Hello!
Before I get on with my review/story, I figure it’d be best to put the question up here. Is there anyone out there who has Huel make up the majority of their daily calories (75%+) and goes to the gym at least 5 times a week? If so, how have you been feeling and what are your thoughts with regards to Huel being the main source of your calories while having that workout frequency?
Apologies in advance for the length of this post… 
So… I’ve been consuming (is that the right word?) Huel for a little over six months now, and have so far really enjoyed it! For the first four months, I had Huel make up 50%-75% of my daily calories. For the past two and a bit months, Huel has made up roughly 75%-90% of my daily calories. I would go 100%, but my macro numbers don’t line up with that.
At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of the flavour (only had the sweetened vanilla one), but then discovered the flavour pouches. I’ve so far tried chocolate, cocoa, banana, and strawberry. Not a huge fan of the strawberry. Cocoa is alright. Chocolate and banana are great. Banana on its own is a bit too strong for me, but I can do chocolate on its own. My go-to is a 50-50 blend of chocolate and banana. I have literally had the 50-50 chocolate-banana make-up for the past 3 months, and it still tastes great to me. I don’t really get sick of things though… (clearly!)
In terms of how I feel, I feel great! Sleeping great and feeling energetic all throughout the day! It took my body a little bit to adjust to the change of food intake, but I not feel completely satisfied at the end of the day and not starving. I’m at the point now where if I go out for a lunch or dinner with friends, I’ll feel bloated after it due to being so used to the shakes. I have now gotten used to ordering smaller dishes when eating out.
I work a 9-5 desk job, and over the first four months, I didn’t workout very much. Just ran 5k a few times a week. I was aiming for 2,400 calories a day to maintain my weight. (I’m a 6’3" male currently weighing in at 170 pounds). Over these past couple of months, my workouts have drastically picked up. I’m now at the gym doing freeweights and cardio roughly 5 times a week for at least 60 minutes.
During those first four months of light exercise, I didn’t really notice much of a change. I felt better, but it’s not like I got a six pack just from changing to a good diet. I’ve always been a tall “skinny-fat” guy. Now though, with the increased workout intensity/frequency, I’ve noticed some positive changes. This new workout regimen is why I asked the question at the beginning.
Right now, I’m still feeling great and full at the end of every day, but I’m curious if Huel is actually effective for people building muscle. I know what the nutritional facts say and that they have been tested in the lab, but I’ve heard people saying you might not absorb it all because of it being in the powdered form. I will need to add more protein to my diet via other sources, but I’m curious if having the bulk of it come from Huel actually works…
Anyway… that’s pretty much it. I haven’t gotten any blood work done, but I’d like to over the summer. I have gotten blood work done every year for the past five years and have always had pretty much perfect results in every area. I generally ate a well-rounded nutritional diet. After moving to the UK last June, I was looking for a cheaper/easier option, which is how I ended up with Huel.
TLDR: Have had Huel for the past 6+ months for the majority of my calories and I’m still alive. Always felt full, satisfied, energetic, and slept great. Going to continue with it going forward!
