Newcastle Diet - using Huel

fryrpc · Apr 20, 2017

I have been considering the "Newcastle Diet" for a while now but struggled to find both an affordable and readily available meal replacement supplement. The Newcastle Diet used Optifast, which in the UK seems particularly difficult to buy and is high priced as a prescription only type item.

So this is where I stalled until I saw Dave Gorman doing a sketch about Huel (Human Fuel).
From the website - "Huel is a nutritionally complete powdered food that contains all the proteins, carbs, and fats you need, plus at least 100% of the European Union's "Daily Recommended Amounts" of all 26 essential vitamins and minerals.". This is assuming that you have 500g of Huel a day - so in my diet I will be getting some but not the full RDA.

So for the last week I have been replacing one of my low carb meals with Huel with the plan to gradually move onto a diet similar to the one carried out by Newcastle University. I then plan to carry this on for a number of weeks, depending on how it goes. I am hoping as a minimum I will lose some weight which in its self could improve my diabetic readings. The main reason for introducing it slowly is so that I can also monitor the effect of the small carb content (18.7g) in the serving of Huel - fortunately the "of which sugars" is only 0.45g and for me has minimal effect on my blood sugar readings.

A mix of 500ml water + 100g Vanilla variety Huel + 1/2 teaspoon (2.5g) of whichever additional flavouring I fancy provides 2 "newcastle diet" servings of Huel each of which has 200 calories. So I am planning on having 1 serving (half of the mix) for breakfast, another serving pre lunch (11:30 or later if I can manage it), another post lunch (13:30 or later if I can survive) and then for tea 200 calories worth of non starchy vegetables. I will also be taking a daily supplement to make up the RDA of vitamins / minerals. This regime is supposed to be carried on for between 8 and 20 weeks.

Obviously it is worth pointing out that this is an extreme diet and should only be considered after speaking to your GP.

As there are no discount codes for buying Huel, that I could find when I wanted one, as a "user" of the product I can provide this link so that you get £5 off your first order. I am not connected in anyway to Huel other than being a customer.

douglas99 · Apr 20, 2017

The Newcastle Diet is low calorie, not low carb, are you sure you actually mean the Newcastle Diet?

fryrpc · Apr 20, 2017

douglas99 said:
The Newcastle Diet is low calorie, not low carb, are you sure you actually mean the Newcastle Diet?

Yes I do mean the Newcastle Diet.

I have been on a low carb diet for some time but still struggle losing weight - initially I did well on it but despite being fairly strict I have regained most of the weight I lost. The LCHF diet has been great for my blood sugar and HBA1C results but to push past this point I need to lose some weight hence why the temporary switch to the Newcastle Diet - longer term I think I will move back more to a LCHF diet but maybe concentrate more on the LC rather than the HF element ;-)

My primary goal at the moment is weight loss in the hope that it will help me with Diabetes longer term.

douglas99 · Apr 20, 2017

OK, just puzzled, as the Newcastle diet was four shakes, and a low fat veg meal once a day?
You seem to be concerned you should be carb counting?

And I agree with you about fat, it piles weight back on for me, as does any over eating.

Deleted member 388305 · Apr 20, 2017

Its easy to add too many calories while eating low-carb, by not being aware of how many nuts, how much cheese, etc., you are eating. I did find that, even eating a very low carb diet, I was unable to get past a certain weight or A1c value (though both were very good). My A1c, in particular, never became truly normal. Not long ago, I introduced intermittent fasting. I eat all my calories for the day during breakfast and lunch and then don't eat anymore until breakfast. I'm averaging about 2000 calories a day, but my A1c and weight are now dropping below where they have always hung up. You might want to consider it.

fryrpc · Apr 20, 2017

douglas99 said:
OK, just puzzled, as the Newcastle diet was four shakes, and a low fat veg meal once a day?
You seem to be concerned you should be carb counting?

And I agree with you about fat, it piles weight back on for me, as does any over eating.

I was only concerned about the carbs in the Huel as I have been carb conscious for quite some time on the low carb diet and wanted to make sure that the change did not have an adverse effect on my blood sugar readings.

Good Point - I could split the shakes into 4 to more closely match the Newcastle Diet so I have 150 calories per serving - that might also help smooth out potential hunger pangs. I think the key thing is the amount of calories per day.

Pipp · Apr 20, 2017

fryrpc said:
I was only concerned about the carbs in the Huel as I have been carb conscious for quite some time on the low carb diet and wanted to make sure that the change did not have an adverse effect on my blood sugar readings.

Good Point - I could split the shakes into 4 to more closely match the Newcastle Diet so I have 150 calories per serving - that might also help smooth out potential hunger pangs. I think the key thing is the amount of calories per day.

With Newcastle diet method as long as the calorie content of foods used remains low , undef 800 calories a day, the carb content is not an issue. The low calorie consumption will lead to ketoisis, regardless. This is what causes the weightloss. Ketosis state will solve hunger pangs too.
It is important to consider how any weightloss is to be maintained after the initial calorie restriction period though.
Often people forget that the ND is not just the 8 week severe calorie restriction phase, but a lifetime change of dietary regime.

Edit by Pipp, to correct error.

douglas99 · Apr 20, 2017

Pipp said:
With Newcastle diet method as long as the calorie content of foods used remains low , undef 800 calories a day, the carb content is not an issue. The low calorie consumption will lead to ketoisis, regardless. This is what causes the weightloss. Ketosis state will solve hunger pangs too.
It is important to consider how any weightloss is to be maintained after the initial calorie restriction period though.
Often people forget that the ND is not just the 8 week starvation phase, but a lifetime change of dietary regime.

No one attempting to lose any weight would stave on 800 calories a day for eight weeks.
It's certainly not a starvation phase.

Pipp · Apr 20, 2017

douglas99 said:
No one attempting to lose any weight would stave on 800 calories a day for eight weeks.
It's certainly not a starvation phase.

Thanks @douglas99 I will correct that error of mine.
I guess I should not reply to posts when I haven't eaten for a while.

bulkbiker · Apr 20, 2017

Pipp said:
With Newcastle diet method as long as the calorie content of foods used remains low , undef 800 calories a day, the carb content is not an issue. The low calorie consumption will lead to ketoisis, regardless. This is what causes the weightloss. Ketosis state will solve hunger pangs too.
It is important to consider how any weightloss is to be maintained after the initial calorie restriction period though.
Often people forget that the ND is not just the 8 week severe calorie restriction phase, but a lifetime change of dietary regime.

Edit by Pipp, to correct error.

Hi @Pipp did you measure ketones when you did the ND?
I am interested if you were really in ketosis with the amount of carbs in Optifast (or did you use something else?).

bulkbiker · Apr 20, 2017

douglas99 said:
OK, just puzzled, as the Newcastle diet was four shakes, and a low fat veg meal once a day?
You seem to be concerned you should be carb counting?

And I agree with you about fat, it piles weight back on for me, as does any over eating.

But you eat a lot of carbs too don't you (at least in comparison to LCHF's) which when combined with fat could well explain the weight gain? So it would be a combination of carbs and fat rather than solely fat.

bulkbiker · Apr 20, 2017

fryrpc said:
I have been considering the "Newcastle Diet" for a while now but struggled to find both an affordable and readily available meal replacement supplement. The Newcastle Diet used Optifast, which in the UK seems particularly difficult to buy and is high priced as a prescription only type item.

So this is where I stalled until I saw Dave Gorman doing a sketch about Huel (Human Fuel).
From the website - "Huel is a nutritionally complete powdered food that contains all the proteins, carbs, and fats you need, plus at least 100% of the European Union's "Daily Recommended Amounts" of all 26 essential vitamins and minerals.". This is assuming that you have 500g of Huel a day - so in my diet I will be getting some but not the full RDA.

So for the last week I have been replacing one of my low carb meals with Huel with the plan to gradually move onto a diet similar to the one carried out by Newcastle University. I then plan to carry this on for a number of weeks, depending on how it goes. I am hoping as a minimum I will lose some weight which in its self could improve my diabetic readings. The main reason for introducing it slowly is so that I can also monitor the effect of the small carb content (18.7g) in the serving of Huel - fortunately the "of which sugars" is only 0.45g and for me has minimal effect on my blood sugar readings.

A mix of 500ml water + 100g Vanilla variety Huel + 1/2 teaspoon (2.5g) of whichever additional flavouring I fancy provides 2 "newcastle diet" servings of Huel each of which has 200 calories. So I am planning on having 1 serving (half of the mix) for breakfast, another serving pre lunch (11:30 or later if I can manage it), another post lunch (13:30 or later if I can survive) and then for tea 200 calories worth of non starchy vegetables. I will also be taking a daily supplement to make up the RDA of vitamins / minerals. This regime is supposed to be carried on for between 8 and 20 weeks.

Obviously it is worth pointing out that this is an extreme diet and should only be considered after speaking to your GP.

As there are no discount codes for buying Huel, that I could find when I wanted one, as a "user" of the product I can provide this link so that you get £5 off your first order. I am not connected in anyway to Huel other than being a customer.

From my reading of Prof Taylor he was saying that it doesn't really matter how you loose the weight but that it was the speedy weight loss that helped with the Type 2 control. If as @Pipp remarked it could be that it's because you are in ketosis then maybe a ketogenic diet would work similarly well. Unfortunately his current trial doesn't include a LCHF component which is a bit of a missed opportunity IMHO.

Pipp · Apr 20, 2017

bulkbiker said:
Hi @Pipp did you measure ketones when you did the ND?
I am interested if you were really in ketosis with the amount of carbs in Optifast (or did you use something else?).

Yes, @bulkbiker. I was being monitored by GP and pharmacy. GP had been in touch with the Newcastle team for advice. Optifast was not available so Lipotrim was used instead. Urine was tested for ketones twice a week. If I had not been in ketosis I would have had to discontinue the diet, as they would have believed I was 'cheating' by including other foods and not sticking to the recommendations.

bulkbiker · Apr 20, 2017

Pipp said:
Yes, @bulkbiker. I was being monitored by GP and pharmacy. GP had been in touch with the Newcastle team for advice. Optifast was not available so Lipotrim was used instead. Urine was tested for ketones twice a week. If I had not been in ketosis I would have had to discontinue the diet, as they would have believed I was 'cheating' by including other foods and not sticking to the recommendations.

Hmm interesting.. they seem to not publish any of the ingredients or nutritional values can you recall what they were offhand?

Pipp · Apr 20, 2017

bulkbiker said:
Hmm interesting.. they seem to not publish any of the ingredients or nutritional values can you recall what they were offhand?

Offhand, no I can't recall ingredients. It was 6 years ago. 600 calories a day. Usual synthetic stuff that goes into these things I guess. I do remember being told that the very low calorie intake depleted glycogen stores, leading to the ketosis, rapid weightloss, and return to non-diabetes blood glucose levels within days.

MajellaYoung · Apr 20, 2017

Any Type 2 here ever use Herbalife meal replacement powder.

bulkbiker · Apr 20, 2017

MajellaYoung said:
Any Type 2 here ever use Herbalife meal replacement powder.

I trid it many many moons ago for weight loss.. usual thing lost a stone stop taking the shakes put on 2 stone...
For me these low cal things are pointless.. LCHF all the way..

Pipp · Apr 20, 2017

bulkbiker said:
I trid it many many moons ago for weight loss.. usual thing lost a stone stop taking the shakes put on 2 stone...
For me these low cal things are pointless.. LCHF all the way..

Of course, @bulkbiker, we all have to find what works for our own individual circumstances. No 'better' just variety of ways to achieve the goal.

bulkbiker · Apr 20, 2017

Pipp said:
Of course, @bulkbiker, we all have to find what works for our own individual circumstances. No 'better' just variety of ways to achieve the goal.

Indeed.. well I think our own ways are always "better" cos they worked for us!

douglas99 · Apr 20, 2017

bulkbiker said:
But you eat a lot of carbs too don't you (at least in comparison to LCHF's) which when combined with fat could well explain the weight gain? So it would be a combination of carbs and fat rather than solely fat.

I guess it depends on your point of view really.
Some can have faith that everyone was stamped out of the same mold, ands if LCHF doesn't work for some, it's because you're doing it right, and they must be doing it wrong, and then you can find lots of proof of the internet to show that.
Or some can accept the human race has a diversity of people, and further accept some may be intelligent enough to actually try things for themselves, and realise that the 7 billion people on the earth aren't all exactly the same.
Sadly, no matter how many times I read it on the internet, my eyes look in the mirror, and like others on here, even on LCHF, a calorie's a calorie to some of us, fat still makes me fat.
(And LCHF is way to difficult to actually enjoy unless I plan every day up front, and live out of a coolbox in summer, and even then, oddly enough, fat still makes me fat, so yes, I tried it.)

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