Athletic Greens vs Huel after lunch break workout / breakfast
Hi fellow monkeys, Usually, I skip breakfast for several reasons. However, there are some days when I cannot survive without breakfast. For time reasons, I am looking for something I can drink on my way to work or after my lunch break workout. I thought about trying some alternatives like athletic greens or huel. Has anyone tried one of them?
I used Huel (shakes, powder, and bars) for ~2 years and have been using Athletic Greens for about 8 months now. They're not interchangeable, Huel is a full meal replacement whereas Athletic Greens is more of a supplement to ensure you're getting servings of vegetables in with the rest of your diet.
I prefer to use AG (2 scoops) in the mornings when I wake up and if I have a hard workout on a given day I'll have another 1-2 scoops afterwards. It's not going to do much for recovery and doesn't have the protein/calories to be a real meal replacement, but IMO is a great thing to have on a regular basis to supplement your overall health just like a multi-vitamin, fish oils, etc.
Huel is the winner if you want meal replacements that are totally vegan/plant-based. The pre-made shakes IMO are the best thing they offer. Really liked both the chocolate (favorite) and strawberry ones, easy to grab when you're on the go or to fuel before/after workouts. The powder is alright, good if you want to have more control over serving sizes, thickness, and you can add the flavorings, not a fan of the texture though personally. The bars in my opinion just taste like absolute shit and are hard to swallow down, but still nutritionally impactful.
Another good one worth trying is Optavia. Much wider selection of meal replacements that are tasty, none of the pre-made products I've tried have palatability issues (some of the stuff you cook yourself can be bad if you mess up, but they're easy once you know the steps), and you earn premier points towards money off future orders if you order on a subscription basis. You have to sign up with a coach - I can put you in contact with mine if interested, she's been doing this ~15 years - it doesn't cost anything extra, they're just a point person who can answer questions, give prep tips, and if you're on their weight loss program keep you on-point + updated on special offers they may be running. All you'll pay for is the food, there's no upcharge for the coaching services and you don't have to utilize them if you don't want to. My personal favorite stuff to eat on the go are their dark chocolate and mocha shakes + the chocolate crunch, chocolate mint, and lemon crisp bars. If I can sit down with a microwave and eat afterward, the beef stew and chocolate brownie w/ yogurt chips are the bomb.
Thanks for your detailed explanation. I guess huel would be the most suitable product for my case. However, I am a bit curious about Athletic Greens. Aren’t you overconsuming some vitamins, minerals, etc., when you supplement this with your regular diet or nutrition shakes?
It’s hard to overdo vitamins and minerals and body is pretty good at regulating itself, if there’s too much you’ll generally just piss it out but I’m not a doctor so take with grain of salt
Like the other commenter said, it's hard to overdue it with minerals because if you consume excess you'll just piss it out 99% of the time. My regular diet doesn't contain a ton of vegetables (I'm 5) so I'm not worried about overlapping too much. Extra servings of vegetables never hurt anyone (inb4 some smartass pops up with a niche example of someone who died eating too much celery). The amount of supplements you need can vary day-by-day, it's not static. If you're working out a bunch or doing certain activities you may need more of 1 mineral vs another on a day-to-day basis to be at an "optimal" level, e.g. if you're running & sweating a bunch you will need to consume more electrolytes, magnesium, etc. Nutrition isn't an exact science, there's a lot of trial and error just to get your baseline diet formulation right and then it can vary further based on activities, changes in body comp, certain goals you've set, etc.
I tried Huel for a bit but couldn't get past the constant farting and weird dumps stage. Evidently it's the huge amounts of fiber that we're all deficient in that requires getting used-to, but it's well known and uncomfortable.
I recommend Vega One Chocolate.
Is huel satiating VS real food?
Totally subjective and depends on your definition of satiating. If you're craving a physical feeling of "fullness" then I'd say no. But if you're using them to just bridge between proper meals/as a supplement for workouts then it's fine. If you are satisfied knowing your caloric and nutritional needs are met and have no problem resisting snack cravings then yes. I did try for 2-3 weeks to eat nothing but Huel and while it worked, I wouldn't say I was particularly thrilled with it. Like I said above, I think the Ready To Drink shakes are the best thing they have. They only had 3 flavors when I tried it and they didn't offer the protein powder or hot & savory stuff like it appears they do now so I can't comment on those - so it just kind of got boring after a while. Also being fully plant-based really messed with my shits.
Suscipit et dolorem incidunt minima impedit ut maxime. Accusamus dignissimos et quasi sit esse. Quo praesentium hic accusantium nulla odio consequuntur. Corporis quia est dolorem ducimus. Aspernatur sed aut accusamus veritatis nostrum minus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...