Huel and Intermittent Fasting... TRY IT!

Experiences
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My Huel Story,

Towards the latter half of February I woke up at about 6am, prior to going skiing, and started scrolling through my Facebook feed. An ad for Huel popped up and caught my attention. I was not actively looking for any kind of food replacement, but I started looking into it. I was at 199lbs, the heaviest I have ever been, and thought- I will never allow myself to go to 200lbs. I ordered Huel and started doing Huel 2x per day- breakfast and lunch, around March 4. I would continue to eat whatever I wanted for dinner. I was limiting myself to 1600 calories a day based on the Huel calorie calculations of how I can back to 172 by the end of June.

After 3 weeks of Huel x 2 I was down to 193…. Not bad at all. Then, while looking up other Huel users Youtube videos, I found out about intermittent fasting (IF). I watched a few videos by a Dr. Berg, and it seemed to make 100% sense to me. I’m not going to try and explain the full theory of IF, just watch some videos and they will explain better than I can.

I would continue to limit myself to 1600 calories a day, and only eat between Noon and 8 PM. I was doing 2 scoops of Huel (vanilla with mint choc flavoring) around 12 PM (350 calories) and then again around 3:30 PM (350 calories) and then I would have whatever my family was having for dinner. Pizza, diner burgers, whatever crap I wanted. I would usually still end up eating under 1600 calories for the day.

So, from March 4 to June 7- I am down to 175 lbs, my lowest in 20 years. While I credit most of this to IF I can say I have been eating less crap than before Huel. I don’t eat breakfast and I don’t order out or get delivery for lunch every day.

Between Huel and Fasting I lost 24 pounds in 3 months, and I haven’t always been consistent with the Huel but I have followed the 12pm-8pm eating plan strictly. Sometimes I continue to get lunch with everyone at work, but then I don’t eat until dinner time so I am still under the 1600 calories.

I have put minimal effort into this weight loss. Every day I’m hungry around 10AM but hold out until noon. Im hungry around 230 pm- but I have a snack if I want since it falls within my eating time period. I then eat dinner around 730pm.

IF is the only thing that has ever worked for me. I think I can stick to IF forever…

For anyone who is doing Huel for weight loss, try the 16x8 Intermittent Fasting. 16 hrs no food- 8 hrs food. Figure out your calorie goals for each day and work Huel into the 8 hour window. Watch some quality Youtube videos on it, I think Dr. Berg’s are great but there are thousands of others as well.

Good Luck.

PS- unflavored Huel sucks…

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PS - it’s not that bad once you break the sugar addiction :slight_smile:

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Yep. I’ve been doing the 16/8 fast now for almost 3 weeks. And several times I’ve been able to stretch the fast into 18 hours. It didn’t happen overnight. Took a few days to work into a 16 hour fasting window and my brain was a toddler throwing a fit the first few days. But if other people can do it, I figured I could too. It was a matter of recognizing the thoughts and feeling of hunger were pure psychological and once I got past that hurdle, it got easier.

When I work I do my last Huel meal at 1900 or 1930, at work. I then don’t eat again till right before work the next day around 1100 or 1130. I eat a regular meal at home. Then go to work and have 2 doses of Huel at work.

IF and Huel are not automatic, magic bullets for weight loss. However, they do make fat loss much easier than other methods. They are both really good at lowering insulin levels.

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I’ve been keto for a few years with off and on I F. I got a month of huel to experiment with and you are right on several counts. I F really helps and unflavored is truly awful. I like vanilla quite a bit

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I am incorporating Huel into an 8-hour time-restricted eating plan. It’s tough, but my mind and body are slowly jettisoning the old habits in favor of new, more healthy ones. Having a great tasting, nutritionally complete meal ready to go is extremely helpful.

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I’ve been hearing about IF more and more but I don’t understand how morning exercise factors into that equation. I run, hike or swim in the morning because that’s when I have the most time and what I’ve been taught over the years is to replenish asap after a workout … and I’m usually pretty hungry after some exercise. :upside_down_face:

Are you working out as well while doing the IF and if so, what time of day?

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I used to exercise only after a meal. I used to think it was necessary. I started watching videos and reading info on fasting. I started a 16-hr daily fast. I then started doing my exercise while fasted. At first my performance was hindered. I was performing at about 50% of my “fed exercise capacity”. But after a few weeks my body and brain began to adjust and my performance improved. I’m not at 100% fed exercise capacity. More like 80%. But I can do it. And, holy $***, the body fat comes off real fast if you exercise in the fasted state. I have not been this lean since 11th grade. (I’m 42 yo.) In 6 weeks I had to replace my entire wardrobe because all my pants were too big. One day, I started a bicycle ride after being in the fasted state for 15 hours… I rode 20 miles. I felt tired but fine. And when I got home I showered and rested for a bit before I had to eat. I drank a ton of water, granted. But I rode 20 miles, fully fasted, and I didn’t die. And my time was only 4 minutes slower than my time when fed.

Exercising while fasted and IF has cured my “panic eating”. I no longer feel like i have to constantly eat the rest of the day after exercise. It’s also easier to exercise without all that food sloshing around in the ole GI tract. I was a skeptic till I tried it.

215 lbs down to 180 lbs. 40 inch waist pants last year. wearing 36 inch today. I didn’t spend a penny on any supplement. I didn’t buy a gym membership. I got all the info on IF for free on Youtube. I exercise in my house with a kettlebell, pullup bar, pushup stands, and an Olivia Newton Jon style headband. I got a free app that tracks my fasting time. I only concern myself with going 16 to 18 hours from my dinner till next day’s breakfast. I eat Huel at work, regular food at home. I don’t count calories but eat reasonably well. I still eat carbs. I still use barbeq sauce on my chicken, eat rice and beans. I eat pork.

It took about 2 weeks to train my brain. The first few days are the worst. But once you get over the psychological hurdles, fasting for 16 to 18 hours becomes natural.

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I’m gonna have to give this a go, I’m at 260 and would love to see 215 or less

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Now down to 178 lbs. I am still losing about a pound a week, and I’m not even trying anymore.

@WallyD give yourself about 2 weeks to become accustomed. Start by trying to extent the fast to at least 12 hours a day the first few days. Shouldn’t be too hard. Then extend it to 13 or 14 hours per day for a few days. Then try to stretch it to 16 hours. It’ll take a few weeks till the psychological cravings start to subside.

Watch this and see if it helps makes sense:

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