Just wondering what your experience has been with weight loss while on Huel, and how long it took the reach the point you are at?
1 Like
16lbs in 15 weeks. 3 heaping scoops of Huel per drink, twice a day, breakfast and lunch, with a regular dinner (usually just meat and a vegetable). Exercising 4-5 days a week. My energy is high and I feel great!
5 Likes
Lost 25 lbs (from 210 down to 185) over the first 3 months or so. Still losing a little bit here and there, down another few pounds the last month (4 months total with Huel). Switching to Huel has influenced a big change in my diet and I am more aware of the calories I am taking in. One 3 scoop Huel shake a day for lunch. Occasionally will have a second for dinner.
4 Likes
I have lost about 46 pounds since April. I am at a four year low in weight, and rapidly approaching an eight year low.
6 Likes
Wow, guys! All of your weight loss stories are incredible. Thanks for sharing!
3 Likes
Isn’t 3 scoops equal to 1,500 calories? Or is the scoop that comes with the bag smaller than the 1 cup serving size that is detailed in the Huel Nutrition Facts? I just ordered my first batch last night, so sorry if this is a dumb question!
I plan on trying 1-2 drinks a day with approximately 1 cup (127g) of Huel each. If the scoop that is included is not equal to 1 cup, does anyone know how many scoops I will need to equal 1 cup (127g)?
@bobbins, the scoop included is somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of a cup. I purchased a metal 1/3 scoop (to eliminate the static of the plastic scoop) and use three scoops of that. It’s not exact but I know it’s a much healthier lunch and probably a third of the calories of what I was eating before.
2 Likes
About three scoops will equal the about one cup serving. 
1 Like
I’m a 5’ 11" male. I was roughly 215 lbs last year. Today I weight around 165 - 170 lbs. Intermittent Fasting and consuming Huel at work is the main way I did it. I also exercise moderately.
Gave up calorie counting and the false doctrine of the “calories in, calories out” model. Embraced the proper science of endocrine model of body fat regulation. Once I learned about how hormones determine body fat storage and release and the overriding importance of insulin, I then came upon the solution. Lower insulin.
For me: Exercise helped some. Eating a low glycemic index food (such as Huel) helped even more. Intermittent fasting helped the most.
Some people find a ketogenic diet helps them lower insulin. And I will admit that this can. However, I found practicing a daily 16 hour fast and focusing on lower glycemic index foods was the better option for me. Less restrictive from my perspective. But I hold ketogenic diets and their followers in high regards. They are simply cousins of us intermittent fasters.
If it lowers your insulin, you’ll lose fat. However you gotta do it.
I do not view Huel as a diet food. It is a complete food that is nutritious and properly balanced. It can be consumed by anyone of any size. It just so happens that people who replace unbalanced meals of excess sugar, tons of wheat flour, or low fiber with meals of Huel may experience less body fat since their insulin levels will be lowered.
5 Likes
I’ve done intermittent fasting in the past, and loved the effects. However, I can’t manage enough calories via huel while intermittent fasting. How do you manage it?
Everything you wrote has me excited to start trying Huel (tracking of my order says delivery is this Saturday). I will be watching calorie counts to start, as I plan to replace 2 meals with Huel and still eat 1 regular meal each day. However I am mostly hopeful that replacing 2/3 of my current diet with Huel will lead to weight loss over time just due to eating less sugar and other crap that my body doesn’t want or need. I expect I will see a change in how I feel and my energy levels as well.
I do want to ask, if you are fasting for 16 hours are you consuming 3-4 drinks of Huel in the other 8? Less? Eating other foods too?
1 Like
For me, I only replace one or two meals a day with Huel. I always eat at least one non-Huel meal a day. It’s the first and biggest of the day. I generally start big with my meals and go smaller at the end of the feeding window. Then I exercise while fasted the next day before breaking my fast. I find this is easiest for me and it also helps with reflux by eating big earlier in the day.
1 Like
I break my fast usually around 11 am. I eat big at that meal. Non Huel. Around a thousand calories. For this meal I eat a wide range of stuff. Rice, beans, cassava, chicken, pork, eggs, fruit, mixed vegetables, etc.
Then at work I will have one or two Huel meals. If I eat real big at 11, I can go all the way to 6 pm and have my Huel meal. For this Huel meal I do water/milk mix, 2 scoops of Huel with peanut butter and either apple sauce or banana and pumkpin pie spice. It’s about 800 to 900 calories.
Or if I want to split the Huel into two meals I do two Huel mixes with 1 or 2 scoops each and then I add less stuff.
But that’s a rough estimate. I do not count calories. I mainly focus on not eating after 6 or 7 pm and then not eating again the next day till 11 am or later. Occasionally I will delay my breakfast till 1 or 2 pm. So long as I fast at least 16 hours, everything else is flexible.
I do minimize or avoid sugary stuff and deserts. But otherwise, I don’t limit what I eat during the feeding window.
So long as I don’t get stomach cramps or uncomfortable symptoms, I prefer to eat big meals, less often, squished close to each other, with long periods of no food. The more you can scrunch your food into a tighter window, the better, since you’ll go longer in a fast. Insulin levels drops very low the longer you fast. However, you gotta be reasonable. It’s not practical for most people to eat all their food in an hour time, once a day. Your stomach might hurt. So, you gotta do some trial and error to figure out what is best for you. Similarly, some people can easily handle 4 scoops of Huel at once. But many of us find it easier to limit it to 2 scoops per dose of Huel, due to the fiber.
2 Likes
This guy f***ing nails it. One of the most cogent, precise, and boiled-down explanations for body fat regulation.
Thanks everyone for your feedback! As for me, I started replacing 2 of 3 daily meals with Huel, (2 scoops per shake) around Oct 9th I believe. So roughly 3 weeks ago. I eat a healthy dinner, meat and a veggie. If I get hungry between my shakes, I snack on an apple or a meat stick. I am 68 inches tall. At the start I weighed 212 lbs, I am now down to 204 so far. This is with little to no exercise. My 25th birthday is at the end of January and I’d love to be down to 175-180 by then!
2 Likes
Short version - In my opinion I think you are not eating enough.
Soap box version -
2 scoops 2x daily, a dinner and small snacks sounds to me like just above 1,200 calories daily. (about 166 per scoop for 663 from Huel and about 400 from your 3rd meal and about 100-200 from snacks).
Please do some more research on weight loss for yourself. A severe calorie deficit like this will help you lose weight fast. But that weight will be in the form of both the fat you want to burn plus muscle mass. The body is an amazing machine. When it gets into starvation mode it will get it’s calories from cannibalizing your muscle mass and bone density until it can’t get what it needs - then it will adjust and stop using as many calories. Eventually your body will adjust to the 1,200 calories, your metabolism will slow to a crawl and losing weight will become much more difficult. IMO - a much slower weight loss with adding more healthy calories (preferably protein) while building lean muscle is a healthier method for weight loss.
I’m larger than you, 71 inches and was 236 lbs on 9/23. I started using Huel soon after and am up to 3 Huel meals (3 scoops each) plus a 300 calorie breakfast, a 250 calorie post workout shake and a healthy dinner. That’s about 2,600 calories a day - and with exercise I am still at a caloric deficit. A month later I am 224 lbs but more importantly I have lost just under 4 inches of stomach fat. That equates to losing almost 40 lbs of fat while adding 28 lbs of muscle.
We all want to lose weight and be healthier. Just try not to rush the process. Slow and steady wins the race.
2 Likes
Perhaps severe starvation beyond what is reasonable might do this. However, I think this is bit heavy handed.
it has been shown that overweight people can safely practice prolong fasting for a week or two and not lose muscle mass. During fasting, the body will preserve muscle mass and preferentially burn fat to energy. Growth Hormone is slightly elevated during fasting to help us preserve muscle.
hibernating animals survive without food for months and then they come out of hibernation and they are able to move around and go get food and they do just fine. They do not waste away into nothingness.
people who practice fasting or even calorie restriction will experience a lowering of their insulin levels. This will allow fat to more freely come out of adipose tissue and be readily available to make energy. The human body is not stupid. During times of starvation it will not throw away the skeletal muscles and bones that it needs in order to move about. It will use stored up fat for energy. Human beings would have died out a long time ago as a species if our bodies cannibalized our lean muscle mass so readily during periods of low food input.
the level of severe starvation and wasting that you are talking about is usually stuff associated with Advanced diseases or war or severe drought and famine. The body only eats its lean muscle mass for energy as an absolute Last Resort. most people here in a developed country would have to go without food for a very long time to experience something like this. And most of us would respond to hunger responses and eat before that ever happened.
besides, if he were starving himself to a point that he was losing lean muscle mass, it would also show up as evidence in his everyday life. He would be constantly sluggish and tired and constantly thinking about food. Other people would notice a severe change in his behavior. It would affect his day-to-day life. So, if he wants to reduce his food intake in order to lose weight and it does not adversely affect his day-to-day activity, then it’s perfectly fine.
I have been on Huel for 45 days, and am down from 210 to 190. I do three scoops for breakfast, three scoops for lunch, then have a typically meat free salad for dinner. I have also found it very easy to incorporate IF on a 18:6 schedule. I am close to 100% adherence to the above schedule, but have also found that I really enjoy a nice weekend meal with my wife. In the past, I had craved mostly junk food and desert in these “cheat” meals, but find that drinking Huel, my tastes have changed to healthier fare, and our dinners have been Paleo-esque. Beyond the weight loss…less inflammation, better digestion, better sleep, better mood, more energy. So much so that my wife is now doing a similar plan.
3 Likes
Deron,
I have been loosely following your 16/8 split for a couple days now, and I definitely think you are onto something. I started out this week following my normal pattern; breakfast (Huel) in my car driving to work, then normal lunch around 11:30 and normal dinner around 6pm. However Wednesday/Thursday morning I had a combination of appointments and meetings that made it easy to forgo eating until approximately 11am when I would have my Huel shake. Then I would do a small meal in the mid-afternoon (mostly protein), and then a small dinner of whatever I wanted around 6pm. I found I drank a lot more water in the mornings.
It was easier than I thought to go without eating (does coffee count?!?) through the morning, and I actually kind of like the feeling. I also did not feel like eating more throughout the afternoon to compensate, probably due to the high fiber/protein content of Huel. It has made it so much easier for me to avoid office snacks, and I feel great! It is much easier to stick to my planned daily calorie intake as well!
I am going to keep experimenting with flavors of Huel, consistency, and also intermittent fasting. Thanks!
1 Like
Technically, so long as your coffee has no sugar or cream, it is still considered fasting. Black coffee or coffee with only artificial sweetener has no calories, will not induce any insulin response, and is still considered fasting.
Now, if you absolutely must have some cream in your coffee, that’s probably okay. Just make it heavy cream with as much fat and minimal/no sugar possible. A small amount of fat will have a negligible insulin response. And if doing this allows you to prolong the time till you eat your first meal, then it’s worth adding a small amount of cream.
Eating: Carbs have the biggest insulin response. Protein has a modest insulin response. Fat has a minor insulin response.
It took me 2 weeks to become mentally adjusted to 16/8 window. Now, I do it automatically and don’t need to track my time on my phone app. I do this, pretty much, every day. I don’t need to lose any more weight. BMI is around 23. But I plan to keep doing 16/8 IF indefinitely.
@bobbins I would encourage you to try it for a 2 to 3 week period and see how it works for you. If you don’t like it, you can stop. But I really think a few weeks is needed to properly adjust and assess if it’s right for you.