How I am Living Off of $6.00 a Day, and Practically No Food – One Month Update

Last month, I declared that I was about to descend upon an experimental journey of eliminating junk food, and for the most part even real food, all in an effort to get back to basics and consume only the nutrients my body needs on a daily basis. Today I have an update for you...

For the past year, I've made some radical changes with my diet by eating clean, scaling back on fast food, counting calories, and watching my carb and sugar intake. It didn't take too long to get into the best shape of my life. After losing nearly 90 pounds, my fear was that I was still eating incorrectly. Sure, I never went over my calorie needs, but eating just rice and tuna with a protein shake each day probably wasn't ideal... It was around that time that I began to investigate exactly what my body needed to achieve the recommended daily allowance of nutrients. That's when I stumbled upon Soylent, a power packed do-it-yourself nutrition shake that was touting itself as a the complete source of what an average person needs each day. Food in a bottle? Basically.

After one month of filling a thermos with Soylent each morning before work, I soon realized that I've found some amazing benefits with this experiment. For starters, my food bill has shrunk by at least 50%. On average, I would spend $12 a day eating out, packing sack lunches, or grabbing a fourth meal at Taco Bell. By scaling down to the exact proportions (and purest forms) of proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, sodium and other vital nutrients, I'm now living off of $6 a day. That in itself is one of my favorite benefits to eating cleaner than ever.

As for the health advantages..how do I put this without sounded too overly-hyped? I've never felt better, and I can tell a serious difference in the way my body functions now that its running on all cylinders. From my daily exercises, to my desk work at the office and even how I'm able to communicate both socially and on my radio show I've noticed a major leap in my skill and brain function. I seem to sleep better, I'm energized but not cracked out, focused when I need to be and relaxed when I begin to wind down. There have been a few days in which I skipped out on Soylent and had normal food only to notice dramatic differences in how I felt. Without Soylent I felt sluggish and out of sync, I found myself craving the drink on days I went without.

Granted, there have been a few scares with my experiment. One morning I grinded up too many calcium pills on accident which caused major pain in my kidneys. After learning that overdosing on that particular supplement can be fatal, I quickly double and triple checked my calculations and am now back on track. I even went in for a blood test twice this month only to pass with flying colors. So while there is much room for things to go wrong, getting the proper measurements wasn't too entirely challenging.

I've stressed before that I would dare not release the ingredients of this drink, in fear that the concoction might not be perfect for everyone’s intake, but don't let me stop you from doing some research on your own to find what is right for you if you decide to take the plunge. Either way, driving down the road and passing up Taco Bell is rewarding enough for me to stick with this cost saving, health benefitting life change.