Can Huel be used as a workout/mr drink?

jmklingseisen · October 3, 2018, 9:11pm

I eat pretty healthy on a regular basis but breakfast + protein drink in the morning after workout is often a chore. Does anyone use this as a supplement for workout nutrition? If so, does it work pretty well? Thanks.

Deron · October 3, 2018, 9:21pm

Oh definitely. Several people on the forums have reported using it for this purpose. My brother in law started using Huel before his exercise sessions (I gave him some of mine to try). I’ve done a dose of Huel after my bicycling sessions.

Although Huel has all 3 macro-nutrients in a nice balanced mix, there is a good amount of protein in it, so it can function well as a post or pre workout meal.

Alex_Huel · October 4, 2018, 4:20pm

I’m really big into weightlifting and I find it is a great post-workout meal as well! The 37g of protein is hard to beat.

latestfuels · October 4, 2018, 9:25pm

Huel is good nutrition around workout. I would say even better after the workout, since you need more protein than carbs, than before the workout (when the role of carbohydrates as source of fuel is key),

There are threads of people using Huel for activities as hardcore as ultra marathon running.

As for your workouts, you will find no problem, Huel may be even better than protein shakes that you take, because it is not only protein that are you taking. Your body does need the carbs and the fats after the workout.

Let’s see why Huel is good after a workout:

Amount of protein between 30-40g (depending if you take 100g or 125g) is in the top spectrum of what your body can absorbe within a meal (Shoenfeld BJ, 2018). You should aim for 1.6g of prot/kg/day to 2.2g of prot/kg/day for maximum anabolic response.
Quality of amino acid profile and sources. While whey protein (mainly) is considered the king of protein when it comes to anabolyc growth (due to muscle protein synthesis stimulation, absorption rate…) recently pea protein andrice protein have been shown to have a similar effect of that of whey. The combination of both is great because rice is rich in essential amino acids pea is lacking (e.g methionine). Great read about nutrition around exercise.
Leucine content. This is a comparison I made for the Plenny Shake review. You can see that Huel is really rich in leucine as it is whey, when compared to other a.a. Leucine has a key role inmuscle synthesis and keeping lean mass in the elderly.

The table shows EAA content on Huel and Plenny Shake and WP (100g).

And I’m too tired to write more. All I can say that I have never had a problem except that I sometimes I miss those sweet chocolate protein shakes (for some reason there isn’t any half decent chocolate MR). Good luck on your Huel journey

Deron · October 4, 2018, 11:49pm

Not to derail this thread… your statement is certainly the “conventional wisdom” of nutrition and workouts.

However, I have yet to see any actual studies proving this. And, as an anecdote to oppose this, I have been purposely exercising while fasted during the last few months, just to try it out. I sometimes wait an hour or two afterwards to break the fast. I find that although my performance is hindered a little (I’d estimate I perform about 85% of my potential verses exercise while fed), this fasting exercise has really helped me slim down.

I think it was Brad Pilon’s book, “Eat, Stop, Eat” where I first read about the concept of exercising while fasted. I thought it was weird. But I tried it and I am fine with it.

Now, exercising while fasted may not be the best strategy for professional athletes or someone training for competition. I don’t expect World’s Strongest Man athletes are doing this. In fact, I don’t imagine their stomach is ever empty. But for the majority of people, exercising while fasted is perfectly fine and may be beneficial verses exercising on a fed stomach.

I’d say if you feel you need food before or immediately after a workout, then go for it. Whatever helps keep you on an exercise program. But for those who have practiced IF and gotten adjusted to it, it is entirely possible to exercise while deep into a fast.

The bear awakens from hibernation and fasting for several months, keenly adapted to hunt and get his meal. Ancient man did not carb-up before the hunt. He/she was able to hunt or gather after having not eaten for 3 days. His energy level was high and his mental function was sharp, which enabled him to get his food. He was hungry AF, to be sure. That was his motivation. But he was physically able to perform whatever necessary to get his food. It’s one of the reasons the human race persists.

latestfuels · October 5, 2018, 6:34am

Perhaps inmediately is not the key, but the carb load before a big event is still a thing. Plus taking enough food (most typically in terms of carbs is recommended, more the more you do). It is incorporated in one of the papers I linked.

That does not mean it is the only way. Each person is different and luckily that means different things can work out.

However, because studies with humans are difficult, they have biases and limitations, scientific proof is not irrefutable or they are not 100% laws, but optimal guidelines.

I have trained while fasting and I have trained without fasting. Both have worked out for me. Optimization becomes less important if you are not an elite athlete or do not aim for perfection.

Interesting reads:
Carbs in proximity to a workout maybe not necessary unless athlete (review 2013) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3570376/

Carbs might benefit short workouts (45min) as well as longer (2h+)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The use of carbohydrates during exercise as an ergogenic aid.

NM Cermak and LJ van Loon, Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), Nov 2013

Carbohydrate and fat are the two primary fuel sources oxidized by skeletal muscle tissue during prolonged (endurance-type) exercise. The relative contribution of these fuel sources largely depends on the exercise intensity and duration, with a greater contribution from carbohydrate as exercise intensity is increased. Consequently, endurance performance and endurance capacity are largely dictated by endogenous carbohydrate availability. As such, improving carbohydrate availability during prolonged exercise through carbohydrate ingestion has dominated the field of sports nutrition research. As a result, it has been well-established that carbohydrate ingestion during prolonged (>2 h) moderate-to-high intensity exercise can significantly improve endurance performance. Although the precise mechanism(s) responsible for the ergogenic effects are still unclear, they are likely related to the sparing of skeletal muscle glycogen, prevention of liver glycogen depletion and subsequent development of hypoglycemia, and/or allowing high rates of carbohydrate oxidation. Currently, for prolonged exercise lasting 2-3 h, athletes are advised to ingest carbohydrates at a rate of 60 g·h⁻¹ (~1.0-1.1 g·min⁻¹) to allow for maximal exogenous glucose oxidation rates. However, well-trained endurance athletes competing longer than 2.5 h can metabolize carbohydrate up to 90 g·h⁻¹ (~1.5-1.8 g·min⁻¹) provided that multiple transportable carbohydrates are ingested (e.g. 1.2 g·min⁻¹ glucose plus 0.6 g·min⁻¹ of fructose). Surprisingly, small amounts of carbohydrate ingestion during exercise may also enhance the performance of shorter (45-60 min), more intense (>75 % peak oxygen uptake; VO(₂peak)) exercise bouts, despite the fact that endogenous carbohydrate stores are unlikely to be limiting. The mechanism(s) responsible for such ergogenic properties of carbohydrate ingestion during short, more intense exercise bouts has been suggested to reside in the central nervous system. Carbohydrate ingestion during exercise also benefits athletes involved in intermittent/team sports. These athletes are advised to follow similar carbohydrate feeding strategies as the endurance athletes, but need to modify exogenous carbohydrate intake based upon the intensity and duration of the game and the available endogenous carbohydrate stores. Ample carbohydrate intake is also important for those athletes who need to compete twice within 24 h, when rapid repletion of endogenous glycogen stores is required to prevent a decline in performance. To support rapid post-exercise glycogen repletion, large amounts of exogenous carbohydrate (1.2 g·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹) should be provided during the acute recovery phase from exhaustive exercise. For those athletes with a lower gastrointestinal threshold for carbohydrate ingestion immediately post-exercise, and/or to support muscle re-conditioning, co-ingesting a small amount of protein (0.2-0.4 g·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹) with less carbohydrate (0.8 g·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹) may provide a feasible option to achieve similar muscle glycogen repletion rates.

Carbs during and after increase performance

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Carbohydrate Nutrition and Team Sport Performance.

C Williams and I Rollo, Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), Nov 2015

The common pattern of play in 'team sports' is 'stop and go', i.e. where players perform repeated bouts of brief high-intensity exercise punctuated by lower intensity activity. Sprints are generally 2-4 s long and recovery between sprints is of variable length. Energy production during brief sprints is derived from the degradation of intra-muscular phosphocreatine and glycogen (anaerobic metabolism). Prolonged periods of multiple sprints drain muscle glycogen stores, leading to a decrease in power output and a reduction in general work rate during training and competition. The impact of dietary carbohydrate interventions on team sport performance have been typically assessed using intermittent variable-speed shuttle running over a distance of 20 m. This method has evolved to include specific work to rest ratios and skills specific to team sports such as soccer, rugby and basketball. Increasing liver and muscle carbohydrate stores before sports helps delay the onset of fatigue during prolonged intermittent variable-speed running. Carbohydrate intake during exercise, typically ingested as carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions, is also associated with improved performance. The mechanisms responsible are likely to be the availability of carbohydrate as a substrate for central and peripheral functions. Variable-speed running in hot environments is limited by the degree of hyperthermia before muscle glycogen availability becomes a significant contributor to the onset of fatigue. Finally, ingesting carbohydrate immediately after training and competition will rapidly recover liver and muscle glycogen stores.

Overal review

which states that "light carbohydrate and protein snack 30 to 60 min prior to exercise (e.g., 50 g of carbohydrate and 5 to 10 g of protein) serves to increase carbohydrate availability toward the end of an intense exercise bout "

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Can Huel be used as a workout/mr drink?

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