I need to consume about 3000 calories a day to gain mass as part of a bulking up program I’m doing. The traditional thing to do is to buy weight gain formula, but most of them consist of maltodextrin, which can’t be great for blood sugar levels of diabetes runs in the family. So I thought about using Huel as a weight gain formula.
To get to about 2000 calories on Huel would put me at about 100% of both good and bad nutrients. Looks like I’ll be at 100% sodium and fat, and I still need another 1000 calories of solid foods. That might put me consistently at 20%+ over the RDA for those nutrients.
Does anybody have any experience in formulating a good lean bulk weight gain shake out of Huel? I was playing around with combining it with Huel protein shakes, which are lower in fat, or other protein powders, but I would love to get thoughts about a best practice for using Huel to go above the 2000 calorie diet.
You’re absolutely right most mass gainers use maltodextrin because it’s cheap and easy to consume.
Huel is nutritionally complete at 2000kcal so you will end up going over the RDAs for nutrients above that, but here’s the thing, the RDAs are based on averages. Consuming 3000kcal to put on muscle is not average. You could try Huel Complete Protein because you will also have a high protein target to hit I imagine and combine that with instant oats to increase the carbs without upping the fat or sodium.
Is there any reason you want to consume 100% Huel? Have you thought about combining it with other foods?
It isn’t 100% Huel, it’s more like 60% Huel. Basically what I’ve been doing is taking a two liter jug and filling it with six scoops Huel Black (1200) and either a couple of scoops of Huel Protein (250) or some other protein like muscle milk (300). I drink it with water throughout the morning (usually 9-12), which makes large calorie consumption much easier for me.
At around 2pm I’m ready for lunch and I’ll usually have a 600-700 calorie lunch. For my post-workout I’ll have another Huel and then I’ll have dinner that is usually 600-900 calories.
I couldn’t eat that many calories in solid food, so I’ve been relying on Huel instead. I like that it’s nutritionally complete, but wanted to make sure it’s not TOO nutritionally complete when going above 2000 calories where maybe a less nutritionally complete option might be better for what I’m looking to do (i.e. 350 calories of Huel protein instead of 400 calories of Huel Black)
Thanks for explaining Seedi, that all makes sense. It will depend on what else you’re eating other than Huel, so I can’t give a full answer, but that seems okay to me.
No problem. I thought I would put it out there in case anybody came up with some good hacks already that I could follow. I occasionally see some creative ideas pop up here.
I use Huel also to gain weight and Infind it great to sustain my energy for my sports hobbies.
I am not creative at all but usually as as Im getting free meals at work so my Huel intake take is usually now 1 for breakfast with either water and a protein powder and creatine added or Huel with coconut water. I tend to blend with a banana. You can also add fortisip compact protein neutral flavour (you can but this over the counter) to add further calorific value.
My additional Huel usually is an RTD or a hot savoury with other products. For example a hot savoury chicken with a grilled lamb steak.