Just ordered my first batch of huel and am planning on using it as a meal replacement for both breakfast and lunch! I was wondering what is the best way to do that? If I mix it with almond milk will it be worse in my trying to lose weight? Should I just mix it with water? Seriously just super curious on what everyone’s experience has been if anyone has advice for me!
Thank you!
I have been making Huel by using 3-4 ice cubes, 500mL water, add 127g Huel, shake, then add another 100-200mL water, shake again, and that’s it. The water content alone helps to make you feel full and I find it prevents some of the potential consequences of the high fiber content of the Huel such as gas and bloating.
I eat a lot of food, so I usually have Huel with some fibrous fruits and vegetables. For example, 6oz of carrots or a cup of berries or an apple and a Huel shake. I find no difficulty staying full with that. Whole carrots are especially good because they give your jaw a workout haha.
Almond milk probably won’t be enough sugar to derail a weight loss (read: body fat loss) program. A lot of almond milk is fairly low in sugar, and I think you can get unsweetened almond milk if needed. The benefits of using milk or milk+water to blend the Huel is that it adds some creaminess and smoother texture to the suspension. Many people find it enhances the taste/experience. So, in this regard, if using milk makes it more appealing, you’re more likely to stick with Huel and therefore more likely to experience weight loss (if using Huel for that purpose).
regular Silk brand almond milk has 7 grams of sugar in 240 ml. If you were to do 250 ml almond milk + 250 ml water + 3 scoops of Huel = 560 calories total (500 from Huel and 60 from the milk) and 8 grams sugar total (1 from Huel and 7 from milk). That’s pretty low in my book. A few frozen blueberries adds very little sugar and can also enhance the flavor.
Huel itself has a glycemic index of 28, which is quite modest. That’s one of the reasons it helps a lot of people lose weight. Slow digesting carbs from oats and the added protein and fats give it this low GI. You’d be surprised how long a 500 calorie dose of Huel will last before you feel the need to eat again.
With me, I go big with my Huel. Most of my shakes are 700 to 900 calories, since I love adding peanut butter. Natural PB is low in sugar and has GI of, like, 15. And, I like to add more fat to my Huel shakes, so this is perfect for me. I use Huel at work and do IF (16+ hours daily fasting) and exercise 4 to 5 days per week. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight. So calories by themselves are not necessarily something to watch, depending on your overall dietary program.
One of the things that I was blown away by was how full I felt when eating a Huel meal. Just by itself, following the directions of just adding water, I felt like I ate a full blown meal.
I’ve been doing the exact same as what you’re planning on doing, meal replacement for Breakfast and Lunch And honestly, I find that after eating one 3 scoop Huel for Breakfast, I can easily skip lunch if I wanted to. One thing that I’m finding though with Huel is that I’m having a really difficult time eating the right amount of calories. I’ve been living off of about 1000 calories a day for over 5 years and that caused me to steadily gain weight over that period of time. I decided to try Huel because I wanted to lose weight, so now what I have to do is have Huel for Breakfast and Lunch and then have a second lunch (usually a salad or something that I meal prepped) and then eat a good-sized dinner. It’s still very difficult for me to get enough calories to meet my goals so I think if you want to add some almond milk or peanut butter or whatever to your Huel, you should be good.
One thing that I found is adding fruit to Huel allows me to spice it up every now and again so i don’t get bored with the taste. Also, I always drink a liter of water with each Huel meal to help get it down if it’s feeling too thick.