 112g Huel, ChocFS i forgot how good this was!!!
  • 1 Huel coffee bar
  • 60g Huel granola
  • 40g Huel Granola
  • 110g BerryHuel
  • 4 mints

Activity: (1777kcal out)

  • 8005 steps total

Other Observations:

  • I legit dreamt I was binging…but nO I WILL MAKE THESE 7 DAYS AT LEAST. If I want to bp on Monday I will, but for now, one day at a time.
  • It’s funny that bp urges can be so strong that it almost overrides my 7-year-long desire to lose weight. I mean, I should be esctactic that I’ve “lost” 1.2kg in the 4-5 days I’ve stopped b/p-ing, yet…
  • BUT BACK TO HUEL: I love the variety; it’s not getting old actually. I forgot how great Original with Choc tastes!! + the granola is fantastic for mindless snacking while working, and the bars are so portable and doesn’t look weird to others (since they’re familiar with the concept of granola bars).
  • Physically, am not craving any foods. Mentally craving a pear crumble thing that I bought on impulse for £0.85 from hall. Not going to eat it now, but yeah.
  • Have a friend’s birthday tomorrow; will probably be saving a slice of cake for next week instead because I HAVE COMMITTED TO THIS HUEL WEEK yus.
  • I feel like I’m getting slimmer wahoo

I have a Huel shuelf hehehe

image
DF4F10F3-994B-4EAD-8B81-6D83E5B1B0AB.jpeg3024×4032 1.97 MB

#16

Ppl with addictions can have dreams they are using when they quit… Seems you are experiencing a similar thing! While it might not be pleasant & can seem pretty effed up, I think it’s actually a brilliant sign that you are recovering. Keep going!!! :ok_hand::+1::clap::v::purple_heart:

#17

@VenusFly oh that’s true! didn’t think of it that way, and yeah I suppose it really is a bit like going cold turkey from an addiction :confused: was disorienting though; thought I’d failed and given in when it was actually a dream haha

#18

Yeah it’ll be exactly like dreaming you are on a massive bender & getting wasted, then waking up & discovering you are stone cold sober! Highly disorientating! But here in stone cold physical reality you are doing great & your brain is trying to sort itself out by completing the b/p ‘thought circuits’ in your sleep. I don’t have direct personal experience of the dream thing, but I know it does lessen & cease over time.

Full of admiration for you for how you are loving yourself this week & treating yourself well. I hope you are feeling good about this? It’s perfectly fine to be a work in progress, if you slip up you haven’t failed, you are learning how to stop yourself from falling into the ED trap. All the props to you Miss CJ!! :kissing_heart::+1::ok_hand:

#19

Day 1.6

Weight: 51.1kg

Food Intake: (1685kcal in)

  • 110g BerryHuel
  • 60g Huel Granola
  • 25g Huel Granola
  • 1 Huel Orange Bar
  • 112g Huel, MochaFS
  • 60g Huel Granola

Activity: (1765kcal out)

  • 7490 steps total

Other Observations:

  • Feeling irrationally disappointed about the 51.1 even though I initially just wanted to hit 51.5… I suppose it’d just be cool if I hit below 51 since that’s never happened!!
  • 6.30pm: Ate a suuper early Dinner of a full Huel and then immediately proceeded to binge on Huel Granola like I’m legit stuffed my stomach feels distended yet I kept going and ugh I wanna bp but IM SO CLOSE TO A WEEK so I shan’t give up now!! I also missed acro because I’m really sleepy and stressed out about work :confused:
  • I am uncomFORTABLY full but I will sit with this. It’s okay. It’s okay.
  • 11.14pm: ooooo my farts are stanKy. #tmi
  • Haven’t eaten for the last 7h but I’m still stuffedddddd
  • Had a nap and dreamed of binging agAIN. Except this time I half realised I was dreaming so I somewhat used it to binge on Nutella-slathered cake LOL. Am I too weird? :joy:
#20

Lucid dream binge! That’s a new one on me :joy::joy: well done on sitting with the feeling full. You can doooooooo this!! :ok_hand::+1::blush::kissing_heart: