I’m a non-binary 26yr old looking to fix my poor diet and hoping that huel can help. I bought a couple of RTD bottles from my local supermarket and tried the vanilla one today. The oat taste is a little overpowering, but I’ve heard that the powder is a bit better on that front. I’ve got a chocolate one I’m planning to try either tomorrow or the day after, to see if I can get on with the taste better. If not, I’m certain I can find a flavour pack that will help.
I’ve had an odd relationship with food. I’ve never been an overeater, but what I do eat doesn’t tend to be healthy. For several years, I relied on ready meals and stuff because I’ve never been good at cooking. I’m lucky enough now to have a partner who is, and who is helping me get better, so together we’ve sorted our lack-lustre dinners, but I’m hoping Huel can become a good lunch for me, rather than microwave packet rice and mini-pizzas…
Unsurprisingly this left me with very little energy. Somehow though, I managed to do frequent workouts and lost the excess weight I wanted to. That was about 2 years ago now though. In the past year, I’ve had to re-evaluate my exercise routine, and have ended up putting the weight back on in the meantime, because of a weird knee problem that hasn’t been fully diagnosed. Despite my weight loss (which I had initially believed would help my leg) I ended up in agony, which I eventually discovered was because of the kind of exercise I was doing. So I’ll be switching to weight exercises and primarily exercise-bike focussed cardio (which should be low-impact on my knees).
My main issue with the test of Huel I did today was that I felt full by the time I was half-way through the drink. So I guess my main question is if I can still get a decent amount of nutrients if I only use half the powder when I eventually get onto it. My plan would be to do most of my exercising in the afternoon, so I’d be hoping to get a decent amount of protein from Huel to help me turn the calories into muscle.
TL;DR: I think I can manage the taste with some flavour packets to get past the oats, but a full portion makes me feel overfull. Will I still benefit from having less of it?
All Huel products are designed to be nutritionally complete per kilocalorie (written as kcal, although for simplicity, most people just call these calories anyway). If you need 1500kcal per day to maintain weight but you only had one Huel RTD then you would need to get the rest of the nutrients from the remaining 1100kcal of food you eat that day. If you ate 1100kcal of Haribo for the remainder of the day then you would meet your calorie target but fall well short on vitamins, minerals, protein, fats etc. If you ate a healthy 1100kcal meal then you would hit the target.
Some people think/assume Huel is a supercharged multivitamin where one product a day gives them everything they need nutrient wise and then you’re free to go and eat whatever you want for the rest of the day, but it doesn’t work that way. Huel is just food. You can have 200kcal a day (a bar) or 3 shakes/RTD’s a day (around 1200kcal) and eat regular food for the remainder. It’s entirely up to you.
On gaining muscle, I’m not an expert, but I believe you need to consume about 1.5g of protein per kilo of body weight. Huel Black was designed to be higher in protein and lower in carbs, so it may help with your goal here.
Regarding taste, there are loads of things you can do with the powder shakes to change the flavour, such as adding powders like cacao or blending in fruit or making them with milks instead of water. There are suggestions on the main site and lots of threads in the forum with suggestions you should be able to find with the search feature.
I know tone is often lost in text, so I want to clarify by stating that I have only pure intentions by asking this, but would you care to help me understand why it’s important to start with this fact?
I’m in my 70s, and when I was your age we obviously didn’t have the internet, but through letters to local papers, zines and notice boards we never advertised this.
Again, not looking to upset or offend, it’s a genuine question
I probably wasn’t clear enough in my explanation, my partner and I cook full, decent meals together in the evening, and I start the day with breakfast.
I don’t calorie count because it’s never helped me in terms of weight loss, and I’m not bothered about the numbers, just my energy levels and general wellbeing, thus my focus on the nutritional side. My lunches are the only meal that I don’t feel is especially healthy or well rounded, so I was looking to try this as a possible solution.
Unfortunately, since I made my post, I suffered from quite unpleasant nausea, and I didn’t even drink the full bottle, I only got about two thirds through it. I’m going to give it another go in a few days and see how it agrees with me, but at the moment I’m not entirely confident that my body likes it
Try drinking it slowly, or you could have half at one part of the day and half later. There’s no right or wrong way to have Huel really. If you want just half then it’s important to know that’s only 200 calories. You can still fit that into your day if that’s what works for you, but it would be more of a snack.
That’s difficult to answer because I guess it’s the equivalent of asking “will I still benefit from eating half my lunch”. You’ll benefit in the sense that you’re eating something nutritious, but it’s not the amount of calories for a full meal. Try to just think of Huel as normal food that you happen to drink. Some days I have Huel for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Other days I don’t use Huel at all. Usually I use Huel for breakfast and lunch when I’m at work, just for convenience. I benefit in the sense that I don’t have to make my own food. The days where I just have a 200 calorie Huel bar I benefit from a nutritious snack that keeps me going. Half a shake is the equivalent to this, so it really depends what you want to use it for.
I hope it agreed with you in the end. Try to remember any new food needs time for your body to adjust. And it can be easy to drink Huel really fast at first, forgetting that it’s actually a huge volume and a lot of calories going in, so it will give the same uncomfortable feeling as eating to quickly.
Most introductory posts will state the persons age and gender. Even local papers and notice boards 70 years ago would let you know these little bits of information, just to give us a very simple idea of who the person is. It might feel different because we’re more used to seeing “man” or “woman” but I think it’s neat that people are generally more open and comfortable to use more fitting words for their gender these days.
Thanks for your answer, that was really helpful. I’ll give it a go in smaller amounts throughout the day while still making sure I eat my other meals and see if my body prefers it that way. If that doesn’t work, I might try looking at it as more of a supplement to my diet than a replacement, maybe with the snack products or something.
Sorry for my lack of knowledge, I’m only just starting to try and fix my diet so I guess I’m gonna be on a steep learning curve for a while, haha. I really appreciate you taking the time to help
Hey there, welcome to the forum! Awesome to have you here and thanks everyone for the helpful advice so far!
So one thing I would say is that the v3.0 Powder (white pouch) has more oats in than the RTD, it is generally described as having an oaty flavour. However our Black Edition doesn’t contain oats, so perhaps check that out.
Definitely agree, lunch is one of those annoying meals sometimes where you either end up eating last night’s leftovers or buying something out. Huel will fit in perfectly here.
As @Herbivore says, drink it slow, perhaps sip it over the course of your whole lunch break. Or just split it in 2. Half at 12pm, other half at 2pm. Whatever works for you!
i drink it for breakfast or have as food for work instead of unhealthy snacks.
it really makes it easier for me to plan meals beacuse i know exactly how much kcal and nutrients is in one drink when i am tired of cooking or thinking about making something healthy.
at the same time i have more joy when cooking meals beacuse i cook one meal instead of thinking about making breakfast, taking lunch for work. you know what i mean
there is one thing - i enjoy gritty oat drink flavour and texture.
