# Why Huel is not a Meal Replacement
**URL:** https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513
**Category:** Nutrition
**Created:** [April 26, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513 "2019-04-26T14:41:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dan\_Huel](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Dan_Huel)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/1 "2019-04-26T14:41:43Z")
Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your pets. You can finally just chuck a link their way to explain why Huel is not a protein shake or a meal replacement, it’s simply food.
> **[Why Huel is not a Meal Replacement](https://uk.huel.com/pages/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement)**
>
> There has been some confusion as to what Huel is and what it isn’t. By looking at the similarities and differences between groups of products, it’s pretty easy to see where Huel sits. Protein Shakes Protein shakes are typically powders that are high...
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### Author:  [@anon52829317](https://discuss.huel.com/u/anon52829317)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/2 "2019-04-26T15:14:51Z")
Nice article!!
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### Author:  [@Bee](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Bee)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/3 "2019-04-26T15:16:04Z")
I see what you mean, and whilst this is true, Huel can still be seen to be replacing the meal you would have had if you hadn’t started eating/drinking Huel 😀
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### Author:  [@Tim\_Huel](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Tim_Huel)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/4 "2019-04-26T15:36:21Z")
But what if you swap from an unhealthy meal, to a healthier meal – is the healthier meal a ‘meal-replacement’?
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### Author:  [@Dan](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Dan)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/5 "2019-04-26T15:37:25Z")
Technically, yes. But we’re arguing semantics really aren’t we?
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### Author:  [@Dan\_Huel](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Dan_Huel)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 3:44pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/6 "2019-04-26T15:44:32Z")
Fair points @Bee and @Dan. In the EU, meal replacements are legally defined and you can see that Huel doesn’t fit into that bracket.
The way I look at it is it’s also about changing the mindset of how people see Huel simply because it is a little different to a meal deal for example.
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### Author:  [@Dan](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Dan)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/7 "2019-04-26T15:51:43Z")
I think the way a lot of people view it doesn’t reflect what it really is, sure.
For instance, one of the people I work with refers to them as Slimfast, despite me explaining what it is more than once.
However, people can change their minds. My partner balked at the idea of using Huel in her diet at first but now she only has Huel and fruit during the week. This was because she saw the effect it had on me.
I think if you’ve got an existing customer base (which you clearly do) and a strong product (once again, you do) then people will come round to it but it won’t happen overnight.
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### Author:  [@Bee](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Bee)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/8 "2019-04-26T16:15:22Z")
For myself, I see Huel as a wholesome and nutritious food which is presented and prepared in a different way to the more traditional foods. Which is what I tell people who ask. How different people view foods like Huel is naturally going to be very subjective. It has certainly changed my dietary habits for the better by far.
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### Author:  [@hunzas](https://discuss.huel.com/u/hunzas)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/9 "2019-04-26T17:37:45Z")
I’ve often been guilty of referring to Huel as a meal replacement, and it has taken a while for me to alter this mindset and I was keen on the concept of Huel from the first time I read about it.
It’s funny how many people looked at me weirdly when I started drinking it; now both my sister and her partner who are fitness instructors drink it regularly, and my wife who thought it was another stupid fad of mine drinks it too (same as @Dan’s partner). Several friends of mine have bought and use it, two female friends just mentioned it in conversation - they don’t know each other - one works in a shop (her own) and finds Huel fits in with not being able to nip out to lunch etc., and the other regularly commutes from here to London and found it easy to adopt into her diet. None of the people I know use it as a weight loss tool, although I personally did for a bit. As @Bee said above it has changed my dietary habits for the better.
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### Author:  [@Lpjfitz](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Lpjfitz)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/10 "2019-04-26T20:11:07Z")
Good read.
I still have problems convincing myself the things you have pointed out in the article. It’s easy to get caught up in the social norms and habits of others around you. I’m still currently the only person I know who consumes huel, however I know everyone is missing out 😌
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### Author:  [@Dan](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Dan)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/11 "2019-04-27T05:31:39Z")
When I started I didn’t know anybody else who did it.
Now my partner and two of my colleagues use it (not all to the same degree though).
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### Author:  [@Dan\_Huel](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Dan_Huel)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/12 "2019-04-27T15:42:54Z")
It’s really interesting to hear all your different view points. By the sound of things, especially if you’re an early Hueler, you all have open minds which helps.
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### Author:  [@airiartev](https://discuss.huel.com/u/airiartev)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/13 "2019-04-27T16:08:16Z")
Well, good job.
That article was a pending task from Huel, define what it really is. Comparing huel with soup to define Huel as just food is a nice move.
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### Author:  [@Coup](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Coup)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/14 "2019-04-28T15:51:49Z")
> [@hunzas](#):
>
> and my wife
I still cannot handle that someone likes you enough to marry you.
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### Author:  [@Bee](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Bee)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/15 "2019-04-28T15:56:58Z")
> [@Coup](#):
>
> > and my wife
>
> I still cannot handle that someone likes you enough to marry you.
Have you seen his wife? (She is known in some circles as ‘Psycho Sarah’)
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### Author:  [@hunzas](https://discuss.huel.com/u/hunzas)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/16 "2019-04-28T17:21:58Z")
I learned the idea from Jeffrey Dahmer. He never managed to successfully take out the frontal lobe before he was caught, but a skewer and a strong mallet did it for me.
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### Author:  [@JoseGrande](https://discuss.huel.com/u/JoseGrande)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/17 "2019-05-01T19:18:44Z")
Just because it’s not marketed as one doesn’t mean it can’t be considered one. By using it as such, you eliminate the need for a meal like breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
So yeah…🙃
> The US has no regulations on meal replacements
We Americans have the nonsensical FDA , but we do it right here.
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### Author:  [@Taliesin](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Taliesin)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2019, 11:33am UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/18 "2019-05-02T11:33:34Z")
“It’s food, Jim. Just not as we know it…”
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### Author:  [@Tim\_Huel](https://discuss.huel.com/u/Tim_Huel)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://discuss.huel.com/t/why-huel-is-not-a-meal-replacement/13513/19 "2019-05-02T14:02:29Z")
> [@JoseGrande](#):
>
> By using it as such, you eliminate the need for a meal like breakfast, lunch, or dinner
But that’s exactly the point, you don’t _eliminate the need_ for breakfast or lunch or dinner. Huel **is** breakfast, lunch or dinner!