Soylent

[jepicken]

This 2nd installment of a Soylent review by Ars Technica is must reading:
Ars does Soylent, Day 2: My God, what have I gotten myself into | Ars Technica

Note, that review was based on an old formula for powdered Soylent. In the newer versions they use different ingredients that don't cause such gassiness. I've used the newest powdered formula (version 1.5) and the liquid formula (version 2.0), and had no problems with gas whatsoever.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Two weeks ago I was seeing "Soylent" in a social media feed and still not convinced it wasn't a prank (or something from The Onion).
Yesterday I ordered enough 2.0 to give it a fair trial.
Adding some Chameleon Cold Brew coffee concentrate to a bottle should be a much better first meal than what I'd usually do (which is just coffee 90% of the time, or something bacon-based if I'm really hungry).
And a second bottle sometime in the work day would be super easy compared to grudgingly "figuring out when and where to go and what" to just put in my belly to prevent getting Hangry at everyone and everything Which sounds an awful lot like how I felt about gas tanks back in the dark Pre-Tesla era!
Losing weight isn't the goal, but would not be unwelcome if it's what happens. When I crave a cheeseburger or a Philly, then I know the places to get a really good one and enjoy it.

 

[austinEV]

Spoiler Alert: It's people.

Well, it does contain all the vital ingredients people need.

- - - Updated - - -

Note, that review was based on an old formula for powdered Soylent. In the newer versions they use different ingredients that don't cause such gassiness. I've used the newest powdered formula (version 1.5) and the liquid formula (version 2.0), and had no problems with gas whatsoever.

I could not eat the powder, including 1.5, without major GI distress. 2.0 is magic stuff though. zero issues.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

OK, I'm on my second order. I may get a subscription for my college student too.

Also, this video just out:
[video=vimeo;148258876]https://vimeo.com/148258876[/video]

 

[doug]

That video seems straight out of the alternate reality ad campaign for a sci-fi movie. While watching, I kept expecting a disclaimer to show up, "May also contain people."

 

[austinEV]

It's spreading. I mentioned it to a friend, who was given the hard sell by a third person who is living off of it. Now she is trying it.

 

[bhzmark]

there might well be secret micronutrients present in natural food that we haven't discovered yet but I doubt that is the case

It is the case. See Jo Robinson, Eating on the Wild Side and GaryTaubes Good Calories Bad Calories.

Eat liver and kale and blueberries and other colorful nutrient dense real food to make up for the micronutrients you aren't getting in processed powders.

 

[CHG-ON]

Worst name in the world for anybody who has seen the movie! Saw the product some time ago. I wouldn't go anywhere near it.

WTF were they they thinking?

 

[cgiGuy]

Worst name in the world for anybody who has seen the movie! Saw the product some time ago. I wouldn't go anywhere near it.

WTF were they they thinking?

They're only their 7th revision of it, so it's apparently quite different from the early iterations.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Worst name in the world for anybody who has seen the movie! Saw the product some time ago. I wouldn't go anywhere near it.

WTF were they they thinking?

It's a shame no one reads BOOKS any more.
The "people" climactic bit was added for the movie and was not in the book ("Make Room! Make Room!" by Harry Harrison). And it was a cheesy movie to boot.

Like the "Iron Man Maneuver" in The Martian (albeit a much less cheesy movie) which was 180 degrees off from the events in The Martian (the book).

 

[bhzmark]

See Eat Real Food - Not Soylent 2.0 for a good review

"when Vice filmmaker went to visit the Soylent warehouse in 2013, they found that it was subject to rats and mold.16 Third party watch group, As You Sow, tested Soylent 1.5 to find that it had ” a concentration of lead that is twelve to twenty-five times above California’s Safe Harbor level for reproductive health and a concentration of cadmium that is at least four times greater than the Safe Harbor level for cadmium.”17 This is indicative of a poor quality vitamin powder, and we see this all the time in low-quality supplements. It would be much better to source whole foods carefully from trusted farmers, and there is a lot of benefit to diversifying the diet through eating seasonally, and locally.

Soylent 2.0 is ready to drink, and that is attractive to people who want to save time preparing meals. Some will make the argument that it is better for your than some of the fast-food entrées on the market, but at least with fast food, you have options and diversity. Fast food companies are also better regulated for hygiene standards."

 

[SW2Fiddler]

Micro schmicro.
I have steaks, seafood, whatever my wife is having, for dinner. Soylent works great for daily breakfast and brunch - prevents me from getting Hangry or plain Low-Sugar Stupid from not having time to source whole foods carefully from trusted farmers during my commute or at my job

And this last Monday, when I was stranded by rising water for 9 hours in my electric lifeboat - comfy, entertained but isolated, I sure was glad to have some 2.0 in the back seat. (Put the empties to good use too, if you catch my MEANING, if ya get my DRIFT)

 

[AC1K]

Ive been on soylent 95% since July 2015, ive never been in better physical condition than now. after i got laid off in sept all i do is sit infront of a computer all day trading stocks and after the market closes i have to research companies and financials. I should be a fat blob but im not, im in better condition than was i was working.my weight has not changed a single lbs/kg.

On sat i decided to be crazy and do a 13.5km hike. Normally when one does a hike you should stretch, take breaks, drink water, eat, etc.

NOPE. i did the entire hike without any food except 1 portion of soylent, and 500ml of water (even though i had a 2L hydro pouch on me just in case), the hike wasnt hard but it wasnt a walk in the park either, it was a 200m jump in elevation. i didnt take any breaks except to take a couple pictures, consistent moving speed, never felt tired for the entire hike.

after doing strenuous excessive like the one above, i generally have sore muscles after for at least 4 days but with soylent, i had a tiny bit of soreness for about 24 hours after and now im tip top again. the speed at which my body recovered is incredibly fast compared to what it was before.

i'm bumping my subscription to 4 weeks per month to go 100% soylent. occasionally i will eat socially with friends and whatnot but when i do i feel weak, tired, need a nap after. I actually do not want to eat food, i go only to socialize and catch up.

this is what my pantry looks like now.

 

[deonb]

Has anybody here tried Soylent v1.5 and v2.0 side by side to compare them? Any significant difference?

I'm trying 2.0 right now (haven't tried 1.5), but I find it's not as filling as other food substitutes (with fewer calories).


The convenience of 2.0 can't be beaten however. You don't even have to refrigerate it - in fact, it tastes worse if you do.

 

[AC1K]

Another thing to add, Soylent is by far the most efficient food period.
Nothing comes anywhere close, Its also one of the cheapest.

10 minutes today per day to prep, eat and cleanup

1) dump a pouch into my blentec along with 1.5L of water
2) after mixing pour 1.5L into a nalgene bottle
3) drink the rest (approx 500ml) using a cup
4) rinse off both blentec jar and cup with hot water (soylent will not stick to any containers as its water soluble)
5) fill your other bottle with 1.5L of water and place in the fridge
6) place another pouch of soylent by the blender in prep for next day
7) as the day goes on, drink 500ml per meal for 3 additional meals
8) rinse out the nalgene bottle

you can probably get your routine down to 7 minutes total. The soylent packaging and box it ships in is 100% recyclable so i dont even put out my garbage weekly now, its maybe every 2-3 weeks for other household garbage.

Speed + Price + 100% DRI nutrition, there is no better combination that soylent IMO.

EDIT: also forgot, its 1 year shelf stable, you dont need chilled water to prep either (it does taste better with chilled water though for 1.5) it works excellent as an emergency food. so by going 4 weeks for the subscription and when i occasionally go out to eat, the extra pouches left over for the month go towards my emergency food stash. ill always consume the oldest packages first so nothing goes bad.