Results of the 2015 Soylent Eaters Survey(ketosoy.com)
ketosoy.com
Results of the 2015 Soylent Eaters Survey
http://www.ketosoy.com/blogs/news/17275588-results-of-the-2015-soylent-eaters-survey
52 comments
Me too. I tried to get my body used to it for couple of day but couldn't deal with constant nausea and flatulence.
At least someone said it. Yes it does, and multiplied if consumed with carbonated drinks.
Possibly related to a gender gap of continued use?
Possibly related to a gender gap of continued use?
Excellent points.
For the extra-lazy, I also suggest having a lot of raw ready-to-eat stuff around. For me, it's carrots, apples, almonds, snap peas, and string beans.
It really helped me to see the difference between actual hunger and things like boredom or a desire for distraction from whatever negative emotions I was experiencing. If I got to the fridge but don't want any of those things, it's almost always a sign I'm there for something other than hunger.
For the extra-lazy, I also suggest having a lot of raw ready-to-eat stuff around. For me, it's carrots, apples, almonds, snap peas, and string beans.
It really helped me to see the difference between actual hunger and things like boredom or a desire for distraction from whatever negative emotions I was experiencing. If I got to the fridge but don't want any of those things, it's almost always a sign I'm there for something other than hunger.
> 2) Go buy fresh produce once every 3 or 4 days
I would add:
4) Buy stuff that's in season
This can save a lot of pre-planning on meals, since by just buying one or two measures of several things (focusing on getting a variety of colors) you'll naturally have what you need to make a bunch of traditional recipes, which are almost always based around seasonal fruits/berries and veggies (i.e. you won't find a lot of recipes calling for both something that's ripe in Spring and something that's ripe in late Fall).
You can buy first, plan later. I find it to be nearly as easy as sticking to small set of dishes week after week, except that it gives you much more variety. Since what you bought determines the set of things you can make, it removes most of the time and stress associated creating new meal plans for every week and shopping to match them. A good middle ground between the two, IMO.
As a bonus, your food will taste better. AND it opens up the possibility of shopping almost exclusively at farmers' markets, which will make it taste better still. There's no, "oh, they didn't have any fresh X at the farmers' market, and the dish I'm making tomorrow requires it, so now I have to go to the grocery store too, even though I don't need anything else from there right now". Staples at the grocery store, fresh stuff at the farmer's market, make what you can with what you got.
This may be less practical in the Winter, depending on where you are, when canned and frozen stuff becomes important if you don't want to eat rice & beans and various stews for every single meal, but works well for the most part.
I would add:
4) Buy stuff that's in season
This can save a lot of pre-planning on meals, since by just buying one or two measures of several things (focusing on getting a variety of colors) you'll naturally have what you need to make a bunch of traditional recipes, which are almost always based around seasonal fruits/berries and veggies (i.e. you won't find a lot of recipes calling for both something that's ripe in Spring and something that's ripe in late Fall).
You can buy first, plan later. I find it to be nearly as easy as sticking to small set of dishes week after week, except that it gives you much more variety. Since what you bought determines the set of things you can make, it removes most of the time and stress associated creating new meal plans for every week and shopping to match them. A good middle ground between the two, IMO.
As a bonus, your food will taste better. AND it opens up the possibility of shopping almost exclusively at farmers' markets, which will make it taste better still. There's no, "oh, they didn't have any fresh X at the farmers' market, and the dish I'm making tomorrow requires it, so now I have to go to the grocery store too, even though I don't need anything else from there right now". Staples at the grocery store, fresh stuff at the farmer's market, make what you can with what you got.
This may be less practical in the Winter, depending on where you are, when canned and frozen stuff becomes important if you don't want to eat rice & beans and various stews for every single meal, but works well for the most part.
4) Buy stuff that's in season
Excellent point.
You can buy first, plan later.
Excellent! I'm going to adopt that as a pillar of "hyper-lazy cuisine."
Excellent point.
You can buy first, plan later.
Excellent! I'm going to adopt that as a pillar of "hyper-lazy cuisine."
Oh, the peer pressure of not farting in front of people...
Farting in front of people is ok. Farting in front of people a whole heck of a lot is just a bit too awkward.
Re: flatulence, I found that the Rosa Labs version (capital S Soylent) does that way worse than many of the DIY versions. I'm sure that some of the other commercial soylents are similarly not as bad for flatulence. I currently make:
http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/quidnycs-superfood-for-him (there's a "for her" version as well that my fiancee has had good luck with)
It accounts for 50-100% of my calories depending on the day. Fairly inexpensive, good nutrition, and very scalable for different calorie needs. Most importantly no farts.
http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/quidnycs-superfood-for-him (there's a "for her" version as well that my fiancee has had good luck with)
It accounts for 50-100% of my calories depending on the day. Fairly inexpensive, good nutrition, and very scalable for different calorie needs. Most importantly no farts.
Regarding the flatulence, Soylent just came out with version 1.4 which is supposed to largely address that issue. Less oat flour, more digestive enzymes, etc.
"Click-bait headlines" may have claimed it, but Rob Rhinehart himself was always clear: Soylent isn't the end of food, it's the end of having no alternative to food.
I eat Soylent about 50% of the time, so I'm not surprised the data show others doing the same.
I eat Soylent about 50% of the time, so I'm not surprised the data show others doing the same.
P.S. Weirdly enough, I crave it most in the morning. There's no better breakfast than a simple Soylent and coffee (roughly one part Soylent, two parts coffee). Somehow, Soylent ended up being the best non-dairy coffee creamer of all time.
You're saying you mix it? Do you drink it cold, or hot? I've never considered that.
I agree on mornings. It fills that infinite vacuum of hunger I get some mornings pretty well.
I agree on mornings. It fills that infinite vacuum of hunger I get some mornings pretty well.
It's kinda lukewarm, but I don't mind. I tried it with iced coffee once, and that worked better, but I'm too lazy to brew iced coffee all the time.
Assuming you mix it hot, how does that effect the Soylent? Does anything break down and lose nutritional value?
Priorities, man! How does it affect the coffee!! Does it lose its delicious coffee value?
Yes, sadly, Soylent is made from the world's most fragile ingredients. If you modify it in any way that you would normal food, it becomes useless, nutritionally inert goo that even Oliver Twist would reject.
I wonder, why the gender gap? Could it be associated in some way with these products' resemblance to existing products with a strong marketing differential between genders?
Men might think of protein shakes: you know, whey protein GMC-type stuff, that kind of thing. Women, on the other hand, might think of diet shakes: Slim-Fast and the like.
These might both have a broadly "body improvement" type outlook, but one of these associations is perhaps more positive-thinking than the other.
Or maybe not. Just a thought.
Men might think of protein shakes: you know, whey protein GMC-type stuff, that kind of thing. Women, on the other hand, might think of diet shakes: Slim-Fast and the like.
These might both have a broadly "body improvement" type outlook, but one of these associations is perhaps more positive-thinking than the other.
Or maybe not. Just a thought.
Soylent reduces the consumption of food to a task to complete instead of an experience. The tagline on their homepage even reads "what if you never had to worry about food again?". Soylent is a solution for the type of person that doesnt value the ritual of food prep and consumption and Id be willing to bet that demographic is the young, tech-savy male. Women are much more likely to bond over food experience with friends and loved ones (ie. brunch) at any age.
Soylent is a tech product with standard early adopters of tech guys.
Soylent is a tech product with standard early adopters of tech guys.
Soylent is a solution for the type of person that doesnt value the ritual of food prep and consumption
That's true, but not necessarily so. I value the ritual of going to the comic book store and browsing. But I don't value comics so much that I want to bag and collect them obsessively for hours on end. Likewise, I do value the ritual of food/coffee prep. But I don't want it to consume more than 15% of my daily allotment of time and energy. My priorities just aren't set up like that.
So you can also think of Soylent as a way to control that daily allotment.
That's true, but not necessarily so. I value the ritual of going to the comic book store and browsing. But I don't value comics so much that I want to bag and collect them obsessively for hours on end. Likewise, I do value the ritual of food/coffee prep. But I don't want it to consume more than 15% of my daily allotment of time and energy. My priorities just aren't set up like that.
So you can also think of Soylent as a way to control that daily allotment.
GNC used to have (still has?) two entirely different wrappers on their store-brand protein shakes. One bottle proclaimed "lose weight! get lean!" (light colors, blue/white) and the other boasted "build muscle! grow bigger!" (dark colors, red/black). The contents of both bottles was exactly the same. They were exactly the same price. One was just marketed to women and the other to men.
And the claims are identical, it's only the wording that differs. Compare it to pink and blue toothbrushes.
Maybe a larger percentage of men are more competitive than women and are constantly trying to get a cutting edge, and are willing to even avoid eating to get a competitive advantage.
I know I'm not. I like eating food, and taking a lunch break.
Back in college I was a weight lifter, and protein-sparing modified fasts weren't uncommon in the group I was in. Basically drink 1400 calories of protein and eat nothing else. Not low-carb, zero carb. You would do that until you cut your fat down enough to bulk again. It worked, and you lost weight quick. Let's not talk about the potential damage to your kidneys though...
I did know some women in the group who would do that as well, so I can't say it's exclusively men, but women were definitely a minority when it came to power lifting. Not sure if that's what's going on here or not. Maybe it's that mostly people who follow tech news know about the product, and the tech industry does tend to lean more towards men. Who knows?
I did know some women in the group who would do that as well, so I can't say it's exclusively men, but women were definitely a minority when it came to power lifting. Not sure if that's what's going on here or not. Maybe it's that mostly people who follow tech news know about the product, and the tech industry does tend to lean more towards men. Who knows?
Actually, there is very little evidence of kidney damage from high protein intake in healthy individuals.
This, for example
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/
Although excessive protein intake remains a health concern in individuals with pre-existing renal disease, the literature lacks significant research demonstrating a link between protein intake and the initiation or progression of renal disease in healthy individuals.
or this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10722779
To conclude, it appears that protein intake under 2. 8 g.kg does not impair renal function in well-trained athletes as indicated by the measures of renal function used in this study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/
Although excessive protein intake remains a health concern in individuals with pre-existing renal disease, the literature lacks significant research demonstrating a link between protein intake and the initiation or progression of renal disease in healthy individuals.
or this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10722779
To conclude, it appears that protein intake under 2. 8 g.kg does not impair renal function in well-trained athletes as indicated by the measures of renal function used in this study
Fascinating.
Does this mean your 1400 calories of protein came from 7-8 protein drinks a day ?
Where could I get more information on this that isn't "bro science" ?
Even more than just a PSMF, what we went with was called the Velocity Diet. A PSMF can be chicken or beef or anything else with lots of protein, the Velocity Diet is 100% protein shakes. It was thought up by T-Nation, but you don't need to use their products specifically. The forums at bodybuilding.com have a lot of people who have done it and reported back on their findings. It's really hard to stick to and you will get sick of shakes real fast, but what it all boils down to is that this is a heavily calorie-restricted liquid diet. Normally you would lose some muscle mass doing that, but this diet is supposed to keep most of your new muscle as long as you keep lifting throughout.
I haven't done it in a very long time, and the thought of drinking even a single shake makes me feel ill now. But it's possible to lose 20lbs in one month.
I haven't done it in a very long time, and the thought of drinking even a single shake makes me feel ill now. But it's possible to lose 20lbs in one month.
Just search for Protein Sparing Modified Fast.
Certainly not just bro science - there were some studies done.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/711361
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/711361
> I wonder, why the gender gap?
- For new foods and drugs that are potentially dangerous, the early adopters are almost universally men. Just look at the demographics of the various online research chemical communities.
- The product almost seems like it's marketed toward people on the autism spectrum.
- For new foods and drugs that are potentially dangerous, the early adopters are almost universally men. Just look at the demographics of the various online research chemical communities.
- The product almost seems like it's marketed toward people on the autism spectrum.
I've lived with many different people, and on a general guideline, women in general put more effort and attention to food (I don't live in US, though, so I speak for some other countries).
Soylent surely tickles the nerdy nerve of some people, but (fortunately) real food is still a pleasure for many; adding the fact that it's possible to prepare such food spending relatively little time, I can imagine that people who are already inclined to cook (as above) would not switch to substitute food.
Soylent surely tickles the nerdy nerve of some people, but (fortunately) real food is still a pleasure for many; adding the fact that it's possible to prepare such food spending relatively little time, I can imagine that people who are already inclined to cook (as above) would not switch to substitute food.
Soylent might think otherwise, but it still seems to be exclusive to the the Silicon Valley/tech sphere. There is a reason this is posted here and we don't see customer surveys about Ensure, Slimfast, Muscle Milk, or whatever similar product you want to compare. I would guess that is the biggest contributing factor to the heavy male split.
EDIT: I dug into the raw data and my original assumption seems to be supported with the age distributions as well. 23% of respondents were younger than 25, 70% were younger than 35, and 88% younger than 45. So the demographics for Soylent are young men with the largest chunk in their 20s.
EDIT: I dug into the raw data and my original assumption seems to be supported with the age distributions as well. 23% of respondents were younger than 25, 70% were younger than 35, and 88% younger than 45. So the demographics for Soylent are young men with the largest chunk in their 20s.
I was an original sponsor of Soylent and I really thought it would be interesting. However, as a European customer I was totally neglected and eventually I cancelled my order (after corresponding with the founder about my disappointment). I'd like to give something like this a go but the way they treated me I am in no hurry.
How did Soylent manage to secure VC funding for a product with absolutely no intellectual property protection?
Didn't Tesla give all of their patents away? And are at ~$200/share?
Knowledge is cheap. Execution is where value is delivered.
Knowledge is cheap. Execution is where value is delivered.
Just like pretty much every other company. Very few have protectable IP.
They claim to study the "how and why" of soylent usage, but I don't see any data or discussion of the "why". Am I missing something?
Does the headline writer not notice the irony at all? How about?
`Nobody really said Soylent was the end of food, despite what click-bait headlines claim`
Most of those headlines end in question marks, and therefor are implicitly saying "it isn't" :P
The headlines I see on page one, in order:
* The End of Food - The New Yorker
* Soylent Isn't People; But Is It The End Of Food?
* New Yorker: Soylent to end food? (secondary article)
* 11 Craziest Parts of The New Yorker's Soylent Article (secondary article)
* Following the rise of soylent and the end of food | The Verge
* Soylent Could Make Food Preparation A Thing Of The Past
* Let's embrace the end of food | Al Jazeera America
2 of the 7 articles have question marks, and one of those is a secondary article. 1 of 5 of the primary articles pose it as a question.
* The End of Food - The New Yorker
* Soylent Isn't People; But Is It The End Of Food?
* New Yorker: Soylent to end food? (secondary article)
* 11 Craziest Parts of The New Yorker's Soylent Article (secondary article)
* Following the rise of soylent and the end of food | The Verge
* Soylent Could Make Food Preparation A Thing Of The Past
* Let's embrace the end of food | Al Jazeera America
2 of the 7 articles have question marks, and one of those is a secondary article. 1 of 5 of the primary articles pose it as a question.
Thank you for the detail!
With Soylent, employees will only need 5 minutes for lunch. Once somebody starts bottling this stuff premixed, it's going to be huge with startups.
I really hope that's not what we've come to.
I wouldn't be too worried - but the stuff is a godsend if you are running your tail off every now and then and need something cheap and easy to keep your energy up.
I think that's Soylent's niche. Imagine those days when you're too (busy/lazy/unskilled/low on cash) to cook or get takeout, so now you've got this alternative that's probably better for you than the stuff you would have gotten anyways.
I think that's Soylent's niche. Imagine those days when you're too (busy/lazy/unskilled/low on cash) to cook or get takeout, so now you've got this alternative that's probably better for you than the stuff you would have gotten anyways.
Japan already has this. There's CalorieMate Block, a "nutritionally balanced source of the energy needed for daily activities".[1] Humanoid chow, basically. It's popular with salarymen who eat lunch at their desks.
CalorieMate is manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company. No hype, no cool branding. The very plain box just has a list of ingredients. Available in convenience stores and vending machines. It's kind of blah, but it's not bad.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Calorie-Mate-Balanced-Chocolate-Ounce/...
CalorieMate is manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company. No hype, no cool branding. The very plain box just has a list of ingredients. Available in convenience stores and vending machines. It's kind of blah, but it's not bad.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Calorie-Mate-Balanced-Chocolate-Ounce/...
Great marketing for a competing product. Has anyone tried ketosoy? I suppose the obvious first question is: How does it taste?
So this is the "Video killed the radio star" food
Right now, I'm "changing my relationship with food" but by cooking everything myself. I almost exclusively roast and steam things. So long as you can plan things ahead a little bit, on about a 45 minute horizon, this is actually very convenient. As it so happens, it's also very low carb. I've lost 12 pounds since this summer. (Of course, people vary a lot, so your results may vary.)
Roasting results in complex flavors. You don't have to fuss with lots of ingredients. or undertake a lot of cooking steps. Instead, it just happens for you in an emergent process. We're programmers -- we should be excited by emergent processes. Likewise with steaming fresh vegetables. So long as you use fresh vegetables and do not overcook them, you wind up with lots of subtle and fantastic flavors. (Add butter to be decadent.)
So basically:
I call this my "hyper lazy cuisine for programmers." If you do this right, you'll be able to cook 2-4 meals at a time with just several minutes of prep, a 20-50 minute wait, then several more minutes of cleaning up. (With roasting, foil wrap everything possible. Aluminum recycling is very sustainable, with industry groups planning to achieve carbon neutrality in the near future. And for you smarmy smarty-pants out there, gasification of the carbon electrodes in smelters can become carbon neutral through the production of electrodes from carbonized farm waste instead of coal.)
(If you like bacon, and would like to do that "hyper-lazy," I'm planning on doing a blog post about, "Why you should make folding bacon a chore.")