7-minute read•March 19th, 2019
So, you’ve tried Jake and you liked it. You maybe even started having breakfast because of it or gave your pizza delivery guy a break for a while. It’s a small step from this point to the question crossing your mind: What’s it like to eat only Jake?
Apart from trying it out yourself, the next best thing you can do to get an answer, is to ask someone who has. Lucky for you, I’ve done both. And here, you’ll find the most important things you need to know – including pros, cons and some practical tips for making the switch to a Jake-only diet, if you decide to do so.
Why eat only Jake in the first place?
Often, people switch to a Jake-only diet because they struggle with eating healthy the ‘regular’ way. Eating three healthy meals a day requires a lot of time for food planning and preparation. If you have a dynamic lifestyle, you might not always have that time or want to spend it on food. Jake gets you all your nutrients and you keep your flexibility.
Another common reason to start eating only Jake is weight regulation. Jake can be a helpful tool for losing or gaining weight, as it makes it easy to keep track of the exact caloric and nutrient content of your diet.
You’ll hear as many reasons to eat only Jake as the people you ask. But one thing is certain – it isn’t going to fit everyone’s preferences or lifestyle, and that’s okay.
If you think it might fit yours, here’s what you can expect.
The pros of eating only Jake
- #1: No energy fluctuations
The food you eat directly affects your blood sugarSource: Jake and, along with it, your energy levels. Jake contains a combination of simple and complex carbs, as well as plenty of dietary fibres. As a result, it raises your blood sugar only gradually and gives you a stable flow of energy throughout the day. In other words, eating only Jake means never having to deal with an afternoon slump, sugar crush or a sugar high again.
- #2: You’ll feel lighter after a meal
Jake is easy on your digestion and it leaves your stomach feeling light, while fully satisfying your hunger. You’ll already notice this after having a single Jake meal. After eating only Jake for a while, this lightness will become the new ‘normal’ for you. In fact, everyone I questioned shared that whenever they have regular food as an exception from their Jake-only diet, they immediately feel a heaviness in their stomach. That has to do with the fact that once your stomach is out of the habit of digesting regular food, it needs to get used to it again, the same way it needs to get used to eating only Jake at first.
- #3: It’ll be easier to control your weight (if that’s your goal)
A big part of the difficulty of adjusting your weight is keeping track of the calories and nutrients in your food. Even one meal that you didn’t make yourself is already placing you in the realm of guessing, and you can easily end up eating too little or too much and putting your weight goals at risk.
Eating only Jake makes a big difference for weight control, because you know exactly what is in your every meal. As a result, you can plan your daily meals much more easily to achieve the caloric deficit or surplus required to adjust your weight. And, you don’t have to worry about the common mistake of focusing so much on calories that you end up with a micronutrient deficiency.
- #4: You’ll feel healthier
I left this one for last, but it’s the most important one. If you already have a healthy diet, you might not notice a big difference in how you feel when switching to Jake. However, if the way you currently eat fails to meet your body’s needs, a Jake-only diet will mean a tangible improvement.
Those of you who have been eating only Jake for over a year reported feeling healthier and more energetic than before. It’s not magic. It’s what happens when your body gets enough of all the nutrients it needs.
An indirect positive side of doing right by your body is that you don’t have to feel guilty if you occasionally feel like cheating on your Jake diet – with a pizza, a burger, or whatever else makes your heart go boom. An overall balanced diet can handle occasional sidesteps.
The cons of eating only Jake
Eating only Jake has a lot of positive sides, but it also has some downsides, as I learn from those of you who have done it for a while. Here are the most commonly shared downsides, with a small tip from my side that can help you get over them.
- #1: Can get boring
Eating only one type of food, however yummy it may be, can get boring. The same applies to Jake. After a while without regular food, you might find yourself missing a bit of variety in texture and taste. That’s not the case with everyone I asked. But if it happens, here’s what you can do.
TIP:
First of all, try not to stick to the same type of Jake – alternate between Jake meal replacement shakes and meal replacement bars, and switch up the tastes more regularly.
Next to that, you can experiment with adding flavours to your shakes. The most popular taste variations are coffee, cinnamon, coconut or peanut butter powder (PB2). But I’ve also heard from people who swear by adding cucumber to their shakes. Find out what variation works for you by doing some experimenting of your own.
To change up the texture of the shakes a bit, you can try mixing them with less water and adding banana slices or other fruits or nuts. Do consider that this means extra calories, so especially if you’re going with nuts, don’t throw in a whole handful.
- #2: Flatulence
In the first days after you switch to a Jake-only diet, you’ll likely get a bit more gas than usual.
You owe this to the complex carbs and fibres in Jake. These are the same culprits that give you a stable energy level throughout the day, so it’s give and take, as always.
When your gut bacteria digest complex carbs, one of the by-products is nitrogen gas, which we release as flatulence. Fibres, on the other hand, get to your large intestine undigested and they start fermenting, which also produces extra gas for you to enjoy.
So, what can you do to solve this?
TIP:
You can prevent extra flatulence by allowing your stomach to adjust to Jake. In other words, don’t start with a full-on Jake-only diet from day one.
If you’re already in the midst of flatulence land, what will help is drinking more water. You can also try splitting your shake in two, so your stomach has to deal with smaller portions at a time. In either case, once your stomach adjusts to your new diet, the extra flatulence will go away by itself.
- #3: Your stool
Depending on your diet so far, as well as your stomach’s sensitivity, a Jake-only diet could make your stool more liquid or more solid than usual.
You’re most likely to experience this effect if you switch to a 100%-Jake diet from one day to the next, without letting your stomach adjust. Your stool will go back to normal in a couple of days, but it’s best to spare yourself this potential discomfort.
TIP:
Give your stomach enough time to get used to your new Jake-only diet. Start off with replacing one meal a day with Jake. In about 3-5 days, add one more Jake meal to your day, and then keep doing the same until you reach your desired level of consumption.
- #4: Eating too little or too much
If you’re like most people, you’re not constantly keeping track of what you eat and how much energy it delivers, so you might not know how many calories your current diet consists of on average. If you then start eating only Jake, you could over- or underdo it, resulting in unintended weight fluctuations. This is an easy one to avoid, though.
TIP:
Figure out how many calories you need per day before you start. This amount depends on your height, weight, age, gender and physical activity level, as well as your goals – maintaining, losing or gaining weight. For a good estimate, you can use this calculatorSource: Calculator.net.
Once you know your calorie needs per day, you can pick the Jake meals that will deliver exactly that amount. If you’re adding some extra fruits or nuts to your shakes, don’t forget to keep track of the extra calories they bring to your Jake diet.
Eating only Jake: Yea or Nay?
Just like any major change when it comes to food, switching to a 100%-Jake diet is bound to divide opinions. On the one hand, it will make you feel healthy, light and energetic, and can help you regulate your weight. On the other hand, pizza.
I’ve looked at the extreme here for a reason – so you know exactly what to expect and why. But eating Jake isn’t an all-or-nothing issue. You might discover that eating only Jake on weekdays is great but reserve your weekends for culinary adventures. Or, just like me, you might keep some Jake in your backpack, so you don’t have to stick to a pattern at all. Whatever works for you, works for Jake.
