I used to think that Huel stood for the noise you make when you taste it.
I don't any more.
The story
A friend of mine tried the 'nutritionally complete' powder/shakes when it first was launched. He ended up with bags of it lying around that he didn't want to touch. So I assumed that it was vile and the marketing blew right past me.
But through the lockdown, my eating didn't go well. I put on a lot of weight from the relative inactivity and my diet was pretty awfully balanced. Deciding that I needed to change (a lot of) things, I thought I'd give Huel a chance.
Now it's time to say that I hate the marketing. Free t-shirts? 'The future of food'? The Helvetica swiss design? It all feels like hipster from ten years ago. I'm not trying Huel to be cool. I'm trying it because even if it's not perfect nutritionally (who am I to judge?) it's a darn sight better than the junk I'd be eating otherwise. If Huel is 'the future of food' it's a very sad future indeed.
Nevertheless the big box arrived (sans t-shirt - I took that off) and I got going.
The taste
There was a big psychological hurdle to get through. Assuming it would be horrible, I had to build myself up to it. And the first taste really was not pleasant.
I don't like the flavour of peas. Anything that's pea-y is going to taste extra pea-y to me and the pea protein evidently did. It was like blended peas with cocoa added. In a slightly lumpy drink. Not a great start.
But I persevered. The next shake, the following day, was vanilla. It was better. And as I experimented with the flavour enhancers - and got more used to the flavour - it got better still. And I learned via the internet - and trial and error - a few tips that I present to you here:
Top tip 1 - don't buy chocolate. Get berry. It's much much better.
Top tip 2 - prepare them well in advance - ideally 12 hours. Mix them up and put them in the fridge. The consistency is so much better that way and they're much more drinkable cold rather than lukewarm.
Top tip 3 - have enough shakers to use them once a day each. Going for two/day? Use two shakers. That should lessen the number of times where you have to make them up quickly and drink them before tip 2 has been followed.
Top tip 4 - the flavour enhancers are pretty good but expensive if you use them every time. Buy some flavdrops from MyProtein instead for a cheaper option.
The competitor
MyProtein in the UK has a 'Whole Fuel' product with very similar ingredients to Huel. When my Huel was clearly not going to be with me in time, I thought I'd try MyProtein's offering.
Here's the comparison:
- Whole Fuel is cheaper, certainly if you're using their never-ending discount codes
- Whole Fuel is sweeter. It uses stronger flavours which disguises more of the oaty/pea-iness. But arguably to the point of being sickly (not far off a typical protein shake). I could see people preferring either.
- Whole Fuel is far smoother. It's ground much smaller and is much less clumpy. If you're going to ignore top tip 2 above, it's much better to use this than Huel.
- Whole Fuel's chocolate flavour is definitely better.
- Huel has more flavour choices. But I've only used three of them, which are the same three as MyProtein has.
For me, MyProtein is the clear winner. If you're dipping your toe into this, I'd just get one bag from them and see how you get on with it. If that's too sweet, get Huel. If you're trying clever recipes and stuff, maybe also try Huel.
That being said, I still have a Huel subscription at the moment. I think that having a variety is probably helpful to ward off monotony - at least if you're going to use them a lot.
The effect
Has all this helped though?
For me, yes, definitely.
I quickly moved to having one shakes either side of lunch (when I'd typically go for a run). And I'd eat dinner in the evening.
Many people report being very windy after starting these. I haven't actually had that - rather the opposite - when I eat other stuff I become much more windy now.
I'm now at the point of quite often having four of these in the day, plus the scraps/leftovers from my family's meals. Add on some coffees, take off some calories for the run and it leads to quite a defecit. I've lost 18lb in two months - with quite a lot of cheat days.
But the reasons these help weight loss are:
- simplicity - you don't have to think deeply about everything. Make a simple plan and stick to it
- they're filling - my stomach doesn't feel too empty too often
- They force you to take on liquid - 500ml per shake, four a day, adds up to 2 litres on its own.
- cravings - I don't really get mad cravings for particular stuff, at least most of the time. Admittedly, it's hard watching the Bake Off while only on shakes. But these shakes do cover the bases pretty well.
Summary
Neither Huel nor Whole Fuel are the future of food. That's ridiculous. And if you're trying to lose weight, it's perfectly possible to do it other ways.
But it's a really useful tool to have at your disposal. Particularly if endless calorie counting, weighing ingredients etc. is not your cup of tea. Particularly if you find it hard to eat in moderation.
I'm still a way off my goal weight. And when I'm there, I'll have to learn good habits of eating well to maintain weight - or get cleanish gainz! But even then I could well see myself using at least one or two of these a day. It's a convenient(ish) way to cover a lot of dietary bases.
And that's all it really needs to be. A tool.
It's not delicious. It's not vile (at least if you make it properly).
It's not a magic bullet to make you thinner (or stronger, or whatever). But it can help.
If any of that appeals to you, go for it.
