Huel first impression from a weight lifter

Today I tried huel for the first time. The experience hasn’t been bad, although I am a bit disappointed. My first impression is that the calories are too high, and the protein is too low. It’s really difficult for a larger guy to get enough protein and maintain a good deficit for a cut with this product. I had three scoops this morning mixed with whey protein, andate my normal 1lb of grilled chicken + broccoli + potato for lunch. For dinner I had another three scoops mixed with a scoop of whey again, directly after my workout.

I feel like with this product, not only would I struggle to keep my calories under 2500, but I would be ravenous and constantly hungry. It just isn’t dense enough. After “dinner” I still found myself very hungry. While I don’t mind the taste of the product, and I’ve only experienced the atomic farts, without offending the vegan folks it just doesn’t have the satiety of a lean cut of meat.

Will huel have a low calorie + fat, high protein version in the future? I’d be the first to jump on that. I feel the the current form is a “catch all”. It’s probably ok for the average person trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but I feel it needs a bit more for an athlete.

1 Like

Eat less. Perhaps rather than too high you meant too dense?

So it has too many calories but isn’t dense enough? That makes no sense.

That isn’t the experience of many & since you have one day’s experience you might want to consider collecting information as a first step rather than merely expressing your own opinions.

It seems you’re simply unhappy with the macro split of Huel. There are lots of body builder types on this forum who’ll be able to clarify the reality of this situation with correct advice on nutrition & specifically on how you can use Huel as a part of this process. Actually, there’s a huge amount of info already on the forum; try the search function.

3 Likes

Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of the product as a meal replacement? If you mean eat less as in not at all then perhaps. “Eating less” would require getting macros from other foods and not using the product. Again, does this not defeat the point of using the product?

It does make sense. You can have something with loads of calories but isn’t dense. Look at all the crap foods you can eat-- cookies, cakes, Twinkies, bacon etc. Foods that you can load up on, and still not feel full. Huel is not “dense” in that it doesn’t make me feel full. If something is meant to be a meal replacement, it should be dense enough to make me full. It simply doesn’t do that for me. Take the 500-600 calories, and put them into something else, like some lean meat and veggies and it will be dense enough that I’m satisfied and not ready to eat my arm. For something so high in calories and fat, it should be more satisfying.

It sounds like you took particular offense to my post. This isn’t something that needs a “try the search function”. I wasn’t asking a question, merely stating my opinion and experience of the product. You can feel free to agree or disagree to your own liking.

Not going to address every single point in your post but I’ve been using Huel for weight training for 3 years and am at the leanest and strongest I’ve been in my life.

What is your height, age and weight?

Edit: Wait, you’re on a cut and you’re complaining about feeling hungry? Lmao I’m done

3 Likes

So maybe you mean nutritionally dense?

Ah, finally. Dense means filling in the context of your post. Hmm, no, in my experience Huel is more than adequately satiating. That’s also consistent with my observations of the posts in this forum over a couple of years.

Somewhat. Lazy thinking & use of language. Incidentally, I am aware I’m a dick, no need to tell me.

2 Likes

To me, Huel is more filling than most other foodstuffs

I usually have a couple of shakes of whey protein a day, even though Huel is rather high in protein in itself. I would recommend this to you.

To be fair, from the get go in this thread you acted a bit too much like you’re defending Huel’s honor and less like you’re interested in what the OP is saying. It doesn’t need to take a picking apart of two posts to get to the point where you clarify what someone means by “dense”, since that was obviously the confusion in the beginning.

I think the most basic response is that if you’re after a primarily protein based product with less calories and more “density” (once that confusion is cleared up) you probably need a different product - which begs you to ask the same question as the very last paragraph in the OP, which only Huel themselves can really answer.

1 Like

Excuse me? Where exactly did I imply that I had any interest in what the OP was saying?

Acting? No. Defending Huel? No. I’ve already made clear why I posted:

You’ve really not been paying attention :wink:

1 Like

Yeah, but it doesn’t seem especially likely that you’re dealing with a professional thinker or someone who needs to be exceptionally clear in their speech in day to day life. (Side note - Vetteran, if you happen to be one of a rare breed of professional philosopher-bodybuilders, then I do apologise for the stereotype. I’m not at all implying that you’re stupid, only that I doubt you’re a professional academic - which to be fair, I’m not either) The OP was clear enough by far for anyone else - if you really do dislike “lazy thinking” then you should perhaps stop picking apart the language of bodybuilders and put your intellectual rigour to good use.

On the other hand if you’re just posting “because I’m a dick”, there’s plenty of that on the internet, I don’t quite see how the self awareness makes it any better.

Me too.

its too high on the carb side to get a 50/30/20 type macro for cutting. (its 31/31/38 at the moment). Something similar with a higher protien / lower carb would be pretty cool, as I too find it hard to keep at my calorie deficit, even mixing in whey to get the macros better.

At the moment I’m getting to 44/33/23, but keeping the cals down is hard (if sticking to Huel)

Three scoops Huel and one snoop whey, three times a day. All anyone will need for a real sharp cut.

Macros on Huel are fine as they are from a fitness perspective. The entire market has just been convinced they need an absurd amount of protein which isn’t the case. 150g is fine.

3 Likes

This is the most unusual complaint I’ve heard and I dont think you understand nutrition.
Most whey protein mixes which lifters use only have like 25-30g of protein…
Huel has 38g.

Then on calories I dont know what you expected. This isnt a snickers bar replacement. This is MEAL replacement.

Im just really confused and I dont think you read what this product is used for properly when you purchased it.

I guess Huel isn’t suitable as a sole source of food for a lifter. As @calmwhiteguy Tim says it is just a meal replacement and the ratios are pretty much as one would expect. Most lifters eating “normal” meals, wouldn’t just top up with more “normal” meals but would use a protein powder or add food containing higher protein levels for example. Most people don’t need more protein…many eat too much. Huel increasing it would be foolish.

@vetteran says, you tried it for first time, but with a few tweaks himself you could make it work. Correct Huel isn’t aimed at athletes and is more of a catch all. Good luck with it.

1 Like

As someone who has had 4 shakes everyday for the past year + an extra few scoops of whey protein a day, it definitely doesn’t fill me up very much. Even after a 3scoop shake+1scoop whey protein in a morning, i’m still wanting more food as i’m still pretty hungry. I have learnt to try to fight off unhealthy snack but still want to snack, might consider a 5th 3scoop shake at some point during the day but will see how it goes over the next few weeks when i buy my next load.

I lift weights too, 5 or 6 times a week and I don’t find Huel that filling either (I usually have a 100g shake). I wish it did though!

I’ve a cheat to feeling more full on your shake - have it standing for a couple of hours. The grains absorb more water & become thicker & you’ll need to add more water when you consume. Be mindful if leaving it at room temperature (as opposed to in the fridge) - it sours after some hours as it’s a natural product.

Why does everyone do such tiny shakes?

Honestly when I’m maintaining or bulking my breakfast at 6AM is 195g Huel + one scoop whey + 750ml water, that keeps me full until around 1PM.

I have psychological issues where I’m constantly wanting to drink my second Huel in my bag (195ml coffee Huel + cacao), but that’s not hunger. Three scoops has never been and will never be anywhere near filling. :slight_smile:

I find that having shakes 125g upwards was making me pretty tired not long after drinking it.

That’s quite interesting. I suppose 1000 cals-ish is quite a lot for the body to handle so it sends you into a bit of a food coma.

The most I’ve ever done is 125g and that fills me for a good four or so hours… any more and I’d need a bigger shaker, for a start!

1 Like