Hey, just wanted to say a massive well done on shedding 9 stone, that’s life changing 
How big a part did Huel play in that journey, just out of interest?
1 Like
The only thing I would say is that I found PPL difficult to track. I’d find myself slacking a fair bit as it was easy to just forget I hadn’t done a set of something and leave the gym.
With 5/3/1 I have the app nagging me to do this set, that set, these reps etc. The accessory plan is also easier to follow.
I’ll probably switch back to PPL soon and really dial in my form on bench/OHP/squat before creeping back into Nsuns in summer. I can feel the strength increases decreasing now that my calories are all the way down at 2400.
Hey, thank you! About a year out of 5 years, I’ve been using Huel. I use it because of Autoimmune issues I have, its the safest thing for me to eat these days and I dont have to spend a fortune on supplements when I use it lol. I look like a completely different person! The weight loss simple came down to changing my relationship with food and moving more 
1 Like
Just been at the gym, been weighed on the electric thing. Height 5’11 … weight now 78kgs and 17% body fat.
Looking to get that down to 12/13%…
Is 5% hard to shed?
Yes and no, I generally find getting to 14% or so mildly challenging, then anything below that is tough. It’s hard to balance weight loss with muscle mass maintenance. One most continue to lift plenty, also ironically eat plenty (Not create too big a deficit) and get enough protein.
Get a few TDEE suggestions from calculators online, take an average, eat 300 or so under that for a couple of weeks, weighing every few days. Adjust calories accordingly. I’ve found eating at least 150g, or preferably 200g, of protein a day during cutting is most effective for maintaining strength and muscle mass. This isn’t possible with only Huel, so I consume Huel, chicken breasts and eggs.
You might want to check your mix Christopher … you shouldn’t be getting shorter with a cal deficit. 
1 Like
Hahaha, 
What what u recommend? If I eat huel, breakfast, lunch and then heavy protein meal? That enough? Or not…
If I’m being lazy it’ll be:
Breakfast:
4 egg omelette
4 scoop Huel with 600ml water
Lunch:
Tupperware tub of 100g penne, chopped tomatoes, brocolli florettes, 1 x chicken breast and 3 x turkey meatballs (Slow cooked x 5 every Sunday)
Dinner:
4 x scoop Huel, or home cooked meal with a second chicken breast
Lost 2kg since Jan 1st doing this, although remember 1kg of that is likely retained water from an overly greedy Christmas period.
Chris, are you sure you need big muscles? Are you sure it’s the right goal for you? I think that maybe the goal for you should be to find a “lifestyle” that you can sustain for the rest of your life.
Huel is already high protein and moderate/low carb. The problem is the fat content. If you lower fat intake (you can safely lower it down to around 8%) you can probably lose weight while keeping same caloric intake. This is better for your long-term health than caloric restriction. Beware of the “low carb” people.
I find it interesting that you recommend myfitnesspal, as they disagree with the calorie-neutral thesis: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-is-a-calorie-a-calorie-2/ , though I do have to thank you for turning me on to that app, it’s like someone watched how I organized things and made an app around tracking my mouth-hole activity.
That’s intriguing! I was unaware of that…
I just use the app for it’s fantastic tracking tools, both weight and calories
We’ve been through this several times…
Eating a high protein diet doesn’t magically give you “big muscles”.
Lowering fat content but keeping calories the same won’t cause you to loss weight either, I’ve literally never seen you say something factual!
Are you misrepresenting what I’ve said on purpose? I’ve not said protein give you muscles without exercise. What I’ve said is, he is probably already getting enough protein.
I’ve already answered in the other forum. Replacing fats with carbs may cause some small weight loss due to increased “thermic effect of food”. That’s what the science says.
Have you considered that maybe you’re wrong? And you’re not even wrong by much, because these effects are relatively small, but they do exist. And over the long term (over the whole life) they may make a difference in health outcomes. There is some evidence that carbs are linked to mood too.
And thank you for sharing your story, I think it’s interesting.
You seem interested in bodybuilding and so let me ask a question. Do you think we can have some control on where the fat will be located in our body?
-> http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(15)00350-2
“Calorie for Calorie, Dietary Fat Restriction Results in More Body Fat Loss than Carbohydrate Restriction in People with Obesity”
This is a very rigorous study, but unfortunately it’s short term. But I think there is no reason to expect different results from more long term studies. The logic is simple. There are also various empirical studies that prove high-protein is better at preserving muscle mass during weight loss.
That’s pretty intriguing, to be fair. I wasn’t aware of that and the results are quite clear. I’ve always found a ratio of 40/40/20 optimal, which I guess is relatively low fat. I’m sceptical of “keto” diets though, like yourself. It seems that in a professional environment there is evidence, but I’m unsure of the benefits for your average Joe.
As for your question about fat storage location, I’m fairly sure that’s genetic and pre defined for both sexes. I believe women store more fat in their upper arms and thighs, while men tend to store on their thighs and bellies? Could be incorrect on this, although myself and my father (back when I was fat) were identical shapes in terms of fat storage! Skinny arms, skinny legs, fat bellies.
You can also find studies that “prove” that low-carb is better than low-fat for a given caloric deficit. I think there are always “confounding” (or “cheating”) factors in these studies. You can cheat by giving more protein to the high fat group. You can cheat by ignoring body composition. You can cheat by failing to monitor compliance. Finally, you can cheat somewhat by giving pure sugar to the low fat group. You can also cheat in the other direction, by taking advantage of the fact that many low-fat foods are harder to digest. If you feed raw broccoli and carrots to people, they’ll lose weight simply because they can’t digest them.
EDIT: I think the real problem of low fat diets is compliance. Compliance is hard primarily because people like the taste of fat (oil and cheese) and because they’re used to eat a lot of protein and most low fat food (except beans) is also low protein. Plus it’s also hard to eat radically different than everyone else.
I think average Joe can lose body fat with caloric restriction. If Joe is very determined and if he loves to look good (like many women do), then he can avoid regaining weight. But this is just the hard road. Why not take the easy road and eat less calorie dense food? Why not eat a big portion of legumes and whole grains instead of a small portion of high calorie food? I think this is a more sensible advice.
For “keto” diets, my conclusion is that ketosis is really about the brain. It’s about feeding your brain with this unusual fuel. We go in ketosis naturally after 3 days of fasting. Ketones are appetite suppressing and they’re also psychoactive. This is why people are enthusiastic about it. It’s just a recreational drug.
-> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17011713
“Low-carb diets, fasting and euphoria: Is there a link between ketosis and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)?”
On location of body fat, i think various hormones have to play a role, but I can’t find any discussion on this. So far the best advice I’ve been given is to simply sleep at night. And naturally, do some kind of workout every day. I’ve already seen some improvements in my body but I don’t know exactly which factor was most important.
Naturally there are differences between sexes. That goes without saying. Women have naturally some more fat in their bodies and for them it’s healthy. For males instead it’s both unhealthy and ugly…
Christopher, today I just had my “measurements” done by a nutritionist.
It turns out i’m taller than i thought and i weight less and I’m more muscolar… (i’m 32.5 years old, 1.855m instead of 1.82, 58kg instead of 62kg, BMI around 17, bodyfat 6.8%, muscles 43.4%)
I’ve been mostly sedentary my whole life, even if recently I’ve started running again and doing some bodyweight (and weights) exercises. I’ve always eaten mostly high carbs food (since adulthood, i’ve usually eaten pasta and tomato sauce and olive oil and some cheese, earlier i was eating more meat and fish) and i’ve always been underweight. In the past I think I had a mild form of vitamin A and/or vitamin C deficiency because of too few fruits and veggies. More recently i started using Huel and now i’m eating mostly whole plant food and i recommend the same to others. I still use Huel bar as occasional snacks when I’m away from home.
Overall I would say I’ve always been “food phobic” and I had heard somewhere long time ago that fat makes you fat and so I’ve also always been “fat phobic”. My experience can be summarized in this way: food phobia and fat phobia are very good for losing body fat regardless of training program. But the resulting body is not very sexy. For sexy body you also need to work at the gym.