Confused and befuddled

#1

Hi there,

After my first five days on Huel I’m confused. A bit of background first, 48 year old female; five feet tall.

Been on a wellness journey since August 2016 and have lost 70 pounds; the holidays threw off my progress and I’ve been up and down 10 pounds since. Been eating low fodmap and was finding some success but my memory was crap.

After day 1 on Heul I lowered from 3 scoops to 2 per shake; replacing breakfast and lunch and eating a sensible dinner because I gained 2 pounds overnight that first day. I lost those 2 pounds mid-week, (TMI alert) had my first BM since starting Heul on day 4 and was anticipating a loss day 5 morning (because of the volume). I gained 4 pounds!!

I’m an active walker; getting approximately 14,500 steps a day (5.75 miles) and I burn between 2000 and 2500 calories a day.

My memory has improved already on Huel and I’m far less “hangry” than I was prior.

Is it normal to go to a one scoop shake?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

#2

I wonder if this is a water or fecal content weight increase. I wonder if the Huel has significantly more fiber than what you were eating before. Fiber can sit in the intestines until passed and it can swell/absorb water into it.

If I may ask, what was your starting weight?

I remember one time I restarted a bike training regimen to get ready for a marathon, and I gained 5 pounds in a week. Kinda pissed me off. But I was sweating and drinking a lot of water. I also was eating more since i was very hungry. Anyway, I digress.

I suspect that rapid weight gain in a matter of a few days is largely due to changes in water storage. Huel may be causing your body to retain more water either intra-cellularly or in the GI track itself. And the fact that you went so long without a BM after first starting may indicate that your gut is bulking up your fecal content. You’d be surprised how much food/waste material our intestines can store. When stretched out they are like 6 to 8 meters. The human body doesn’t gain 4 pounds of fat in 5 days, especially based on the sensible diet you described.

Are the pants still fitting? That’s the real litmus test.

#3

Day 0 150.2
Day 1 152.0
Day 2 152.1
Day 3 150.4
Day 4 150.7
Day 5 154.7

The pants don’t feel tight at all.

Going days without a BM is normal for me and usually ends in pain so Huel is an improvement so far.

Do you think I may start to loose if I continue on the same serving size?

Thanks!

#4

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. This is likely a temporary weight gain, due to changes or shifts in water retention. The weight may come back off if you keep at your same regimen. Maybe give it another week or two. Or, at the least, maybe this is a new “steady state” weight for you and the weight will plateau and you will stop gaining after this initial adjustment period.

Realistically, to gain 4 pounds of body fat would take quite a bit of gorging. You’d have to be eating some serious sugars/sweets over a period of those 5 days. You’d have to consume like 5 or 6 thousand calories each day for those 5 days to get that result. The meal and exercise regimen you described would not cause you to suddenly gain 4 pounds of fat simply because you started using Huel. Huel is a low GI food and should really be fattening, per se. This weight is likely water and fiber.

In essence, you are full of crap. :grinning: Literally. Your gut is probably filled with this fiber/water mixture and it will take a while to adjust. Most people only eat about half or less of the recommended 30 grams of fiber per day. When I first started using Huel, I had big bulky turds (not to point too fine a point on it).

FYI, I am in the 200 - 210 pound range. My weight fluctuates from morning to evening, on the same day, by as much as 3 pounds.

#5

Thanks. Not the first nor will it be the last time I am told I am full of crap!!

I will carry on and see what happens.

Thanks!