Wellness Month Feature: Why I Started Drinking My Food

Disclaimer: Soylent does not pay me to talk about them (although if someone at Soylent is reading this, holla at me); I’m just really passionate about it.

I’m going to be honest with you for a minute: April hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in the process of looking for a new place to live, my dog had racked up some serious vet bills, and I just didn’t have the time, or the money, to buy and make healthy meals for one (if you’ve figured out an affordable way to do that, call me). So I looked to the internet for a solution, because there are only so many times you can visit Chipotle before they start cracking jokes.

I ran across the usual “mom blogs” about cheap meals for the family, and I found a couple of options for foods that freeze well, but nothing seemed fast enough or cheap enough to help me out. That’s when I found Soylent: a creamy, shake-like liquid that possesses all the nutrients your body needs for a healthy diet. Like your typical balanced meal, Soylent is composed of protein, carbs, fats, and fiber, and avoids excess sugars and saturated fats. It comes in two forms: a powder (Soylent 1.5) that can be mixed with water, or a premixed, 400-kcal bottled drink (Soylent 2.0) that is ready to consume as needed for your 2,000-calorie diet. Both 1.5 and 2.0 are vegan, lactose-free, nut-free, and proudly made in the USA.

At first glance, Soylent’s barren website and minimalist approach to this whole “drinking your food” thing seems weirdly dystopian. And I’m not the only one who thought so. Tons of forums and reviews talked about how wrong it was, and that meals are to be shared with friends and family. But there were also people who swore by the strange milky substance, loving the ease and simplicity of being able to just grab a bottle. One forum I found discussed how few dishes had to be washed, another discussed how much you can save when your meals only cost two bucks, and if I wasn’t sold before, I was then.

So I bought a 36-pack. I decided to drink one bottle to replace breakfast (which I never eat anyway) and two for lunch so I could spend more time with my dog during my lunch breaks. I would eat a normal meal for dinner and allow myself the flexibility to swap which meals were Soylent, in case anything exciting came up with friends or family. I pledged to do this for one week, take detailed notes and see how I felt afterwards. And since May is Balcom’s Wellness Month, the Bs asked me to share my results.

Day 1

I was first and foremost concerned about the taste, as I’d heard a lot of different commentary on the subject. But after shaking up my bottle of Soylent 2.0 and taking my first sip, I was surprised to find that, if anything, it just tasted like bland cereal milk. Seriously, that’s it (the creators created Soylent to be neutral, so frequent users wouldn’t get tired of the taste after awhile). By the time lunch rolled around I wasn’t really hungry, but I drank the first of my two lunch bottles in stride and kept working, saving the other for later. At this point I didn’t feel any different, other than a bit of acidity and a slight desire to put some actual food in my mouth.

Day 3

I began noticing some changes: I felt happier, less stressed, and I began craving Soylent. I drank four bottles of Soylent 2.0 that day and had a light snack of hummus and veggies. I did it because it was easier, and I was content. The rest of the week went on without any hiccups. By the following Monday I had lost six pounds, and I had crazy amounts of energy.

Day 7

After that first week, I changed how I used Soylent a bit: I used it to replace meals I would have usually skipped, and meals where I was tempted to order out or eat something that wasn’t nutritionally balanced. I also used it as a protein shake when I was feeling low on protein due to my vegetarianism.

Day 30

This works for me. A month later, I’m still drinking Soylent 2.0. Would I recommend you try it? Well yeah, absolutely. If you’re eating any sort of breakfast bar or protein bar in replacement of a meal, drink Soylent instead. Don’t just consume something you think will keep you full; consume something that has all of the nutrients you need in one 400-kcal bottle. It’s not some weird, futuristic hipster drink; it’s a choice to fuel your body simply and effectively when you don’t have time for anything else.

Blog Author: Balcom Agency writer