I’ve been using Huel as an occasional meal replacement for a little while, and while I can’t say that I’ve particularly enjoyed drinking it, it’s been a useful tool in terms of helping to balance a diet and control calories.
More recently I’ve tried to get into it in a more full on way. I’m currently trying to shed some weight so my days have consisted of Huel granola for breakfast, a mid-morning banana, 2 scoops of huel at lunch time, a Huel bar for an afternoon snack, gym most days and then a couple more scoops of huel in the evening. I know this isn’t a huge amount of calories, so I won’t complain about being hungry all the time.
However, the problem comes in that I’ve been finding the Huel itself harder and harder to drink. While I’ve never especially enjoyed it, I found it perfectly tolerable to begin with. It’s been getting much harder over the last week or so and now I feel physically ill when consuming it (I have to do it very slowly in order to keep it down). This paired with a plateau in the weight loss has made me wonder if I’m doing something drastically wrong. Anybody got any advice? I just don’t feel that it’s realistically sustainable to keep going on exactly as I am.
I find that adding different flavors to it helps tremendously. I have to change the flavor pretty much weekly because by itself, Huel isn’t particularly easy for me to drink. I’d suggest either trying the flavor packs Huel sells or simply adding some Orange or Apple juice to it. I tried it with a banana before, but it was too thick to drink. I made mine today with an orange and four strawberries and blended it together with my Huel (I made two Huel shakes out with that). I find the citric acid really helps with the baseness of the Huel/Water mixture which helps with being able to drink it. The extra calories that you get by adding in some fruit is honestly negligible (my orange and strawberries added less than 70 calories), but it really helps in the drinkability of the shake.
Another thing that I have to do is, I drink a liter of water with every Huel shake I drink. If I find it too difficult to swallow, I just wash it down with some water. Drinking more water can also help you get through weight loss plateaus so that might help with that if you’re not already drinking about a gallon of water a day.
I tend to alternate between no flavour, chocolate, banana or chocolate AND banana.
I did initially buy the sample pack. Not a fan of tea and coffee, so those flavours didn’t do much for me. I really didn’t enjoy the rhubarb and custard, and felt that the strawberry and toffee didn’t really add any flavour at all (which was disappointing, as the idea of those two flavours really appeal to me). I did also enjoy the pineapple and coconut one and have considered buying a pouch of that. I’ve also been eyeing up the chocolate and mint and the caramel. I’m a bit concerned the caramel might be a non-event like the toffee.
I’m hesitant to add fruit or juices to it, mostly because I’m trying to keep the calories down as low as possible, but I may need to compromise on this.
As far as water goes, I’m drinking a huge amount each day (mostly to help manage the hunger).
I’m currently pushing on but really not enjoying it. I’m not sure if the right thing to do is try to power through, or to take a day or two off huel (but still keep it low calories) and go back on afterwards.
On a more positive note, I have finally got myself below the 13 stone mark.
I’m just gonna hit you with the real truth here. Maybe it will help you, or maybe not. Worth a shot.
The fruit flavor Huel additive packets are crap. Straight up gross. (Vanilla Huel, itself, is a great product, though.) Artificial fruit flavoring usually doesn’t work in many food products, and the Huel flavor packets are no exception. Only the Huel chocolate additive is worth using, but that’s because it’s basically a cocoa powder with no sugar, no different than a Hershey’s cocoa powder from the store. And even then I add some PB or raw cashews when using the cocoa powder.
Real fruit, Peanut butter, low sugar milks (whole cow’s milk, almond milk, cashew milk, etc.), cinnamon. These are what make it taste better.
200 ml water + 250 to 300 ml milk of choice + 2 or 3 scoops Vanilla Huel + frozen blueberries and or strawberries = very good. can also add half banana
500 ml water or 250 water/250 milk + 2 or 3 scoops vanilla Huel + banana + PB + or minus cinnamon + or minus 2 tablespoons applesauce= very good
if using unsweetened Huel, you’ll need more, like a whole banana, milk, and possibly a little bit of honey. Or skip that mid morning banana and stick in your Huel drink instead.
The point is to use real fruit or some other real additive. Those Huel flavor packets don’t appeal to me, and don’t appear to be working for you either.
Granted I’m new to this so maybe I’m not the right person to ask, but I tried a mix on a whim today that I liked that maybe might help you. My issue with drinking it is it feels kinda grainy, so texture can be an issue. I use the espresso flavor packs which don’t help much but today I added a chai tea mix that seems to have helped immensely. I’m able to down 1/4 of the bottle at a time without realizing it. It tastes almost like oatmeal. Perhaps look at not just fruit things to add but other drink mixes. If you’re a coffee drinker there are a lot of things out there, with and without additives depending on what brands you look at, that might help?
I drink the u/u without added flavoring (aka added sugar). It’s not an ice cream shake but I don’t expect it to be. Ice cold I have no problem downing a big one. I do add ground flaxseed and nutritional yeast for their benefits. Thinking about using beef bone broth for part of the liquid.
I say don’t torture yourself. If the benefits don’t outweigh the negatives find a new sustainable approach to reach your goals.
Maybe simply taking a break or changing things up … perhaps alternate one week on and one week off. Self evaluate at the end of each week after a month decide which weeks moved you closer to your goal.
Or perhaps try baking a batch of Huel cookies and some days getting your Huel that way.
I’ve found that by allowing myself one non-huel (but still low calorie) meal each day at the weekend, my ability to consume huel has returned. I’ve bought a couple more flavour pouches so there’s a little bit more variety on the horizon as well.
I get the gluten free unflavored version and blend it all up with various frozen fruit. It makes the drink taste so much better and I love drinking it now. It still has a little bit of an oat flavor but if you find a fruit you like it works great. My favorite was frozen pineapple, mango and blueberry. Now I crave my huel in the mornings
I would suggest getting a blender, Magic Bullet/Ninja, and adding fruit to it. Banana’s have quite a bit of sugar in them so they add a lot flavor when blended. My go to is 4 strawberries and half a banana, I will consume 3/day @ 2 scoops each then have a reasonable dinner.
Find a way to make it something you like. I like to add a spoon of instant coffee at lunch, for taste and that extra boost.
At home, I like a spoonful of honey mmm.
I tried the banana and strawberry flavors from huel, they taste like medicine to me but the chocolate powder is good, I’ll sometimes put 1 tsp of it into the mix.
I couldn’t eat it plain, and I’m not interested in a Huel diet, just a easy morning meal on the go.