So, my nick name is ironic, i’m 6 foot tall and have always been less than 62kg. A doctor suggested i try and reduce my cholesterol after a blood test, so i am dropping all the ham and cheese croissants and the like, but this is making it very difficult to maintain my weight and I think i have already lost 2 or 3kg.
Even before this advise i was trying out huel to just add an extra meal to the day. So I would eat the usual 3 meals and just have a 3 scoop shake in the evening.
Is huel even the right thing to have here though?, is it either A) a dense enough source of lots of calories or B) a good way to lower cholesterol?
I need to eat more calories but if i buy anything prepared, all the low saturates food out there is usually low in calorie, tiny portions and full of salt and sugar too, and I have a particular sensitivity to salty food, I can taste it everywhere. I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth either.
Having said that… today I had a 5 huel scoop shake and added lots of peanut butter, it was thick but surprisingly good! Very sweet and salty.
Hey there, thanks for the message and for choosing Huel. Welcome to the community! Huel is great to adding in extra calories in your day. We have a Guide for Gaining Weight here.
I can’t say if Huel will help you reduce your cholesterol because we don’t know, but Huel’s main ingredient is oat flour. Oat beta-glucans have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3g of oat beta-glucans.
I would have thought so - the things that will give you trouble with the cholesterol are namely meat and animal products (dairy). Seeing as huel is vegan and not that high in fat it certainly shouldn’t cause much harm!
I’m sceptical of this. Dairy and eggs have never caused me issues. I typically go through a pint or two of whole milk per day as well as a 6 egg omelette for breakfast every day before work and my cholesterol is slap bang in the healthy range.
From my own experience, it’s your processed meats and trans fats that cause high cholesterol. Cheap burgers, all that good stuff.
I’ve never been a really poor diet sort of person and not overly overweight but my cholesterol has been high in the last 2 tests. I have another test booked in March as part of my Thyroid checks, so hopefully after having Huel for 8 months I may see a change downwards. I’m also hoping for my liver function to have bettered. I’ll try and report once the results are in.
wow 6 egg omlette sounds good to me, i might struggle not too add cheese to that though!
More than anything I just seem to really overestimate how many calories things have in them, one of the big changes I realised was my normal routine in the morning was buying something fatty from the shop near work. Ham and cheese croissant 513kcal, I swapped that for a porridge with banana and I just checked it’s only 230kcal now I need to add another shake or sandwich to the day… I’m not sure how i will fit in more meals.
Darren, are you going to a pure huel diet? I am also going back for another test in march and I’m curious to see how much it’s changed I have no idea how fast it changes but I feel like I am making a lot of changes, so I will be disappointed if it’s still high.
I did for a while but then got out of the habit, I will give it another go. Last time I almost never hit my goal without adding a huel meal at the end of the day. I think because I only drink water and don’t often snack, it’s mostly out of lazyness…
that was back when i was eating lots of fatty foods too.
I currently have Huel for virtually every meal in the week, and approx 2-3 meals at the weekend, depends on how I feel. If my function is up and cholesterol is down I would happily stay on Huel as I am or change to full time. The up side for me is that as of last week I have dropped into the normal weight range, dropped from 14 stone 4lb down to 12 stone 12lb. I wasn’t going for weight loss, but I am very happy with it, more looking for health benefits.
Well it’s now 8 months since starting on Huel, I have been on between 60 and 80% Huel on all meals.
Had my blood results this morning and really pleased.
Cholesterol has dropped from 5.2 to 4.0.
Liver function is back in normal range.
Thyroid is stable.
2 stone reduction in weight, from 14 stone 4lb to 12 stone 4lb.
Made my decision as to whether to stay on Huel very easy.
Down from 14 stone 4 pound to 11 stone 4 pound.
Blood tests have been spot on throughout (Hypothyroidism).
Clothing has all been changed and can now fit in suits from 10 years ago!
Still intend on eating/drinking Huel products, but more for keeping where I am and maintaining Thyroid and blood quality than losing any weight.
Thanks Huel, you really have changed me and my life.
