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As with most Soylent detractors, you're assuming people are eating this every day, or for every meal. In reality, it's great as a once-in-a-while thing. I bough

As with most Soylent detractors, you're assuming people are eating this every day, or for every meal. In reality, it's great as a once-in-a-while thing. I bought some from a friend, and it was perfect for when I was hungry but running late for something. I had maybe 3 meals a week like this. Any time I told a friend I had some soylent, I got the exact same response you just gave.

dashoffset 10y ago
Yep. I buy one box of Coffiest (12 bottles) per month. I usually drink them before I go swim early in the morning (2-3 times a week). Then, when I come back I get a regular breakfast. And I really enjoy the taste, so... none of the arguments apply.
- rilut 10y ago
  I haven't tasted Coffiest before. Does Coffiest taste like coffee + soymilk?
  - dashoffset 10y ago
    I think it tastes like a Mocha flavoured protein shake.
    - tedmiston 10y ago
      I'll second that. I get a lot more mocha than coffee. Though the alertness effect seems to be consistent with having a small cup of coffee in the morning.
jclos 10y ago
But why not go for a protein bar then? Quest bars for instance are delicious (I'd even prefer them to a candy bar), and pack a far more interesting macro profile than the Soylent ones.
- kmicklas 10y ago
  > and pack a far more interesting macro profile than the Soylent ones. What makes you say that?
  - jclos 10y ago
    It contains way more fat and carbs than protein. Fat and carbs are already cheap and plenty (just pick up a bag of crisps) everywhere around us, so if you try to replace one of your meals by something like this you might as well go for something that is more expensive/less practical to eat, like protein. It may just be my lifting background making me biased though as we typically require a higher protein intake.
    - kmicklas 10y ago
      I think the lifting background is biasing you. I'm also a lifter and I had the same thought when I first saw Soylent. But actually, I would dispute that fat is cheap and plenty. Carbs are for sure, but when I do the math I'm actually very unsure how a typical American diet would have either enough fat or enough protein, without scaling the whole thing to well beyond caloric maintenance, which is probably exactly what people are doing. Unless you're a serious lifter, the macro ratios in Soylent actually make a lot of sense if you are eating it for most meals. You're right to point out that there is a bit of a conflict between Soylent's two goals of being both a viable replacement for every meal, and for any given meal. If you only eat one meal of it, it should probably counteract the bias of your other meals, namely, having too much carbs. But keto-Soylent would not be ideal for everyone using it as a complete food replacement.
- ravenstine 10y ago
  As much as I too love Quest bars(the cookie dough one is insanely good), I'm not so sure I agree on the nutrient content: http://files.soylent.com/pdf/bar-nutrition-facts-en.pdf http://files.soylent.com/pdf/bar-nutrition-facts-en.pdf http://www.questnutrition.com/protein-bars/choc-chip-cookie-dough-box-of-12/ http://www.questnutrition.com/protein-bars/choc-chip-cookie-... Granted, they are trying to do different things; Soylent tastes like crap but has a lot of nutrients(supposedly a "complete" meal), whereas Quest is higher in protein and lower in sugar while tasting terrific. Personally, I would still choose Quest over Soylent because I suspect that the idea that we need a constant intake of a wide variety of nutrients isn't really true. I'm not denying that we definitely need vitamins and minerals, but experience of going months eating very few vegetables(and almost entirely meat and cheese) has caused no noticeable health effects in me besides weight loss. We're made to think that we've got to eat a ton of vegetables and even take supplements, which I think might be more clever marketing than anything else.
lewisl9029 10y ago
Exactly this. I enjoy great food as much as the next guy, but the alternative to Soylent for me isn't some delicious, nutritionally-balanced meal. The alternative is usually not eating at all due to a lack of time.
semerda 10y ago
Its faster than grabbing say Tomato or Grapes as a snack / when running late? You are trading your health for a quick fix. Yeah if you are consuming processed foods daily then Soylent might be a good replacement but don't forget its still processed and heavy on GMO Soy like Lecithin (google it). PS. I used to be a Soylent customer having replaced breakfast and dinner with Soylent -- never again.
- crgwbr 10y ago
  For me, at least, the problem is a tomato or a handful of grapes realistically isn't what I'll grab when I'm running out the door. I'm much more likely to just skip breakfast entirely or grab a bagel at a bodega. So while I would never want to consume Soylent exclusively, or probably even every day, I think it's net health-impact has been positive.

dashoffset 10y ago

Yep. I buy one box of Coffiest (12 bottles) per month. I usually drink them before I go swim early in the morning (2-3 times a week). Then, when I come back I get a regular breakfast. And I really enjoy the taste, so... none of the arguments apply.

rilut 10y ago
I haven't tasted Coffiest before. Does Coffiest taste like coffee + soymilk?
- dashoffset 10y ago
  I think it tastes like a Mocha flavoured protein shake.
  - tedmiston 10y ago
    I'll second that. I get a lot more mocha than coffee. Though the alertness effect seems to be consistent with having a small cup of coffee in the morning.

jclos 10y ago

But why not go for a protein bar then? Quest bars for instance are delicious (I'd even prefer them to a candy bar), and pack a far more interesting macro profile than the Soylent ones.

kmicklas 10y ago
> and pack a far more interesting macro profile than the Soylent ones. What makes you say that?
- jclos 10y ago
  It contains way more fat and carbs than protein. Fat and carbs are already cheap and plenty (just pick up a bag of crisps) everywhere around us, so if you try to replace one of your meals by something like this you might as well go for something that is more expensive/less practical to eat, like protein. It may just be my lifting background making me biased though as we typically require a higher protein intake.
  - kmicklas 10y ago
    I think the lifting background is biasing you. I'm also a lifter and I had the same thought when I first saw Soylent. But actually, I would dispute that fat is cheap and plenty. Carbs are for sure, but when I do the math I'm actually very unsure how a typical American diet would have either enough fat or enough protein, without scaling the whole thing to well beyond caloric maintenance, which is probably exactly what people are doing. Unless you're a serious lifter, the macro ratios in Soylent actually make a lot of sense if you are eating it for most meals. You're right to point out that there is a bit of a conflict between Soylent's two goals of being both a viable replacement for every meal, and for any given meal. If you only eat one meal of it, it should probably counteract the bias of your other meals, namely, having too much carbs. But keto-Soylent would not be ideal for everyone using it as a complete food replacement.
ravenstine 10y ago
As much as I too love Quest bars(the cookie dough one is insanely good), I'm not so sure I agree on the nutrient content: http://files.soylent.com/pdf/bar-nutrition-facts-en.pdf http://files.soylent.com/pdf/bar-nutrition-facts-en.pdf http://www.questnutrition.com/protein-bars/choc-chip-cookie-dough-box-of-12/ http://www.questnutrition.com/protein-bars/choc-chip-cookie-... Granted, they are trying to do different things; Soylent tastes like crap but has a lot of nutrients(supposedly a "complete" meal), whereas Quest is higher in protein and lower in sugar while tasting terrific. Personally, I would still choose Quest over Soylent because I suspect that the idea that we need a constant intake of a wide variety of nutrients isn't really true. I'm not denying that we definitely need vitamins and minerals, but experience of going months eating very few vegetables(and almost entirely meat and cheese) has caused no noticeable health effects in me besides weight loss. We're made to think that we've got to eat a ton of vegetables and even take supplements, which I think might be more clever marketing than anything else.

lewisl9029 10y ago

Exactly this. I enjoy great food as much as the next guy, but the alternative to Soylent for me isn't some delicious, nutritionally-balanced meal. The alternative is usually not eating at all due to a lack of time.

semerda 10y ago

Its faster than grabbing say Tomato or Grapes as a snack / when running late? You are trading your health for a quick fix. Yeah if you are consuming processed foods daily then Soylent might be a good replacement but don't forget its still processed and heavy on GMO Soy like Lecithin (google it). PS. I used to be a Soylent customer having replaced breakfast and dinner with Soylent -- never again.

crgwbr 10y ago
For me, at least, the problem is a tomato or a handful of grapes realistically isn't what I'll grab when I'm running out the door. I'm much more likely to just skip breakfast entirely or grab a bagel at a bodega. So while I would never want to consume Soylent exclusively, or probably even every day, I think it's net health-impact has been positive.