New-fangled powdered food

[David K]

I've been trying to get my diet under control. My depression has been bad for over a year and I tend to swing between starving myself or comfort-eating utter crap. I've had my eye on the new breed of powdered food like Soylent (yep, they really call it that) and its many offshoots ***8211; not because I dream of a future where food is obsolete and we all drink beige gloop ***8211; but because I wanted a way to drastically improve my diet despite having no willpower to eat healthily.

The idea behind Soylent is that one bag contains absolutely everything the average human needs in a day, nutrition-wise, and so you could live on nothing else if you wanted. It's also very quick and easy compared to cooking or even making a sandwich.

You can't buy Soylent outside of the US yet, but since the recipe is published on their website a lot of companies have started making their own versions. So far I've only tried one (Joylent, based in Amsterdam) but I'll probably order some others to see if they're nicer.

I've replaced around 50% of my diet with Joylent. I still have a cooked evening meal with my family, but I no longer have 5 bags of Hula Hoops for lunch because I couldn't be arsed to make something better. I seem to have more energy now, and I'm hoping long-term it'll help me to lose weight since it's trivial to count calories. Also, since I used to skip breakfast because I'm always running late, having something I can drink in 30 seconds or take with me in a flask is great.

Anyone else tried this sort of thing?

Oh, and I'm aware it's not that new-fangled. Things like Slim-Fast or protein shakes have been around for ages. Trying to produce a nutritionally complete product is new though, I think. I can't imagine replacing my entire diet with it, it'd get boring fast.

There's also a community of people sharing their own recipes for home-made versions. I haven't tried that because of the whole "too depressed to do anything" thing.

[Aelwyn]

No I've never tried anything like that. However a recent blood test showed that I was in the "prediabetic" category, even though I was only 8 stone and thought I never had to worry what I ate. This gave me a big shock, I suppose I'd been complacent because I was always thin, so I cut back on carbohydrates like pasta/potatoes/bread/biscuits/desserts, ate more protein and vegetables, and in two months I was down to 7.5 stone and back into the normal glucose category. What I wanted to tell you was that although it was hard to begin with, after a few weeks my appetite decreased, and now I'm happy eating less carbs and continuing with a more healthy diet.

Also I think it's better for your health to eat whole foods because of the fibre content. So maybe consider not staying on powdered food in the longer term.

Good luck!

[flumpsy]

I too have been waiting for soylent, is it actually out yet ?

I saw it in a tech article somewhere and have been hoping to see it on the market but havent, there was a bit of a backlash against it initially but I wasnt sure if they did that on purpose to get publicity, like with the name.

Either way, I would definitely try it for a while. Although it may ruin the "what are you eating" thread !!

[umm]

I did the paleo diet for a few months and found it amazing! I started properly evangelising about it.

[redcard]

Not sure if you're looking for a job - http://huel.me/pages/jobs

[David K]

Originally Posted by Aelwyn

What I wanted to tell you was that although it was hard to begin with, after a few weeks my appetite decreased, and now I'm happy eating less carbs and continuing with a more healthy diet.

Also I think it's better for your health to eat whole foods because of the fibre content. So maybe consider not staying on powdered food in the longer term.

Good luck!

Thanks! I've been worried about diabetes too. I've never had the willpower to make real changes to my diet before, and depression has only made it harder. I like to take shortcuts and this seems like a good one. It's high in fibre too.

Long term effects aren't known yet. I'd never switch to powder-only anyway, proper food is too tasty.

Originally Posted by flumpsy

Words

Soylent has been out for a while, and since the recipe is on their website a lot of other companies have sprung up making their own versions. I've been using Joylent. Huel, that Redcard linked, is another version (and in the UK).

I think a lot of the initial backlash was from people who hate the idea of replacing all food with boring shakes. Most people aren't interested in doing that though – I'm focusing on replacing shit food.

Originally Posted by umm

I did the paleo diet for a few months and found it amazing! I started properly evangelising about it.

I've heard that's good, yeah. I'm sort of aiming for the opposite though. I want food that's been engineered to fit what science says my body needs, and I don't care how processed it is if the ingredients are healthy.

Originally Posted by Gipsy Danger

My diet plan is supplemented with powders from bulkpowders.com. Breakfast smoothie + extra powdered oats and powdered chia seeds or milled flaxseed

I tried making smoothies before, but I found it a pain to keep buying fresh ingredients, especially as some days I couldn't be bothered preparing a smoothie and the fruit went off. You're trying to build muscle?

Originally Posted by redcard

Not sure if you're looking for a job - http://huel.me/pages/jobs

Nope, but I'm glad they're doing trials. I'd like to see independent trials done though.

[Merritt]

I've never really considered trying something like that before, it sounds right up my street. I'm the same in that I've never been able to hold down a decent diet - swinging from seeing how little I can eat in a day to feeling down and wanting to binge on comfort food. Having the willpower to be 'good' to myself is incredibly difficult to maintain, and then there are plenty of periods where I feel completely run down and if I didn't fall back on convenience food I'd probably barely have the motivation to eat at all.

The name doesn't bother me. Honestly, they could call it CrapDust for all I care. Actually, I'd be even more curious about trying it if they did.

[flumpsy]

Ah, this has changed since the tech article that I saw, IIRC soylent was initially going to be available as a pill, I think 2 pils per day. That, I can do, I be great pill gobler. I had wondered how they would manage the concentration needed but they seemed to think they could.

For home use if I am gonna make a shake, I may as well grab normal food, it doesn't seem much easier. I guess my reasons for doing it are a bit different and a shake doesnt interest me so much.

There seems to be a ready made version that would certainly solve my lunch problem if that were in a shop up the road.

[LonelyBoy]

I ate two cheeseburgers and two double cheeseburgers at lunchtime. For just £5.

[яemus]

Originally Posted by umm

I did the paleo diet for a few months and found it amazing! I started properly evangelising about it.

Yup this^

Went on the diet to prevent migraines (which worked)

Side effects were, feeling energised, no brain fog, better moods and 2 stone lighter without starving. What a shame....

Processed food is utter filth :p