I have been drinking Huel for about three weeks now and am not seeing any results as I am trying to lose weight. I did do research on the Huel Forum and maybe I am doing something wrong. Any suggestions would be great. Based on my height which is 5’10, I should be drinking around 1,675 calories each day. I exercise 4-5 times a week, mostly running. Drinking a gallon of water each day too. Avoiding sweets and alcohol. I am gaining weight…I am trying to lose 2+ pounds a week. Thanks!
I started out with Vanilla only. Ordered 2 bags of unflavored and unsweeted and it tasted terrible so I got creative. Mixing 2 scoops of unflavored, 1 scoop of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of chocolate flavor and it does not taste too bad.
Your numbers seem right, so your results do seem surprising.
How are you measuring your Huel/calories?
Could time of day/water consumption be a factor in your weighing? IIRC, it is not uncommon for our weight can vary 3-5 pounds over the course of the day.
If you are exercising enough, your weight may stay very close to what it has been as you replace fat with muscle. I am in no way an expert, so someone smarter should also comment.
Thanks vossad01 and Billia for your responses. So I should be drinking less water? Not sure what you mean by how I am measuring my Huel/calories. I have been using the scoop that Huel gave me.
Would not drinking Huel late afternoon and late evening help? that would mean 304 less calories per day. Not sure if that is a good idea.
Billia- The first week, I drank Huel 4 times a way plus eating a real meal at dinner. This week I started drinking just Huel 5 times a day. Bad idea?
I don’t know a ton about nutrition and exercise, but I know maximum muscle growth occurs if you have a meal thats got decent protein shortly after doing the exercise.
That is what I am confused about as what I got me interested in getting Huel is that it is supposed to have all the nutritions/ingredients I need to take daily. I guess I am confused about Huel and hope one of the Huel reps can explain.
From the Huel page about protien;
The DV for protein is around 50g per day, but this only covers our very basic needs and prevents protein deficiency. The Western diet typically provides more, and Huel does too. All essential amino acids are included in adequate amounts from two vegan protein sources: pea and rice protein, as well as protein from the oat powder. Based on an average 2,000 calorie intake, you’ll be consuming 148g protein per day from Huel: this provides a good amount for optimal health as well as building and maintaining a healthy body. Furthermore, protein is more satiating (appetite suppressing) than other macronutrients and we’ve designed Huel to stop unwanted hunger pangs.
I think the question about if/how you are measuring is because the scoop can be tightly packed and you might be getting a few more calories than you realize. The most accurate measure is to weigh.
As much exercise as you are doing, you might be building muscle at the same time you lose fat.
Do you feel better than you did before you started?
miked, you may be right about me possibly adding more calories than I realize. I should get a scale. I do feel better now before I started on the Huel. I seem to have more energy.
No, your body needs water to function properly drink ample water. Hydration level can affect weight, but only a certain amount and that is not the weight you are trying to lose.
The scoop is a rough measure and suitable for many just needing a meal replacement. Since you have pretty set goals and expectations, and especially since you are not getting the results you expect, you will probably want to measure the powder so you can have a more precise idea of how many calories you are consuming.
There are many reasons why you could not be seeing the results you had hoped for. Age, your BMR compared to caloric intake, Exercise routine (are you lifting?), sleeping habits, over training or under training, stress, illness, your actual weight vs your goal (if you weigh 170 and trying to get to 165 expect slow progress) and many more.
What I suggest is that you re-calculate your BRM, there are a lot of free BMR calculators out there, if that number is wrong you entire plan is wrong so start there then build your diet from there. Your numbers seems right but you never know until you know for sure. It’s a common mistake for everyone to use the 1500 to 2000 calorie rule knowing how different we all are from body composition to our daily lives and routines so don’t assume your 1675 calories a day are putting you in a deficit.
If your numbers are right then weigh yourself everyday at the same time under the same conditions, weigh fluctuates like a gas tank in a car, so make it a habit to measure weigh at the exact same time of the day, no clothes and under the same conditions (preferable after #1 and #2 in the morning)
You may also be burning fat and building muscle which is called body re-composition. In any case however there is nothing wrong with double checking your numbers.
Exercise doesn’t always cause weight loss. In his book, “Why we get fat and what to do about it”, author Gary Taubes cites several studies of exercise and weight loss. Some show modest weight loss, some show modest weight gain, some show no net change.
The studies seem to show that insulin resistant and type 2 diabetics (which are insulin resistant) tend to lose the most body fat from exercise.
I have both lost and gained weight from an exercise program. I originally used exercise years ago to lose 90 pounds. I then trained for a bike marathon and gained 8 pounds in 2 weeks. I suspect some of that may have been water since I was sweating and drinking a lot of water.
Exercise makes you hungry. Exercise also makes you tired and people sometimes will spontaneously move less between bouts of exercise which can have an impact on calorie expenditure. The body is complex and it’s not just eating less calories than burning. We have no way to accurately measure calorie burning at rest and our body can adjust our resting metabolic rate depending on how much we’ve eaten and exercised. We know that we feel more energetic after eating. We also know that if we exercise and restrict calorie intake, our body responds by making us feel hungry and tired.
The body also changes levels of our hormones that are responsible for water storage if we sweat a lot. Do a lot of exercise and sweat and your body will fiddle with your aldosterone levels to cause you to retain more water during periods of rest, in anticipation of future exercise sessions. Homeostasis.
The scale picks up changes in fat, muscle, water, and contents of your GI track. Some of that weight gain may actually be water and fecal matter (not to get too gross). I know my dumps are huge now that I am on Huel. I probably lost 2 pounds before and after my morning dump. Our typical American diets are low on fiber and an all-Huel diet contains a lot more than we are used to. It bulks up the contents of your colon. There’s a lot of weight in there.
