But the thought of drinking breakfast and lunch and not having something with crunch or texture - not sure if I could do that.

It doesn't sound very appealing to me. I love food too much. Plus, from searching for reviews, I don't think it's particularly tasty and it may give you super stinky gas.

I need a different routine.

Can you manage yourself with alarms or calendar reminders? Like, just blocking off 30 minutes to eat? I do that when I have a ton of meetings or a hectic day.

For breakfast I made a frittata (~30 minutes of work including cook time) and sliced it up into servings that I can pop in the microwave for 30 seconds and eat at the counter while I'm pouring my coffee into a travel mug. I also try to cook up a giant pot of something in a slow cooker, so it's low effort and something I can pop in the microwave for dinner. Or lunch if I'm working from home.

Post-toasties:

And these are just ideas, of course. You should find something that will work for you.

What's the difference in price between Soylent and Ensure or other meal replacement shakes you can get at the grocery store?

I don't know, Jessica.

shrift, suggestions and ideas are very welcome. I'm so frustrated with my current health.

I don't think Soylent offers any nutritional benefits over eating food so I would only recommend it for someone who has no attachment to the food, in other words someone for whom ease and the freedom to not think about food outweigh the enjoyment of flavor, texture, etc. I wouldn't assume it's any better for you than what you are currently eating.

Yeah, those are good ideas, shrift. The SO & I are currently doing the vox anti detox diet. We like it so much we just keep going around and around and basically eat four days of it and sub in two extra things every week. I'm down a couple of pounds just from doing that, haven't gotten back on the water or the workouts yet. The recipes are all pretty simple to make, inexpensive, and delicious. Except the turnips and barley, we didn't care for that one. There are vegetarian variants. So we're pseudo pescetarian at the moment. Ova lacto pescetarian...

I just had lunch, and the wonderful thing about having salmon in a regular menu planning rotation is that the next day you have leftover salmon for salmon avocado feta salads. Nom nom nom. I'm finding that, really, I'm just lazy. So I'll happily reach for celery sticks and hummus as a snack as easily as chips, if, and this is the key point, someone has already cut them up for me. Even if that person is past me. It's just as easy for present me to throw together a salad for lunch instead of ramen, if past me has cleaned and prepped the ingredients. The vox anti detox diet makes that easy for me. On one day I chop veggies and make quinoa and wash salad greens, and then the rest of the week I just grab from that to cook.

I do supplement with protein powder drinks, which are not meal replacement. They're not complete nutrition, but they help me keep my protein needs in balance. The biggest challenge for me is keeping the boxes of berries around long enough to use them in the recipes that call for them, because left to my own devices, I am a berry eating fiend and have zero self control. I was always like that, even as a kid, and would happily eat myself sick on blueberries given the opportunity. And fruit is sugary, sure, but still, it's better grabbing that as a snack than candy.

Thanks Steph, I'll see if Wal-Mart has one of those pumice stones later today.

I totally get that, Liese. When I'm working a 12 hour day, present me is really happy that past me prepped some food.

When I have the energy on the weekend or when I have a corporate holiday, I'll make a big batch of soup or curry or whatever. I'll put some of it in the freezer so a) I don't get sick of it, and b) I have something to defrost and reheat if I just don't have ANY spoons. A lot of the time, I'm just tossing a bunch of stuff in a slow cooker and then collapsing on the couch to watch TV while it cooks.

For example, I have slow-cooked chicken that I'm tossing into wraps or salads or burritos. I also have a drawer full of veggies that are easy to chop up and roast, and chicken sausage that I can toss in the oven with the veggies.

And when I can't even, I will keep some Trader Joe's frozen things or ravioli in reserve.

This reminds me that I have beets to roast so I can eat up the rest of the arugula.

We're at the emergency dentist and it's a small office, so I can overhear bits and pieces coming from the exam area. I *think* Tim is getting another root canal, poor guy. Better than getting an extraction, because an implant is $$$.

I just hope this takes care of the pain and swelling.