On a dare, I ate only Protein Shakes for 31 days. Here is what I Learned
By: Adam Brownell
Tags: Personal Development, Diet, Discipline, Meal Replacement, Beyourself

In the span of one month, I dropped almost 3% body fat!

And after ending the diet and returning to my normal eating habits, my new BF% stayed quite constant. This diet worked great!

The Bad: My partner and I did still eat dinner together… and watching them eat real + delicious food while staring down at my brown liquid dinner is terrible. Do not recommend if you are socializing at all

Watching someone eat deliciously while you eat for nutrients is a form of torture. Photo by Jarritos Mexican Soda on Unsplash

The Strange: There were a few things to note that were… unexpected

I started having intense dreams about food. After about 2 weeks, it was about pizza and burritos, and large buffets. Near the end of the challenge, I had a recurring dream about biting into a crisp red apple. They were so vivid that often my worst cravings came in the middle of night after waking myself up by dreaming about a forbidden food…

My sense of smell became really strong. Foods that smelt somewhat bland to my partner, were aromatic to me. I had to physically leave the room when someone was baking a batch of brownies

The Learnings

The most interesting and valuable part of the experience (other than wining the bet 💰) were the insights I had on how to succeed

#1 Hunger vs. Taste

Starting with the strangest insight+ most specific to my experience — after a few days I could tell the difference between when I was actually hungry vs. when I wanted something tasty because I was bored

Do you actually want a donut or are you just bored? Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash

This was really interesting, because prior to this experience I always assumed when I started craving a snack, I was hungry, and should indulge that craving.

But it turns out that even when I knew that I wasn’t hungry, but rather tired/stressed/bored, I still had those snack cravings.

However, when I was full, they were much easier to ignore those impulses.

By accidentally forcing myself to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day, I realized what a fantastic idea small meals are when trying to eat healthy. Even after this challenge, I have continued to plan and eat several small meals a day. This has kept my snack cravings low and eat healthy more consistently.

#2 Consistency is Contagious

By keeping consistent with my diet, I found it much easier to stay consistent with other healthy habits, like my exercise and sleep.

The thought behind this success embarrassingly originally started as:

“I’m already being super strict about my diet. I don’t want to waste this month by not exercising”

Photo by Adam Tinworth on Unsplash

But eventually, this thought turned from one of wasting my own time to one of consistency: Once I started viewing myself as someone who was consistent with habits, with my Huel diet as proof, I actually started to become someone who was consistent in other areas of my life!

And what’s more, people who doubted my ability to complete the challenge started adopting their own diet/exercise changes. They saw my consistency (and the results that came with it) and started their own exercise in discipline.

Even without the physical results, I felt great about myself after the month.

#3 Discipline equals Freedom

Because I had mentally prepared for my day/week from a nutrition standpoint, I had a much easier time resisting cravings, since I had a plan in place. Meal Prep!

Photo by Thao Le Hoang on Unsplash

It seems success in diets (and likely any good habit) doesn’t necessarily come from self-control (which is a finite resource) but by just not see unhealthy options as options.

This is a pretty common idea from psychology called Decision Fatigue. By “forcing”/already deciding on what foods to eat, it was significantly easier for me to stick to that schedule.

This also gave me more willpower overall to begin other good habits, or be even be more productive/present in my day.

(I know I sound like a cheesy motivational speaker at this point, but it really was revealing to see/feel these experiences first hand!)

People who succeed in diets don’t necessarily have better self-control, they often just don’t see unhealthy options as options

I was always frustrated with my progress, hoping to see a six pack after a few sessions of crunches. I realized that progress, in fitness and most attributes, needs to be measured over long periods of time. And the only way to achieve these results is through sustained planning and discipline, rather than sustained motivation or willpower.

Should You do This?

Pros: As much as I can write out my experiences, I would relent that the best way for you to adopt these learnings into your life is to try a similar challenge in your life. I have read plenty of books on how to cultivate good, healthy habits, but really experiencing these insights myself is by far the most effective way for me to internalize them. Plus the healthy outcomes ain’t half bad too.

Cons: Do you know how anti-social eating shakes for every meal is? You never sit down long enough to chat with people, watching other people eat is terrible for both parties. If you have an active social calendar, this diet is absolutely not conducive with your lifestyle. Also, even if your social obligations aren’t an issue, eating shakes for every meal is just not sustainable, and results + long-term health rely on sustainability.

Either way, I hope you learned something from this article. Please reach out if you have any questions, or want to dare me to try another strange habit!