Today is my second Huel day. My first day I did 3 Huels and today I did 2. I’m doing 3 scoops each time. I’m trying to stick to Huel only with an occasional healthy cheat for 30 days at a time. I’m a 46 year old male and my calorie calculator says I’m at 2600ish calories based on my weight and height and I’m trying to reduce that to 1900 to 2000 calories a day for weight loss. My plan is to drink 4 times a day, 9am, 12pm, 3 pm, and 6pm 3 scoops each time. Does my formula add up?
Yes. 3 scoops is almost exactly 500 calories. Multiply that by 4 and you’ll wind up exactly with the 1900 to 2000 calories range.
If you want some variety, mix Huel in your favorite milk. Just see the calories count from the volume of milk used and then subtract the same amount of Huel calories from your dose. Or you can add some stuff to each dose to make then like 650 - 700 calories range and do 3 doses per day.
As a side note, you may actually find it hard to eat 2000 calories of Huel per day. It’s filling. Most of us don’t feel hungry 3 hours after consuming a shake. So, if you are fine with only 3 x 500 calories doses, then do it. No need to force yourself to eat xxxx number of calories per day. As your insulin levels lower, fat will more readily come out of adipose tissue and become available for energy, supplementing any calories consumed. So if you don’t feel hungry at a given time, feel free to skip that dose and catch the next meal time.
Our body doesn’t need us to count calories. Humans existed and thrived for centuries before the creation of a calorie as a unit of measurement. The obesity epidemic wasn’t around before all these food labels and calorie counting came into the public eye.
Thanks for the advice!!! I was concerned about to few calories since the calculator said I’m at 2600ish so I thought I need to be around 1900 to 2000? That’s still a reduction and I figured it wont throw my body into shock.
I’m sticking primarily to Huel but will occasionally eat regular food. I hold back on a Huel if I’m going to do that to not jump my calories over.
Excited to see how this goes! Keep us updated on your progress.
Be not concerned, my friend.
There are actually people who undergo prolonged fasts (zero calories) for weeks at a time, under the supervision of a doctor, who do just fine. If their BMI is really up there and they are drinking enough fluids and occasionally do some electrolytes from a supplement or bone broth, they are okay to do this. I am not suggesting you do this. I am simply pointing out there are many case studies of obese patients doing zero calories for weeks at a time, with no ill health benefits, and after they adjust past the first 48 - 72 hours, their energy levels go up and do not feel hungry.
When I was overweight, I could fast for up to 20 - 22 hours each day. Now I limit my daily fasts for 16 - 18 hours. I lost 50 pounds since last year and did not count a single macro or calorie. Didn’t time my exercise periods or follow a strict exercise regimen. I just exercised whenever I wanted and however I wanted. My body knows what it needs. So long as I don’t raise my insulin levels too high, my body will store and release energy exactly as it was designed to do. Hyper-insulinemia (and/or insulin resistance) is/was the real problem, not calorie excess. Besides, the body stores and releases carbs and fats very differently. So counting calories and comparing to an estimated calorie burning formula is misleading. Calories of energy created from glucose are handled very differently than calories of energy created from free fatty acids. Your levels of hormones, your activity level, current body fat stores, current glycogen stores, sex, age… these all play a role in determining how much of each of these macronutrients are used and to what degree.