Hello fellow Huelers, I’m in desperate need to lose weight and get fit, I have type2 diabetes as well as a fatty liver. I’ll be taking huel as soon as it arrives for two main meals and will blog as much as i can, fingers crossed this time. I fear i’ll be dead this time next year if not, XX
Weigh in tomorrow = Expected 29st
I won’t deny you’ve got yourself a bit of a job there, but it can certainly be done. First job is to print out a copy/copies of the nutritional breakdown - you’ll need one with you every time you see a healthcare professional. I’ve yet to meet one who has heard of Huel! Be prepared for the “it’s just a fad food” reaction from them. The only medical professional I’ve seen to take Huel seriously was an HIV-specialist dietitian who went to this site to read the information online, all the while muttering “bet they haven’t thought about… bloody hell, they have…” over and over. (You are doing this in conjunction with your medical people, aren’t you?)
My type 2 diabetes is a present from early anti-HIV drugs - it doesn’t always react the same as T2D got by other means, so my experience isn’t typical. In the early days I contained my diabetes by sticking to wholefoods (I’m lucky in that I like stuff like brown rice) and gliclazide. I have a few more problems with control now, and for the past year have been 100% Huel, except for snacks. I have mobility problems caused by neuropathy (the same damn drugs!), so I account for my more sedentary lifestyle with a lower than average calorie intake.
Don’t rely on the scoop as a measure: use it as a tool to get the powder into a bowl on the kitchen scales! Use a blender to start with rather than trying to shake it - my first attempts at doing it by hand were pretty disgusting as I couldn’t get a smooth liquid. In fact I’ve stayed with the blender and can now go from start to ready to drink in the space of a TV ad break. I find that Huel needs some added flavouring - watching the carb content, I use either 100mg frozen fruit or 200ml fruit juice in making it up. Recently I’ve discovered that Alpro do a vanilla soymilk drink that makes for an even more filling Huel with a pretty low carb footprint. Some coffee drinkers use instant coffee in the mix, but I’m the one person in the UK, it seems, who can’t bear coffee.
My non-Huel food intake is either a sandwich from the local shop on days when I can get there, and they have one made with very stern brown bread, or else an unspecified amount of bombay mix (lower in carbs and higher in protein than your average snack). I don’t drink tea or coffee, so I keep the recyclers going with empty cans of zero sugar soft drinks, and having the beginnings of cirrhosis (I didn’t expect to need my liver this long, so as the Thin White Duke sang, it was “drink, drink, drink, raise your glasses high”) I don’t drink. If alcohol is a problem, don’t stop without seeing your doctor: sudden cessation can cause immediate call-an-ambulance problems.
Most people seem to find that starting at one Huel meal a day, then adding in another after a week or ten days (and so on as appropriate) works better than jumping in with both feet. There can be a somewhat gaseous response, and you might find yourself in the toilet a bit more often at first. But that’ll change as your body gets used to your new diet.
You’ve done the difficult bit: making the decision to take action. Now it’s the boring bit: doing it 
Keep us up to date with how it’s all going, and remember that the only stupid questions are the ones you didn’t ask.
Pob lwc! x
Good luck mate you know where to find us if you’ve got any questions.
P.S. last time I spoke to a GP about Huel he (predictably) hadn’t heard of it but his reaction was actually very positive, especially the next time I saw him and he’d had a chance to check it out
I would say that Huel is not recommend at all for your condition. I would recommend that you take a look at masteringdiabetes.org. Insulin resistance (the underlying cause of T2 diabetes) is reversible in nearly 100% of the cases. You need to keep fat and protein intake very low. Only eat whole plant food. Exercise as much as possible every muscle of your body. It’s also extremely useful to get rid of all the unwanted body fat.
What if he wants to build muscle whilst shedding bodyfat? How will having a low protein intake help with that?
I will be doing exercise gradually and part of that will be to increase muscle and tone. I need to get Carbs to around 140 - 160 per day to control my glucose levels. Huel has 42g per Meal and good fats and fibre from what i’ve read so that should be good for someone that misses Breakfast and rushed for lunch, hopefully i’ll not snack on shite then.
Electro, nice question. I’m assuming his priority is to make sure the muscles take the glucose from the blood. His priority is to maximize his health. He doesn’t want to build as many muscles as possible in as little time as possible. Protein (and fat) interfere with glucose metabolism. Protein also help building muscles in the short term by stimulating growth hormones. But the same growth hormones are linked to aging and sickness.
I know it sounds crazy, but you need more carbs as % of your energy, not less! It’s the fat and the protein that block the absorption of carbs from your blood to your muscles. That’s the real solution to get healthy. Starving yourself of carbs will not work long term. You body needs carbs for health and performance. Exercise help because your muscles will feel the need to take carbs from blood even when the insulin doesn’t work.
https://www.pcrm.org/media/experts/neal-barnard-diabetes-book
Sorry If i repeat, take a look at masteringdiabetes.org. Just take a look at the photos of the meals and the people there. Then go to zerocarbzen.com and take a look at photos of meals and people. Then you’ll know intuitively what’s the right choice for your body. It’s that easy! Please trust your own eyes!
P.S: The doctors recommending low carb diets in 2018 are either dishonest or incompetent. If you follow their advice, you’ll become more and more insulin resistant, and you’ll have to reduce more and more your carb intake, until you’re eating almost exclusively oil and butter. Then you’ll get an heart attack or a stroke.
2nd P.S: There are some studies where people with diabetes T2 get better insulin sensitivity by eating low carb, but that’s because they have significantly reduced their body fat. You can get even better results like these by fasting. But neither fasting nor low carb are sustainable over long term. These studies are designed to mislead and cheat you into eating a suicidal diet. Low carb diets will make you sick and shorten your life expectancy.
Careful on the exercise malarkey.
The word “tone” is batted around in the industry with the sole intent of sell sell sell. In reality, “tone” is a combination of three things - Low bodyfat percentage, muscle mass and genetics (muscle shape).
I’d focus on knocking all of that weight off with a calorie deficit first. If you start training weights seriously around 20st you’ll pile on the strength and size relatively quickly.
Lifting heavy weights is dangerous. What I had in mind were the bodyweight exercises that are less dangerous and almost always available. They are useful to lower blood glucose and to improve insulin sensitivity.
P.S: I agree “tone” is a marketing scam. But it’s usually aimed at women… 
Thanks for all the advise and reading material. I’ll take on board eveything thats been mentioned and see how I find it.
My delivery turned up today whilst I was at work, just had a snack portion and to be honest I was pleasantly surprised, also managed my 10K steps and had a healthy Wild mushroom Courgetti. I’ll update in a few weeks before my next order Thanks
The danger of lifting heavy weights depends on the user’s technique and capability. With proper form, there’s no danger to a heavy set of each compound twice a week!
Proper form is easier said than done!
I’m going to gym just now, and I think I’ll do light weights with not so proper form!
What concerns me most about traditional weights exercises is that they’re often done from unnatural positions. For example, when doing a bench press, you’re resting on your spinal cord. That’s a very unusual position in my view. So i’m just scared about doing that. I’ve heard many people have been injured.
P.S: In a push up, you rest on your hands. And it’s a much smaller weight. If you add a weight on your back, then indeed you get similar problems to bench press. Well, I don’t need to learn to press massive weights anyway. I doubt most people need that.
Yes, whatever you’re into I suppose.
I’ve never seen a single piece of research telling me that my weight lifting habits are unhealthy and bad for my back! In fact, my back health has increased enormously since taking on squats and deadlifts.
I think the biggest danger of push presses is shoulder health.
However, a regular session of pilates keeps all of this in check.
Getting a bigger, stronger, better looking body - What’s not to love? 
Well, take a look at injury rate. Out of 100 people, how many people suffer injuries? If the weights you lift are very high, then I’m afraid that the rate of injury approaches 100%. I would love to see some statistics on which exercises are more dangerous. I’ve heard those where you don’t stand on your feet are more dangerous. I’ve also heard barbell are more dangerous than dumbbells. But if you are prudent and do proper form and proper training regime etc etc then sure it’s great for health and also for aesthetics.
Let’s say the same about cats and traffic accidents, yet we still all drive them!
Injury can happen to anyone for any reason at any time. Lifting weights, preferably heavy or at least challenging, is undeniably fantastic for the body and even better for the mind.
These people who say “I don’t use weights because…” are just lazy in 99% of cases. It’s honestly the most rewarding hobby I’ve ever taken on and I’m not even a meat head!
Well usually people go from one extreme to another. From total sedentary to attempting to lift massive weights. That’s the classical error. I’m trying to avoid this. I’m also having fun at it, but currently I play only with dumbbells and only very light. I’m also doing some cable machines. Plus I do bodyweight exercises (and also some stretching) at home. Plus aerobic exercise.
P.S: I think half of the reason people don’t lift weights is becaue they’re lazy. But the other half is because they’ve heard of injures and they don’t feel the need to have big muscles. For example women are often willing to spend lot of time on aerobic exercise, yet they don’t lift weights. They think they’re not interested in muscles. But in reality lifting weights also improves bones and so on, so they should do it anyway. They just don’t know the advantages, and they know the risk of injury because they’ve heard of people getting injured.
I read the injury rate for bodybuilding is low compared to other sports e.g. football.
I’m not surprised; my cats are erratic and sketchy little boys at the best of times…I wouldn’t wanna take them on a road trip.