The Protein Shift That Changed How I Train

Joel Evans is focused on getting stronger without overcomplicating his diet. This is how a shift in protein changed the way he trains.

For most of my life, I thought I had protein figured out.

I’m 24, and training has always been a constant. I run regularly, lift weights, and play football. It’s how I spend my time, how I switch off, and how I challenge myself. Right now, I’m chasing a bench press PB I set a few years ago — 165kg at 21 — and the goal is to push that up to 170, without sacrificing my running or overall fitness.

For a long time, I believed training hard was the main thing that mattered. Protein was just something you added on top.

It turns out, I was missing the point.

When eating more felt like enough

At university, my approach to food was simple: eat as much as possible. Calories were calories, and if something was quick and easy, it did the job. Takeaways, crisps, chocolate bars, protein bars — anything I could grab between lectures, workouts, or nights out.

I didn’t think much about what was actually in my food. I told myself I didn’t have time to prioritise nutrition, and back then, I didn’t really want to. Training felt like the hard part. Eating was just something you squeezed in.

It wasn’t until later — once I’d finished university and started taking my own health more seriously — that I realised how little that approach was actually supporting what I was trying to do.

Getting interested in what I was putting in my body

As I got older, my curiosity around nutrition grew. I started reading about it properly — probably more than most people would find interesting. Understanding how food affects performance, recovery, and gut health became something I genuinely cared about.

My diet slowly shifted towards whole foods. I started prioritising protein, fibre, healthy fats, and making sure I was getting the vitamins and minerals my body actually needs. I became a lot more aware of how processed some of my old habits were.

There was a point where I realised that a lot of the “protein” I was eating didn’t really feel like food at all.

Trying Huel for the first time

I’d known about Huel for years before I ever tried it. You hear about it constantly. But I’d never really looked into it or understood why people were so committed to it.

That changed earlier this summer when I picked up Huel Black Edition in chocolate. Before I even tried it, I did what I always do — I checked the ingredients. Seeing that it contained 26 vitamins and minerals, alongside high protein levels and actual food, stood out straight away.

For me, gut health matters. I want to run my body on real food, not things that feel overly processed or thrown together. Huel felt considered. It felt like something built with intention.

I gave it a go, and I genuinely enjoyed it. More than that, it worked.

Protein that supports the work you’re doing

What surprised me most was how naturally it fit into my routine.

After hard running sessions, football matches, or time in the gym, Huel became an easy way to support recovery. It gave me protein without feeling heavy, and it didn’t require planning or prep. I didn’t have to force it into my day — it just made sense.

Over time, it replaced some of my old defaults. Where I might have grabbed a chocolate bar or a heavily processed protein bar, I started reaching for Huel instead. Not because I felt like I had to, but because it felt like a better option.

I was still getting the protein I needed, but now it came alongside fibre, vitamins, and minerals. That combination mattered more than I realised.

Training smarter, not just harder

Protein has always been part of my training, but my relationship with it has changed. It’s no longer about chasing numbers for the sake of it. It’s about fuelling my body in a way that supports everything I want to do.

When I was powerlifting seriously during lockdown, I trained hard and loved it. I had a bench setup at home and went all in. But looking back, my approach to nutrition then was far less thought-through. I focused on effort, not balance.

Now, I still have big goals — but I also want to feel good while chasing them. I want to recover properly, stay consistent, and be able to train across different disciplines without burning out.

That shift in mindset is where Huel really found its place.

The product I never knew I needed

I started using Huel about six months ago, and I haven’t stopped since. I now use a range of the products, depending on what I need, and it’s become part of my routine rather than something I think about.

If I had to sum up my relationship with Huel in one sentence, it would be this: it’s the product I never knew I needed.

I didn’t go looking for a solution. I wasn’t trying to overhaul everything. I just wanted something that aligned with how I train and how I think about nutrition. The fact that it did — and continues to — is why it stuck.

Protein that fits real life

I don’t see protein as something extreme anymore. It’s not about restriction or rigid rules. It’s about making better choices more often and finding options that genuinely work with your lifestyle.

For me, that means protein that supports training, recovery, and consistency — without feeling like a compromise.

That’s what changed how I train.

Not a new programme. Not a new goal.

Just a better way of fuelling the work I was already putting in.