
Trying Soylent didn’t go well - cemerick
http://www.everywhereist.com/i-tried-soylent-it-didnt-go-well/
======
Rooster61
Hmm, well, I think the problem is right there in the first part of the
article. If you have a diet where you wake up and eat cookie dough and pie,
you are most likely not making choices that put enough dietary fiber into your
diet.

Those who don't eat enough fiber, then suddenly start consuming a healthy
amount usually experience the kind of gastrointestinal distress she
experienced. That's pretty much what fiber is SUPPOSED to do. The bacteria in
your gut all of the sudden have a smorgasbord of stuff to break down and it
releases a ton of gas as part of the process.

Not judging her, she can have all the cookie dough and pie she wants. But
don't blame the food you are eating when something with a little fiber blows
up your digestive track.

~~~
danpalmer
There is quite a difference between fibre making going to the toilet easier,
and explosive diarrhoea.

~~~
Rooster61
Not if it's a drastic, sudden increase. A secondary side effect of that much
fiber quickly is it temporarily causes you to not absorb various minerals as
you normally would. And if minerals aren't absorbed, then out they go, rather
quickly. I'd post references to support it, but a quick google of sudden fiber
introduction and distress will quickly show multiple results to that effect.
I'll leave that up to you.

Nevermind, here's a simple one right from UCLA's dining entity:
[http://www.dining.ucla.edu/housing_site/dining/SNAC_pdf/Fact...](http://www.dining.ucla.edu/housing_site/dining/SNAC_pdf/FactsOfFiber.pdf)

------
blunte
We have a line of products here in Netherlands from a company now called
JimmyJoy (formerly Joylent... and the name change was probably inevitable).

I've consumed dozens of their shakes, with banana being my favorite. 700kcal,
45g protein, and about 33% of the usual daily recommended vitamins and
minerals. Oh, and vegan.

I can highly recommend them.

~~~
dgut
My understanding of Dutch culinary customs is that they eat mostly food that
is "kant en klaar", either precooked or neatly organized to be quickly
prepared (fixed portions). Even meat tends to come with a bag of spices and a
manual.

Edit: I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just seemed to me like this reduces
time spent in the kitchen quite well (part of the idea behind Soylent/Joylent
and w/e). The Dutch don't cook more than they need, also (with the implication
that if you happen to arrive at dinner time, don't expect an invitation). :P

~~~
flor1s
I have no idea where you got your understanding from. At my parents we mostly
ate "potato, vegetables and meat", pasta or rice. In my student house we
didn't cook potato so often (too much effort for a large group of people).

Maybe you are referring to meal kits, which contain a (dry) staple such as
rice or tortilla wraps with spices. In that case you are still required to buy
the meat and veggies seperately.

------
maweki
If you're in Europe I suggest you try Joylent. Great many flavors, nice
texture, and comparably cheap. I am not on it now but I used it to replace one
meal per day for weeks at a time with no adverse effects.

But yeah, I've also heared many Soylent-Horror-Stories.

~~~
collyw
I live in Spain. We have good food at cheap prices and restaurants everywhere.
I see absolutely no reason to try overly processed crap like that.

~~~
blunte
Joylent/JimmyJoy shakes cost 1.83€ per shake. They provide 45g of protein per
shake, 33% of daily vitamins and minerals, and 700kcal. They take about 2
minutes to make, and another 2-3 to consume.

I challenge you to find the same benefits any other way.

~~~
DiThi
Not OP. My meals in Spain cost 1€ on average and it takes me around 5 minutes
on average to prepare.

Example: Premade spanish tortilla with olive oil, for 1.75€ in Mercadona, 798
kcal[0]. Just heat in the microwave for a minute. (spaniards say premade
spanish tortilla is awful but I think the Mercadona one, while not as good as
home made, is pretty good)

[0]
[https://www.mercadona.es/detall_producte.php?id=80772](https://www.mercadona.es/detall_producte.php?id=80772)

~~~
tpeo
I'm not keen on Soylent either, but I think you're forgetting about the micro
nutrients. Macro nutrients are rather easy to get on the cheap, but micro
nutrients can be somewhat of a hassle.

~~~
DiThi
Fresh produce is very cheap here, as well as premade dishes from local
produce. What you say may be true in the US but not in Spain, at least for
non-vegans.

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maxehmookau
This post actually had me doubled over in laughter.

~~~
fredleblanc
Perhaps the most appropriate use of multiple consecutive stuff coming out of
tube GIFs the internet has ever seen.

And then she went back for more!

------
SideburnsOfDoom
Ingredients are typically listed from highest percentage down.

I see: Filtered Water, Soy Protein Isolate, ...

Soy Protein

I can take a guess where the problem lies.

YMMV, but when I try something like this, I for one stick to Whey-based
products. Soy doesn't agree with everyone.

------
kminehart
I had / am having a different experience. I wish the author did a bit more
research and had laid out some more facts; a guy in the comments says it
pretty much perfectly:

> Of all the articles that have talked about soylent, both positively and
> negatively, this is one of the least informative. Because, guess what? You
> didn't actually give soylent a try. You just saw an opportunity to make fun
> of a product that you don't agree with. Anyone who actually wants to learn
> something about soylent would gain nothing from reading this.

To share my experience: It's been quite the opposite. She complains about the
bowel movements, but honestly after I started drinking Soylent exclusively my
bowel movements are more healthy and are at a more healthy pace.

I don't think I'm too lazy to heat up a corn dog or some ramen noodles, but I
do have issues eating healthy, and those quick meals don't have a whole lot of
nutritional value. Soylent solves this problem for me.

~~~
fredleblanc
But what if this was just… entertainment? Check out the about page of her blog
— [http://www.everywhereist.com/about/](http://www.everywhereist.com/about/) —
this isn't a foodie's journal cataloguing the world of all things edible, this
is a copywriter that took up blogging while traveling. She found something to
write about, and wrote about it. (In a style that was funny while not being
cringe-inducing, which I find rare these days.)

Side note, though — awesome to hear that Soylent works for you. Because, as
you said, this _is_ the story I've heard most of the time. I don't like in an
area where I'd ever stumble into someone that even knows what Soylent is, so a
flip side to these stories is always good to know.

~~~
kminehart
Fair enough; this is the apparently kind of storytelling I don't enjoy. I
misinterpreted and assumed that this was supposed to be informative, and not
entertaining.

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faitswulff
I have the same reaction to Soylent...minus the witty commentary. Just the
suffering.

------
je_bailey
I have two thoughts about this submission. First, this is a funny and well
written blog entry about someone trying Soylent. Second, Hacker News is not
the right place for this.

This is humor and viewpoint. HN wants, or at least pretends to want, analysis
and figures. Maybe if they stripped all the CSS from the site and made the
blog look like it was made by a dysfunctional highschooler in the 90's it
would get a bit more respect.

~~~
wink
Oh I'm getting nearly as much amusement out of reading the comments that
solely focus on soylent as a product as I got out of reading the (excellent,
imho, but not very objective) post.

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Anderkent
> The point is, I derive a lot of joy from food because I’m not a sociopath.

I don't derive joy from food. Guess I must be a sociopath. Fuck you too.

------
shadowmint
To be fair, a negative experience probably leaves you writing a negative
review, and it sounds like she had a pretty rubbish experience.

So, fair enough.

> The point is, I derive a lot of joy from food because I’m not a sociopath.

etc.

Oh come. This is just trolling for page views. If you engage, you're just
feeding the troll. Don't bother.

------
SideburnsOfDoom
It is a mystery why people in tech thought that "meal replacement liquid" was
a fundamentally new product. It's not

[http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/weight-
management/meal...](http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/weight-
management/meal-replacements/meal-replacement-shakes/)
[https://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/browse/default.aspx?...](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/browse/default.aspx?N=4293437894&Ne=4294793660)

Perhaps, a victory of marketing over experience and existing knowledge of
nutrition?

~~~
lobster_johnson
What was "new" about Soylent and subequent imitators is that it's marketed as
a meal replacement product for "normal" people.

Earlier meal replacement products were either marketed for weight-loss
purposes or medical purposes, mostly as supplements for people who, for
various reasons, can't consume their full daily recommended intake of calories
and nutrients. They were typically to be found in pharmacies and health-food
stores.

Not sure what your purpose is in rallying against this, anyway. Soylent has
been around for a while now. It's no longer a new product.

~~~
SideburnsOfDoom
> Not sure what your purpose is in rallying against this, anyway

Just one question - why would tech people be best placed to do this, not you
know, nutritionists who have successfully, established products in an adjacent
niche?

~~~
pwinnski
As GP said, the difference is marketing. This was marketed to "normal" people,
which works best when created by a "normal" person.

Of course, now that "normal" people are aware that liquid meal replacements
are a thing, there are other options.

~~~
SideburnsOfDoom
I wonder if Soylent would have been even more successful if instead of trying
to "develop" a food from scratch with software engineer skills, they had
instead simply rebadged or varied an existing NutriSlim-type product.

------
mabbo
My wife has some stomach issues that we think are related to allergies (to
what? the elimination diet gave us some suspects, but no convictions). After
reading this, I think I'm going to stop suggesting she try Soylent as an
alternative option.

~~~
Double_a_92
Probably stress :(

------
29052017
We are trying to launch a similar product here in my country. The negative
publicity that Soylent has generated for itself, hasn't helped our nerves one
bit as we come closer to the launch.

Unlike US, Bars and drinks are not in fashion here. We have decided to launch
in form of Lollipops. Our team is having a hard time coming up with a motto,
but we'll get over it.

Any advice from the wise HN folks on how to handle the first batches of users
( we'll be giving out the first few hundred lollipops for free on condition
that users click a selfie with the lollipop every day and tag us on FB/Twitter
), in case things go wrong!!

~~~
jackcarter
How does a meal-replacement lollipop work? How many calories does each
lollipop contain?

~~~
29052017
Well ... you'll be amazed at the R&D we did to make it work. It took us almost
five years to get to where we are today.

We'll be releasing detailed documentation of the manufacturing process/In-Lab
testing. Our team wanted to open-source the whole design, but we're not there
yet. Maybe in a few month's time after the launch.

------
Spooky23
Replacing a normal diet with a soy based liquid diet isn't going to go so
well.

Soy mimics estrogen and long term overconsumption can contribute to endocrine
issues that are hard to diagnose and poorly understood.

~~~
mulletbum
Soylent isn't made of soy, it only has Soy Protein Isolate in it.

~~~
Spooky23
Soy protein is a potential problem. See:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17885008/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17885008/)

------
forgottenpass
I think Soylent is stupid, but I stopped reading after I saw the article was
front-loaded with a review of Soylent's marketing image and some bland musing
related to the way modern labeling is scary because of it's inaccessibility.

I'm sure if I followed her as an author - rather than for the subject matter -
I'd feel differently. But I didn't go into this blog looking to read someone
talk about whatever while being quirky and making it about themselves. So I
just found her personality really grating.

~~~
KiDD
+1

------
ckastner
_Soylent takes its name from a 1960s sci-fi thriller starring Charlton Heston
(the website maintains they actually got the idea from the book on which the
film is based. Sure, guys. Sure.) In the movie, there’s a massive food
shortage, and Soylent is the food replacement that everyone eats_

And the story behind Soylent™ is basically just s/food shortage/time
shortage/, no?

Or what else is the point?

~~~
OJFord
That's really strange; says far more about the author that they don't believe
someone could possibly have read a book before seeing (or not have seen) a
derivative film.

~~~
rolal
I think she is pointing out that the makers of soylent say they don't have the
time to prepare ramen, but they had the time to read the book instead of
watching the film.

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nashashmi
The first time she consumed it, it was too much at once. The second time she
took her time drinking the bottle.

Sometimes when you take in a load of nutrients, and you are not hungry to
death or something, your stomach decides to reject the food because it is more
than it can handle.

This also happens when you go through rapid temperature changes or when you
lose your appetite.

------
Dryken
I have been using Soylent for a month now and have no problem. Although I'm
using the powder one you have to mix with water not the bottled one which
contain caffeine and is made to replace your breakfast + coffee.

Anyway sorry you had such bad experience, living in then toilet is never great
:/

~~~
Rooster61
> not the bottled one which contain caffeine and is made to replace your
> breakfast + coffee

Actually, the base 2.0 (bottled) Soylent doesn't contain caffeine and is
intended to replace any meal of the day. What you are referring to is
Coffiest, which is only one variety.

~~~
aaomidi
They added two more caffeinated varieties.

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kronos29296
I guess you should not eat candy received from strangers and a one solution to
all problems product from a salesman. Hope this stops people from destroying
their bodies because of chronic diarrhoea.

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fallingfrog
Did anyone else notice that the ingredients in soylent are almost exactly the
same as the ingredients in baby food, except without the dehydrated milk?

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xori
That was hilarious. I say while drinking my chocolate soylent.

I haven't had any ill effects since v2.

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zython
radically changing your diet to a controversial product can lead to
unfavourable consequences, who'd've thunk ?

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NKCSS
Very funny and a great writing style.

