My thoughts after using and lurking these forums!

Experiences
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Bonjour to you all!

I’ve lurked in these forums for around a month now. I like many others had been bombarded with Facebook ads for Huel and was intrigued. After reading the scathing cut downs from the Huel social media team replying to people who had no intention or interest in Huel, they had won me over and I placed an order.

I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG POST! AS A NEW USER I AM ALWAYS INTRIGUED BY NEW POSTS AND FIND THE MORE DETAIL/TIPS THE BETTER! :grinning:

I got my first batch just before Christmas just to try and was… Underwhelmed. I had ordered Unsweetened/Unflavoured and I just couldn’t get over the earthy taste. Even with adding fruits, syrups, SUGAR I just couldnt ignore it. I had ordered Coffee also which was much more palatable (for me). After using 3x scoops and experimenting I had gotten the texture/portions perfect. I even started mixing 50/50 Coffee/UU just to use it up with great sucess. I felt full following the meals and was pretty happy. I made a conscious decision to pick it up after Christmas.

I am primarily trying to lose weight but also to eat better food also. Like a lot of us, my daily lunch consisted of a meal ‘deal’ or a sneaky McDonalds. Even when I attempted to prepare healthy lunches like salad I ended up covering them in dressing, then feeling hungry later and heading to Tesco or McDonalds anyway!

For my next delivery I added Mint Chocolate and New Vanilla. Wow!!! What a difference. These flavours go down like…(insert sexual innuendo here) I had to remind myself to limit my portions! I could actually drink this stuff all day long. Again, I have experimented and found with the different flavours, I mix differently, in different amounts of water and with different additions, but I feel I’m in a nice spot with Huel. I think though continuous experimentation is key and I decided to devote Saturdays to ‘New Flavour testing!’

So, On 2nd January I was : Male, 36yrs old, 172cm, 86.2kg, giving me a BMI of around 28-29. I set a plan of 3x Scoops Huel for Breakfast and Lunch and then dinner was as usual with my family at home. Nothing extra healthy but we never really ate ‘terrible’ food. Things like, Chicken Fajita kits, Omelettes with cheese, 2-3 slices homemade pizza etc.

Today (14th January) I am: Still Male, Still 172cm and 84.4kg. A loss of 1.8kg over 2x weeks

I have been slightly more active than my usual routine, but I feel that’s being propelled psychologically by knowing that I’m having better nutrition so I should adjust my exercise. I’m using the Nike Run Club app and I’ve added 1x weekly session strength training.

My main takeway points/tips:

  • People always ask for trials/sample packs. I think 2x bags is a trial. You really need to experiment to find out what works for you. Things like mixing method, water concentration, flavours. It really makes a big difference. Take a plunge with your first order. If it doesnt work, then at least you get a shaker for cocktails and a nice t-shirt.

  • Don’t try U/U by itself before you fully understand that it is exactly what it says on the bag

  • I find shaking gives a better texture than blending but if you’re adding other non huel flavours/fruits etc blending is pretty essential.

  • When adding Huel flavours, I add the sachets to the water and mix first. The add the Huel. I think it gives a better taste. I guess in my head its because the water blends with the oats/huel mixture so if the water is already flavoured it gives a more rounded taste? Kind of like marinating. I dunno.

  • As was mentioned in another thread recently BANANA FLAVOUR! Wow! Underrated. I thought it would be horrible!

-Mint chocolate is very minty rather that chocolaty. I add cacao powder like others. I’d love to add chocolate chips and is on my to do list.

-Chilled is king! I use a SHO bottle to take my lunch Huel in. I’'l occasionally drop a few ice cubes into it in the morning before leaving for work.

-I find that I still attempt to snack in evening in front of the TV. Not because I’m hungry but just out of nature. On my next order I intend to throw a few Huel bars in sub in for nuts/crisps. At least I’ll be getting better nutrition.

-I find that solid food is more interesting now, even after only 2 weeks. We have a meal out this weekend which I am super excited about. I think Huel has made me consider food and nutrition in a way I never seen before. Rather that just sustenance I’m much more aware of the flavours and textures of solid food!

These are all only my opinions and while they are working for me, may or may not be to your taste or preference. That would mainly be my point. You need to try and experiment yourself and see what works or doesn’t for you. I’m sure there are loads out there who swear by UU! I would say Huel is not magic powder. You still need to use it correctly, just like solid food. I’m in now and intend to use this regularly/long term. Its right for me at the moment! Things can change though and the Huel subscription seems to be perfectly set up for those changes which makes me comfortable and happy!

Thanks for reading to the end! (if you did!) If you didn’t then screw you… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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The bars are a great idea for snacking. I like Chocolate Orange (didn’t like Coffee). You’ll find one bar pretty satisfying and one doesn’t lead to another like, for instance, chocolate does.

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I find 6 of these (using a blender) do the trick for me:

They also do flavours if you want to change the U/U :yum:

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Agreed, ranking of bars is orange >> original >> coffee in descending order of deliciousness

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I hate the bars which is a shame as they would be great on the go. Taste like cardboard to me! The Berry granola is decent though.

Glad you are getting along well with Huel!

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Looks like you have the measure of the forum already.

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The real question is, how old are you today?

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Worryingly I seem to have aged by approximately 2 weeks. I may need to book an appointment to see my GP, or possibly try granola covered with berry RTD

In other news, just had 3x Scoops Vanilla with matcha flavour and 500mls water (I mix with 400 and then rinse my shaker with 50-100mls extra water and add it to the Huel in my flask) and it may be my new favourite! I thought this would be the worst!

Again, to reiterate my opinion if you care, a 1 or 2 week trial would usually be pointless.

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I expected to hate matcha too, but actually quite liked it. Not enough to order a full bag, but I would consider it in future.

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I threw my matcha sample away because I didn’t fancy it. Perhaps I should have tried it :thinking:

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I find Huel - even unflavoured, let alone vanilla - too delicious and it just makes me want to eat more not less and definitely doesn’t fill me up. It’s like one piece of chocolate makes you want to eat a whole bar. I wouldn’t try chocolate flavour or any other sweet flavour as I’d just crave more. Try and stick to unflavoured to make it less delicious.

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So, that’s 4 weeks done for me. And for 99% of the time I’ve stuck at 2x 3 Scoop meals of Huel each day + normal dinner, and i calculated a deficit of arount 500 calories. The scales read a level 83kg this morning giving me 3.2kg loss in 4 weeks. I have been regularly active in 3-4 workouts per week. And I haven’t been late to work once this month as I can get my breakfast in the car now!

I haven’t noticed any drop in energy or concentration levels. Bowel movements are…different but I’m no longer as gassy. My latest Huel package came yesterday with Berry pre-blend and some Cacao and Orange bars.

  • Berry Huel is delicious imo. It is a subtle and slightly artificial flavour but still enjoyable. Much better than the strawbery FS. Again, in my opinion

  • Cacao and orange bars are rich and a little bitter in the aftertaste like dark chocolate (duh!). The orangy zing offsets this slightly. They were nice enough to eat but as has been described in other threads, you wouldn’t usually finish and want another one! I struggled to cut in into 32 a la @Africorn but I thought 16 looked like good sized chunks to snack on.

  • Mixing flavours works better with vanilla for me. The bitter nothingness of UU was always the overwhelming taste in my trials!

  • My favourite flavours are Matcha and Banana although there wasn’t one particular FS that I disliked. I have still to try Rhubarb and Custard. The pouch of Match FS would not seal once opened. I had to decant it into a pot. I don’t know if that’s a regular thing or a slightly dud pouch. It went everywhere trying to pour it out though!

  • Shaking works best for me and as has been pointed out, Aldi have the same style shaker in their special buys this week for £1.99. Its a silly blue colour with branding though.

So in conclusion Huel is allowing me to easily track my calories. It tastes good after experimenting and has easily replaced all the junk I ate daily. It does exactly what it says on the tin (Resealable pouch) and once I hit my goal weight I fully intend to continue with Huel to maintain my required calorie intake. I dont think I want to go 100% but Im fully confident that If I did it wouldn’t be a problem!

Thanks!

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Ice cubes…yes! Genius!

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I think you totally nailed this post! I enjoyed reading it and I’m rooting for you!! :blush: