Your anecdote is interesting, but it seems biased towards, "everything was better and healthier, but I didn't get the joy of food".
I'm skeptical that you were getting optimal nutrition from some powder produced in a factory in Mexico. If everything about this was "better", I assume your original diet was terrible.
Diet and how you feel is highly variable and highly individual dependent. So the shake is excellent for creating a baseline since it is about as plain as you can get food to be.
> getting optimal nutrition
It's implied, otherwise what's the point of his post?
What is someone trying to achieve by drinking entire meals in a shake, if not optimal nutrition? What other benefits are there?
But generally it was carbs (corn flour), protein (whey isolate), fats (oil blend), micronutrient powder, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium. No sugar, gluten, dairy or soy.
For several years I made a daily "meal replacement" smoothie. It was all whole foods, except for whey protein powder, including various greens, spices, nuts, seeds, etc. I varied it a little, including or excluding certain ingredients over the week. It covered my breakfast and lunch every week day. It was simple to make in the morning before work, because it became a habit. I knew that every day I was getting a huge range of healthy, whole food ingredients (albeit pre-chewed). I would additionally have a snack or two at work, and in the evening I'd cook something, but I felt no pressure to ensure that meal was nutritious. I could have pasta, with a bit of garlic and butter for example - which I love, but isn't very nutritionally dense.
I was super, super healthy during this time. In very good shape.
I eventually stopped when we had our first child and I couldn't always use the blender at the appropriate time (sleeping child), and I since just got out of the habit.
Pros:
- Feel fucking amazing. Not just digestive, but mind, energy, mood, all over feel great.
- Perfect poops. I'd poop the same ideal poop everyday at the same time. Two wipes and done.
- Cheap-ish. DIY made it much cheaper than commercial products. Allowed fine tuning too. Was something like $7/day.
- Never hungry. I had three shakes a day and was very satiating. I would go months without experiencing the feeling of hunger.
- Lots of water. Each shake had ~500ml of water in it, which made it much easier to stay hydrated.
- Maximized exercise gains. Was tailored for working out, so I didn't leave anything on the table due to nutritional deficits.
Cons:
- The taste and texture. Bad and worse. Wasn't excruciating to get down, but fell into the "It's not good but I'll still have it" camp.
- No variety. Basically the same thing all the time.
- Weak jaw. Your jaw muscles weaken quickly when not being used all the time. It's surprising to eat regular food and find your jaw aching and tired after half a sandwich.
- Planning. Kind of minor but I would need to plan a bit more to make sure I had shakes ready to go. They tasted best if they could sit for an hour or so after mixing, and where chilled.
I gave in eventually because regular food is just so enjoyable and because GNC stopped making the micro nutrient powder that was essential too it.