Sun Lee
WIRED production director
It seemed like a stunt. In February, software engineer Rob Rhinehart said he'd eliminated food, living for a month on Soylent, a self-made slurry of maltodextrin, amino acids, fiber, olive oil, and other ingredients. Rhinehart claimed to have more energy, extra time, and healthier skin. Then he offered a week's supply for $65. It was the time savings that won me over. I bought a week's worth—seven bags of Soylent, plus two pills daily for micronutrients and omega-3—and whipped out the blender.
10:15 am I'm supposed to drink three liters of liquid Soylent a day, whenever I choose. I decide on a liter at each mealtime. It looks like pancake mix and tastes like chalk. Not palatable, so I add vanilla and cinnamon, which someone suggested on the forum of Rhinehart's blog.
12:50 pm Drink second glass, feel fine, but I'm craving salt. Can't help myself, eating pita chips.
9:20 pm Drank my dinner, but now I smell oatmeal cookies baking. My kryptonite. Just one for dessert.
7:30 am Woke with a caffeine-withdrawal headache. I'm still working on Sunday's batch. Three liters is more than I need for a day, so I'm going to add just two liters of water to the powder instead and divide that into three "meals."
12:45 pm My coworkers' lunch smells amazeballs. My sense of smell is more acute. Plenty of energy after my Soylent. I feel alert and focused.
7:15 pm Mixing my next batch. I'm adding ground coffee beans. Rhinehart recommends this as a way to get my caffeine. Hope I can sleep after drinking dinner!
10:15 am My new mix with ground coffee is gritty. Soon after drinking it, I'm talking fast, clenching my teeth. Definitely too much caffeine. I'll skip the ground beans and try adding brewed coffee to the next batch. Same flavor, minus the sediment.
3:20 pm Noticing a trend: liquid in, liquid out. Ugh.
8:15 am Feeling hungrier than usual this morning. Soylent is much better without the grit of the ground coffee beans.
1:15 pm Easiest day so far, but my sense of smell is still heightened, so every cheeseburger waft hits hard.
11:15 am I'm sticking with the brewed-coffee Soylent for the rest of the week.
6:20 pm Nearing the end of my experiment. It's been surprisingly easy. I feel like I could live on this for two months, no problem.
11 am Very little waste. My body seems to use all the Soylent I feed it.
2 pm Energy level is great today.
10:30 am Last official day of Soylent, but I have some left over. I'll continue drinking it until it's gone, but I'll also eat real food.
8 pm Looking forward to a chili dog tomorrow!
I saved time not having to make and plan meals. I wasn't hungry, and I felt more energetic and more alert. Oh, and I lost 10 pounds. Awesome! I'm still going back to solid food, though.
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