I was wondering if anyone with PCOS had tried Huel? It’s a syndrome that affects a huge amount of women, and has a big affect on blood sugar and our ability to lose weight. I stumbled upon Huel after reading about Soylent last year, your Facebook advertising got me clicking!
I’m 30 and have been overweight my whole life, struggling with the frustrating symptoms of PCOS. The only time I have stuck with a diet that worked was Paleo, and it was made easier by working from home and having a bit more control over what I ate. Since starting a new job 3 years ago I have put on another 3 stone… (Crazy as my dress size is the same!) This is mainly due to lack of healthy lunch options near my office and moving in with my skinny boyfriend (his metabolism is the literal opposite of mine, a disaster for my diet!)
So, I’m interested in Huel but wondering how it will affect my condition? I’m not on metformin, which is a popular treatment to treat insulin resistance in women with PCOS as well as diabetes, because I’ve read such mixed results from it. I started crossfit back in November and am really feeling the benefit of regular intense exercise, but my diet still sucks however much I try and regulate what I eat.
A number of people with PCOS have tried Soylent. From one Soylent user:
“Re: soylent and PCOS, it’s got a lot of carbs and fat and not enough protein for someone with PCOS, so I add 48 extra grams of protein to 1/3 of a pouch. We also thrive with more fiber. Back in the days when I was losing weight, I was eating 40-60 grams of fiber, 1500-2000 calories/day and exercising about 10 hours/week. PCOS makes weight loss so much harder (and that’s with Metformin).”
Huel has considerably more protein than Soylent, so that’s helpful with PCOS. I’m unsure if it would benefit you to add even more protein.
Great info, thanks Ric. Will do a bit more digging on Soylent and PCOS.
I’m not looking at doing 100% Huel anyway so will be able to get more protein into my diet over dinner I guess. Does anyone here add more protein to their Huel?
I doubt many people add protein to their Huel. Based on a 2000 calorie diet, Huel provides 150 grams of protein, which is more than triple the amount required for an average sedentary woman.
I have PCOS and am getting good results with using Huel 2x per day for breakfast and lunch. I am less prone to overeat or to crave sugary foods/carbs, and I’m losing weight. None of my other symptoms have improved, but I started using Huel because it’s easy to prepare and wash up when I don’t have the energy I used to and am spending a lot of time on work. So it does help in terms of that.
That’s great to hear! I’m doing pretty much the same thing as finding lunch or preparing lunch for work was always such a chore. I’m not sure if I’ve lost any weight yet as weighing myself always brings me down and makes me feel worse about myself, but I’m definitely feeling better and have more energy.