Huel - Anyone tried it?

StLouis80

With the New Year approaching, I am looking to get fitter and lose some weight (as I'm sure many of us are after the Xmas over-indulgence).

I'm hearing very good things about Huel and their powdered meal product, so I'm considering giving it a try and wondered if any of you on here have tried it and to what success?

'Allegedly' with the ingredients it contains, it can provide all of the body's daily needs in terms of vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbs, etc. A friend of mine is using it for breakfast and lunch, and trying to eat healthier in the evenings, and has lost weight and gained energy, but he says its disgusting in taste. So interested to know if its worth the £££ or not?

shodan

Everyone is different and everyone needs different things in different quantities so I don't see how one product can serve everyone.

Your friend has lost weight and has more energy because he has changed and improved his diet.

Sinead

I tried it as a means of getting breakfast in me. Was really struggling to find the time to make myself something decent whilst managing my toddler. Taste is ok actually, very oaty and quite sweet and it did make me feel satisfied until mid morning however after about a week of having it I started to feel quite queasy when consuming it and couldn't face it. Not sure why!

Wardy257

Anything that results in you eating less calories will work. The caveat is providing that you get adequate nutrition and minimal side effects.

booyaka

Get a proper "meal" plan set up - you'll get everything you need from that.

Breakfast can be made the night before - Overnight oats are a quick and easy option. Personally wouldn't want to use a powdered "meal" replacement as it's not a long term option. Short term gains for weight loss maybe, but longer term it's not the most viable product. £45 for 28 meals isn't the cheapest either.

Think longer term would be my suggestion.

shodan

Plus I always think that any product (meal replacement) you buy is only designed to be short term use and not to help you stay slim and healthy for life.
They offer no education in food choices and nutrition and how to correctly read food labels and if they helped you stay slim for life then they would not have a very good business model so they don't want you to succeed too much so you keep going back for more. (Rant over).

booyaka

Agreed - my wife is terrible for trying to find quick fixes from pills/potions/diets/fads etc. Drives me nuts - exercise hard, eat well, drink lots of water and you'll be fitter and weight less. It's not rocket science !!

djpaulc247

Avoid anything that replaces food with shakes, juice, etc. It's just business and no good for you long term as it's not sustainable.

Avoid processed foods and change your diet to whole foods, protein, complex carbs and "good" fats (oily fish, avocado, olive oil, nuts, steak, etc) and veg where possible, exercise three to four times a week and set some realistic goals as you go. You can easily loose weight / fat yourself without resorting to expensive shakes, you just need to eat fairly well, drink lots of water, and be in a calorie deficit to burn fat.

You can work out your required calories using the Harris Benedict equation (google it), this will give you your BMR (basal metabolic rate) i.e. the calories you need to survive, then there are numbers you multiply by depending on your level of activity, that will give you your MAINTENANCE calories.  Eat approx 500 calls per day less to lose weight or 500 more if you wanted to add mass. Use MyFitnessPal to track your calories and you'll then begin to educate yourself more on what you're actually putting into your body, what works, what doesn't, etc.

Wardy257

No need to be as drastic as a 500 calorie cut. The important thing is sustainability. Being on a 300 calorie cut for 12 weeks is better than 4 weeks on 500 calories.

The key thing is to find foods that fill you up so cutting calories is easy. If you are full, not hungry and on a 500 calorie cut then great. I would suggest you keep protein high to aid this and muscle retention.

djpaulc247

I've recently got Huel.

Had a few days doing breakfast only. As of tomorrow will be stepping this to breakfast and lunch.

First thing is the taste. I have the 'new' vanilla. And quite honestly, I love the taste. I have been adding a shot of espresso too and can't say enough how tasty I find it.

The consistency is a bit thick, but again I like that. It's not chewy as such, but it's substantial and for me it's a great mouth feel.

I've found that as breakfast it's been very very filling. No watching the clock for lunchtime, it's surprising how a drink can keep you going, but it does.

A plus for me is I'm diabetic and it's very predictable calories and carbs.

Can't say I've noticed more energy yet, but on the other hand I worked an extra 13 hour day this week and seem to be fine. I have noticed one of the things it warns about.... Flatulence! Be warned. Especially if you're in an enclosed space with me.

I got some flavor samples with it too. Only used the toffee so far. Now toffee is not my thing (as a diabetic I never eat it ) but it was actually pretty good.

I'll try and remember to keep this thread updated.