Meal Suggestions

Nutrition
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According to the calorie calculator, referenced by Huel, I should consume 2733 calories per day for “Extreme weight loss”.

I am currently working my way up to 4 shakes per day, which will provide 1600 calories.

My plan is to consume the shakes as breakfast, AM snack, lunch and PM snack, then consume regular food for supper.

The only problem is that I need to consume an extra 1000 calories for supper.

Does anyone have any suggestions for 1000 calorie meals?

I’ve briefly looked online, and found suggestions from bodybuilders, who only seem to be concerned about the calories. (One suggestion was a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese with a hot dog and some ketchup added to it.)

Another option would be to have a grilled ribeye steak every night, but I’m not sure that is too healthy, either.

I look forward to your suggestions. Thanks in advance!

P.S. I’m currently consuming two Clif bars per day, between shakes. That adds 500 calories. If I continue this, then I’ll need a 500 calorie supper…

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Hi there Paxton!

Daniel here. I’m very happy that I’m not the only one who chose Huel for its convenience in measuring up daily calories.

First of all, you need to understand that one ‘scoop’ of Huel isn’t necessarily 200 calories. The best way to do this is to use the kitchen weighting scale. I’ve seen other people post saying that a scoop is only worth 150-170 kcal. So again, I highly recommend that you use the weighing scale if you want to be precise with your calorie deficit. (I’m personally trying to gain weight and so far I’ve made decent progress with it)

In regards to the meal suggestion, you can get really creative with it. It should be something that you should be looking forward to every day. This is relatively easy as long as you know the amount of calories each of the ingredient has. For example, in order for me to have a surplus of 500 calories, I eat 1/2 pound of ground beef which is about 500-600 pounds with brown rice leveled at 300 calories (so not too much carbs). One boiled egg is about 90 calories and veggies are all relatively low in calories. Just orient your meal with your knowledge of calories. I have also recently heard that cholesterol is significantly lower in white meat (ex. chicken) and this should help you a lot in terms of losing body fat if that’s what you are going for.

Lastly, I advice that you don’t simply fill your calories on empty calories (ex. brown rice over white rice). As you may have been already aware of you need to orient your diet focused more with protein and less carbs (slow-digesting carbs) and veggies. Limit your intake on diary products and sodium as much as you can.

I wish you the best of luck and hopefully you found my response helpful!

Sincerely,
Daniel

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Thank you very much for your reply.

I appreciate the advice, and will look into your suggestions!

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Unless you are doing a lot of physical activity, you won’t actually need to consume 2700 calories per day. I assume you are starting at a very large BMI in order for 2700 daily calories to qualify in that calculator as still being “extreme” weight loss.

For reference, I was a BMI of 39 many years ago. My BMI is 21 currently.

Most humans trying to lose weight can easily meet all their nutritional needs with 2000 calories per day, or even less. Don’t feel the need to force feed up to 2700 calories just to meet a calculator’s requirement. Now, if you still feel ravenously hungry after only consuming your Huel, then by all means go for that extra meal. But, if you actually find you are full and satisfied after only consuming 1600 calories of Huel, then feel free to stop there.

While losing body fat, the excess stored fat is freed and burned for energy, supplementing any food eaten. In general, the more excess body fat, the less calories you need to eat to meet your needs. Although many people who are obese (former me) find it hard to eat very little food while losing weight.

The truth is that an obese person, like I used to be, can actually undergo a prolonged water-only fast for weeks or even months (if the person is really large). Although getting past that initial 72 hours to get into ketosis is the hardest part and the reason most cannot make it.

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Now as far as meal suggestions, if you did need an extra meal and you want to make it simple, there’s one healthy alternative that always works

Beans + rice + broccoli. It’s inexpensive. You can use a wide range of beans and rice. Each component can be cooked as batches ahead of time. You can opt to do canned seasoned beans with a batch of rice. You can opt to microwave frozen rice. Frozen broccoli can be microwaved. Can be seasoned so many ways. There’s dozens of options with these three foods. Or you can whole wheat wraps with them. And beans are one of the healthiest foods with some of the best literature supporting them. (Except for that quack, Dr. Steve Gundry, who makes up **** about beans.)

For a quick and relatively healthy meal, whole wheat or Ezekiel bread, toasted, with peanut butter on top.

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Great meal ideas! - and double points for the Gundry burn :grin:

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Thank you so much for the replies!

Yes, my BMI is about 43.

I have recently started riding a stationary bike for five miles, five days a week. I believe that only burns a couple hundred calories per day, though.

I’m used to not eating supper most nights, because I’m just not hungry. However, that was when I was eating fast food for breakfast and lunch.

I have been eating supper, since doing the calorie calculator, just to get in calories.

So, I’m glad to hear that I don’t need to worry about eating enough calories. I’ll just go by whether or not I’m hungry in the evenings.

Thank you for the recipe ideas, as well!

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Don’t stop riding your bike. I do the same on a treadmill. I have a TV nailed to the wall in front of it, right now I’m working my way through my Rocky & Bullwinkle DVD’s. :grin:

It may only be a few hundred calories, but they all add up! :sunglasses:

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I don’t plan on it. I actually ride it to help with my mood, more than for burning calories.

I do it right in front of the television, too! The time flies when you find something good to watch! :smile:

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You got this. Once you get your momentum going and get adjusted to new eating habits, it becomes easier and easier to shed the poundage.

Try not to think of calories in verses calories out. The body is way more complicated than that. And, besides, noone can accurately know the actual calories they burn. The body adjusts resting metabolic rates based on so many things.

Instead, focus on ways to restore insulin sensitivity. Although exercise may not burn a lot of calories, it has an immediate and delayed benefits on insulin sensitivity. While exercising, muscles uptake glucose without needing insulin’s “help” so during exercise the pancreas will tone down the insulin in response to falling blood glucose levels secondary to exercise-induced uptake. Exercise also seems to have delayed effects throughout the day in regards to insulin sensitivity. Exercise also helps “spend” some of the intramyocellular lipids which accumulate in an insulin-resistant patient.

Eating foods with lower glycemic index have also been shown to help improve insulin sensitivity and also requires less insulin response from the pancreas when eaten. Huel has an estimated glycemic index around 25 - 30 range, very mild.

Beta-glucans, the fiber in oats, have been shown to help insulin sensitivity in several studies. As such, oat consumption is associated with improvement in type 2 diabetes and reduction of body fat. I think there are also studies on flax seeds that show this, too. Oats and flax are major ingredients in Huel.

Diets high in saturated fat and/or trans fat are associated with insulin resistance. Huel is plant based, so it has zero trans fat and naturally has low levels of saturated fat.

Mild exercise, low added sugar, low saturated fat, no trans fat, high fiber : these are the pathways to weight loss.

Foods that have been specifically shown to reduce weight and improve glycemic control in diabetics: oats, flax, berries (especially blue), avocado, apples.

Hey, go to youtube and search for the guy who lost a ton of weight on an all-potato diet. Also, check this out. I am not trying to get you on an all potato or rice diet. I just wanted to point to some specific examples of people who did some simple diets and got great results. Just trying to expand minds here.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/2013/12/31/walter-kempner-md-founder-of-the-rice-diet/

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Can I get a hyperlink or a URL to the calorie calculator you are referencing please.

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Sure.

It’s referenced here:

Here is a direct link:

https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

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My doctor told me 1,200 calories per day for extreme weight loss.

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That certainly sounds extreme! I would assume you would be pretty hungry, and possibly lack energy, only consuming 1,200 calories per day.

I would follow your doctor’s recommendation, though.

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I’m currently not exceeding 1500 a day, sometimes i’ll splurge and go to 2k…

Dropped 38 lbs since May 28 with Huel, IF and wise food choices… never felt better.

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