Due to having 80% of my stomach removed in May, I obviously can’t eat huge portions of food, or drink lots at once. So making up a big thing of Huel is going to be out of the question. I was thinking of doing two scoops at once.
If I’m doing a drink with two scoops in, what would be the optimal amount of water? I know what the recommended is, just looking for anectodal advise I guess!
I think I will start with two x Huel drinks of 2 scoops a day and see how that goes. I currently eat a smaller dinner but it varies daily as to what I can actually eat. Some days I can eat a whole baked potato, other days a mouthful - the restriction is weird which is why I’ve ordered from Huel.
Oh and I am aware I won’t get the full nutritional profile, however I take 420mg of Iron, 3000mg of calcium carbonate, 800 I.U of D3 and two forceval multivitamins a day, this is just to keep my calories up and to prevent me sliding back to bad foods. Not that I can eat bad foods that much anymore but still!
I’m on a lower calorie diet because exercise is awkward for me because of disability. I tend to make up a day’s worth of Huel at a time, blending about 140g Huel (weighing it is so much easier and more reliable than scoops!) with 400ml water. I use a small amount of water to shake the blender goblet out, which then goes into the Huel. I top up according to how thin I want it to be.
Once it’s made up I graze on it as I please. It certainly keeps for 24 hours in the fridge, and I’d say that unless the day is very hot, I’d be happy to leave it out of the fridge for six to eight hours.
I will maybe start with 140g then, I was thinking about sticking a banana and almond butter in it but not sure if it would stay blended all day if that makes sense? Nut butter has a tendency to sink to the bottom
This is an enormous portion size. Especially if you are new to Huel.
It’s not uncommon for people to report heartburn, bloating or gas when they start consuming Huel. I got it quite bad on portions of 120g/600ml of water. It gradually got better but dropping the portion size to 90g made a huge difference. Years later I get no symptoms but my portion size is still 90g/450ml as I’ve discovered that is the ideal size for me.
I would recommend you start with 60g/300ml of water, especially considering you are having surgery to reduce your stomach size.
Sorry, should have clarified - I meant 140g in a day
I’ll take your recommendation for 60g at a time. It arrives today so will consume Huel as my evening meal, at least then I’m at home if I get some interesting side effects
Basically, I really struggle to know what to eat - and I asked for a meal plan that I could stick to and was told that I just needed to have xxg of fat xxg of protein etc. For someone who has spent several years eating crap and suffers quite badly with anxiety, having to work out what xxg of protein was just after surgery really stressed me out. I’m getting better now, but have had to stick to the same foods because if I change, I get a bit stressed trying to work out if I’ve had enough protein (I need at least 60g in a day).
All I wanted was a basic meal plan from the nutritionist that I could adapt, having a base is really helpful
I also can’t eat meat anymore as the bottom of my esophagus needed strengthening with mesh, certain meats just gets stuck. This is one of the reasons I’ve ordered Huel because at the moment I’m literally living on ratatouille which whilst a healthy meal, doesn’t provide me with a full nutrition profile.
I’d like to be able to get to 1200 calories with Huel and a small meal or snacks a day.
Hi @coatesa1 You can benefit from using Huel. One symptom you should have been made aware of from medical staff is ‘dumping syndrome’, which is where the transit time for food will be a lot quicker and this could cause rebound hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels). The ingredients in Huel are low glycaemic and ideal to reduce the risk of dumping syndrome. However, to be cautious, we recommend you keep your servings of Huel smaller and spread through the day; i.e. 5-6 small portions, rather than 3-4 larger servings. Obviously this depends on your requirements and whether you’re consuming Huel 100% of your nutrition. Also, build up to your desired intake of Huel carefully.
Do remember that some gastrointestinal surgery can result in reduced absorption and increased requirements for certain nutrients.
Really poor advice if you were told to count nutrients by your nutritionist; how’s that real world?! Consume nutrient-dense foods to make your life easier and nutrition need not be overly hard for you; Huel will help.
However, don’t underestimate the dumping syndrome when you’re intriducing a new food, including Huel. You MUST just stick to 1 scoop in water on day one and for the first 2-3 days, then increase to the 60g for 2-3 days; then you can try 2 x 60g. Working up slowly is imperative and avoid exercise or exertion for 30 mins afterwards during this getting-used-to Huel phase.
I don’t really get dumping syndrome in terms of sugar however the transit times for food are definitely quicker and so without being explicit, high fat foods are a no go! I have had maybe two episodes of low blood sugar that was quite unpleasant.
I will look to do smaller portions so 4 to 6 depending on if I am going to go 100% Huel or 80%.
I think I will be covered with nutrients because I have to supplement already as well as have a 3 monthly B12 injection.
And yep with counting nutrients, was really disappointed with the lack of support. The worst part is, it is fine in theory weighing out ##g of something to fulfill the nutritional requirements but then there is no guarantee that I will even eat everything I’ve weighed out. At least with Huel being liquid I’ll have a greater chance.
I will definitely take your advice and start with 1 scoop per day, thank you so much for your response
The way the Huel nutritionists respond to all these medical questions with knowledge, expertise, and clarity, gives me so much confidence in this product. @JamesCollier - You guys are brilliant. Always happy to advise on any question people ask, with enough scientific depth to fully inform, and yet explained in language everyone can understand and benefit from.
Where else can you get such fantastic customer service, expert advice and quality personal consultation for free?!
The more forum content I read from the Huel nutritionists, the more impressed I am by the amount of effort and passion that has gone into this product and into helping the consumers use the product in a personally beneficial way.
I personally don’t have any unusually specific nutritional or medical needs, but I really appreciate all this invaluable advice and information, freely available on this forum.
There’s so many great posts like this!
Thank you !
Have you been seeing a nutritionist since your op?
!