People use Soylent in a variety of ways.

Some people drink only Soylent to sustain them during certain periods of time, such as when they’re very busy at work or school. Others choose to replace occasional meals with the drink when it suits them.

Depending on your circumstances, there can be pros and cons to occasionally choosing liquid meals or switching to a liquid diet.

They May Make Your Diet More Nutritious

If you are short on time and often find yourself reaching for junk food, or if you are on a very low-calorie diet, switching to a meal replacement drink could improve your diet quality.

Meal replacement shakes like Soylent contain adequate levels of essential vitamins, minerals and fiber, which many people don’t get enough of ( 11 , 12 ).

This means that replacing a high-energy, nutrient-poor meal with a meal replacement shake could be better for your health.

However, the nutritional breakdown of meal replacement drinks can vary considerably between brands, and some may be lacking in essential nutrients.

In addition, Soylent drinks and other meal replacements are made up of the “building blocks” of food, but they lack the healthy plant compounds and other components found in whole foods, which may benefit your health ( 13 ).

They May Help You Lose Weight

If you are trying to lose weight, then meal replacements may also be useful.

The time it takes to plan, shop for and prepare meals can prevent people from sticking to a diet.

Switching regular food for a calorie-restricted liquid meal once or twice a day has been shown to help people lose weight over the short term ( 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ).

However, studies so far have found mixed results over the long term, so the success of a liquid meal replacement plan probably depends on how well you can stick to it ( 18 ).

It’s also worth remembering this general rule: If your goal is to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn, even in liquid form.

They May Not Be a Long-Term Solution

Although replacing regular food with meal replacement shakes could improve the quality of your diet and help you lose weight, they may not be effective over the long term ( 18 ).

Maintaining weight loss and healthy eating require long-term lifestyle changes that meal replacements don’t fix.

This means that if you switch back to regular eating, you may find yourself back in old patterns of behavior.

Additionally, it’s important to consider that whole foods are more than the sum of their parts. They contain many different compounds that may work together to improve health.

Despite ensuring your body doesn’t miss out on any essential nutrients, Soylent lacks important plant compounds, which are beneficial for your health ( 19 ).

Summary: Liquid diets via meal replacements can be a convenient option that could improve the quality of your diet and help you lose weight. However, switching to a liquid diet completely may be difficult to stick to over the long term.