Liquid Meals

[Curt Ferson]

I'm wondering what the forum thinks about getting a large % of nutritional needs from a blender. When I'm pressed for time (often) I find this is about all I can do. I'm talking about a protein shake in the morning with frozen fruit, maybe a light snack during the day (mixed nuts, energy bar), a post workout protein shake with frozen vegetables and fruits, a solid meal at dinner, and probably another small protein shake an hour before calling it a night. So that's 2-3 shakes a day and 1+ solid meal. I try to make these shakes quite healthy with blended whey and vegetable protein, almond, coconut or hemp milk, along with the frozen fruits and veges. Sound good? Or is there a disadvantage to consuming from a blender all the time? Looking forward to some opinions...

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think its a really bad idea.  If you plan ahead I'm sure you can find or pre-prepare some real food to fit in your busy day.  I hard boil a dozen eggs and keep them in the fridge at work for a protein source after my noon hour work out.  Eat supper leftovers for breakfast.  Make a big batch of soup take it for lunch.  Read this article about all the outsourcing of movement we do while preparing food.  Your jaw is a muscle.

 

[Ben Shulman]

I've been drinking a lot of soylent as food during the work week, and as a post workout, and I quite like.

[Coach Sommer]

22 hours ago, Curt Ferson said:

I'm wondering what the forum thinks about getting a large % of nutritional needs from a blender. 

- Once in a while when time is tight, fine.  

- Getting the majority of your nutrition this way on a regular basis, terrible idea.

- If you have time to type, you have time to plan some properly balanced meals.  

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Jonathan Pettit]

I'm curious about this.  I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right?  If eat a whole bunch of spinach and vegetables, or put those same ingredients in a blender and drink them, shouldn't the nutritional content be the same?  I remember my grandmother telling me, "Eat your fruit and drink your veggies," and she made many delicious green smoothies, which was one of the rare ways to get me to eat vegetables as a kid.  I still enjoy drinking such drinks every once in awhile, and I'd be kinda sad to give them up.

[Curt Ferson]

I guess I was looking for reasons why liquid meals are potentially less healthy, besides using your jaw less often. Other than than that I don't see why a blended meal is less healthy than a solid one. I was thinking that absorption might be an issue, or a quicker spike in blood sugar levels- for instance.  Just curious.  

[Curt Ferson]

Another thought: like the jaw bone, the stomach will work less as well. Don't see that as a big issue though. One meal a day should keep that functional.  I'm aware there is higher calorie use in the digestion of solid foods- though excessive body fat is not an issue in my case.  Anything else that would make the frequent use of liquid meals a "terrible idea?" 

[Eva Pelegrin]

I much prefer to chew my meals and plan accordingly.

Healthy teeth/gums is another reason why you want to chew your food. Digestion starts in your mouth with enzymes in your saliva, assuming you're chewing your food until it's (quasi) liquid in your mouth.

There's something primal and grounding about chewing... I find it very satisfying and I'm not willing to give it up for the sake of convenience. 

In a world surrounded by screens, numbness and "convenience"... I make it a point to enjoy the senses and capabilities our bodies have to offer and try to minimize feeling like a robot (when possible) andiving in NYC, you really have to use your imagination.

I occasionally make shakes (during spring & summer) with whole ingredients and dark greens, and I tell you, no matter how much avocado or almond butter I throw in there, after 90-120 min, I'm ready to eat a real meal, lol.

I've noticed that if I have a shake for lunch, I may end up having more calories/food that day because my body wants to chew. That's just my personal experience. Don't have any papers on that... Mother Nature gave us teeth. If we don't use them, we'll probably ____ them.

[Jeff Serven]

On March 13, 2016 at 2:13 PM, Curt Ferson said:

I'm wondering what the forum thinks about getting a large % of nutritional needs from a blender. When I'm pressed for time (often) I find this is about all I can do. I'm talking about a protein shake in the morning with frozen fruit, maybe a light snack during the day (mixed nuts, energy bar), a post workout protein shake with frozen vegetables and fruits, a solid meal at dinner, and probably another small protein shake an hour before calling it a night. So that's 2-3 shakes a day and 1+ solid meal. I try to make these shakes quite healthy with blended whey and vegetable protein, almond, coconut or hemp milk, along with the frozen fruits and veges. Sound good? Or is there a disadvantage to consuming from a blender all the time? Looking forward to some opinions...

Lets me play devils advocate. The most logical position is to always try and prove yourself wrong and if you cant, your right. As oppose to confirmation bias. Curt, I get the feeing that you are making more of a statement here than asking a question with a truly open mind, I come to this conclusion via the high number of opinions in your posts. 

1) If you truly pressed for time why jump to the conclusion you need to get a majority of your calories from a blender? Why not ask for quick heathy options? You've already chosen the path you want to go down and now you are looking for someone to validate it. No one has. 

2) When  forum members take the time to give you opinions you disregard and don't even address them. You basically reiterate your question as if they got the answer wrong.

[Curt Ferson]

9 hours ago, Jeff Serven said:

Lets me play devils advocate. The most logical position is to always try and prove yourself wrong and if you cant, your right. As oppose to confirmation bias. Curt, I get the feeing that you are making more of a statement here than asking a question with a truly open mind, I come to this conclusion via the high number of opinions in your posts. 

1) If you truly pressed for time why jump to the conclusion you need to get a majority of your calories from a blender? Why not ask for quick heathy options? You've already chosen the path you want to go down and now you are looking for someone to validate it. No one has. 

2) When  forum members take the time to give you opinions you disregard and don't even address them. You basically reiterate your question as if they got the answer wrong.

Hey Jeff. No that's not exactly true. You've misread me here. I suppose I'm ideally looking for researched or studied explanations, and this forum might not be the place to receive that. I did start a web search on the same topic and will probably ask my doctors opinion at some point as well. Broadly, I was curious how other forum members viewed the issue, and thanks all for the responses. I have found this forum to informative at times, so why not ask? I don't always follow the liquid/solid diet as I first described- but it's not uncommon 2 or 3 days a week. If it's going to limit physical fitness improvement, then I would want to try to make some changes. However, I'm still not certain why it's going to make much difference either way.  thanks again...

[Coach Sommer]

This is a common beginner's fallacy.  

It is not necessary for you to understand all of the details of what constitutes proper training, technique and execution.  By the time you do, you will no longer be a beginner.  It is simply important that you do it.

This applies equally to nutrition.  A lot of time wasted while someone with insufficient background tries to decide for themselves whether or not an expert's opinion is correct.

Stop trying to put the cart before the horse.  Implement the advice and then follow it meticulously for the advised period of time.  Afterwards you will be qualified to have an opinion of whether or not it was helpful.  Not before.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Keilani Gutierrez]

8 hours ago, Coach Sommer said:

This is a common beginner's fallacy.  

It is not necessary for you to understand all of the details of what constitutes proper training, technique and execution.  By the time you do, you will no longer be a beginner.  It is simply important that you do it.

This applies equally to nutrition.  A lot of time wasted while someone with insufficient background tries to decide for themselves whether or not an expert's opinion is correct.

Stop trying to put the cart before the horse.  Implement the advice and then follow it meticulously for the advised period of time.  Afterwards you will be qualified to have an opinion of whether or not it was helpful.  Not before.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

this. this forever.

some concepts help to understand while you're in the beginner phase ( protraction, PPT to name a few) some you just have to let play out, reevaluate and tweak, like how often to train and how intensely to do your sets.

something that has helped me be closer to being unbiased on a topic of nutrition is literally, writing things down. our memory isn't always in line with what we're actually doing, especially when it is something habitual that we are discussing.

write down what you do nutritionally for a week, two or a month. sometimes you'll notice that what you think and what you do is worlds apart, not always the case but very helpful to get a clear picture of where you stand.  

[Curt Ferson]

9 hours ago, Coach Sommer said:

This is a common beginner's fallacy.  

It is not necessary for you to understand all of the details of what constitutes proper training, technique and execution.  By the time you do, you will no longer be a beginner.  It is simply important that you do it.

This applies equally to nutrition.  A lot of time wasted while someone with insufficient background tries to decide for themselves whether or not an expert's opinion is correct.

Stop trying to put the cart before the horse.  Implement the advice and then follow it meticulously for the advised period of time.  Afterwards you will be qualified to have an opinion of whether or not it was helpful.  Not before.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Like the Nike slogan. OK thanks for your response, and for all the cool progressions. I have really enjoyed the process and progress so far. 

[Aaro Helander]

The beginner's fallacy is a very real and addicting way of mental m*sturbation. It's also a very universal experience, for example when starting a business. By the time you'researching for the very best publishing platform for your website, someone else in the same time frame has already picked one and is writing his tenth blog post, generating a mailing list and selling a product here and there.

Some food for thought: What happens when mice only eat powdered food? A look at long term effects of Soylent type nutrition

Edited April 6, 2016 by Aaro Helander
Food for thought

[William Trask]

@Coach Sommer & Jeff ,

I can understand your comment of I've experienced and I've witnessed thru coaching a common thread of eating well and not relying on protein powders and liquid meals as having the best outcome. I think that is what you are trying to share with the community.

Like Curt, I have been drinking a Isagenix Isalean Pro shake (link refers to nutritional value and ingredients). Other than drinking the shake I have no disclosures, kick-back, or attempt to sell Isagenix stuff. I only reference it for the sake of discussion and nutritional value as it was formulated by Dr. Michael Colgan a well studied and published nutritionist. 

I definitely prefer eating food, but use this shake every morning after rising and doing my workout. So I train on an empty stomach, eat a highly absorbable shake full of enzymes, nutrients, protein & amino acids immediately after training. This occurs in a timing window that is thought to enhance muscle repair/recovery/rejuvenation. However the rest of my meals I try to chew.

While I'm new to this course (fundamentals and nutrition) after listening to the Tim Ferris podcast and eager to learn from both of you. I connected with the heart of Curt's question of what % is okay. And hear both of you suggesting to eat/chew whenever possible.

Do either of you have comments about the value of protein shakes immediately after training?

Thanks! Excited to learn from you!

Edited May 27, 2016 by William Trask

[Jeff Serven]

Hi William,

Thanks for the post and links. 

Protein shakes do have value immediately after training in a lot of situations as well as pre and during. How much value is how relative to your goals it is as well as they type and duration of training. 

But the most important question of all is "Does it work for you?" and if the answer is yes then its pretty hard to argue with. 

Cheers,

Jeff