My name is Luisa and i am about to start my huel journey by ordering on Friday.
I’m taking a leap of faith and ordering the 4 week amount. although i know it won’t last 4 weeks as my boyfriend has also decided to huel with me
Last year I lost 5 stone in weight along with my partner ( he lost 6 ) by making some life changes - eating clean juicing and juice plus shakes.
Since around February this year we have been a tad off the rails again and our new wardrobe is starting to feel a little tight.
I have been doing some research with looking into all brands on the market and with careful consideration we have chosen huel. We were going to try joylent but they sound like they have the customer service and shipping quite right. Huel also is made of more natural produce and have no maltodextrine in.
We are planning on replacing all meals however the one thing i cant decide on is weather to limit the calories a little or try with the full 2000 a day to see if it has any effect first ?? What does every one think ??
I am still currently overweight still want to loose at least another 2 stone slowly over the next year at least. I have a crazy work shift pattern so huel will definately help in our lifestyles.
The only concerns for me is flavour - my boyfriend isn’t bothered by flavour and wants to be able to disassociate from food.
@Luisa_Harris Hi Luisa, I’m sure the Huel users will be able to give you great advice on this! The one thing I would say is that if you have a really busy work routine (are on your feet etc), perhaps you want to try the 2000 cals a day first and see whether you lose weight anyway? But totally up to you. Really glad you and your boyfriend are giving Huel a go! Let us know how you get on
We will definitely let you know how we are getting on I am really excited about it, I think i may start on the 2000 cals and cut caffine dairy and other sugary drinks ( bar my matcha shot in the morning green tea and water )
It all sounds a bit hardcore but if i don’t go in 100% I fail.
Here is what worked for me: I started with rather small portions per meal to see how long they last. I adjust the amount over time until I know how much to use to keep me going in my regular meal schedule.
Give your body a couple meals to recognize that this liquid actually is food. After a day or two you and your body will get a feeling on how much to use.
I’m on the first day of Huel. I am limiting myself to 1800 cals (so 12 scoops, ish) to promote a small weight loss.
I have had a morning shake and half of my lunch shake and i’m not hungry. I’m kinda forcing myself to drink the lunch shake otherwise I would have had not much all day. (3 scoops at breakfast and 3 scoops at lunch).
I envisage me only needing 9/10 scoops a day based on how I feel at the moment, so if you aimed for the same, if worst comes to worst, just have a small shake with a scoop in the evening for that last little boost.
I am slightly confused as to how my body is seemingly coping with so few calories at the moment, but again it’s something I will keep an eye on as I go.
As for the flavour, I am going to experiment with honey and some other things over the coming days so may be able to offer some help there.
I think how you feel is an excellent guide for how much to use. If you feel full, don’t have any more. If you feel hungry, have some more. Millions of years of evolution mean that the feeling of hunger is an excellent way to know whether your body needs more food, and feeling full/satisfied is the perfect way to know you’ve had enough.
As @Julian has said before, the calorie calculator is just a guide, a starting point. If you can’t get through all your Huel by the end of the day, don’t force yourself. Save it for the next day. But if you feel like it’s not enough to keep you going all day, that’s a good sign that you need a bit more.
Of course, I also find that drinking it gradually throughout the day keeps me going better than if I have large meals of it.
I have done pure juicing before and did 14 day juice detoxes ( a la Jason vale style which are very thin in consistency ) so i’m fine with cutting out chewing and not having regular meals I also did Juice plus which was 2 shakes 1 meal so i feel like I’m prepared in more ways then some people to just go full 100%
alot of it is mind over matter and recognizing genuine hunger and thirst and the brain just trying to eat out of habit etc
I’ve been reading lots of your posts and i think spreading them out over time like you do seems like a good idea i think i’m going to do that on the first day rather then trying to drink it all in one go. According to the calculator if i want a 2 pound a week loss I should have 865 calories which to me seems a bit low - it also says for my height / weight etc to maintain i should be having 1500 ish - again 500 less then average. I think i’m going to make up 4 shakes of 400cals to see how i get on and fridge if full or have a 5th shake if i’m starving.
Have you ever done anything like it before?? Day 3 is normally the hardest. Honey is the best !! I use it in every thing to flavour.
Also when i was on juiceplus and was getting bored of the horrid cardboard taste I used organic cake flavourings from the baking aisle in the supermarket they don’t really have anything in them other then natural extracts - i used more vanilla Sicilian lemon and mint. if you are trying to be “clean” along with huel the organic ones are the best.
@Luisa_Harris please don’t go as low 885 cals. May I ask you current weight and hight please. I would like to check your numbers. I assume you exercise 1-3 times a week? Do you have a specific goal is terms of pounds of fat you want to lose?
I’m not going to go that low, I’m doing 2000 recommended use to start with going to increase if starving and decrease if too full lowest intake I will do is 1500
I’m 32 years old 4 feet 10 tall and at the moment due to car crash and injury I am walking about an hour a day exercise wise I’m 200 pounds in weight. Which is classified according to my height as obese. I want to loose approximately 1 to 2 pounds a week average over the year however I know my body will drop a stone quickly and then I loose inches the maximum weight I want to be is 140/160 pounds which is still classed as overweight for my height but before my operation and accident I was this size and happy I was very active before the accident doing gym 3 to 4 times a week with rest days with a 1500 a day diet last year and dropped 5 stone after I recovered from an op and put shed loads of weight on. (Depression poor food choices ect ) but this year after my car accident I’ve put a stone of that back on again.
2000 calories isn’t the “recommended.” It just happens to be a very convenient amount since that is the number contained in a day’s worth of Huel.
2000 calories is too many for you. The good news is, I’m fairly certain you won’t be “starving” if on Huel; most people find it as filling (if not more) than regular food.
Plenty of calorie calculators out there. If I was you (and I realize I am not ), I’d start with about 1250-1350 calories a day.
I see where you found the 850 calories/day number from, but I honestly don’t think you need to aim for 2 pounds a week loss. First, I think you’ll have that much drop off in the first month (8 pounds) even if you consume 1250-1350 calories; like you said, your body will drop a stone quickly. Second, once the weight loss slows down, 4 pounds a month is still a good (and noticeable result). And you obviously have a good grasp of everything (“I want to loose at least another 2 stone slowly over the next year at least”), and 1250ish calories/day gets you there.
Condensed reply: 2000 calories won’t provide weight loss, 850 calories will provide overly-aggressive weight loss.
According to calculator (32 years old, 4 10", female, moderately active, 200lbs) you need:
2593 to maintain weight
2093 to lose 1lb per week
1583 to lose 2lb per week
My advice would be try 2000 a day, and weigh yourself once a week and record the number. A few years ago I did a 3 month fitness programme to get down to 10% body fat. losing 1lb a week, consistently, is doable but not easy. Personally, I think 2lb per week consistently is very tough. Sure you can lose 2lbs in a week but can you do it for weeks/months on end?
I know you want to lose 40 ish pounds, which would take 40 weeks, so it’s not rapid but at the end of that period I think you would be more likely to keep the weight off.
Also remember to adjust your calories as your lose weight, e.g. at 190 lbs you will 2,023 to lose 1lb a week.
), I’d start with about 1250-1350 calories a day.