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I simply don't understand why someone would willingly give up one of life's great pleasures for consuming something resembling thinset. I'm glad Julia Child is

I simply don't understand why someone would willingly give up one of life's great pleasures for consuming something resembling thinset. I'm glad Julia Child isn't alive to see this product.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
patmcc 12y ago
I love food and eating, but there are certainly meals where I'm hungry and want to eat something, but don't have the time/energy to make something nutritious and complete (lunch is often this way for me). If Soylent was cheaper/available in Canada, I'd be tempted to have some on hand for that. As others in this thread have said - Soylent for breakfast and lunch but real food for dinner sounds pretty good, actually.
mcdoug 12y ago
I can tell you why, though I am very much against Soylent: convenience. My day is limited, such that I spend a significant portion of my free time cooking. If I had those 2 extra hours out of the 24 back, I feel I would be happeir and more productive. This is the same reason I wish I could get away with only sleeping 2-4 hours a day (I tried at one point to mess with sleep cycles; it was not fun). Why not Soylent? Because it will kill you. It's pretty simple, I think. I am a big fan of Michael Pollan, and his main argument is that even nutritionists and doctors, people who dedicate thier lives to studying nutrition, can't answer lots of the more complex questions: "Eat carbs! No, wait, eat protein! No, eat whatever you want, just get enough vitamins! Fast! Eat constantly!" What are the chances that a single non-nutritionist got it right? I think exactly 0, and I'm not willing to prove that theory wrong using my own body. Edit: ideal situation is where the human body naturally requires only 1-5 meals per week. Then I could easily see myself cooking a few gourmet meals. Alternative: be so filthy rich that you are either less busy or have a chef ready to cook for you any time of day.
- frewsxcv 12y ago
  > Why not Soylent? Because it will kill you. Did you ever explain why Soylent will kill you?
  - mcdoug 12y ago
    No, and this is a complex enough subject so it probably makes sense to discuss: Everything kills you. Oxygen, water, sugar, protein. You have about a billion heartbeats before your heart gets too tired. The goal is to find the right balance of things you eat, do, don't do, etc so that you maximize your useful lifespan. I am sure that Soylent kills you faster than a balanced diet, because (a) it's processed (b) not diverse enough and (c) uses subpar ingredients. It is the whole meal equivalent of hot dogs: techincially has fats, proteins, carbs, micronutrients, but eat enough of them and you will suffer. Besides, Soylent is not a new idea. Take a look at Ensure shakes. Would you drink those for the rest of your life? If not, then why drink basically the same type of stuff but with a different label? Because a software developer is selling it? Edit: another idea for a convenient complete meal: McDonalds. Protein (burger), fats (fries), and carbs (soda). Blend it and you have Soylent 2.0.
    - frewsxcv 12y ago
      You're completely delusional
- lambdacore 12y ago
  I get the convenience argument, but then again I don't: one can make (for example) an omlette roulée and clean up after oneself in a few minutes. Completely agree with you about nutrition angle.
  - mcdoug 12y ago
    Cooking healthy, well, and quick is a skill that takes a long time to master. I for one am not a great cook: I can make about a dozen staple meals, but don't feel like I have the time to learn to make something more sophisitcated. I enjoy good food very much, which is why I go to restaurants.
adamwong246 12y ago
Then you are missing the point of Soylent. Soylent is not made for pleasure. Soylent is made for easy, cheap nutrition. If that doesn't appeal to you, then it's not for you. Comparing Soylent to french cuisine is like comparing a white wall paint to the entire collection of the Louvre. Yes, a Rembrandt is much "nicer" than boring white paint but we still need white paint day-to-day.
- lambdacore 12y ago
  Then why not "eat" Ensure? At least Ensure has a track record, is actually available, and has a peer-reviewed scientific backing. What is the advantage of Soylent? I honestly don't understand the appeal of an unproven and difficult to source food product, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.
  - adamwong246 12y ago
    Start here https://www.reddit.com/r/soylent/wiki/faq#wiki_how_is_this_different_from. https://www.reddit.com/r/soylent/wiki/faq#wiki_how_is_this_d....
- yaddayadda 12y ago
  > Soylent is made for easy, cheap nutrition. I'd add balanced, certainly more so than fast food and microwave meals.
frewsxcv 12y ago
Not everyone has enough time in the day to prepare meals such that they meet the recommended FDA guidelines. Just because I personally eat Soylent doesn't mean I can't enjoy a gathering with friends at a restaurant or eating a meal at home with my family. It's not all or nothing.
- thatswrong0 12y ago
  It's amazing to me how many people miss this point. I bought a month's worth. I only eat it for dinner around 4 - 5 times a week, meaning it will last me 3 months. My time is worth a lot to me, and I would much rather spend the free time I have after work doing things I love to do than things I don't (which include cooking). I am a bit of a foodie. I love good good, I love going out to dinner, I love trying new restaurants, and I love eating with friends. Soylent does not affect this in any way, because I don't eat out or eat with friends every night of the week. Side note: People look at the cost of Soylent and don't factor in the cost of the time it takes to gather ingredients and prepare / clean up meals, which is pretty short sighted in my opinion. This cost is not insignificant.
regularfry 12y ago
Not everyone experiences food as a "great pleasure". Food is fuel, and sometimes it's tasty fuel.
codezero 12y ago
I don't use Soylent 100% of the time, but usually for one to two meals a day. I have used it for a week straight. I generally agree, I crave "real" food immensely when I'm eating Soylent a majority of the time, but... I have pretty severe TMJ and everything I have to chew increases the overall pain that I feel, and it's not temporary pain, it's persistent pain that is actually distracting. Drinking Soylent helps alleviate this to some degree, to the extent that I'm willing to make a trade off.

I simply don't understand why someone would willingly give up one of life's great pleasures for consuming something resembling thinset. I'm glad Julia Child isn't alive to see this product.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

patmcc 12y ago

I love food and eating, but there are certainly meals where I'm hungry and want to eat something, but don't have the time/energy to make something nutritious and complete (lunch is often this way for me). If Soylent was cheaper/available in Canada, I'd be tempted to have some on hand for that. As others in this thread have said - Soylent for breakfast and lunch but real food for dinner sounds pretty good, actually.

mcdoug 12y ago

I can tell you why, though I am very much against Soylent: convenience. My day is limited, such that I spend a significant portion of my free time cooking. If I had those 2 extra hours out of the 24 back, I feel I would be happeir and more productive. This is the same reason I wish I could get away with only sleeping 2-4 hours a day (I tried at one point to mess with sleep cycles; it was not fun). Why not Soylent? Because it will kill you. It's pretty simple, I think. I am a big fan of Michael Pollan, and his main argument is that even nutritionists and doctors, people who dedicate thier lives to studying nutrition, can't answer lots of the more complex questions: "Eat carbs! No, wait, eat protein! No, eat whatever you want, just get enough vitamins! Fast! Eat constantly!" What are the chances that a single non-nutritionist got it right? I think exactly 0, and I'm not willing to prove that theory wrong using my own body. Edit: ideal situation is where the human body naturally requires only 1-5 meals per week. Then I could easily see myself cooking a few gourmet meals. Alternative: be so filthy rich that you are either less busy or have a chef ready to cook for you any time of day.

frewsxcv 12y ago
> Why not Soylent? Because it will kill you. Did you ever explain why Soylent will kill you?
- mcdoug 12y ago
  No, and this is a complex enough subject so it probably makes sense to discuss: Everything kills you. Oxygen, water, sugar, protein. You have about a billion heartbeats before your heart gets too tired. The goal is to find the right balance of things you eat, do, don't do, etc so that you maximize your useful lifespan. I am sure that Soylent kills you faster than a balanced diet, because (a) it's processed (b) not diverse enough and (c) uses subpar ingredients. It is the whole meal equivalent of hot dogs: techincially has fats, proteins, carbs, micronutrients, but eat enough of them and you will suffer. Besides, Soylent is not a new idea. Take a look at Ensure shakes. Would you drink those for the rest of your life? If not, then why drink basically the same type of stuff but with a different label? Because a software developer is selling it? Edit: another idea for a convenient complete meal: McDonalds. Protein (burger), fats (fries), and carbs (soda). Blend it and you have Soylent 2.0.
  - frewsxcv 12y ago
    You're completely delusional
lambdacore 12y ago
I get the convenience argument, but then again I don't: one can make (for example) an omlette roulée and clean up after oneself in a few minutes. Completely agree with you about nutrition angle.
- mcdoug 12y ago
  Cooking healthy, well, and quick is a skill that takes a long time to master. I for one am not a great cook: I can make about a dozen staple meals, but don't feel like I have the time to learn to make something more sophisitcated. I enjoy good food very much, which is why I go to restaurants.

adamwong246 12y ago

Then you are missing the point of Soylent. Soylent is not made for pleasure. Soylent is made for easy, cheap nutrition. If that doesn't appeal to you, then it's not for you. Comparing Soylent to french cuisine is like comparing a white wall paint to the entire collection of the Louvre. Yes, a Rembrandt is much "nicer" than boring white paint but we still need white paint day-to-day.

lambdacore 12y ago
Then why not "eat" Ensure? At least Ensure has a track record, is actually available, and has a peer-reviewed scientific backing. What is the advantage of Soylent? I honestly don't understand the appeal of an unproven and difficult to source food product, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.
- adamwong246 12y ago
  Start here https://www.reddit.com/r/soylent/wiki/faq#wiki_how_is_this_different_from. https://www.reddit.com/r/soylent/wiki/faq#wiki_how_is_this_d....
yaddayadda 12y ago
> Soylent is made for easy, cheap nutrition. I'd add balanced, certainly more so than fast food and microwave meals.

frewsxcv 12y ago

Not everyone has enough time in the day to prepare meals such that they meet the recommended FDA guidelines. Just because I personally eat Soylent doesn't mean I can't enjoy a gathering with friends at a restaurant or eating a meal at home with my family. It's not all or nothing.

thatswrong0 12y ago
It's amazing to me how many people miss this point. I bought a month's worth. I only eat it for dinner around 4 - 5 times a week, meaning it will last me 3 months. My time is worth a lot to me, and I would much rather spend the free time I have after work doing things I love to do than things I don't (which include cooking). I am a bit of a foodie. I love good good, I love going out to dinner, I love trying new restaurants, and I love eating with friends. Soylent does not affect this in any way, because I don't eat out or eat with friends every night of the week. Side note: People look at the cost of Soylent and don't factor in the cost of the time it takes to gather ingredients and prepare / clean up meals, which is pretty short sighted in my opinion. This cost is not insignificant.

regularfry 12y ago

Not everyone experiences food as a "great pleasure". Food is fuel, and sometimes it's tasty fuel.

codezero 12y ago

I don't use Soylent 100% of the time, but usually for one to two meals a day. I have used it for a week straight. I generally agree, I crave "real" food immensely when I'm eating Soylent a majority of the time, but... I have pretty severe TMJ and everything I have to chew increases the overall pain that I feel, and it's not temporary pain, it's persistent pain that is actually distracting. Drinking Soylent helps alleviate this to some degree, to the extent that I'm willing to make a trade off.