Need advice on stomach pains and bloating

Experiences
#1

Hi,

I am new to Huel and need your advice. I took my first 400 calorie meal of Black Edition but I started getting stomach pains and bloating (I struggled to sleep). The 2nd time I tried a 200 calorie portion of Black Edition but I experienced the same issues.

Please note my digestion is generally poor and my stomach can easily get upset. I only have 5 Kg weight to lose but primarily I would like to replace one of my daily meals with Huel in the longer terms as it’s notoriously complete food.

My husband recently started Huel 2 weeks ago and he has had no issues at all going completely on Huel (he is taking 1200 calories from 3 meals of Huel a day but his body has easily adapted to Huel).

Please can you suggest any medicines (supplements, pro-biotics, any yogurts or anything which can help) which I can take with Huel and give it another try? - Thanks

#2

Heya

Huel actually has a load of pre and pro biotics which can disrupt (make better!) your general stomach fauna.

You mentioned that your digestion wasn’t wonderful to begin with so, purely my uneducated opinion here, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was that which was causing you discomfort.

You also mentioned weight loss, which Huel can be brilliant for because it’s such an easy (and for me lazy lol) way to track calories. It can be done, very easily.

Loads of resources on this very website to help with using Huel for weight loss, I hope you don’t mind but I’ve recategorised your query from experiences to weight loss as I think you’ll get more traction and advice there.

Also take a look at this article by the team. I think there are more recent writings too, someone who keeps up better with the weight loss stuff will probably be along and link you:

Can it work? Yes of course it’s all a matter of Calories in being fewer than calories out. Exercise helps but really doesn’t make a vast amount of difference for general weight loss no matter what you see on television.

I know this because I lost over three stone in weight and I’ve kept it off. Huel is t some random diet product like slim fast shakes or whatever, it’s part of a lifestyle choice. I’m 45 and I have chosen Huel as simply being a part of my life now, I look forward to it and (this is gonna sound properly bad fanboy) sometimes when I’m intending to have a particular meal I end up having Huel hot&savoury because it is simply tastier than whatever I’d planned lol.

Best of luck with your plans, really want you to succeed so if you have any questions or just need someone to shout at you and tell you to get a wiggle on then we are here for you.

Edit: typo

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#3

Hi,

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply to my question. You are right, weight loss is one of the reasons I want to use Huel for and once I have achieved my desired weight, I want to carry on using it for 1 meal day as it has all the nutrition.

Can I use something along with Huel in the first few days/weeks to make my body adapt to Huel? - Thanks

#4

I’m really no expert but from what I’ve seen, I don’t think so to be honest.

Most people cause problems for themselves by jumping straight into two or three Huel meals per day, without giving their body time to adapt.

Really didn’t experience any issues of this nature myself, I just started using Huel once a day and gradually increased that over time and I was fine, but as with all things of this nature, your mileage may vary. Well worth checking out around different threads as you are definitely not alone in having initial stomach issues, I guess I was just lucky!

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#5

Thanks for getting back to me. You are absolutely right as my husband went on Huel straight away (3 x 400 calorie Huel meals a day) with no issues at all. :joy:

I am thinking of making my next Huel meal (1 scoop to start with) in my nutribullet. I hope my stomach will start to adapt to it.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my question :blush:

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#6

You could slowly introduce it, increasing the percentage of Huel of your total diet every week. Maybe you have problems adapting to the high fibre content, especially from flaxseed.

Although Black Edition is gluten free, gluten intolerance may also be a something you might want to rule out.

What has always helped me against severe bloating was simeticone. You should not take it together with other drugs and it may also impair the absorption of some micronutrients, so I cannot give a general recommendation. Only if the pain is really bad and one needs something immediately. But always keep in mind that everything can have side effects, so I do not guarantee for anything.

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#7

Hi mbs. Thanks for your reply. You are right, it could be the high fibre content causing me the problem.

Thanks for letting me know about Simeticone. I will keep this in mind and will try it if I experience any bloating.

I have made some changes today. The last 2 attempts I made of trying 1 scoop of Black Edition was in the evening when I replaced it with the dinner. But today I have taken it in the breakfast (1 scoop) and I have also made it in my Nutribullet as the shaker felt too thick to me.

I will keep posting my progress here and let you know how I get on with taking it in the mornings :blush:

#8

I would add that it might be a good idea to make sure you’re drinking enough water. I remember reading that in the past before I started with Huel, and I suspect that helped me not suffer the initial problems many have with digestion (or maybe my original diet wasn’t too bad to begin with).

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#9

Thanks surrealsai. I will make sure I drink enough water. Hopefully this will help me adapting to Huel.:blush:

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#10

How is it going meanwhile?

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#11

yeah it’s not too bad. I am still on 1 scoop a day (around 11 am) and my body has started adapting to it. Previously I was getting it in the evening which was probably not a good idea in my case.

I will slowly increase it to 2 scoops (400 calories) after few days.

#12

Hey, I am new here and have been on Huel for 2 weeks. I had the same issues with bloating and my trainer suggested it may be a yeast overload, that the probiotics in Huel are trying to break it down. I had a Candida over growth test done and I did have a positive test. My Dr suggested apple cider vinegar for a few weeks or so to help break down the fungal overload. Dr said Candida yeast over growth is very common in high sugar/refined flour diets and you just have to kill it off (yeast fungal overgrowth can also cause carb cravings as it is being killed off). I am already seeing less bloating after three days. Drinking ACV with water is a bear so I got the Goli ACV gummies and have 4 or so a day. If the bloating is not getting better I would go get a Candida test done.

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#13

I’ve only got experience with the RTD, but I’m avoiding the black edition because it has stevia. Stevia, for all its wonders as a natural sugar alternative, bloats me horribly.

Sucralose doesn’t seem to do me any harm (hence having v1 of the RTD), but I am not a fan of the artificial sugar so I suspect I’ll be ordering a bag of unflavoured in the future.

#14

Interesting to hear that, thanks for sharing. I’ve not heard of stevia causing bloating, but I’m glad there are some options for you with Huel.