I’m going to be using Huel during the day and have a proper dinner in the evening. I currently weight 96kg and I’m just over 40 and 5ft9. I want to get my weight back down to 85kg.
I need some help setting myself up please?
I usually leave breakfast as late as I can as this means I have less hours in the day for feeling hungry. If I have breakfast at 6am then I’m going to be hungry by 9am, but if I have breakfast 9-10am then I’ll be able to go till 12-1 till I get hungry. But recently I’ve read that starting your metabolism earlier is better even if you consume slightly more, any advice?
How many calories is 2 scoops of Black coffee caramel in 500ml of water? I plan to have this for breakfast and lunch. Is that enough or too much? I’m obviously trying to run a calorie deficit without exercise (even though it’s likely I will exercise).
Losing weight comes down to calories in versus calories out. Using Huel can help make it easier and 400cals of Huel is one of the most filling 400cal meals you can have. Everything else only makes marginal differences here and there. So if you have a trick that allows you to lower the amount of calories you take in, it probably outweighs other benefits in my opinion.
So first you have to calculate how many calories you use in a day. This will give you a rule of thumb https://tdeecalculator.net/ is a good resource.
In general you want to consume 500 cals per day less then you would use up. This is 3,500 cals a week and equals a pound of fat or just below a 1/2 Kg. This is generally considered best for sustainable weight loss. Some people can cut more clas, others less. Aim for something sustainable to you. Don’t regularly be going super hungry or you will fall off the wagon.
You also need to track how many calories you use. The app My Fitness Pal is a good way to do this. At first it will be a pain. However, it gets quicker as the app remembers what you eat and its becomes a cinch to input meals. Its probably best to by a scales to accurately measure portions. This isn’t as bad as it sounds and I regret not doing this sooner.
I have lost a few kilos, but started out the same as yourself. Here is my regime to give you an idea. Play around and find out what works for you.
Huel in the morning - 400 cal
Huel for lunch - 400 cal
Dinner - 800cal (or so)
Hour long walk
Huel in the evening - 400 cal
If I stick to this I lose weight. If I eat crap between meals or drink a lot of booze I stay the same (unless I go totally bananas). If I don’t have a Huel late in the eve I will cheat. So even though eating late is considered bad by most, it is defo the lesser of two evils for me.
Drink Huel slow to feel fuller, you will need to drink more water during the day than you used too, and expect to fart a lot for the first month!
As hard as it is drink lots of water, I found that whenever I cut out calories drinking water suppresses the hunger. Every time I felt hungry I would drink water and half the time that hunger would go away.
It’s not all about calories too, eating calories that can quickly be burnt away will help over those that hang around.
Thank you for this, I appreciate it ! I find I have absolutely no problems during the day, if I’m at work, but when I work from home and surrounded by others eating, kids having crisps etc, then I struggle. So I might need to up my intake when working from home in order to stay fuller.
Drinking water has always been me achilles heal due to the fact I have a weak bladder, and by drinking a lot of water, I spend my life in the toilet !
Try giving yourself a time-window to eat in that works for you (trial and error my friend!) For example my daily diet is;
10am - 11am = Breakfast/Brunch
2pm - 3pm = Lunch (Huel H&S) Workout
7pm - 8pm = Dinner (Huel Black Edition Smoothie)
I follow this whether at home or out. I’m not bound by it but it gives me a routine I can refer to that I know works whatever the day ahead looks like.
To further expand, this loosely follows an intermittent fasting eating schedule (10 hours eating window, 14 hours fasting) but by giving yourself a schedule, then there’s no debate over when you should/shouldn’t be eating. You just have to be diligent with yourself. At first you’ll feel hunger but YOU CAN DO IT and your body will adjust👌🏻
In relation to point 2
As mentioned before breakfast and lunch will total to 800kcal and whether that’s too much, well that depends. If for example, your total calorie intake whilst on a deficit is 1500kcal then you have roughly 700kcal left.
For example, you could have a Huel Bar (200kcal) then that leaves 500kcal to play with for dinner.
That’s my thoughts anyway.