I’ve started replacing my breakfast with Huel Powder 3.0 and then so far, lunch with the H&S Madras and I plan to keep this up just trying out different powder flavours and different H&S options.
A few years ago, after an exam, I remember setting out to ditch sugar 100% - and I got about one day in until I felt rotten! That was the wrong way to go… and of course, we need a little bit day to day of sugar.
Today around lunch I felt a little nauseous for a while, it faded… but I was thinking could this be a side effect of going from a very sugary diet. (breakfast cereal like Cheerios honey, things like Pot Noodles / soups for lunch that are packed with more sugar then they seem) to something with much less sugar as Huel?
Have any of you who made the switch long term had any kind of side effects that you thought were down to the sugar? And how long does it take one to re-adapt to having less sugar and a more slow release diet through the Huel products?
One of the things I’m hoping to get long-run from this switch is no more avoiding meals / forgetting them and thus being energy drained… affecting mood and anxiety. Probably some of my problems were sugar dependency / spiking / feeling terrible during a crash without realising it. So if I can use this to get myself off such high sugar dependence, it’s huge win!
Sure, moving straight form a lot of sugar to not a lot of sugar can have a range of side effects, including what you mention, and a lot more. This tends to go away in a few days to a week in most people. But everyone is individual in this.
You’ll also probably find you lose your “taste for sugar” in a around a month. Sugary things will taste more sweet/sickly, and you probably won’t want them as much.
I really look forward to getting there. Presently, I’m still sometimes drinking a Coke or having chocolate etc in the evenings, but during the days I can feel a different kind of energy and a longer lasting one. I’m surprisingly less irate / agitated come 5pm and in less of a rush when cooking dinner. Very glad so far.
What is considered a healthy / sustainable intake of sugar, on top of say two Huel meals a day? That’s what I’m wondering - as I know it’s still important to get some
We echo the advice given here, we would definitely suggest making sure you’re staying up on your hydration as well as making small and more gradual changes to ensure it’s sustainable for you!
Well, first I was addicted to sugar, then to artificial sweeteners; with only little effect on my weight ('ve always been very thin, back then maybe not as extreme), and I think it is mainly about dopamine and emotional regulation via nutrition. Maybe the microbiome also plays a role. Too much sugar causes bacterial overgrowth with “bad” types of bacteria, at least that is the theory, the evidence behind it is still scarce, but a lot of research is done on that topic.
If you don’t want to live without sweets: There are also sugar free sweets. If the replacement is xylitol, it even works against “bad” bacteria, especially in the mouth. I have chewing gums with activated charcoal in addition and it seems to have reduced dental problems.
But there are also many who think that artificial sweeteners are bad, too.
Which opinion you choose is up to you. The evidence for both is limited, and there will always be counter-evidence in the literature.
So far it’s going fine, I’ve trialled it enough to be sure that it’s definitely the sugar. The miraculous thing is, I’m forgetting to indulge in fizzy drinks and sweets like before - e.g., unlike what I expected, feeling hungry doesn’t happen.
Now the thing is remembering to have sugar. Yesterday and today I’ve been having a Lucozade original, just to get some sugar - I believe it’s half the sugar from what it used to be a few years ago.