Huel: The Future of Food ..

[Warbie]

http://huel.com/

Hey guys. Have any of you tried Huel, or have thoughts on it? I've been using it for about four months now and have been making some decent gains. My goal is to put on mass (was always skinny as a kid) and I had hit a wall previously. A family member started using it too - this time for weight loss - and she's making decent progress. There's 150g of protein per 2000 calories and the macro split is 30/30/40. I tend to have 2000 calories worth in 3 shakes and another 1000 or so in normal food per day. The nice thing is how easy it is to work out calorie content - 3 scoops is around 450, 4 around 620 etc. I'm still not as regimented as some of you guys but am far more consistent now and generally have more energy which is translating to gains in the gym.

So thoughts - load of crap? Too expensive? The future of food??!

It's vegan and pretty much gluten free (there's some oats) for those that care about that stuff.

 

[Warbie]

Warbie, how does it taste? I assume you have the vanilla one?

It's tastes malty. A bit like how I remember Horlicks tasting from when I was a kid. There's a few things that help a fair bit taste wise. It's much, much better blended. Even more so than protein shakes. And serve cold if you can. Leaving it for a few hours helps too as it thickens right up to the consistency of Frijj. I've had enough time to experiment and now really enjoy it - it's like a nice, thick Frijj type drink. Some frozen strawberries and banana and you're good to go.

 

[Warbie]

But these are full meal replacements, and because of that, people will buy them because they can just have one of those instead of cooking or eating proper food.

It depends how you use it. I'm having two normal meals a day and the equivalent of three additional meals of Huel. It's also there for the times when there is no time to prepare food or have to skip lunch due to work etc. It's also completely replaced protein shakes and is what I have straight after working out. And even if you are replacing meals with it I don't think it's a massive deal - this is a far cry from other meal replacements I've tried and tbh when compared to my chicken, broccoli and sweat potato lunch staple it doesn't seems any better/worse. I've noticed no degrade in health or performance. I wouldn't suggest replacing all meals with it, but some or using it in addition to, I don't see a reason why not.

 

[Warbie]

Quick update. As an experiment I've been living almost solely on Huel for the last 2 weeks - say about 95% of my diet. It worked out as roughly 2800 calories and 210g of protein per day (I'm 5'8" and weight 72kg). This is with going to the gym 6-7 times a week. For the proceeding two weeks it was around 75% of my intake.

Up to this point everything has gone well. Performance in the gym hasn't changed - I'm slowly making gains and putting on mass - and calorie counting is super easy. Meal prep time is about 5 minutes per day. I was eating pretty clean before all this - shed loads of chicken, broccoli, spinach, sweat potatoes, all the usual stuff - and really haven't notice a change. Nutrition wise I suspect i'm actually better off now. The most difficult part, infact, has been having a weird urge to bite stuff. Which is partly why I'm going back to where I was before - Huel for breakfast, lunch and post workout, and one or two normal meals in the evening. And also because I'm getting bored of it. Blended with frozen fruit it pretty much tastes like a nice, thick smoothie, but sometimes you just need to tear into a steak! For now tho it's still going to make up the bulk of my calories as it's just too easy to eat clean, with no prep time and need for calculating calories.

 

[Warbie]

The price is offset a little with the 7.5% subscription discount and the discount in buying 56,000 calories at a time. 4000 calories is a tenner. You're right though - it's not cheap, but not crazy expensive either. I'm not spending any other money on food. Or at least I wasn't. And it is all about the convenience. Knowing exactly how many calories I'm getting, the macros, and not missing meals because I'm late for work or cheating because I can't be bothered. I never struggled being consistent in the gym, but I really struggled being consistent with diet. It is a relief going back to normal food too tho - I ate an entire chicken last night

 

[Warbie]

Out of interest - are you pretty much constantly buying in bulk and doing mass food preps, Freefaller?

 

[Warbie]

I train and use this stuff so I can properly enjoy my food when the time comes! What's the point in being bad for something not that great? When it's time to get my eat on I go to town and mow through a starter, two main courses and an entire cheese cake

 

[Warbie]

Sounds remarkably like drinking a pint of semi-skimmed, but costs more.

Not if you do any reading on it ;p

 

[Warbie]

Woh, this thread's still going.

A year later and Huel still makes up around 2/3 of my total food intake. No issues with training. I cut on it and bulked. It makes cutting super easy btw. 600 calories of regular food and i'm hungry after the last bite. 600 calories of Huel and i'm good to go for hours. I also noticed when not using Huel - holidays etc - I feel slow and sluggish. It is genuinely hard to eat as well with normal food. Broccoli, sweet potatoes and chicken doesn't cut it! I have it for breakfast, lunch and regular dinner during the week, and whatever feels right on the weekends. Saving money, time, healthier, all good.

 

[Warbie]

There are a plethora of other proteins, veg and carbs you can be eating instead of broccoli, sweet pots and chicken.

Are you not just being lazy?

Sure - that's just an example of a meal I was having before when trying to eat clean and, in my experience at least, a meal like that isn't as good as Huel. Especially in terms of feeling full (which is as important to me as getting the right nutrients when cutting). You're right, though - this is partly down to laziness and I could add different types veg, plan each meal and calorie count, but it's a lot of work and doesn't fit with my lifestyle. With Huel my breakfast and lunch is prepped, prepared and calories counted within 5 minutes each morning.

I had one scoop with a banana this morning, was lovely.

Same, but was 4 scoops with a banana. And some ice - ice does wonders!

 

[Warbie]

I have noticed a dramatic increase in flatulence since I started it, so has my wife

haha - try mixing it with egg white powder. The result is truly ungodly!

Like reiyushin said - it goes away soon enough. Everyone I know who's tried Huel has experienced the same thing. It's an initiation!

 

[Warbie]

Order rocked up this morning and made myself a shake for breakfast, doesn't taste remotely like vanilla

At first I thought they may have sent me the unflavoured version but it smells like vanilla, just doesn't taste like it, just tastes bland. That's good enough though, providing it doesn't taste bad it's all good.

It's great with ice/frozen fruit. Absolutely blend it!

 

[Warbie]

Are most people using the vanilla stuff and adding a banana etc for more flavour?

There's a tonne of ways to mix it up. Plain vanilla (tastes more malty than vanilla, like Horlicks) with ice is good as it is. Frozen fruit makes it taste like a nice smoothy. The amount of water/no. of scoops makes a big difference too, as does how long you leave it before eating. If you have a shake straight after blending it will be more watery, leave it for half a day and it thickens out. Over the last year I've tried pretty much every combo going, including cooking with it, and genuinely enjoy it. Here's a bunch of recipes if anyone's interested:

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f0ef1ae532036b510dd6c95bf/files/Huel_Recipe_eBook.pdf

I do everything with a nutribullet in the standard cup size (24oz/680ml) as, if you fill it right to the very top with Huel, water, fruit etc, it fills a normal protein shaker. Super handy if you're making food for the day. From my calorie cheat sheet:

1 scoop = 38g = 157 calories
2 scoops = 76g = 314 calories
3 scoops = 114g = 471 calories
4 scoops = 152g = 628 calories

I tend to have either 3 or 4 scoops with that amount of water. The latter, if you leave it for half a day, goes real thick like Fridge milkshake and is super filling. These days I do Huel for breakfast and lunch mon-friday, but have done a full month of 100% Huel. That was super tough btw! Not because of feeling hungry, but a weird primal urge to bite something! This is all while training 5-6 times a week and gains have been solid. It's not for everyone, but as you can tell I think the stuff's a godsend if you want to eat well and don't have the time/inclination to plan, shop, prep and count calories for most meals. And also taste good. I'll take a Huel smoothy over the majority of clean meals taste wise.

 

[Warbie]

I just can't bring myself to hit the purchase button. I've been interested for so long but I can't believe it's any good..

Why not? I'd pick it all day long over something like a chicken salad. More filling, tastes better, better for you. Sure, if you want bacon sarnies then it's not for you, but when blended with fruit it's as tasty as a good smoothy - just a good smoothy that has 50g of protein, clean fats, carbs and every multi vitamin you need.

 

[Warbie]

i bit the bullet and ordered some. Will try and go 100% next week

Try weening yourself on to it. Like one meal for 3 or 4 days, then two meals for the same time etc. It takes a little while to adjust - usually because your body isn't used to having that amount of good, clean stuff. Hence the infamous, room clearing Huel farts!

 

[Warbie]

I'm the same man - massive carnivore. That's been a side benefit - cutting down on the amount of meat consumed without losing out on protein. Another is being vegan and pretty much gluten free. Look at it as permission to go meat crazy with normal meals!

 

[Warbie]

lol wut

The fats are all from flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and coconuts. All good stuff. I'm not a fan of the flavour drops btw - still got most of a bottle of vanilla. They don't really seem to do much.

 

[Warbie]

I honk it's probably safe to assume that many who choose to rely on Huel to provide a food source with good nutritional content, then no, their regular diet probably couldn't be classed as good clean stuff.

Pretty much. It's why I use it. Even when I was eating relatively clean - mostly chicken, tuna, brown rice, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, broccoli etc - I wasn't getting the nutrients Huel offers and, most importantly, the consistency. I'd do a big meal prep on Sunday, have a good week and then, due to whatever reason, balls it up the following. With Huel, bar two holidays, I've a solid year of consistent, good eating. It's been worth it just for the gains.

 

[Warbie]

It's great if you don't have the self discipline to eat properly, or watch your salt intake (for example). Not having the discipline is obviously something that could be addressed, but whilst you're not fixing the root cause, you're still doing something about it, and it is commendable and for that you should be proud, and keep at it.

We don't all have your willpower I wish I did. I'm still preparing evening meals (and still begrudge the time it takes to do that and wash up etc!) and enjoying normal food. You're right though - it would be better to prep each meal, but it's too much for me to do consistently. And, thinking about it, even if I had my own chef and cleaner and some go guy to go out and buy everything, i'd still use Huel as my post workout. Beats protein shakes all day long!

 

[Warbie]

If I'm using mostly huel for my diet, what should I do about a protein shake? Still have a massive tub of PHD ISO 7 but no idea when to use it in conjunction with huel.

Like tom_e said - you get more than enough protein with Huel and shouldn't need to supplment. Ditching protein shakes entirely was a side benefit for me. Having said that, mixing protein shakes and Huel works well and is a good way to add flavour. When cutting on carbs, swapping a scoop of Huel for protein powder works.

in fact slow cookers have basically rescued me from that. 30 mins or so to get all the ingredients together, then fire and forget!

Good call. I bought one a while back and it's still sitting in the box. Hueling for breakfast, pre/post workout, and getting home for a ready, slow cooked meal greatly appeals to my lazy side!