Six Weeks of Roboshake

It's time to put Roboshake to the test! I've spent weeks refining the algorithm, and now I'm going to start eating whatever puréed plant matter the computer tells me to. And so is my wife!

Here is our six-week plan:

Week 1: In the first week, we'll be eating Roboshakes for breakfast. We'll have normal food for lunch and dinner, but stop taking vitamins.

Week 2: Next we'll replace our lunches with Roboshakes.

Weeks 3-6: After the two-week transition phase, we'll replace all meals with Roboshakes. We will stop eating all standard solid food but drinks like coffee and tea will be allowed. This is when I'll start taking daily logs of what I'm eating, vital statistics like my weight, any physiological effects I notice, and how I feel in general.

The objective with this schedule is to gradually ease ourselves off normal foods, and replace more and more calories each day with Roboshakes. There are a few reasons it's important to transition slowly:

First, a drastic and immediate change in diet can cause so-called "detox" effects. These effects range from crankiness to headaches to tiredness to muscle aches. Some believe that this is caused by one's body cleansing itself of accumulated toxins. However, scientific evidence of this is sparse, and I find it more likely that the negative experiences are caused by a reaction similar to withdrawal from addictive substances.

Second, making eight quarts of drinks is a lot of work. Four cups of grapes is a lot to buy, pick, and wash! Starting off with single meals will be good practice, and hopefully keep me from becoming overwhelmed when I have to blend 5 pounds of fruit and vegetables a day.

Third, some Roboshakes might be unpleasant. For example, there's one that uses four cups of brussels sprouts. I'm pretty open-minded, but that doesn't sound so good to me. During the period of making shakes only for breakfast and lunch, I'll be able to see which recipes I like before I commit myself to buying pounds and pounds of raw ingredients.

So that's the plan! I am actually a little bit nervous about attempting this. I love food, and I'm not sure how I'll handle a whole month without it. My hope is that I will find that Roboshakes provide an easy way to give my body what it needs, so that I can find a way to include them in my everyday diet. For example, it would be great to be able to make quick shakes for breakfast and lunch on weekdays, and then indulge a little at dinner and on weekends.

Then again, I might get so tired of puréed raisins and prunes that I never want to eat (err, drink) them again.

Onward!