Aligns reasonably well with my (short) experience. I got a bag from a friend and ate a jar of Soylent every morning for breakfast for about a week. It was in fact pretty great: I'd pour out N calories, where N was how much I figured I'd need to eat to get to $nextmeal, and then I'd drink it and be on my way. The stuff has really nice properties as far as hunger goes, too; it has neither the lead-brick problem that I get from things like chicken and dumplings nor the gone-in-fifteen-minutes problem that I have with fried rice. I generally ate as much as I wanted and felt perfectly full until right when I'd expected to be having lunch or dinner.<p>To answer the people who think it can't possibly be healthy, honestly, I don't have time to fix most of my diet. I can put in all the time I want to make sure my dinners are perfect, and I generally do, but I'm too rushed in the morning to have anything other than cereal. And I have to have lunch out so that's impossible to get right. Even if Soylent doesn't have "the proper carb-fat ratio" or something, it's better than what I have right now.<p>So, summary, I have some on order and the rest of you can say "I told you so" if I get cancer in thirty years. Given what some other people survive on I doubt you'll get the opportunity.
I look at cooking like I do coding, there is always something new to learn and it's not always going to be an easy process. In fact, since I work at home most times, if I get stuck on a particularly gnarly problem and don't have another outlet, I might distract myself with cooking (gardening, a time outside, or a nap are other options).<p>I've made things I've had to throw out, I've made things I've been able to tweak into other dishes, and I've made things that were quite outstanding.<p>As a poster above pointed out -- "whatever floats your boat". That said, there is more to the outside world than things like living like a hermit, avoiding food, spending every waking moment in front of the computer, etc. At some point, one wakes up and realizes there is more out there. And, if you are lucky to find someone who you want to share your life with, habits like those listed above (they seem to pop up frequently in posts here) are going to likely change.
I'm surprised by the number of people who say they like the taste, as I found it quite unpalatable both in smell and flavor. Of course, taste varies, but that doesn't seem to show in the general conversations surrounding Soylent; most say it tastes fine or good.<p>Perhaps more curious is how people respond to such comments on Soylent's taste. 'savanaly' below mentions a dislike of the flavor, and most of the replies are suggesting that he/she did something wrong, or there is something wrong/unusual with 'savanaly's taste buds. When someone says they dislike the taste of mango, wouldn't response like "you prepared it wrong", or "you must be a supertaster" be odd and out of place?<p>The lack of proper dissenting dialog regarding Soylent's flavor makes me a bit suspicious of a social PR campaign. But maybe that's me being a bit too jaded, and perhaps people like me and 'savanaly' are just the odd few who don't handle Soylent's taste well.<p>Regardless, this lack of dialog leaves me with a problem. I would like to find a way to alter the taste, as the concept of Soylent still intrigues me. But my so far brief searches have yielded little wisdom in doing so, again because the overarching internet consensus seems to be that Soylent by itself is delicious and, excuse the exaggeration, holy manna from the Gods' themselves, requiring no modification.<p>P.S. For reference, I enjoy the taste of cilantro, and have a generally mild palate (neither picky nor adventurous). I drink protein shakes regularly as part of my current bodybuilding program, and tolerate the taste of those just fine.
Maybe "college level athlete" means something different than what I think, but I have a hard time squaring that with 1200 calories a day. I might be overestimating, but when I think "hard exercise", I think of Royal Marines etc, that generally target at least 3000 calories a day. I get that you need to eat less if your goal is to loose weight -- but I can't understand how anyone can be active on that few calories. Good for him it works, though.
Thanks for the post-<p>It would be interesting to see some more detailed N=1 studies posted regarding Soylent. In particular, I'd be very interested in seeing a blood lipid profile, blood pressure readings, and blood glucose readings before and after to see its effects on key markers for metabolic syndrome.<p>I'm not opposed to the idea of engineered food (it would certainly be convenient), but I'm not convinced that the same macronutrient profile is ideal for everyone. My other big concern is that there's potential harm in the lack of diversity - e.g. "unknown unknowns" so to speak.<p>Unfortunately, the field of nutrition is not very WELL studied despite the high NUMBER of studies published, so I won't pretend that I have a better answer than Soylent to the problem with nutrition in society. It's good to see that people are at least working on the problem in creative ways, so long as they aren't harming anyone.
Good for him. Whatever floats your boat. Personally for me it sounds horrible. Cooking isn't that bad - in fact it gives me some pleasure. And I enjoy different flavours, textures, in fact I enjoy eating.<p>So I don't really understand, but I'm not going to force my tastes on others.
As a strict vegan who felt very drained mentally from Soylent, with no expectations going into it, I much prefer the meal replacements from the Garden of Life brand (no affiliation), and for me I felt much more awake and alert afterward with their stuff. <a href="http://www.gardenoflife.com/Products-for-Life/Foundational-Nutrition/RAW-Meal.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.gardenoflife.com/Products-for-Life/Foundational-N...</a><p>Soylent was a downer for me but I did not stay with it past the first 3 bags to see if the feeling would pass. The most productive I ever feel (mentally) is generally after eating a very large salad, usually with lots of kale, tempeh, and tahini (no sugar) for dressing. Takes awhile to prepare that so I find meal replacements are still really nice to have around. Still, if you haven't tried that kind of meal before, you might not realize what you are missing.
I don't understand all the reactions to Soylent where people are weirded out. Didn't we all grow up watching Slimfast commercials? "A shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, then a sensible dinner."
Can anyone parse why the "What's Soylent made of?" (<a href="http://www.soylent.me/" rel="nofollow">http://www.soylent.me/</a>) screen is so different from their "Complete-Soylent-Nutrition-Facts.pdf" (<a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0421/5993/t/14/assets/files_Complete-Soylent-Nutrition-Facts-1p4.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0421/5993/t/14/assets/file...</a>)?<p>At first I thought it was a simple serving size multiple, but carbs are 5x (51,252), Sodium is 2.5x (410,1050), Fiber is 7x (4,27), Potassium is 4x (866, 3500). The only reason I care is that I was curious about Omega 3s, but that's only listed on less official looking table that doesn't give a serving size. And so now I'm questioning what that's actually based on.
Quite honestly, I find Soylent to be quite overrated. Existing protein powders/meal replacement/mass gainers are tastier and more affordable. I get the point of 'eventually scientifically managing your diet', but that's far from reality.
I, too, sometimes dislike cooking, so here's what I do:<p>I take 1 cup of raw oatmeal, ice, and 2 cups of lactose free whole milk and put it in a blender. Thirty seconds later I have a meal of 600Cal with 26g protein. I have this at least once a day. Sometimes three times a day.<p>I heard somewhere that we need to actually use our teeth once in a while, so I microwave frozen broccoli florets. I soft-boil 2-4 eggs with an egg steamer and combine all of that in sesame oil + soy sauce.
I don't cook either.<p>Snap-dried frozen dinners can be healthy, taste like real food* and you also know exactly how many calories you are eating. Food science has come a long way and quality frozen meals are not the salt-drenched, fat/sugar bombs of the "TV-dinners" of past.<p>* (edit) <i>are</i> real food
Not to disagree with the poster, but I do want to point out the obvious fact that there are many different ways to consume Soylent. Most days, I skip breakfast, have a relatively healthy lunch (often socially with colleagues), and then drink Soylent as a filling and healthy (and relatively low-calorie) dinner, while my wife and kids eat normal food. I also love adding cinnamon, cocoa powder, or (as a special treat) PB2.<p>To each their own.
I love eating and the social aspect of sharing a meal with others, so I can't see myself having Soylent in this capacity whatsoever, but I would definitely like to try it as a breakfast and quick lunch alternative. I have the bad habit of rushing in the morning and rarely eating, so Soylent seems like a great fit.<p>It's also interesting to realize that the food most people eat really is not very healthy, even when it consists of mostly healthy ingredients. It seems like most of the people I know probably don't get nearly as much fibre as they should, so a product like Soylent could be a beneficial addition to many people's daily nutrient intake.
I tried soylent recently on a whim and found it to be too disgusting in taste to continue after the first sip. A lot of people here seem to have tried it and I don't see a single confirmation of this problem. Has the been a problem for anyone?
I have to agree that Soylent is pretty great. I have it for breakfast everyday and sometimes dinner. I'll throw half a scoop of protein powder in there as well because I workout. Weekends I'll usually have 2 meals Soylent and 1 meal normal. I like cooking and eating out, but not 3 times a day. Sometimes I just want to get 500 (perfectly balanced) calories in me and go about my business.
What's wrong with the meal replacement drinks that you can purchase at any drug store and are prescribed by doctors and such currently for people who can't conveniently eat?<p>During busier days where I don't want to bother deciding what to eat, I just take one of those. Why do we need soylent, when meal replacement drinks have already existed for years?
I'm a big fan of personal experimentation but it's important to always be skeptical of your own n=1 conclusions.<p>In this particular case, coinciding the interventions of your diet change and exercise regiment make it very difficult to know the respective contribution of each to your results.<p>Interesting anecdotes nonetheless.
I never liked cooking, so when I moved out I ate a lot on restaurants or ordered to deliver, then I re-discovered fruits.<p>I don't like the idea of processed foo because I think we need the bacterias and all the life on the food. Those kids who could not play on dirt or weren't feed on mother's milk are more likely to have allergies. Bacterias bring us health, when we cook food we kill most of it's life and lower it's nutritional value to our body.<p>Today I'm living on 90% fruits, fruits are the perfect food to me, seems like most people don't see what fruits can bring to their health. You don't have to cook, just grab and eat and I can grow my own which means that is not that difficult to be auto-sufficient, they're like the best fast food ever.<p>On first month I noticed I could smell things better, I could breath through my nose much more easily, my taste is better, it's much easier to poop too and the smell is also different, less 'harmful' to the nose. When I eat dairy or something cooked my poop goes bad on the next day, it's like our body is the best doctor around.
I used to like the idea of Soylent, but after subscribing to one of those weekly boxes where they deliver all the fresh ingredients and recipes to you, I've found a lot of enjoyment in cooking.
I don't intend to pass judgement on this person but from all the scientific research I have read the ratio of carbs to fat/protein in soylent is not healthy. This individual may not have any visibly negative health effects but I doubt this diet will work for a majority of people for an extended time frame.