Soylent Green, the answer to my food obsession?

Pelly57 · February 2014

I love my food too much, even adore and obsess over it. Always have. I can obsess over any form of food, be it junk or healthy eating. Especially when tracking my food, the obsession is doubled. The few times in my life when I have given myself full permission to eat whatever I want, with no thought to the consequences, after a few months time, I find that my weight has stabilized, no weight gain. Then I move from that mindset thinking, well, see, you have natural good eating habits, you just need to cut down a little and you will lose weight. Makes sense right? But BOOM, the obsession is back, I am hungry all the time, I cheat on my eating plan and gain weight.

A few months back, I read this article about some dude who was creating a new Soylent Green. The perfect food replacement, just mix it up, drink the proper amount a day, and all your nutritional needs are met. Given how much I LOVE food, I was taken aback by how intrigued I was with this concept. I would have signed up on the spot had it been ready for market yet.

So, I did some deep thinking as to why I wanted to jump on this bandwagon so fast. I figured out that I have a seriously bad relationship with food. The idea of leaving all food behind me was a promise of freedom. Yeah, I know, don't many of us on this site have complicated relationships with food? I've always know I did, I just realize how bad it was. For me the proof was, when I am not thinking about what I am eating, I eat pretty normally. The moment I put some thought into my meal plan, I am obsessing over my food. I start to crave all the things that are not on my food plan. The traditional answer of course, is to build those things into my food plan, so I won't feel deprived. But that doesn't work on an obsession. One, even two pieces of chocolate? Not good enough, I want all of it.

So, I think the answer has to be to change my relationship with food. It is not the god that I am making it out to be. It is just fuel after all. Anybody got some tips on how to make this mental shift? Or do I just say good bye to the food and start drinking Soylent Green?

HiKaren · February 2014

This Soylent Green?????? But its People!!

http://youtu.be/9IKVj4l5GU4

:sick:

LSwan2 · February 2014

Hi Pat, all of the people on this site basically have a food problem. I don't think you beat the problem in just one day. I think it is a gradual change. I think filling up the time in the day with various activities helps some. Logging my food helps me. If I can ser what I am putting in my mouth. I believe a person should pray about it. How does the saying go " Rome wasn't built in one day". We are in this together. We can support each other. I believe getting other reading materials on the subject helps also. God Bless. Linda

BenRothlisberger · February 2014

This Soylent Green?????? But its People!!

http://youtu.be/9IKVj4l5GU4

:sick:

BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE MOVIE HE FINDS OUT PEOPLE ARE EATING PEOPLE YOU SEE

Pelly57 · February 2014

This Soylent Green?????? But its People!!

http://youtu.be/9IKVj4l5GU4

:sick:

Lol, not people. Well, at least I hope not.
https://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body

Mr_Knight · February 2014

Food is NOT just fuel! Never has been, never will!

Going down that thinking path will lead to nothing but heartache and getting yelled at by DamePiglet.

HiKaren · February 2014

This Soylent Green?????? But its People!!

http://youtu.be/9IKVj4l5GU4

:sick:

BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE MOVIE HE FINDS OUT PEOPLE ARE EATING PEOPLE YOU SEE

Thats right... I'm not trying to discount any of the importance of the OP's post.... But I did see this movie, and it freaked me out. This is what I know soylant green to ever be... Just made me think of it...

So is REAL Soylent Green like a Herbalife Substance... Kind of like a meal replacement, of course not made out of people??

HiKaren · February 2014

This Soylent Green?????? But its People!!

http://youtu.be/9IKVj4l5GU4

:sick:

Lol, not people. Well, at least I hope not.
https://campaign.soylent.me/soylent-free-your-body

I'm going to check this out.. Thank you...

foxruddellc1 · February 2014

Watched a documentary about a guy who lived off this for 30 days, he was pretty miserable, but more from the social implications of living off a lab-made material. This stuff was developed as a nutritional supplement for people in places who do not have access to proper nutrition, which isn't our case..... The maker of it has done this, but this is pretty extreme.

That seems like a major, drastic life style change... exactly what you are not supposed to do to get healthy. Life style changes should be small and long term goals, like cutting back on salt intake one week, eating 1 or 2 more servings of veggies in place of bread in a day....

Food is meant to nourish you, not to be your enemy. There is not quick fix to any of this, and I am questioning your relationship with food if you dislike it so much that you want to completely nix it from your life. I really doubt any dietitian, doctor, nutritionist or psychologist would recommend replacing food with this stuff to get healthy.

Pelly57 · February 2014

I realize that the idea of giving up food completely and depending on a supplement for fuel is absurd. It was just that the thought brought promises of freedom, and that made me realize how bad my relationship with food is. Tracking, a healthy, satisfying meal plan should do the trick, right? It just drives me to more obsession.

AlongCame_Molly · February 2014

Are you honestly willing to give up food forever? That's what it would take to make this shake thing effective. Because you know the minute you stop drinking them, weight will come crashing back on. Are you prepared to never eat a single cookie at a Christmas party? Never go out for a meal to celebrate with people you love? Say goodbye to family cookouts and get-togethers? Sounds like an utterly miserable existence, to me.

Instead of escaping from food entirely with a "food substitute", I highly recommend some counseling for your unhealthy relationship with food.

I guarantee counseling will be cheaper in the long run than some "magic shake", and will actually lead to a resolution, whereas Soylent Green will just mask your problems, only to let them to rear up later in life.

fast_eddie_72 · February 2014

I read about this a couple of weeks ago. (fyi, He calls it "Soylent" - no green). It is an interesting idea, and the goal of getting it under $5 a day could have huge implications for places where food is scarce. Cheap, easy to transport, and full of nutrients.

I dunno. I could maybe try it for a bit, but would never really give up food. My kind of version of that is just pre-planning meals for a week. It's not the same thing all the time, but I don't make any decisions that way so can't go wrong. Avoiding the "what should I have for lunch?" question really helps sometimes.

HiKaren · February 2014

Aaaah.... Im going to stick with real food... I don't trust whats in the Soylent..... I don't think thats the answer.

Could you just get some protein powder and make your own fruit/veggie smoothies.

I think I understand where your coming from thou, & sometimes I get tired of thinking of foods and making meals... And also because my best friend had a gastric bypass, and for quite a while it was just liquid, and baby type foods that she ate. And very very very little of those....... No solid food was apealing to her. And basically, because food wasn't the fun & gratifying thing it was anymore.... Her thoughts went to other things besides eating.

loconnor466 · February 2014

I am certainly not an expert and I am only sharing this since both my cousin and a coworker have found relief from their food obsessions by becoming nutrarians. They both started following Dr. Fuhrmans plan. Eat to Live http://www.drfuhrman.com/
I do not personally follow his eating plan, but I believe everyone needs to find their own path and what works for them. While I think his plan is a bit extreme, I do not think it is unhealthy and is better than replacement meal shakes.
I am sure there will be plenty of responses ripping him apart,1,2,3, go!

Pelly57 · February 2014

Hi Pat, all of the people on this site basically have a food problem. I don't think you beat the problem in just one day. I think it is a gradual change. I think filling up the time in the day with various activities helps some. Logging my food helps me. If I can ser what I am putting in my mouth. I believe a person should pray about it. How does the saying go " Rome wasn't built in one day". We are in this together. We can support each other. I believe getting other reading materials on the subject helps also. God Bless. Linda

Thanks Linda, much to think about. And lets face it, this is all in my head. Just trying to get out of the crazy loop going on in there.

Pelly57 · February 2014

Are you honestly willing to give up food forever? That's what it would take to make this shake thing effective. Because you know the minute you stop drinking them, weight will come crashing back on. Are you prepared to never eat a single cookie at a Christmas party? Never go out for a meal to celebrate with people you love? Say goodbye to family cookouts and get-togethers? Sounds like an utterly miserable existence, to me.

Instead of escaping from food entirely with a "food substitute", I highly recommend some counseling for your unhealthy relationship with food.

I guarantee counseling will be cheaper in the long run than some "magic shake", and will actually lead to a resolution, whereas Soylent Green will just mask your problems, only to let them to rear up later in life.

I realize that counseling may be down the road. Just trying to make that mind shift away from obsession on my own first.

fificrazy · February 2014

How familiar are you with "weight set point"? Because when you let yourself eat unrestricted and maintained your weight, that's actually a really great thing! You maintained because that's the optimal weight for your body! Whether that fits your idea of a "perfect weight", or the BMI ideal, doesn't really matter. It could very well exceed both. It's just about honoring your hunger cues and accepting your natural body size- just as you would your shoe size, hand size, etc... When you restrict in an attempt to lose, you're hungry because you're trying to go against your natural weight set point. You DO always have the option to just accept your set point and enjoy your life. Or... turn to Soylent... uurrgghhhh......

fast_eddie_72 · February 2014

I guarantee counseling will be cheaper in the long run than some "magic shake", and will actually lead to a resolution, whereas Soylent Green will just mask your problems, only to let them to rear up later in life.

I completely agree with the spirit of your post, but one of the interesting things about the "Soylent" project is the cost. It's very inexpensive. Again, I'm not advocating it for weight loss or anything else. I just find the concept intriguing particular in applications in famine relief. The web site has tons of "formulas" for DIY Soylent and the cost per day is posted by the recipe.

I had pizza tonight after my run and I'm not planning to give that up any time soon. But then I had a protein powder shake to try to get close to my macro. So the idea isn't completely hair brained. I dunno.

Soylent Green, the answer to my food obsession?

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