My blender has started smoking a little bit. I think the interface between the motor base and blender cup has worn down and is causing excess friction. Or maybe it's telling me that it's about had it with blending 224 fluid ounces of raw fruit every day!
Day 22
Shake: Cantaloupe Honeydew, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: $3.24
Body Weight: 158.0lb (-5.8lb total)
Just one more week of RoboShake to go! We tried a new recipe today based around lentils and millet. As we've done with other grains and legumes, we made the fruit (plums and peaches) into a smoothie and ate the millet and lentils in non-smoothie form. I've never tried millet on its own before. It's a soft and mellow grain, with flavor and texture somewhere between couscous and brown rice.
Day 21
Shake: Plums, millet, Apricots Peaches, Almond Milk, Lentils, Olive Oil, and Salt
Shake Cost: $9.21
Body Weight: 158.0lb (-5.8lb total)
4 cup, sliced (657g) PLUMS,RAW
2.9 cup (511g) MILLET,COOKED
3.1 cup, halves (474g) APRICOTS,RAW
1.5 cup (365g) ALMONDMILK,SILK,PUREALMOND,UNSWEETENED
1.3 cup (262g) LENTILS,MATURE SEEDS,CKD,BLD,W/SALT
4.3 tablespoon (58g) OIL,OLIVE,SALAD OR COOKING
0.7 tsp (4g) SALT,TABLE
---
SCORE: 93%
1997 calories
Carbs 300g; Protein 55g; Fat 71g
weight: 2332 g / 5.1 lbs
---
Energ_Kcal: 101%
Protein: 110%
Lipid_Tot: 110%
Carbohydrt: 100%
Fiber_TD: 184%
Calcium: 86%
Iron: 88%
Magnesium: 110%
Phosphorus: 120%
Potassium: 101%
Sodium: 109%
Zinc: 76%
Copper: 111%
Manganese: 170%
*Selenium: 18%
Vit_C: 190%
Thiamin: 87%
Riboflavin: 102%
Niacin: 76%
*Panto_Acid: 46%
*Vit_B6: 73%
Folate_Tot: 162%
Vit_B12: 77%
Vit_A_IU: 244%
Vit_E: 150%
*ViVit_D_IU: 38%
Vit_K: 123%
FA_Sat: 46%
Cholestrl: 0%
20 Days down and we're in the home stretch! Yes, I still want that bean burrito, but I must say my cravings for "normal" food have subsided substantially. My brother eats dinner with us on most nights (since he lives just a few houses down the street) and I've been deliberately cooking him "tempting" stuff like steak, pasta, and enchiladas. More and more, I don't even think about what he's eating. My wife even says she'd be happy sticking with RoboShakes permanently. I'm not ready to go that far, but I'm glad this month hasn't been a total disaster!
Day 20
Shake: CantaloupeHoneydew, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: $3.24
Body Weight: 158.4lb (-5.4lb total)
Yesterday, for the first time, Sprouts didn't have all the ingredients I needed for our shakes. Maybe it's because I was shopping on a Sunday evening, or maybe it was due to seasonality, but there were no apricots or cantaloupes. (Actually, there were a few cantaloupes, but they were extremely overripe, and an unattended eight-year-old had taken it upon himself to mash his fingers into them.) I didn't have my alternative shake recipes with me (no, there's no app for that... yet) so I had to improvise. Instead of cantaloupe I bought honeydew, and instead of apricots I bought peaches and nectarines. My guess is that these substitutions won't make a huge difference nutritionally. However, it does make me concerned that a RoboShake diet might be difficult to pull off in the winter.
If there's one aspect of RoboShake that I'm 100% convinced about, it's that eating more frequently makes me feel better. Today my wife and I had to make an abrupt and disruptive schedule change, and she observed that I handled it much more calmly than I normally would have. That makes me incredibly happy! It would make this entire six weeks worth it if I became an easier person for my wife to deal with!
So we've decided to eat six smaller meals a day even after RoboShake has ended. Here's the plan:
8:00am Breakfast
10:00am Elevenses (of Tolkien fame, but apparently it's actually a real thing)
12:00pm Lunch
2:00pm Afternoon Breakfast (So-named because that's when I wake up from my afternoon nap. So it's like breakfast, but in the afternoon. Get it?)
4:00pm Tea (guess who's been watching Downton Abbey?)
6:30pm Dinner
I'm really excited to get to eat more frequently. You might not know it from judging from the contents of this blog, but I really do love eating!!!
Today I improvised with the recipe from Day 17, and I must say I'm pretty proud of what I came up with! I mashed the baked potatoes, mixed them with the barley and almond milk, formed them into patties, and then lightly fried them in a portion of the olive oil. Then I made baked kale chips with the kale, salt, and the rest of the olive oil. With a side of peas, it was practically like a real meal!
On a side note, it's amazing how much you have to eat to get 2,000 calories when you're eating unprocessed food. The photo above represents 1/6th of the whole day's food. I'm writing this at about 6:30 PM, and I'm STUFFED but I still have almost have half a day's worth of food left to eat!
Day 19
Shake: Barley, potatoes, almond milk, kale, peas, olive oil, and salt
Shake Cost: ??? (I already had most of the ingredients)
Body Weight: 158.2lb (-5.6lb total)
As you might expect, during the process of developing and experimenting with RoboShake, I've learned a lot about nutrition. Studying nutrition is incredibly frustrating though, because study results, opinions, and recommendations are so scattered and contradictory that it's almost impossible to come away with consistent, actionable, advice.
However, I've been noticing that consensus seems to be forming on one topic: vitamin supplements. More and more, it seems that supplementation is not necessary for healthy, properly-nourished, people. For example, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association both encourage caution and indicate that the benefits of supplements are not supported by recent research. (The one exception is pregnant women.)
I've always thought it was a little odd to take a pill full of chemicals simply based on the idea that it might be "good for you." Nevertheless, I've taken a daily multivitamin for years. My wife though, who happens to be vegetarian and at times vegan, never takes vitamins. Last week her primary care physician ordered routine blood test as a preventative measure, and all her numbers came back in the normal, healthy, range.
With all this in mind, I think after RoboShake I'll continue not taking supplements, and focus instead on eating well!
Day 18
Shake: Pineapple, Kale, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: < $7.45
Body Weight: 159.4lb (-4.4lb total)
A few days ago I was flipping through RoboShakes and I found this one based around barley and potatoes. Not only is it one of the most nutritionally complete RoboShakes, scoring a 95%, but I already had most of the ingredients at home, and it sounded really good. That is, it sounded really good, but not like a really good shake! So yesterday I decided that we'd try eating this shake totally in non-shake form. I cooked the barley, baked and then mashed the potatoes with the almond milk, drizzled everything with olive oil, and sprinkled it with salt.
It was a really good change of pace! I'm sure a lot of people would call it a tad bland, but it's certainly quite filling and satisfying.
Plus, I'm sure my wife was really glad that I wasn't running the blender at 6:00AM!
Day 17
Shake: Barley, potatoes, almond milk, kale, peas, olive oil, and salt
Shake Cost: ??? (I already had most of the ingredients)
Body Weight: 159.6lb (-4.2lb total)
2 potato, large (3 to 4-1/4 dia. (591g) POTATOES,RUSSET,FLESH & SKN,BKD
3.4 cup (532g) BARLEY,PEARLED,COOKED
1.5 cup (368g) ALMONDMILK,SILK,PUREALMOND,UNSWEETENED
2 cup (289g) PEAS,GREEN,RAW
1.1 cup, chopped (72g) KALE,RAW
4.4 tablespoon (59g) OIL,OLIVE,SALAD OR COOKING
0.9 tsp (6g) SALT,TABLE
---
SCORE: 95%
2067 calories
Carbs 326g; Protein 48g; Fat 67g
weight: 1916 g / 4.2 lbs
---
Energ_Kcal: 104%
Protein: 96%
Lipid_Tot: 104%
Carbohydrt: 109%
Fiber_TD: 200%
Calcium: 103%
Iron: 110%
Magnesium: 110%
Phosphorus: 106%
Potassium: 136%
Sodium: 106%
Zinc: 81%
Copper: 96%
Manganese: 224%
Selenium: 78%
Vit_C: 464%
Thiamin: 112%
Riboflavin: 109%
Niacin: 128%
*Panto_Acid: 33%
Vit_B6: 169%
Folate_Tot: 112%
Vit_B12: 77%
Vit_A_IU: 284%
Vit_E: 123%
*ViVit_D_IU: 39%
Vit_K: 891%
FA_Sat: 45%
Cholestrl: 0%
Today was straightforward, with a pineapple and kale shake that we enjoyed in the early days of Robo-shaking. I've got something special planned for tomorrow though! ("Special" in a relative sense, of course. Don't get your hopes too high...)
Day 16
Shake: Pineapple, Kale, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk (in different proportions than day 1)
Shake Cost: < $7.00
Body Weight: 160.2lb (-3.6lb total)
There's not much to report today, but as this is just over the halfway point of my four-week RoboShake plan, I'll write about some general observations.
But first, today's numbers:
Day 15
Shake: Watermelon, apples, almond milk, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil
Shake Cost: $6.54
Body Weight: 160.6lb (-3.2lb total)
I am notorious for being disagreeable in the late afternoon period before dinner. When I'm eating normally, I do my best to manage it by eating snacks in the afternoon. Eating eight 250 calorie meals has almost totally gotten rid of this problem though. I feel ready for a break at the end of the day, but I don't feel cranky.
As I suspected, my weight loss has more or less leveled off at 160 lbs. I'm eating 2,000 calories a day, which is just slightly under what I need to maintain my weight, so I suspect I'll lose a pound or two more by the end of this experiment, but not much more than that.
My wife and I have, at various times, experimented with veganism. I find the proscriptive approach of veganism to be much more difficult than the prescriptive RoboShake method. With veganism, I'd always be really excited to try something that seemed like it really should be vegan, only to see that it had fractional amounts of milk solids or something. Having to read every ingredient in everything I bought really wore me down, so I'd default to just eating bread and peanut butter and other "easy" stuff, which probably left me in no better a place than with my normal diet. With RoboShake I just have a menu of shakes to choose from, so I find it to be much less mentally burdensome.
Half way there! This week went by quickly, but in a way it seems like I've been eating RoboShakes forever. I've gotten into the habit of pouring myself a glass whenever I feel like I need energy. For me, doing this is a big benefit over normal eating. I've also got a good morning routine down, and it's nice to not have to think about cooking for the rest of the day. I do have to go grocery shopping more often than usual, but I only buy a few items (though in large amounts), so the trips don't take nearly as long as when I'm on my standard diet. I think the next two weeks are going to go well, fingers crossed. And then it's burrito time!!!
Day 14
Shake: Watermelon, apples, almond milk, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil
Shake Cost: $6.54
Body Weight: 159.8lb (-4.0lb total)
My brother and his girlfriend requested RoboShakes for dinner, and I was happy to oblige them with the classic apricot, peanut, raisin, and almond milk shake. Both of them seemed to enjoy their shakes, and finished their entire liter's worth. That's a lot of plant puree for a novice to consume! Because of their additional consumption, today set a record for the most volume of RoboShake I've made in a day: 9 liters, or about 38 cups, made with 9 cups of apricots, 4.5 cups of raisins, and 2.25 cups of raw peanuts. I'm starting to become a familiar face at Sprout's Farmers Market!
Day 13
Shake: Apricot, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: $4.95
Body Weight: 160.2lb (-3.6lb total)
Nothing much to report today, but my brother and his girlfriend have requested RoboShakes for dinner tomorrow, so that should be interesting!
Day 12Today we revisited the infamous watermelon, apple, almond milk, baked potato, kidney bean, and olive oil shake. As on Day 9, we split it up into a smoothie and a simple main dish, which makes it infinitely more enjoyable!
Day 11
Shake: Watermelon, apples, almond milk, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil
Shake Cost: $6.54
Body Weight: 160.8lb (-3.0lb total)
Most of our shakes are moderately sweet with mellow fruit flavors and a taste I can only describe as "planty-ness" which is due to all the ingredients being raw. When we started eating the baked potatoes and kidney beans separately from the watermelon shake, I put a little salt, pepper, and Tabasco on them because they were a bit bland. I used a conservative amount of salt and Tabasco, but my taste buds haven't experienced much salt or heat in the last ten days, and the potatoes and beans tasted very salty and my mouth was burning. Normally I'm extremely tolerant of spicy foods, so this was a surprise!
My hope is that this re-sensitization is occurring for other taste sensations as well. Maybe french fries will taste way too oily and cookies way too sweet. I could definitely stand to eat a little less of each! (But I'm fairly certain the I'll be back to eating hot green chili in no time!)
Not much to report today! We had some leftover cantaloupe so we went back to the tried-and-true classic shake. Tomorrow I'm going "shake shopping" so I'm digging through the RoboShake algorithm outputs to see if I can find anything interesting.
Day 10
Shake: Cantaloupe, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: $4.95
Body Weight: 161.8lb (-2.0lb total)
I learned a valuable life lesson today: Watermelon, apples, and almond milk make a tasty smoothie. Baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil make a wholesome meal. Watermelon, apples, almond milk, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil, all together make a horrible, horrible, smoothie!
Day 9
Shake: Watermelon, apples, almond milk, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil
Shake Cost: $6.54
Body Weight: 160.2lb (-3.6lb total)
I knew today's shake selection was a bit adventuresome, so I made a small batch of it this morning before I made a whole day's worth. I'm glad I did, because it was pretty bad. While kidney beans have a seemingly mild flavor, they combine with watermelon to make a distinctly repulsive flavor that I knew we couldn't handle for two days. So I made the decision to split up the ingredients into a shake made with the watermelon, apples, and almond milk, and a simple main dish made with the baked potatoes, kidney beans, and olive oil. In a way this feels like cheating since I'm not drinking all my nutrients all at once. However, the real goal of RoboShake has always been proper nutrition, not a test of our ability to drink thick disgusting liquids. I'm not eating (or missing) anything I wouldn't have had with the shake, it's just delivered in a different format. So the purist in me is disappointed, but the part of me that likes things that taste good and wants to be healthy is thrilled!
I'm still going to make an effort to drink all of our shakes rather than eat them, but this meal splitting technique seems like a reasonable compromise for shakes that just won't go down.
4 cup, balls (616g) WATERMELON,RAW
3.9 cup, quartered or chopped (489g) APPLES,RAW,WITH SKIN
1.6 potato, large (3 to 4-1/4 dia. (485g) POTATOES,RUSSET,FLESH & SKN,BKD
2.2 cup (385g) BEANS,KIDNEY,ALL TYPES,MATURE SEEDS,CKD,BLD,W/SALT
1.5 cup (368g) ALMONDMILK,SILK,PUREALMOND,UNSWEETENED
4.7 tablespoon (63g) OIL,OLIVE,SALAD OR COOKING
---
SCORE: 91%
2006 calories
Carbs 306g; Protein 53g; Fat 71g
weight: 2406 g / 5.3 lbs
---
Energ_Kcal: 101%
Protein: 107%
Lipid_Tot: 110%
Carbohydrt: 102%
Fiber_TD: 200%
Calcium: 96%
Iron: 108%
Magnesium: 108%
Phosphorus: 101%
Potassium: 155%
*Sodium: 52%
*Zinc: 56%
Copper: 92%
Manganese: 167%
*Selenium: 14%
Vit_C: 233%
Thiamin: 82%
Riboflavin: 87%
*Niacin: 52%
*Panto_Acid: 43%
Vit_B6: 133%
Folate_Tot: 165%
Vit_B12: 77%
Vit_A_IU: 92%
Vit_E: 146%
*ViVit_D_IU: 39%
Vit_K: 90%
FA_Sat: 47%
Cholestrl: 0%
Today's classic cantaloupe, peanut, and raisin shakes made the day pretty easy, but tomorrow we're entering into uncharted territory with shakes based on watermelon and kidney beans. Yum?
Day 8
Shake: Cantaloupe, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: $4.95
Body Weight: 160.2lb (-3.6lb total)
Our friend Wes made a request for a shake with a single ingredient. Unfortunately, there's no one single ingredient that fulfills all our nutrient needs. Running the algorithm as-is, the best single ingredient shake is 4.6 cups of cooked spelt, which provides 1140 calories distributed over 237g of carbs, 49g of protein, and 8g of fat. This scores a 58% on RoboShake's nutrition scale, and is the most optimal option that doesn't cause an overdose of anything.
However, if I were stranded on a desert island, I wouldn't be worried about overdosing. I'd want a lot of calories with as many vitamins as possible. So I turned off RoboShake's overdose flags, and the 1-ingredient recipe it came up with was 5.8 cups of oat flour. It provides 10 times more manganese than you need per day (an overdose) but scores an 82% on the RoboShake scale due to its balanced macro-nutrients and solid helping of vitamins and minerals.
Complete breakdowns for spelt and oat flour "shakes" below:
4.6 cup (898g) SPELT,CKD
---
SCORE: 58%
1140 calories
Carbs 237g; Protein 49g; Fat 8g
weight: 898 g / 2 lbs
---
*Energ_Kcal: 57%
Protein: 99%
*Lipid_Tot: 12%
Carbohydrt: 79%
Fiber_TD: 140%
*Calcium: 9%
Iron: 83%
Magnesium: 110%
Phosphorus: 135%
*Potassium: 37%
*Sodium: 2%
*Zinc: 75%
Copper: 97%
Manganese: 490%
*Selenium: 51%
*Vit_C: 0%
*Thiamin: 62%
*Riboflavin: 16%
Niacin: 115%
*Panto_Acid: 0%
*Vit_B6: 36%
*Folate_Tot: 29%
*Vit_B12: 0%
*Vit_A_IU: 1%
*Vit_E: 12%
*ViVit_D_IU: 0%
*Vit_K: 0%
FA_Sat: 0%
Cholestrl: 0%
5.8 cup (512g) OAT FLR,PART DEBRANNED
---
SCORE: 87%
2067 calories
Carbs 336g; Protein 75g; Fat 47g
weight: 512 g / 1.1 lbs
---
Energ_Kcal: 104%
Protein: 150%
*Lipid_Tot: 72%
Carbohydrt: 112%
Fiber_TD: 133%
*Calcium: 28%
Iron: 114%
Magnesium: 184%
Phosphorus: 231%
*Potassium: 54%
*Sodium: 4%
Zinc: 109%
Copper: 112%
Manganese: 1028%
Selenium: 248%
*Vit_C: 0%
Thiamin: 236%
*Riboflavin: 38%
*Niacin: 38%
*Panto_Acid: 10%
*Vit_B6: 32%
*Folate_Tot: 41%
*Vit_B12: 0%
*Vit_A_IU: 0%
*Vit_E: 18%
*ViVit_D_IU: 0%
*Vit_K: 20%
FA_Sat: 41%
Cholestrl: 0%
BAM! One week down. Maybe we can actually pull this off! It's funny, I feel a "reversion to the mean" in both good ways and in bad. I'm not craving normal foods as much as I was a few days ago, but I'm gaining some weight back and my energy levels also seem to have dropped back to normal (needing an afternoon nap, tired by the end of the day.) Perhaps my body is accepting RoboShakes as the "new normal" and re-calibrating itself to be back where it used to be. Then again, I've had a busy start to the week, so maybe I'm just tired from that!
Day 7
Shake: Pineapple, Kale, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: < $7.45
Body Weight: 160.8lb (-3.0lb total)
I did an experiment today and swapped some of the kale in my shake with dried spirulina powder. Man, that stuff is insane! It is aggressively green and smells like the entire Pacific Ocean was dried up and concentrated into a jar. It tastes the way fresh cut grass smells, except with fish mixed in. I wanted to see if some of the shake recipes that include it might be worth trying, and while I didn't find it repulsive, I definitely can't see myself drinking it all day every day. Also, it's pretty expensive and my wife was not a fan. So that seals the deal: No spirulina in RoboShakes!
Today marked a new sort of challenge because my dad came into town unexpectedly, and I had to explain to him that I wasn't eating normal food. Family meals are a pretty big deal for us, so my RoboShake plan was met with a bit of resistance. Luckily, my dad came around eventually and told me about how when he was in his "health food craze" he brought a bag of carrots with him when all of his friends went to Baskin Robbins. I guess this sort of thing runs in the family!
Day6Five days down and things are proceeding smoothly. That's fortunate for me and my wife, but unfortunate for readers of this blog who are hoping to find it interesting! In a way I'm bummed out that I don't have more stories of hardship and difficulty to report. I'd love to post some pictures of my skin turning green. Alas, aside from craving the idea of a bean burrito (but not actually being hungry for one) I'm feeling great!
Day 5
Shake: Pineapple, Kale, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: < $7.45
Body Weight: 160.2lb (-3.6lb total)
Earlier I reported that I'd stopped needing to take naps in the afternoon. Slowly but surely, I've fallen back into my old rhythm and am starting to get sleepy after lunch. I don't mind this, since it gives me a good excuse to take a break in a day that is no longer divided by meals. One thing that has improved though is my ability to recover from naps. Usually I'm groggy and cranky after I wake up, but if I have a few swallows of shake, I feel good again almost instantly.
Some of the troubles of Day 1 were caused by too much salt in the shakes. I've since reduced our total intake to less than 1/4 teaspoon per day. By the FDA's standards that's less than 25% of the recommended daily intake, but I've read that many authorities consider 1/4 teaspoon to be enough. However, last night I started to have some intense cravings for salty foods. I can't be sure whether this was withdrawal or a legitimate message from my body, but I decided to have a few swallows of dill pickle juice. My craving was satisfied, and now I'm thinking I might make it a daily habit.
You may have noticed that most of our shakes have included peanuts and raisins. The computer seems to like raisins because of their concentrated carbohydrates, and peanuts for their fat and protein. The raisins have the added benefit of being sweet, unlike the carbs that come from potatoes, barley, or rice flour. Right now we have enough ingredients at home to last us through Day 7, and after that I'm going to make an effort to try shakes that are based on different ingredients. For example, there's one that contains pears, melon, potatoes, and olive oil that could be good. I better buy some backup ingredients just in case though!
Today was another easy day. Sprouts had some great cantaloupes on sale, which made today's shakes taste fantastic. My wife said that today's shake was her favorite so far.
I'm definitely craving the sensations of eating, but I'm not hungry at all. I never knew there was a difference until now!
Day 4I've lost almost a pound per day since this experiment began. Weight loss wasn't one of my objectives with Roboshake, but I'm not surprised that it's happening. I must admit that I "binge" ate in the days leading up to the experiment, and I think I'm losing that weight, plus 2,000 calories is probably slightly below what I need to maintain equilibrium. I don't expect such rapid weight loss will continue, once my body adapts to what I'm eating. (If I do keep losing weight so quickly, then there's something seriously wrong with Roboshake's methodology!)
Nothing much to report today. As I mentioned yesterday, I modified the program to limit the amount of dark greens in the shakes, and we revisited the pineapple, kale, peanut, and raisin shake to see if the different proportions made it easier to get down. It worked! It went from a drink that almost made me gag to one that was tropical and sweet, with just a little bit of that characteristic kale "sparkle."
Day 3
Shake: Pineapple, Kale, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk (in different proportions than day 1)
Shake Cost: < $7.45
Body Weight: 161.6lb (-2.2lb total)
We switched back to our favorite shake recipe today, and as I expected everything went pretty smoothly.
Day 2
Shake: Apricot, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: About $5 (I already had all the ingredients)
Body Weight: 161.6 lb (-2.2lb total)
Here are a couple of observations:
Yesterday was really difficult primarily because of the enormous amount of dark, leafy greens, in our shakes. 150 grams of kale might not sound like much, but it fills my largest cooking bowl to the point of overflowing. I'm very used to "green drinks" but the massive amount of kale puree was quite unpleasant. I don't want to eliminate dark greens entirely though, so today I re-ran the algorithm with a maximum of 75g of leafy greens. I'm hoping this will this will turn out to be a good compromise, and the algorithm will make up for the lost nutrients in other ways.
For some reason I've been getting a runny nose right after I drink each shake. It only lasts a few minutes, so it isn't a big deal, but I do find it odd. If anyone has any theories, let me know!
In the weeks I've been drinking Roboshake, I've become more and more aware of how our daily schedules revolve around eating. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are reliable break points as we get through each day. Since I make all four liters of my Roboshakes in the morning, I can drink them whenever I want. At first I tried eating them at the table as if I was having a normal meal, but slowly I've just started drinking them continually as I go about my day. This has had the effect of eliminating the traditional three meals, and my day has turned into a single continuum rather disjoint segments separated by eating. This isn't good or bad, but it's definitely different.
That covers it for Day 2. I'm hoping for more days like this one!
Today is the first day that my wife and I got all of our calories from RoboShake, and it was slightly more challenging than we expected, but for unexpected reasons.
First, some numbers:
Day 1
Shake: Pineapple, Kale, Peanut, Raisin, and Almond Milk
Shake Cost: $7.45
Body Weight: 163.8 lb
In a lapse of judgement, we decided to try all-new shakes today. Unfortunately, both the shakes we chose were difficult to get down. Mine (described above) was very kale-y (but also super sweet) and while not totally undrinkable, was certainly not as enjoyable as the other shakes we've tried. My wife's shake was made from apricots, figs, spinach, and sunflower seeds. Most Roboshakes have a tiny bit of salt in them that is undetectable. However, the salt in her shake was very strong, I think because of the lack of sweetness in the other ingredients. Ultimately, she ended up having to mix it with some flavored zero-calorie vitamin water in order to get it down. All of the shakes we've tried so far have been great, so it was a surprise that these were more challenging.
We should have stuck with the tasty, tried-and-true, shakes we've been drinking for the last two weeks. I think had we done so, today would have been much easier. Tomorrow we're going back to one of our favorite recipes, which will hopefully make things easier.
Aside from the fact that our shakes were not particularly enjoyable, both of us felt good today. One thing that I'm definitely not is hungry. The shakes are quite filling and satisfying. I miss normal food, but it's because of the pleasure of eating it, not hunger.
With some better shakes tomorrow, I'm looking forward to an easier day 2!
Today is the final day of the two week transition period where my wife and I are gradually replacing all of our meals with Roboshakes. Tomorrow we'll start drinking them for all meals and stop eating traditional solid foods.
I haven't had enough free time to blog about the transition period on a daily basis, so here is a summary of what I've noticed so far:
During the first phase of the transition period, when I was only drinking shakes for breakfast, I didn't notice any changes at all. This might be because I already drink protein shakes with fruits and leafy greens regularly (though not every day.) However, when I started also drinking shakes for lunch, I did start to notice some changes to my mood. I'd feel oscillating phases of crankiness, euphoria, calmness, restlessness, and even anger. Generally these waves of emotion didn't last more than a few minutes, so they were easy to deal with. After a few days the mood swings dissipated.
One very positive change that I've been noticing more and more every day is my increased ability to concentrate. The Internet has taken its toll on my attention span in the last decade or so, and I often find it hard to work long periods without having a strong urge to check news sites or Facebook. However, since starting Roboshake I've gradually been able to keep my focus going longer and longer without any desire for distractions. I honestly believe that the last two weeks has been one of the more productive spans of time I've had in the last few years.
One aspect of Roboshake that has required some adaptation is shopping for large amounts of raw ingredients in bulk. When I'm eating a normal diet, I might buy a container of raisins or peanuts, but I don't worry much about the specific amounts. Buying several kilograms of raisins or peanuts is a whole different story though. I have always taken a shopping list to the store, but with Roboshake I have to plan ahead much more and write down specific weights of ingredients ahead of time. Luckily, the Sprouts Farmers Market near my house sells everything I need in bulk, so I can buy exactly what I need.
For as long as I can remember, I've taken a nap after lunch. I get up fairly early, do the bulk of my work in the mornings, and usually work out, so I'm pretty drained by midday. Since switching to Roboshakes though, I've noticed that I'm not tired after drinking my lunch. In fact, I'm less sleepy in general. A few days ago I woke up at at 6:00am and went to sleep around midnight, without any naps in between. Normally, that would be impossible for me.
My longtime friend Abe was in town yesterday to visit his sister, and we decided to try making the Cantaloupe, Peanut, and Raisin Shake with her Vitamix blender. The results were fantastic! The shake is so much more smooth and drinkable than with my $30 Black & Decker. I'm still reluctant to shell out for the $400-$500 pricetag, but if I end up making it the full month and integrating the shakes into my everyday diet, I'll definitely consider at least getting a refurbished one.
Several of my more skeptical family members have asked if all the fruit I'm eating has caused digestive problems like diarrhea. Thankfully, the answer is no! I suspect that any potential problems would be caused by excess fiber, and Roboshake limits the total amount in each recipe. So thanks for everyone's concern, but everything is just fine in the bathroom :)
Tomorrow my wife and I will begin replacing 100% of our caloric intake with Roboshakes. I really don't know what to expect. I'm pretty strong-willed, but I've never tried an eating experiment of this duration. Especially not one that I designed myself. Time will tell if we can make it through the full month, but right now I'm feeling great and ready to go!
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!
