Hm. Day 3. It's almost fallen away into the background. I'm not really thinking about eating. We had a lot of errands to run today, so I wasn't home much, and I'm just happy not to have so many dishes to do. I feel normal, and feel like I could probably continue drinking Soylent indefinitely. I don't have any intention to do that, but I have to say, it's ok for me, at least on day 3.
When I tell people I am trying to eat nothing but Soylent for a week, I get a lot of questions, and I thought I'd create a Frequently Asked Questions list.
Why would you do that?
Well, I have already explained this in detail, but it comes down to needing a way to keep food from taking over my life, a way to ensure I'm not taking in too many calories, and managing my time.
Wouldn't you miss chewing?
I haven't been drinking Soylent long enough to know about me personally. Maybe. But in the first few days, it's not been a big deal. I chew gum if I want to, but it really doesn't come up. You really do forget about eating a bit.
Wouldn't you miss flavor?
Well, I was on a pretty restrictive diet prior to starting Soylent, so it's not like I'm going from pizza and burgers to Soylent. I went from a pretty bland salt-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, low-carb eating plan to Soylent. I was already drinking protein shakes every day, so this doesn't feel that unnatural. Seriously, when you aren't going to eat or drink anything else, you stop thinking, "Hm... what do I feel hungry for?" You don't wonder what's going to be for dinner. It's a bit surreal for someone like me who would plan food days in advance.
This is all you eat/drink?
For the course of this week, this is the only nutrition I'm planning to have. If there's any issues where I feel I need to have something else, I will, but so far, that's not the intent. I do make decaf hot tea a few times a day. I drink water all day, too. I do both of these things on any average day anyway.
Are you ever going to eat food again?
According to the explicit goals of the folks behind Soylent, I shouldn't need to. The founder of the company appears to have had nothing but Soylent for at least a year. But I have no intent of eating nothing else for the rest of my life. That's not the point, either. Yes, this meal replacement is a possible food replacement, but my hope is to use it to simplify -- to have the occasional Soylent day, to ensure I'm not overdoing the calories.
Why would you subject yourself to such a restrictive diet?
I'd argue that we all make compromises when choosing what to eat. If we all ate what we wanted and only what tasted good, no one would ever eat broccoli. Sorry, broccoli, but you suck. This isn't a restrictive diet at all. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want to. But I recognize that left to my own devices, I can't make the right choices. I'm choosing to explore this option for myself so that I can be healthy. Another arrow in my quiver, another bat-tool on the utility belt.
Isn't it unhealthy to eat just a bunch of chemicals?
The word "chemicals", like the word "toxins", is a relatively meaningless term. Everything we are and everything we consume, is made up of chemicals. There's a difference between Vitamin C (a chemical) and sulfuric acid, in terms of useful nutritional content, but make no mistake: everything you eat is a chemical. A vitamin extracted into a pure form in a lab doesn't mean it's different from that same vitamin naturally occurring in nature. I guess my point is: you shouldn't be scared into reacting based on scary-sounding name-calling.
But seriously, how is this possibly healthy?
I don't claim that it is. But there are people like me trying it out now, and a strong body of work should be forthcoming. I like articles like this one, that provide the collected data.
Why not drink Ensure, or Slim-Fast, or any of the other things that claim to be meal replacements?
Soylent isn't formulated to replace a meal, or keep you from dying when you have stomach issues that keep you from eating solid food. It's intended to be a theoretical replacement for food. Each serving doesn't have 100% of your daily value of vitamins. Each serving has a third of your daily calories, and each serving has a third of your recommended daily intake. Slim-Fast and Ensure are not the same thing. Check this thread for more information.
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