My fat loss journey: Huel + weight lifting + swimming/surfing

Experiences
1

Ok so, I have been having a Huel shake each day for 3 days now to get the thickness right and tomorrow I start calorie counting and exercising again after a while off. I have put on nearly 20 lbs since quitting smoking about 6 weeks ago when I started diverting my nicotine cravings into sugar cravings, oops!

I am going to be starting off with eating 1800 calories a day; 2 shakes of Huel during the day and having one proper meal in the evening. I want to lose at least 2 lbs a week so will simply adjust calorie intake until I am happy with the rate of loss.

I will be following this weight lifting plan three times a week:
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/the-beginner-weight-training-workout-routine/

And will go swimming or surfing as many times as possible as well.

Here are my stats and picture as of today:

Weight: 194.3 lbs
Bodyfat: 44.9%
Waist: 34.8"
Hips: 42"
Thighs: 28"

Am dubious at the accuracy of the bodyfat % but will be using the same scales each weigh in so will at least hopefully be consistent.

Wish me luck! Iā€™ve worked out that if I consistently lost 2 lbs a week I will be at my goal weight (145 lbs) by Christmas! I am more interested in how I look than the number on the scale though. Have started this thread to hopefully keep myself accountable.

EDIT: Edited starting weight to what I weighed on the first morning counting calories instead of day before.

8 Likes
2

Good luck!! I shall be following your journey, look forward to your next update!

3

Good luck will follow your journey and also will update you on my progress!!

Lets do this :facepunch:

Kx

4

Good luck, keep updatingā€¦itā€™s a good incentive to keep you on track :slight_smile:

5

How is it going?
Iā€™m keeping fingers crossed for you!

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6

Day 1, Monday 10th

10.15am 100g Vanilla Huel with coffee (409 cal)
2.20pm 100g Vanilla Huel with dark cocoa powder (425 cal)
4.20pm Protein shake with dextrose before my workout (287 cal)
7.30pm Thai green curry chicken breasts and rice (636 cal)

Total: 1,757 cal, 169g protein, 173g carbs, 41g fat
Exercise: Weights
Calorie deficit (according to my Fitbit): 932
Hunger level: Got hungry a couple of times but never ravenous.

Day 2, Tuesday 11th

10.30am 100g Vanilla Huel with coffee (409 cal)
2.00pm 100g Vanilla Huel with dark cocoa powder (425 cal)
5.00pm Chili con carne with rice (557 cal)
7.30pm 75g Vanilla Huel post swim (302 cal)

Total: 1,693 cal, 123g protein, 167g carbs, 52g fat
Exercise: Swimming
Calorie deficit: 1,148 cals
Hunger: Very hungry by 4.20pm, was nowhere near this hungry yesterday when I had the protein shake so not sure why.

Day 3, Wednesday 12th

10.45am 100gVanilla Huel with coffee (409 cal)
2.30pm 100g Vanilla Huel with dark cocoa powder (425 cal)
5.00pm Protein shake with dextrose before my workout (287 cal)
7.00pm Chicken and bacon caesar salad from Asda, half a packet of peppered steak (355 cal)
ā€¦ and then it all went rather wrong diet wise as I had a party. Did make a note of everything I ate and drank as I went along. Not beating myself up about it as this was essentially my ā€˜Fridayā€™ night as I have Thursday off work. Scones, clotted cream, jam, strawberries, prosecco, rum and lager and a sandwich all totted up to 1,810 cals.

Total: 3,286 cals, 187g protein, 283g carbs, 84g fat
Exercise: Weights
Calorie surplus: 359
Hunger: Only a little leading up to my Huel shakes. And at midnight when I got in after a few drinks and made a sandwich!

After my hiccup last night I will be going hard the rest of the week!

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Haha was literally posting my update as you asked!

8

nice one!
Donā€™t worry about hiccups! It happens :slight_smile:

It looks to me like you are not having enough calories. After few days with a big deficit, you are more likely to either overtrain or overeat (at least in my caseā€¦). So what I do is top up calories, even when not hungryā€¦ Extra 2 scoops of Huel before bed give me a very good recovery sleep. But, as I said, it is only my opinion :slight_smile:

Keep it up and keep us posted!

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At the moment Iā€™m aiming for a 1,000 calorie deficit per day which should = 2 lbs loss, what would you recommend?

10

I believe up to 500 a day (maximum). More than that and you will decrease your energy levels a lot. Less energy = every workout will be less effective. My number is 300 deficit. Not always possible, but that is my aim and it works for me.
Everyone is different, so you have to find your ā€œgoldenā€ number :slight_smile:

11

Well done on your progress so far, thatā€™s great!

Maybe you got hungrier on the second day because your calorie deficit was significantly larger?

For what itā€™s worth, regarding calorie deficits: I have had an 800 to 900 cal deficit for the last two days, while on 75 percent Huel. I havenā€™t been too hungry, it has been manageable so far operating on a deficit of this level.

12

My issue with 500 cals is that would mean only 1 lb loss a week, and seeing as I am wanting to lose 50 lbs that is a long time and I know I will get demotivated! If it was only about body composition or under 10 lbs to lose I would absolutely go for a smaller deficit! I do get what youā€™re saying though, if I feel a lack of energy I will decrease the deficit.

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I wasnā€™t hungry at the end of the day though, I was hungry at the point in the day when Iā€™d eaten exactly the same as the previous day if you see what I mean! Who knows.

Yeah I think 800-900 might be the sweet spot! I will weigh on Sunday and see where Iā€™m at and if I need to adjust :slight_smile:

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Oh right, yes I see what you mean! That is quite odd. The human body is a strange thing sometimes haha.

Good luck for Sunday weigh in! (mineā€™s on Saturday)

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Hereā€™s my new update and weigh in results after 6 days!

Day 4, Thursday 13th

No Huel (day off work so plenty of time to prepare food).
Totals:1,438 cals consumed.140g protein, 75g carbs, 60g fat.
Exercise: Surfing (small waves, not particularly strenuous)
Calorie deficit: 841 cals
Comments:Interestingly, I felt absolutely exhausted this day when I hadnā€™t had any Huel. Had much more energy the next day when back on the shakes.

Day 5, Friday 14th

Huel (804 cal)
Totals: 1,878 cals, 184g protein, 59g fat, 155g carbs
Exercise: Weights
Calorie deficit: 797 cals
Comments: Felt great

Day 6, Saturday 15th
Huel (804 cal)
Totals: 1,495 cals, 133g protein, 140g carbs, 43g fat
Exercise: Rest day
Calorie deficit: 931 cals
Comments: Tried the strawberry flavour boost today, was pretty tasty but too sweet for me.

Average calories consumed: 1650
Average calorie deficit: 808

Weigh in: 190.8 lbs
Weight loss: 3.5 lbs!

I know some people are going to jump in and say the rate of loss is too fast and I should eat more calories but I want to get to my pre- quitting smoking weight (178 lbs) as quickly as possible as itā€™s really getting me down to have gone backwards. By then the rate of loss will have probably slowed anyway (plus some of this loss could be water, we will know after a couple of weeks!).

So pleased to see results, and have never been ridiculously hungry. In fact I think I have experienced being healthily hungry for the first time in a while and am learning the difference between being hungry and craving food, one of the reasons I wanted to try Huel.

3.5 lbs down, 45.8 to go!

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Thatā€™s amazing progress! Really well done!!

We have more or less the same amount of weight to lose, I have forty-seven pounds to go ( and also canā€™t wait to get rid of it) :stuck_out_tongue:

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Keep going keep tracking keep posting!

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Day 7, Sunday 16th

Had a cheat day as I decided that I would be going 100% Huel after this day so had pizza for dinner, didnā€™t bother counting calories. I did find however that I didnā€™t eat nearly as much as I would have a week ago, I stopped eating when I was full rather than just pigging out. Estimated calories: maximum 2,400

Day 8, Monday 17th

Huel (1,608 cals)
Totals: 1,608 cals, 118g protein, 150g carbs, 52g fat
Exercise: Weights
Deficit: 1,186
Comments: Tried the toffee flavour boost today but accidentally added it to my shake that had coffee in itā€¦ tasted fine but disappointed not to have tried it on itā€™s own! Have also started usin about 40g UU with 60g vanilla and liking it more, not so sweet.

Day 9, Tuesday 18th

Huel (1,407 cals)
Totals: 1,921 cals, 132g protein, 178g carbs, 68g fat
Exercise: Swimming
Deficit: 932 cals
Comments: So I tried the rhubarb and custard flavour boostā€¦ EWW! I tried and tried to just hold my nose and drink it but it really was disgusting and I had to pour it away. I couldnā€™t get rid of the taste out of my mouth and couldnā€™t face any more Huel after that so had scrambled eggs on toast. Havenā€™t been impressed with any of the flavour boosts so far, all very sickly, maybe I just donā€™t like the sweetener.

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Day 10, Wednesday 19th
Huel (1,608 cals)
Totals: 1,608 cals, 118g protein, 150g carbs, 52g fat
Exercise: Weights
Deficit: 859 cals
Comments: Having no issues on 100% Huel

Day 11, Thursday 20th
Huel (1,608 cals)
Totals: 1,608 cals, 118g protein, 150g carbs, 52g fat
Exercise: Surfing
Deficit: 1071 cals
Comments: Still no issues to report.

Day 12, Friday 21st
Huel (804 cals)
Totals: 2,301 cals, 127g protein 146g carbs, 109g fat
Exercise: Weights
Deficit: 347 cals
Comments: I abandoned Huel halfway through the day and ate what I wanted as I came down all fluey and just wanted comfort food (in this case a burger) though I did push through and do my weights routine, even if a bit half assed.

Day 13, Saturday 22nd
Huel: None (still ill)
Totals: 2,186 cals, 34g protein, 207g carbs, 93g fat
Surplus: 362
Exercise: Netflix
Comments: Today was a doughnuts and chocolate, ā€˜Iā€™m feeling sorry for myself because my skin hurtsā€™ kinda day.

Sunday morning stats:
Average daily calorie intake this week: 1,806
Weight: 189.1 lbs
Weight loss: 1.7 lbs
Total loss: 5.2 lbs
I have also lost around half an inch off my waist, hips, and thighs each! Pretty happy with the results considering everything went out of the window over the weekend.

Thoughts: Planning on reducing my calorie intake to around 1600 per day, and see how I go. I have a staff party on Friday so the diet will most likely go tits up that day anyway. Even with these weekly binges I am losing which is very encouraging. Iā€™m going 100% Huel most days but will have a proper meal one or twice in the evenings. I have now tried several flavour boosts and will definitely not be buying any of them, they are disgusting sorry Huel guys! Iā€™m gutted as they would have been a perfect and easy way to flavour. Iā€™m sticking with plain vanilla (de-sweetened by mixing with UU), a few teaspoons of coffee or dark cocoa powder. Also considering trying adding a pinch of salt if I continue to get headaches after I recover from this flu; as Iā€™ve mentioned on other topics I have been experiencing daily headaches but I now hope it was only because I was getting ill.

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Keep up the hard work. So pleased that Huel is helping you to control your weight. We all need an occasional treat, if youā€™re still loosing then that is great for you!

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