Eight tips for men to stay fit at every age (by the man who created Huel)

To many, consuming a fully powdered meal day after day, conjures up images of circling the planet in a spaceship with Elon Musk, doomed never to eat a decent, delicious meal again. However, argues James Collier, a registered nutritionist, it’s “for people with a busy lifestyle that eat on the go – the busy guy in the office or on a building site, dads juggling childcare, and gym goers.”

This self-confessed “gym bro” would say this, as he is the co-founder of Huel, one of the leaders in the “nutritionally complete” plant-based foods, made up of meal replacement drinks, protein bars and spicy barbecue noodle pots. Yet he must be on to something, as the company posted profits of £13.8 million last year, making him extremely wealthy.

It all started when entrepreneur Julian Hearn teamed up with Collier when he was looking for a nutritionist to come up with a recipe of a complete food that was as good for the environment as it was for the body. Collier rose to the challenge, they launched in 2015, and rest is business history. “I was on honeymoon and I was looking at the emails that I’d missed and I said to my wife, ‘I think this is going to go somewhere,’” he says. “But I didn’t think it would be this.”

Consumers of Huel (“human fuel”) are known as “Hueligans” and although Collier maintains that the foodstuffs are for everyone; the marketing – black and white packaging, the website featuring multiple images of athletic male types – suggests busy, high achieving young men. The actor Idris Elba, a poster boy for modern masculinity, is a backer and fan. “If you’re a bodybuilder trying to gain muscle and you’re struggling to eat as much as you need to, it can be your extra meal,” says Collier, who has written a book, Well Fed, about how we eat today.

But when it comes to real life and giving men the chance to look a little more like a Hollywood pin-up – or even just be a bit healthier day to day – what does he recommend?

“I think there are a few basic rules that men need to be aware of,” he says. Here they are.

Collier’s wellbeing tips for modern men

1. Don’t obsess (too much) about protein

“Everyone’s talking about protein, and there’s a lot of good reasons for it. Protein is satiating. So if you have 100 calories worth of sugar, around 99 of those calories are absorbed in the body. But if you have 100 calories of protein, then maybe as few as 70 of those calories will be absorbed and utilised by the body. So a higher protein diet is good if you’re trying to control your weight and feel full.

However there’s a bit of an obsession about protein as a marketing term. In the “gym bro” scene where I come from everyone talks about it. But it means they’re missing out on other things, such as fibre.

2. Understand the importance of fibre

Men are not getting enough fibre in their diets overall – in fact only 9 per cent of adults do, with women scoring higher than men. Yet high-fibre diets are continually associated with better health: fibre can help control your blood cholesterol level, it feeds the gut microbiome and it can have cognitive benefits around concentration and mental awareness. Not having enough could lead to digestive problems, a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and other diseases. The best way to get fibre includes whole grains, nuts, seeds, pulses, fruit and vegetables.

3. Get your omega-3 fats from algae, not fish

“Most people aren’t getting enough omega-3 fats, which have cardiovascular, digestive and health benefits. You’re told to have two or three servings of oily fish a week. But the problem is that there simply are not enough fish in the sea – literally, because of overfishing. I believe a better source of omega-3 is in algae supplements. The algae is what the fish themselves eat to get their omega-3s so you can cut out the middle man (or middle fish). However, algae is not to be confused with spirulina, another supplement which is a protein source.

4. Don’t worry, seed oils are not toxic

The other good fats are mono-unsaturated fats which we all know we can get from extra virgin olive oil, and also avocado oil. But seed oil – sunflower, safflower, rapeseed oils – are a bit controversial at the moment, with some on social media saying they are toxic. This is completely unfounded and not based on science. The meta analysis shows that seed oils are either neutral or anti-inflammatory and therefore beneficial for health.

5. Be wary of nutritional advice on social media

Watch out for: individuals speaking in absolutes, because in reality diets are nuanced; people who speak in an evangelical tone; people who fear monger over certain foods and use phrases such as “you’re being lied to”.

6. Cut back on meat

“I get a lot of hate from carnivores. I encourage people to cut down on meat, both from a health perspective as we just don’t need to have as much meat in our diet, and because there are environmental and ethical concerns. But actually, I do eat meat – I limit my weekly intake to about 10 per cent (the average Western diet is 30 per cent). I also avoid intensively farmed red meat and poultry and stick to fish or free-range, which I have maybe three or four meals per week. I also try to limit portion size and bulk up with plant-based proteins.

7. Open your mind to lab grown meat and other futuristic foods

There’s a fallacy going round that we should only eat “real food”. But that’s just not possible. There are 8.1 billion people, and counting, in the world. We need to rely on technologies, but on the right ones. At the moment we’re creating too many junk foods which are engineered to be high in taste and low in nutrition. But lab grown meat, dairy, egg whites – that’s really interesting. And when it comes to GMOs, or genetically modified foods, governments need to regulate them but not villainise them.

8. Not all UPFs are created equal

Technically speaking, Huel is a UPF (ultra-processed food), but it’s high fibre and high protein. Numerous nutritious foods, for example bread and baked beans, are vilified solely because they fall under the “ultra-processed” banner.

What about UPFs whose flavour profile doesn’t encourage overconsumption, that are high in fibre and protein, rich in key micronutrients and low in sugar, salt and calories? I say it’s the best plan B when you can’t make better food choices.

What I eat in a day

Most days I practise intermittent fasting and don’t eat until lunchtime.

Lunch

For lunch, if I’m out I might have a Huel product, or if I’m at home I will have a homemade soup made by my wife using up whatever we have in the fridge – I’m big on tackling food waste. I’ll eat it with granary bread.

Snacks

For snacks I will have a RTD (ready to drink), a bar, or nuts and seeds, and I eat a lot of fruit and berries.

I don’t avoid sugar as I don’t believe in demonising foods, but I certainly don’t have a lot of added sugar. I find if I have too many sweets I get a sugar hangover.

Dinner

In the evening we will usually have something plant-based. We will always have a lot of starches because when you combine these with pulses you get a complete protein. Typically, I probably get a good 40 grams of fibre (the recommended amount is at least 30g). Some days we will have meat but with a lot of other stuff in the pot – a tin of pulses and chopped up veggies like red peppers, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes.

Alcohol

I rarely drink at home, although if we’ve got friends round for dinner I might have a glass of wine. I haven’t had a drink for two months but on holiday I could have a beer every night. I rarely get “s---faced” these days like I did when I was younger. I like to get up sprightly the next day.

Exercise

I do six or seven 45-minute exercise sessions a week. I don’t like to do less. I used to run bodybuilding shows and I still weight train a lot, but I also do circuits and running. I’ve been told I’m in great shape for my age, 52, and I feel healthier than I’ve ever been.

Well Fed by James Collier is available now