Newbie & Going 💯

[MarkyT]

@Tracy11

I guess having 4 meals a day is a good plan but I’m having oat bar snack at 10:30 and 15:00

Sounds like you have a good system going. Nicely done Tracy. I am going for 4 per day, as I need to force myself to have breakfast (I never leave myself enough time in the morning) and use 2 for lunch & dinner. The 4th will either be used as a post work-out meal on the exercise days or as a snack on the non-exercise days.

@danosavi

For me on the contrary plain Vanilla is not sweet at all

I think for my first batch I’m going to have to order up a selection. Well, except coffee. We all know coffee is the drink of devil. If only there was a Yorkshire tea option.

@danosavi

maybe one day I’ll create Liquid Pizza Huel

I’d buy that! May I suggest a southern fried chicken option too?

[MarkyT]

Hi Ian, do it! It would be good to have a brother in arms. Let me know how you get on if you go 100%. I’ll be needing all the tips & advice I can get.

That sounds like a good feed. We’re all entitled to a blow out. I bet it was worth it. Life is for enjoying sir.

Having said that, im not expecting to enjoy the first couple of days going 100%. The results however, will be oh so sweet!

[MarkyT]

And so it begins!

After a slight delay in proceedings, today is the first day of going

I had my first ever Huel shake this morning and I’m pleased to say that it was an enjoyable experience. Big relief!

Whoop.

[Watsername]

Good luck @MarkyT- looking forward to hearing about your progress

[MarkyT]

Day 1:

Breakfast: 137.5g (U/U) & 500ml. 562kcal.
Lunch: 137.5g (berry) & 500ml. 561kcal.
Dinner: 137.5g (U/U + caramel boost) & 500ml. 562kcal.

Total kcal: 1,684.

4ltrs of water (incl 1.5ltrs in the Huel shakes).

45mins of racketball.

I feel shattered and I’ve never gone to the toilet (number 1) so much in all my life.

I’ve not had enough calories today (target: 2,220kcal), as I should’ve had another shake. Tomorrow I need to plan my day better to fit a 4th Huel in.

[Watsername]

@MarkyT how are you getting on?

[MarkyT]

I’m getting on well thank you @Watsername.

The first couple of days took a little getting used to. I think it’s because I’m just not used to drinking that much liquid.

I’ve experimented a little and rather than trying to have 3 huge shakes, I am now have 5 smaller shakes. I’m having the same amount of Huel, but in more manageable portions. It does mean that I am pretty much drinking Huel from 8-8 (I like to take my time, rather than chug).

An issue I’ve had is not having enough calories/energy in time to play my racketball games in the evening. It has meant that after about 30 minutes of play my energy is completely sapped. On the days that I play I need to get the portions in beforehand, rather than saving 1 or 2 back for post match.

I will update this post on a weekly basis (every Monday), rather than daily, as I may not see much change day to day (I haven’t weighed or measured myself since Monday). Hopefully it will be a nice surprise.

[MarkyT]

Week 1 of completed and it was a real mix of peaks and troughs.

My weight on day 1 was 231lbs (16st 7lbs) and waist measured in at 42 inches.
My weight on day 8 is 223lbs (15st 13lbs) and waist measures in at 40 inches.

Needless to say, I am very please with losing 8lbs and 2 inches in my first week.

I am fully aware that a lot of the drop in weight will be down to shifting excess water. I expect my future weight loss to level off at a more sensible rate, perhaps around the 2lb per week mark.

As for how the week progressed…

The first couple of days saw a fair amount of playing about with the g/ml ratio.
My first couple of shakes were far too thick and lumpy, so it was taking me an age to finish them off.
In turn this was putting me off from making my next one and I was getting a lot less calories than I should be consuming, especially as I played racketball Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.

I have settled in to a nice routine now (I love me a routine) and I am happy with what to do and when to do it.

The 2 hardest parts of the first week were Friday and Sunday evenings. On a Friday, I tend to get in after a hard week and want to reward myself. Normally this meant a fish & chip or Chinese takeaway. On a Sunday I spend most of the evening watching American Football and tucking into chicken wings and dip.

It was weird breaking the habit of those 2 evenings.

The other challenge has been drinking plenty of water. Including the liquid in the shakes, I was drinking somewhere between 3-5 litres a day (depending on whether I was exercising or not). I have never been to the toilet as much in all my life. Thankfully my bladder seems to have gotten used to my new drinking habit and I am weeing “less”.

The “other” reason to visit the toilet has been completely normal, despite reading horror stories on this forum. I am very thankful that my body didn’t react the way a small number have experienced!

Anyway enough chat. Overall I’m very pleased with the start I’ve made, but it is still very early days and I have a long way to go! I know I need to be patient over the coming weeks as the weight loss slows, but ultimately I’m heading in the right direction.

[Ian42]

Well done keep up the good work. It’s ok to have treats it’s good to reward yourself. I battle with craving for solid food every night and have the odd sandwich or biscuit some nights but hope to stop that. I used to eat loads of bread before Huel, and had a bloated belly with it.

[MarkyT]

I agree that it’s all good to have treats, but if I did, that wouldn’t be 100%.

[Watsername]

Well done @MarkyT. Im finding it hard to stick to Huel at the moment- for lunch im being a little more flexible and maybe having some kind of salad if i cant face it lol

[MarkyT]

Thanks @Watsername.

Like Ian says above, it is ok to deviate and give yourself a treat, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re struggling to stick with it.

I’m only avoiding other foods as I’m stubbornly going for

I can think of a lot worse things to have than a salad, if you’re not going to have a Huel for lunch! You’re doing great. Keep it up.

[jeffy89]

Great to hear you’ve gotten on well with Huel! Eager to read your updates and well done on the weight lost!

[MarkyT]

Week 2 of completed and my routine is locked down.

Weight:

Day : 231lbs
Day : 223lbs 8lbs
Day (today): 219lbs 4lbs

Waist:

Day : 42 inches
Day : 40 inches 2 inches
Day (today): 39 inches 1 inch

So far so good. Everything is heading in the right direction. Whoop.

My days are very repetitive at the moment, but that is helping.
In the morning I drink a U/U + caramel flavour boost (100g/500ml) shake between 7am-730am.
At work I have 2 Berry (100g/500ml) shakes. 1 between 11am-12pm and 1 between 3pm-4pm.
At home I have a U/U + mint choc flavour boost (100g/500ml) shake between 7pm-9pm (depending on when I play racketball).
Throughout the day I am continuing to drinking in the region of 3-5 litres of water per day (including the water in the shakes.

All told I am getting about 1600kcals per day from Huel, which for me is about a 1000kcal deficit per day. That should mean a loss of 2lbs per week, so I am clearly still dropping water that my dehydrated ass was holding onto for dear life!

Next week should be the week I level off at 2lbs per week, although I’d be more than happy to see another 4lb loss.

If, like me, you’re a bit of a geek, here is a table of my daily/weekly input and output.
I should add that the data won’t be precise, as I’ve rounded up/down a bit wrt the kcals burned during exercise, but you get the point.

Day	Morning	Mid Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Exercise	Daily Total	Maintenance Kcals	Kcal Deficit	Weight Loss (lbs)
Monday	410	410	410	410	-400	1,240	2,625	1,385	0.4
Tuesday	410	410	410	410	-400	1,240	2,625	1,385	0.4
Wednesday	410	410	410	410	-400	1,240	2,625	1,385	0.4
Thursday	410	410	0	410	0	1,230	2,625	1,395	0.4
Friday	410	410	410	410	0	1,640	2,625	985	0.3
Saturday	410	0	410	410	-800	430	2,625	2,195	0.6
Sunday	410	0	410	410	-400	830	2,625	1,795	0.5
						7,850	18,375	10,525	3.0

[MarkyT]

Week 3 of completed.

Weight:

Day 231lbs
Day 223lbs 8lbs
Day 219lbs 4lbs
Day (today) 216lbs 3lbs

Waist:

Day 42 inches
Day 40 inches 2 inches
Day 39 inches 1 inch
Day (today) 38 inches 1 inch

I have now lost 15lbs in total, so I’m over the moon to have lost just over a stone.

I’m surprised to say that week 3 was the hardest yet. I thought it would get easier, but I am really missing some of the food I normally eat (not just the unhealthy takeaways).

It’s also very apparent how much my social life revolved around food and how much I enjoy cooking and eating good food, as well as the odd naughty treat.

One of the most difficult things I am struggling with is the utter boredom of knowing that my next meal will be the same thing I have had for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past 3 weeks.

My experiment comes to an end in 2 weeks and I am very much looking forward to cooking and eating dinner again. I wanted to go , so that I could give my self a real kick up the arse and press the reset button on my bad eating habits. So far, so good. I feel like my objective is close to being achieved.

I will definitely continue to use Huel for breakfast and lunch after the 5 week experiment, as it’s a great means of tracking my calorie intake and is a real money saver. It will also make me look forward to the evening and weekend meals.

Onwards.

[Bee]

That’s brilliant! Well done you!

[MarkyT]

Thanks

[MarkyT]

Week 4 of completed.

Weight:

Day 231lbs
Day 223lbs 8lbs
Day 219lbs 4lbs
Day 216lbs 3lbs
Day (today) 213lbs 3lbs

Waist:

Day 42 inches
Day 40 inches 2 inches
Day 39 inches 1 inch
Day 38 inches 1 inch
Day (today) 37.5 inches 1/2 inch

Week 4 was a lot easier than week 3. I seemed to breeze through it thankfully.

I am on track to lose 1 and a half stones in 5 weeks (assuming I lose another 3lbs by next Monday). I will be delighted with this, as this was the start I needed to shift the 3 stone I had put on over the past 3 years.

As I mentioned before I will be introducing “normal” food back into my diet as of next Monday and my plan is to lose at a rate of 1lb per week from then on, which should see me at a loss of 2 stone by Christmas.

I’d imagine that I’ll retain a bit of water when I first start eating solid food again, so I am prepared for gaining a little in weight before my body readjusts.

Bring on Monday. I can’t wait to chew again!

[MarkyT]

Week 5 of completed.

Weight:

Day 231lbs
Day 223lbs 8lbs
Day 219lbs 4lbs
Day 216lbs 3lbs
Day 213lbs 3lbs
Day (today) 210lbs 3lbs

Waist:

Day 42 inches
Day 40 inches 2 inches
Day 39 inches 1 inch
Day 38 inches 1 inch
Day 37.5 inches 1/2 inch
Day (today) 37 inches 1/2 inch

Today marks the end of my 5 week 100% Huel experiment and I am delighted to say that I have lost a stone and a half (9.5kgs) and 5 inches off my waist.

Huel has been fantastic for me over the past 5 weeks, not only because I have lost a lot of weight (although this clearly helps!), but it has also reset my attitude and way of thinking about food. Before I set out on this journey I would think nothing of having multiple takeaway’s in a week and washing it all down with fizzy drinks.

Eating has always been a social event for me, even if it was a case of eating a curry in front of the TV. It’s what I looked forward to and my day revolved around.

I will always enjoy food, that will never change, but this past 5 weeks has enabled me to break the bad habits I was routinely succumbing to. I now know the basic science behind what is required to lose weight.

If the truth be told, I have been losing weight at an unsustainable and unhealthy rate for the long term, but it’s the kick I, my brain and my body needed.

I still need to continue to lose weight (I am 15st/95.2kgs) and at 5ft 9in that’s less than ideal. This is a hell of a lot better than 16st 7lbs/104.8kgs, which is what I was when I began the journey. My target is to reach 14st 7lbs/92kgs by the end of the year and assess where I want to be from there. I plan on losing this weight at a rate of 1lb-2lbs per week, as opposed to the 3lbs per week I was losing in recent weeks.

Not only has Huel been a great tool to help me monitor the amount of calories I have been consuming, it has also been an excellent moneysaver. I was typically spending between £5-£10 a day on lunch (which is frankly disgusting), so I saved somewhere in the region of £125-£250 over the 5 week period (which is frankly superb).

I haven’t suffered any toilet side effects, with the exception of weeing A LOT, but that is because I am now drinking more water per day, than I ever have in my life.

The one area I suffered with is the mental side things, namely how bored I was with the monotony of having the same meal over and over, day on day, week on week. I really struggled with this in week 3, but when I pushed through that, with the help of my very supportive wife, weeks 4 and 5 were a relative breeze.

Rather than end on a negative note, the last thing I want to say is that I couldn’t recommend Huel highly enough and to anyone looking at going for any length of time, if I can do it, you most certainly can!

It’s been fun. If anyone has questions on anything I have or haven’t covered, feel free to message me here or in DM.

Onwards.

[Bee]

That’s really brilliant, Mark. Congratulations!
I know just what you mean when you say Huel has reset your attitude towards food. Mine too! Onward and upward!