As my lack of desire and interest in making food to eat have increased, I started consuming more and more Huel. I’ve had energy and felt full, more or less not been hungry as much, but my bathroom trips have not been pleasant. I also recently had an evening of intense chest pain that just disappeared, with no idea if Huel is related.
I’ve read that Huel contains the necessary ingredients to ensure a healthy stools, but mine have not been that way. Am I doing something wrong? 400 mL of water, 3.5 scoops of Huel - a mix of vanilla and unflavored Huel, and maybe an additional 100 mL of water, all shaken up, usually with the barrier to reduce the number of residual clumps.
When I was drinking 2 Soylents a day, my bathroom trips were great so what’s the difference now with Huel? It’s hard to say for sure, but they have probably improved at least slightly as time has gone on. As I’ve taken a break (2nd full day) from Huel, my trips have re-improved.
I would find that thick to really thick (depending on how close to 100ml that maybe 100ml is), and early on I associated overly thick shakes with digestive discomfort (would get better by drinking water), though I never did tests to prove this to the be the case.
I understand it might be on the thick side, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes I enjoy it thick. Either way, I understand digestive discomfort, but I haven’t had any of that, just unpleasantness at the end.
My first day on it I had 3 meals (500 calories each) and my bathroom trip wasn’t pleasant either. This morning went to the bathroom and same thing. I’ll see how this week goes and if I just have to get used to it. It also gave me bad gas yesterday but so far after 2 meals today I haven’t had any problems.
Any known food allergies or intolerance? I found out last year that my body doesn’t digest whole milk or egg very well via a blood test with a dietician. I’ve gone 27 years not knowing this! It does make a lot of sense though as I had experienced discomfort when eating certain foods in the past, I had just never done the work to find out what it was.
Food sensitivities do worsen with age as well. Worth looking into! Your body may not be compatible with some ingredients in Huel.
I also had some very intense chest pain for about three days! I was quite concerned, and wasn’t sure whether it was due to drinking Huel. That was at the very start of drinking it but it hasn’t happened again after that, I wonder why this happened to both of us. I too mix the unflavored and the vanilla.
FWIW, chest pain can often be gas. You can get gas bubbles in your intercostal spaces and it’s pretty unpleasant.
Legal disclaimer: My paramedic degree does not make me a doctor, I can’t do algebra so… no M.D for me. If you’re short of breath, sweaty and experiencing a crushing pain that feels as though an elephant has chosen your chest for a seat - you should call an ambulance. [/disclaimer]
Yeah I think it might be the vanilla flavored that’s doing it. I only tried the unflavored once and I didn’t have any gas after that but I’m reluctant to try it again cuz it tastes so bad by itself. Definitely needs something with it. The only thing is I’m used to sucralose with all the preworkouts and protein powders I use and those have never given me any gas, so I wonder what it really is in the vanilla flavored that’s doing it. I’ll need to do a full day if unflavored to know for sure if it’s the sweeteners that’s the culprit tho.
Maybe an uptick of protein intake? Also if I don’t drink enough water, I’ll get a little bloaty with the Huel. But I figure that’s a good reminder for me to drink more water and less Diet Mt Dew lol