I’m going to keep this fairly short, but after 5 days having Soylent for at least one meal, here are my thoughts:
I don’t like the taste of sucralose, and it is the main taste of the current formulation. If there was a non-sweetenered version, I would find that much tastier. I would also love to chew gum these days if it wasn’t sweetened with terrible sucralose, aspartame or acesulfame potassium. The artificial sweetener just kills it for me.
I need a better way to mix it completely without resorting to a blender. At the moment, I end up with an imperfect mix (gets stuck to the sides and bottom of the container) just by shaking it up.
Food when you’re out or with people is a social thing. You can’t just have Soylent when you’re out with friends having a meal, or at a party. That is definitely a limiting factor for me.
Soylent is not actually this social a drink.
If I wanted to just replace all my meals with this (non-sweetened), I think I could do it, if I lived in a bubble. But there are so many circumstances where either I want to eat something, or I’m going somewhere that it’s expected I consume food, that incorporating Soylent into my diet 100% would be really difficult.
Soylent works best when you’re hungry, have it on you, and you’re going to eat alone. I haven’t tried prepping it in advance to just drink when I get hungry, but I’ll have to try that at some point. I still have almost 60% of the powder left, I think it will last me another week or two. The sucralose taste I think it’s what’s putting me off, because it doesn’t taste bad at all to me, so I think if I could try it without sucralose I could see myself doing it long-term much more easily.
Wow, the last three days have been crazy. Here are my live-blogs from Day 1 and Day 2. Follow the Day 3 story below:
5:40 PM Fri.: Going to see a movie tonight! I will probably get something like pizza or a hotdog, but I usually get both. I am pretty hungry, but I’m “saving” calories for dinner by holding out for a while. This will likely be my last update today, but check back tomorrow to see how weekend days go!
3:15 PM Fri.: Hmmmmm, I have a little bit of a headache and I’m not sure why. Friday afternoons are always hard for me because I really appreciate my weekends. I’m going to hold out on eating more until I get home, and I might not eat great tonight as I’m going to see Inside Out tonight, but I’m interested to see how the weekend on Soylent goes. I will probably keep up the 50% of calories idea, and I’ll definitely have a batch ready to go for +Future Chat at 12:30 on Sunday.
2:00 PM Fri.:
Becca: I wonder if this would be a more nutritious and cost effective option? Im also wondering about fibre and roughage? The same issue arises when people juice everything…. Aren’t you missing out on the fibre??
12:30 PM Fri.: Doing just fine, getting ready to have the usual 1.5 scoops for lunch. Here’s another question:
Brian:Are there any cost savings if one switches over from regular groceries/produce to Soylent?
My answer: It really depends what you buy. If you go all out, it’s about $2-$2.50 a meal for Soylent. It would definitely be cheaper for me, but I know people who (allegedly) spend almost nothing on food…
Brian also asked some great questions I answered in the comments below this post.
10:45 AM Fri.: Some really great questions and discussion already on Facebook!
Lisa: Food and cooking is a part of our culture, I don’t think I could get on board with giving that up but I am curious to know why you are doing this! Just for weight loss or like a get-healthy-and-all-the-nutrients-your-body-needs blitz? I can see how it would be really good for people hiking and camping and going on long expeditions where they might not have access to fresh food.
My answer: I’m trying it for a week because I’ve been so curious since it first came out. I don’t know that I could replace everything ever, but it’s been a really eye-opening experience really knowing exactly how much I’m eating in a day, how many calories I need to feel full. I’m also not replacing EVERYTHING, just about half the calories.
It’s not weight loss specifically, but I could certainly lose a little weight with this in combination with being more active. I generally eat WAY too many calories in a day because I just bored-eat, whereas if I know I’m only getting calories from this, I know how much I’m supposed to have for a given time, and I can KNOW objectively that I don’t need more. It also helps to not bring any food to work, so to not eat only this I’d have to cave and find a restaurant, and it hasn’t come close to that.
I love food, but I think this would be OK sometimes.
Anna: It can be the cure for world hunger! But also, I think some more third party info would be interesting to read. I don’t want all my questions about Soylent being answered by Soylent. I’m curious to see whether humans can actually get all of their nutrition from Soylent as it is!
My answer: I think there’s less third-party stuff simply because it’s so new. They’re working with a lot of data from historical nutrition research, it’s not like they’re guessing and hoping. I agree it’ll take a while until it pans out, and I really don’t like the taste of sucralose, so that’s kind of annoying. But overall, there are a lot of people who can really benefit from something like this! I’m also very curious about all of this stuff!
9:38 AM Friday: It’s the start of Day 3 on Soylent as a partial food replacement. We learned a lot yesterday, and that tradition continues today. I just finished preparing my first 1.5 scoops for the day, and I’ve made it to the 2nd pouch. This morning, I tried the preparation method I discussed yesterday, mixing a little hot water with the powder before mixing fully and topping up with cold water. It worked PERFECTLY and now it’s not chunky at all. AWESOME!
I feel good this morning, I think I had a more average breakfast this morning, so I wasn’t hungry until about 9:30 AM. I really notice that even after only 2 days, my appetite is changing. It’s interesting being aware of your nutrition down to the minute level, I’m a lot more aware now, and I find I eat less when I know I don’t have food I like to look forward to. Not that this is bad tasting, but it’s not a “treat” in the traditional sense like a burger would be.
I decided that today I’m going to take some questions, so if you have anything you’re wondering about Soylent, let me know! I’ll be taking questions all day, and I might even make a video about my experiences this weekend! That will depend on your questions.
For some context, yesterday was the first day I tried the futuristic food product called Soylent. It is a food product, not a supplement, so you can survive off this stuff. You can check out my experiences on Day 1 right here, and below, you’ll find my thoughts and feelings, and calorie math about Day 2.
9:30 PM Thurs.: I probably ate a little more today than I would have, but I have also been really active this week. I definitely feel like Soylent has helped my appetite quite a bit, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings. In 2 days, I got a little under half my calories from Soylent, and I have used a little under 1 pouch.
See you tomorrow!
2:45 PM Thurs.: Getting a little bit hungry again. I might be done for the day with Soylent, I’ll probably have some solid food when I get home. Nothing against the liquid diet in particular, but it is going to take some getting used to. We also have groceries at home that need eating, so I have to consider that.
1:15 PM Thurs.: Lunch was good, although I think I need more water again. I’m definitely not hungry despite the relatively small calorie intake. One issue that seems to keep coming up in these 1.5 scoop batches is that I end up not being able to mix the powder in completely. I’m going to try to address this by mixing a little bit of hot water with the powder first, hopefully dissolving more before topping the mixture up with cold water, which they recommend to improve the taste. I haven’t had any of this stuff at home yet, but I think a blender would make this whole process a lot easier.
Anyhow, now that I’m done with lunch I probably won’t be eating again for a while. I’ll leave you with some Soylent-related reading to do if you have any weird questions or concerns about the nutritional value. I’m not saying take their word for it, I’m just saying they’ve looked into many things and work with nutritional experts to formulate this food. Check it all out here: https://faq.soylent.com/hc/en-us/sections/200307055-About-Soylent
12:15 PM Thurs.: I’m going to be having another ~1.5 scoops, bringing me to ~750 calories plus cereal for the day so far. It’s noon and I’ve had very little food today but I feel fine (other than being a little hungry). I would attribute this more to being very aware of what I’m eating and that I’m not eating very often than to Soylent in particular, but it’s still interesting. When you know “exactly” how many calories you’re ingesting, it’s a lot easier to look at food and think “that’s way too much”.
11:15 AM Thurs.: Doing fine, I’m sure I can make it to lunch today. I decided I should answer of the questions everybody asks, “What is Soylent?”. I’m surprised you haven’t all already heard of it, but to answer the question, I’m just going to tell you what’s IN Soylent…this is from their website, and it tells you what you’ll get in every serving (2 scoops) of Soylent. Basically, it’s everything your body needs to sustain itself. See for yourself below, or on their website!
10:00 AM Thurs.: About to go into a meeting, headache has subsided, so I guess the calories have helped 🙂 . Goooooooo Soylent!
9:00 AM Thurs.: Downed an ice cold 1.5 scoops of delicious Soylent this morning. I think adding just a little more water will help me mix things up a little better, but I have also taken to just swishing some water around at the end of the “meal” to clean the bottle and get any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the bottle.
I’m a little concerned about hunger today because I still have a bit of a headache, and I don’t have any food with me. But I’m going to do my best to keep hydrated, we’ll see if I can last another 3 hours until lunch on only about 500 calories, but it will be tough.
7:46 AM Thursday: It’s a lovely morning. I had some more cereal (another smaller portion today). I brought another pouch with me on the bike again, although I might not get to it because I still have quite a bit of pouch #1 from yesterday. I’m feeling pretty hungry already, but I think I’ll get to preparing my first portion around 8:30 again. This time, I’m going to put extra effort into getting it mixed up really well. I’m going to try to give you guys some interesting facts about Soylent throughout the day, so stay tuned for that!
I’ll be doing this in live-blog format, keeping things updated throughout the day. The day starts at the bottom and new stuff will show up right below this sentence. Times are in EDT.
9:30 PM Wed.: OK, I’m home after a day of Soylent. I had approximately 2/3 of the first pouch over the course of the day, totalling about 1000-1300 calories if I had to estimate (I don’t actually know how much is left, it could be closer to 1/2). I had dinner and a beer out, along with my morning cereal as well, so I think I’m at about 2000 calories for the day, and I feel very full. If calorie calculators are even remotely accurate, I normally get about 3000 calories on a given day, so this would be a big drop. I’ll have to see if I can keep up this pace and hunger levels, but I’m hopeful.
I’m not hungry right now, and though weight loss isn’t the primary goal of this experiment, I wouldn’t be opposed to getting out of the “overweight” designation on the BMI scale. That being said, preparation was SUPER simple, and with Nick’s amazing funnel suggestion this is an extremely sustainable amount of lunch prep.
Anyhow, I will continue this story in a new post tomorrow, although I will probably provide fewer updates because I don’t feel the need to duplicate things I said today.
Goodnight all, thanks for following my story!
5:20 PM Wed.: I may update one more time before bed, but for now, I think I’m done with Soylent for the day. I feel fine, despite having eaten far fewer calories than I would have otherwise today. I’m going out for dinner to get the rest of my calories, but I don’t feel so hungry that I feel like I’ll need a huge dinner…soooooo tentative success…but we’ll see how I feel later tonight and tomorrow!
4:00 PM Wed.: I feel much better having chugged half a bottle of water, and working through 1.5 more scoops. Headache has mostly subsided, and although I didn’t go all out in mixing this one (it would be very loud at work), it’s still quite good to taste. Still feels very different compared to my normal day, but it doesn’t stand out as bad.
3:15 PM Wed.: Still really hungry. I’m going to be having more soon, probably 1-1.5 more scoops so I can last until 6:30 dinner. Trying to drink as much water as possible too.
2:30 PM Wed.: I’m feeling hungry much earlier than I would have on a regular day, which makes complete sense because I’m having way less food than I normally do by 2 PM. I did some calculations to figure out calorie requirements for a person like me. If I can stick to ~2000 calories a day, I could lose 5-10 pounds in the next month. The important distinction is going to be working through my feelings of hunger that come up throughout the day even though I’m not hungry. I’m also going to focus on drinking lots of water this afternoon, because they recommend adding 1-2 extra litres of water per day to make up for water in your food.
1:45 PM Wed.: I ended up having about 1.5 scoops of Soylent for lunch (about 375 calories), bringing my total for the day to 625 (plus a small bowl of healthy cereal). I am going to aim for another scoop at around 3:30 PM, which will leave me at about 1000 calories from Soylent today. This also gives me about 700-800 calories for dinner tonight to get to the recommended 2000 per day in total (although I think I probably go a little or a lot over that most days). Very happy with my level of hunger so far though.
12:15 PM Wed.: Nick was so right. The make-shift funnel made this a completely mess-free process. Thanks Nick! Looking forward to a nutritious liquid lunch!
Thank you Nick for the great suggestion, the funnel worked great and there’s NO mess.
12:00 PM Wed.: Getting some grumblies as we approach noon. This will be the critical moment for the success of Day 1 I think, if Soylent can replace my regular lunch. I normally eat quite a bit over the course of a work-day, so it remains to be seen if those calories can be effectively replaced by a liquid. Still not perfectly clear on how I should get the powder into my bottle quickly and efficiently, but I’ll be trying +Nick Maddox‘s idea of a make-shift paper funnel this time. Wish me luck, I’ll report back after lunch!
11:15 AM Wed.: Still not super hungry. I’m pretty happy with the way this is going so far. I’ll probably make somewhere between 1-2 servings around lunch time, but I’m pretty happy with how this has gone so far!
10:30 AM Wed.: Check out the video below of the fun time I had mixing up some Soylent. I’m still going strong, not any hungrier than I was an hour ago.
9:15 AM Wed.: I finished the half-serving I made (250 calories; 1 scoop). It was just fine. Headache has abated, though that may just be a coincidence. So far the worst thing about this process has been the small mess I made already and trying to figure out how to not have that happen again next time. I still feel a little hungry, but I think that’s pretty normal and just not something I’m used to with solid food.
The finished product, a little messy but mostly alright.
8:45 AM Wed.: This is messy. It took about 5 minutes from sitting with the stuff to a finished container. The scoop is larger than the mouth of the bottle I’m using, so it took a little spillage to get everything in. The taste is surprisingly reasonable. It’s hard to mix by hand though, at least without drawing a lot of attention to yourself. I took some video making it, I’ll try to put that up today.
8:15 AM Wed.: Starting to get a little headache. I’ve started to notice that since I ate a smaller breakfast I’m hungrier than I would be otherwise.
7:45 AM Wed.: I should mention now that I’m going out for dinner tonight, so I’m not relying on Soylent for ALL my calories on day 1, but it will still be a big part of my food intake today. I’m hoping I can have enough throughout the day so that I don’t have to have a huge meal at dinner.
7:15 AM Wed.: I’m a little hungry, but I’m going to wait a little before I crack the first bag. I hope it tastes good enough that I can drink it through most of the day.
6:30 AM Wednesday: I’m taking a bag (~ 1 day supply) of Soylent with me to work on my bike.
6:00 AM Wednesday: I’m having a bowl of cereal (a small one) to start the day.
Last Night: We’re off to a tough start. I’ve been so excited about this for so long that I’m already getting suggestions from Julia that I should marry Soylent instead. For the record, I don’t want to marry Soylent, but I am excited about the adventure!
Not a whole lots to say this week, except that my order of Soylent has made it to Ottawa, and is waiting for me at the Canada Post office by my house for pickup. I am excited to give it a try, and hope to write and talk about it a whole bunch very soon!
Here are the shows on +Unwind Media this week, we had a very popular episode of Ottawhat where we talked about startups, and Nick missed +Future Chat but we had fun anyways! Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a show!
This episode features our conversation with Franco Varriano. He helps organize and run networking events for young entrepreneurs all over the city. He’s w…
This week, storing electricity like plants do, we try DuckDuckGo, and no more trans fats. And, find out how Mike trying FlexDelivery has gone so far, and…
The entire Unwind Media library is now available on SoundCloud. We did it! Anyhow, now that the transformation of all the shows is complete, a lot more time just opened up for interesting new things…who knows what this summer will bring?
Today, I ordered a 7-day supply of Soylent from a California company called Rosa Labs. It’s a nutritional replacement with all the essential carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals a human needs to survive. It comes in a powder that you mix with water and consume over the course of a day. I’m not sure I’ll like it, but I’m really excited about what it will be like. I’ve been asked to document it, so I’ll definitely be trying this. It just recently started shipping to Canada.
In a little sadder news, though Apple Watch is now available for in-store pickup, I won’t be getting one this summer. Real life wins again 🙁
Anyhow, here are the shows from Unwind Media this week. I sincerely hope you enjoy them if you choose to listen! We had a great chat on Future Chat about the #DistractinglySexy hashtag and the sexism that seems to keep popping up in science. Subscribe if you do so you’ll be able to keep apprised of new episodes without this weekly post!
This week, we spoke to Evan and Shane from Alpaca Party Productions. They do a weekly podcast and a web series called A Mouthful of Shane. We talked about…
This week, I finished moving Future Chat to SoundCloud, and by next week the entire Unwind Media back library will be over there!
Feedback: The Music Volume I is nearing the date I said it would be out. I’m currently debating options for release, and trying to navigate doing it in as legal as way as possible, but without also spending too much money just to release it. Stay tuned, and if you know anything about this murky legal area or have released covers before, please do let me know!
In this episode, we spoke to culinary nutrition expert Jenni Beharry. She’s trained in human geography, television broadcasting, and nutrition, and she’s…
In this episode, we talk about the newly discovered link between the brain and the immune system, give a look ahead to WWDC this week, and find out about…
I couldn’t start the day off right without telling this story. Obviously, everybody has bad experiences with bus drivers sometimes. This isn’t unique to Ottawa, or Canada. Sometimes you catch somebody in a bad mood, and there are probably drivers who revel in the fact that people get upset when they JUST miss their bus. I’m not saying all bus drivers are saints, and similarly, not all people are saints.
All that said, I had a GREAT experience this morning with OC Transpo, and it’s all thanks to my friendly neighbourhood bus driver. I know a nice story to start your morning isn’t the best way to drive pageviews, but this is just something I have to commend. I catch the downtown-bound 12 every morning, rain or shine, at around 6:40 AM on Montreal Road. I’ve had a few bus drivers in the nearly 18 months I’ve taken this bus, and the latest one is there every weekday. Bus drivers are like offensive linemen, in that the best ones often get NO recognition for having done a perfect job.
This driver is like this, and today he went just a little out of his way, but made me so grateful. Here’s the situation: every day I leave my house right around 6:35 AM to catch the bus. This particular morning, as I’m about 2 minutes away from the stop, I checked the map on the Transit app (which is great on Android and iOS by the way, you should check it out). It says that I have about 3 minutes, but it also showed the bus was way closer than it should normally be at that time. I like to think the bus was actually a couple of minutes earlier than it normally is, but it’s possible I was running just a tad late as well, but I digress. As I walk up to the intersection where I catch the bus (I have to cross Montreal Rd to get to the stop), I see the bus about 5 seconds from pulling up. This is a pretty long light; I’m not going to catch this bus.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, so I immediately start thinking about checking when the other buses near me are coming so I can try to hop on one of those and make it to work without being more than a few minutes late. As I’m doing this though, I look over at the bus I’m in the process of missing, and he’s just sitting there with the doors open, waving me over. What?! That is awesome. It’s about 12 seconds before the light finally changes, and I hustle across the street and onto the bus. The bus driver absolutely did not have to do this, but I am so grateful that he did. He obviously knows his route and his passengers well, and he recognized me enough to be able to take that few seconds to let me get on his bus.
I should mention that on Tuesdays I carry a travel suitcase with me to work, so I was towing about 40 pounds between my bag and that suitcase. This made my day start off so great, and I’m so happy to be able to share a great story with you about this man doing small things to make the world a better place.
If anybody knows management at OC Transpo, please pass this along to them. This bus driver is doing things right. It’s the #12 – Rideau Centre, and I get on at stop #8738 at around 6:38 AM on weekdays. I’m submitting this to OC Transpo customer feedback, but I don’t know if that actually gets read.
Anyway, take the time out of your day to really show appreciation for people who do nice things for you. It’s worth it!
I’ve been writing part-time for MobileSyrup for a little over a month now, and since this piece is as topical as it will ever be, here is the writing sample I provided that got me started there.
These are my predictions of what we can expect from Apple in the next version of their mobile operating system, iOS 9, written as if it has just been publicly released, in September 2015.
As it stands, iOS 9 will be announced for the first time to developers next week, on June 8th in San Francisco, and you’ll know I’ll be watching intently! Without any further ado, here are my impressions of iOS 9!
As we’ve come to expect in September, the final version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 9, was released today. Last year’s release of iOS 8 gave users a whole new set of tools to quickly access information contained in their apps in a secure, controlled way, with keyboards, app extensions and today widgets. Developers and users were all very excited by this new and unexpected openness from Apple, while some feel that they could have gone further still.
With iOS 9, Apple have opened up even more, making several changes that users have been frequently asking for in the last year. There has also been a focus on stability and security in iOS 9, and the platform feels a lot more consistent than it has since the release of iOS 8 one year ago. The larger iPhone sizes are also slowly changing the way we interact with iOS, and the interfaces of many apps are changing and improving to reflect that.
Some of the biggest changes to iOS this year are designed to bring the newly released Apple Watch into closer step with the iPhone. A new overhaul of the contacts app will allow you to set a global VIP contact list for notifications, including integration with your Twitter and Facebook contacts. You will also be able to get public transit information through Apple Maps directly, meaning that your shiny new Apple Watch will be able to let you know when buses nearby will be arriving. The update also brings the ability to reply to messages directly from notifications in third-party applications, both on the iPhone and on the Apple Watch. Finally, the Beats Music service, purchased by Apple in 2014, is now built-in to the iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing you to stream professionally curated playlists that combine the music you have on your phone with music in the Beats Music catalogue. The update also brings the Beats Music collection into iTunes on your computer, and allows you to pick up your music where you left off on your computer when you’re heading out the door.
Some of the other new features that are welcome additions to the platform include:
A system-wide low-power mode that will kick in automatically and disable background activity when your phone is running out of juice.
The ability to set non-Apple apps as default, including mail, web browsing, and camera apps from an approved list (and allowing users to remove default Apple apps from their home screens completely). Third-party apps will also now be able to work with Handoff more easily work, allowing you to quickly move between iOS devices and Macs, especially when using non-Apple apps.
Updates to the photos app that include an incognito mode and corresponding folder for pictures that you don’t wish to automatically upload to iCloud Photo Library or other cloud services. iOS 9 also includes a new API for photos that will simplify the auto-uploading process, sending your photos from iCloud directly to third-party applications like Dropbox and Google+, rather than uploading multiple copies from your phone.
All of these changes are welcome additions to the platform, focused mainly on enabling users to complete simple or complex tasks in less time. All of this in turn saves battery life as well as using less of your monthly data allotment, something we can all get excited about. Several changes to iOS are designed to push quick interactions to the Apple Watch, which is also an important move. The value added by pairing your phone to an Apple Watch will likely continue to grow as the platform matures and more users and developers really start to see what the watch can do for them.
There has been a lot of discussion in the last year about the decreasing stability of iOS, with some pundits suggesting Apple should slow down and make sure to get the details right with their software releases. This update really does seem to be the best of both worlds so far, with a slough of new features sure to impress new and old users alike, while the stability of the device in day-to-day use appears to be a return to expectations from a company with such high quality standards.
As it was last year with the release of app extensions, the full nature of this update likely won’t be realized until third-party developers have the ability to take full advantage of the new features in their applications. Developers will also inevitably continue to refine their applications as use cases shift, and it will soon be required that interfaces purposefully adapt to larger phones and the usefulness of an accompanying Apple Watch.
We will continue looking through the update and share anything else we come across in the coming days and weeks.
