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I've recently become a Soylent convert. I originally got it just as a quick breakfast replacement. It's not life changing, but here's what I think of it and why
by bane 11y ago
I've recently become a Soylent convert. I originally got it just as a quick breakfast replacement. It's not life changing, but here's what I think of it and why I use it:
- It's quick and cheap. About $3 a meal, and I prepare a whole pouch at a time (just make sure to drink it all within 48 hours). Meal prep and clean-up time amortized across 3 meals is something like 20 seconds per meal. Even microwaves taquitos aren't that fast.
- It's almost guaranteed to be better for me than anything else that's quick and cheap. I personally think it's probably about as good as food science can get in terms of providing complete nutrition. There may some kind of micro-nutrients or some such that it may not be the best for. But considering the garbage I would normally eat on the run, I'm pretty sure I'm coming out on the positive side of things.
- I stay satiated on a solo cup full of it for about 2-3 hours longer than I do even with a gut splitting meal. I sometimes skip lunch entirely.
- When I get around to eating a regular meal, but appetite is about 50% of what it is normally. This is an amazing side-effect that's zero effort on my part.
- I can mix it with other ingredients/foods have it as part of a meal or an entire meal.
- my blood sugar feels more evened out during the day, so I don't go through sugar highs and sleepy lows as much
Downsides:
- a fully prepared container goes bad super fast, even in the fridge. I chalk this up to being full of nutrients, it's kind of like the opposite of McDonald's French Fries -- which will stay in good shape for months, even away from refrigeration.
- if I go above 50% Soylent for my meals, I get ultra-intense dreams -- often about eating meat. They aren't nightmares, but they're unpleasant.
- the satiation can sometimes feel a little like bloating
I'm considering also switching most of my lunches to it, but I also enjoy regular foodstuffs so much, and I actually do like the mid-day downtime during lunch.
- oconnor663 11y ago> if I go above 50% Soylent for my meals, I get ultra-intense dreams -- often about eating meat I wonder if people who do have nightmares would get the same effect. For $5 a day, replace your nightmares with nightmeats!
- bane 11y agoI've checked around various forums and I've found a number of reports that indicate drinking lots of Soylent can bring on intense dreams - I wonder how much more common it is.
- tormeh 11y agoThat's weird. Sounds like someone should take a look at it. Anything interfering with neurotransmitters? Too little or too much of something? 50% of your diet is rather low for such an effect. Are the molecules perhaps different than they are supposed to be, in some way? I'm just thinking of Thalidomide and the chirality problem.
- bane 11y agoSome people think it might be increased B6, which some people claim can enhance dreaming.
- pharke 11y agoAnecdotal but I've known people who have been on severely restricted diets that have also reported intense dreams about food, particularly meat.
- gus_massa 11y ago> - a fully prepared container goes bad super fast, even in the fridge. I chalk this up to being full of nutrients, it's kind of like the opposite of McDonald's French Fries -- which will stay in good shape for months, even away from refrigeration. Just remember that potatoes are supposed to store energy for the plant for months, so they are naturally resistant to rotting. (Cutting them reduce the durability, but frying them and adding salt increase the durability.) If you put the French Fries in a blender with some water, the mix will get rot in a few days.
- StavrosK 11y agoNot to mention that it's not just McDonald's Fries that don't rot: it's all fries. The experiment failed to use a control, but one guy didn't, and posted the video of homemade fries with salt also not rotting.
- mjklin 11y agoI also got the dreams. And you didn't mention the flatulence. The first time I did an all-Soylent day was for a full day bus ride. I felt so sorry for the people sitting near me... Sorry folks, I didn't know!
- tunesmith 11y agoThat "bloating" is indigestion. There's still something there they haven't figured out. It's not just flatulence, it's heartburn, acid reflux, etc.
- mdekkers 11y ago> I get ultra-intense dreams -- often about eating meat. I have these naturally, without solylent, and also when I am awake...