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Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

blog.soylent.com

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Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#231

Post by hvmonk »

Is there any long term effect medical study about this product?

I think our body has organs which releases various gastric juices to digest the food we eat. It is not only about how much calorie/protein one is consuming, there are also some useful by-products which helps in overall functioning of the body as well. A very simple analogy is only drinking fruit juice instead of eating them raw. We are not taking in fibers which helps in digestion, slow decomposition and good bowl movement.

I am very skeptical about approaches like this where we measure our food just in terms of calories, vitamins, protiens and then consume them directly in that format.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#232

Post by kunaalarya »

jefftk wrote: post #107
milquetoastaf wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What advantage does Soylent have over say, other meal replacements e.g. Slimfast, weight watcher shakes, juices etc that have existed for years before it and will continue to do so for years after? All I see is SV hype and marketing. In fact you just showed that Soylent is easily outplayed because you switched to a different drink already.

Slimfast has 4x as much sugar as Soylent (per-calorie). To get 2000 calories from Slimfast you'd be getting 180g sugar, while with Soylent it would be 45g. Now 45g is a little higher than recommended, but 180g is way too high. http://d8m5oga7foiu.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/1... http://files.soylent.com/pdf/soylent-drink-nutrition-facts-e...

not sure where you got the slimfast nutritional info but they have 1g of sugar: http://slimfast.com/advanced-nutrition/#shakes

if it had that much sugar, it wouldve never gained a reputation for losing weight.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#233

Post by frogpelt »

atomical wrote: post #156
johnfn wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah- in comparison to Soylent the Ample guys specifically say not to only eat Ample. Arguably people get less protein than they should.

There is no such thing as protein deficiency in America. If anything Americans get too much.

There's no such thing as poverty in America. If anything Americans should get rid of some stuff.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#234

Post by greenshackle2 »

scott_s wrote: post #60
aroman wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brand. Unlike the examples you mentioned, Soylent is not a "lose weight" brand. As an undergrad in college, Soylent is everywhere. Can't remember the last time I saw any of those other meal replacements.

Neither is Ensure a "lose weight" brand. But Ensure is an old-people brand. So Soylent (and Ample, which I learned about in this thread) are basically Ensure for young people.

Ensure is a weight gain brand, which is also incidentally marketed as a meal replacement for everyone and their dog because why not - of course marketing will never tell anyone, "don't eat this, it's not for you". That's why it's an old people brand, it's for people who can't eat enough solid food to maintain their weight. Just compare the nutritional labels:

Soylent (400 kcal) 21g fat 37g carbs (9g simple sugars, 3g fibers) 20g protein

Ensure (400 kcal) 11g fat 60g carb (?g simple sugars, doesn't say, NO FIBERS) 16g protein

I looked at every single brand of meal replacement shakes I could get my hands on around here at drugstores, I was looking for a cheaper alternative to Soylent and figured one of them would do. You would think someone would be making a meal replacement that's not sugar water garbage already. NOPE. Plus, most of them serve a different goal, either weight gain or weight loss, not just meal replacement.

EDIT: arguably Soylent is sugar water garbage too, it's first ingredients are water and maltodextrin (a sugar), but it's not as bad as the others I've looked at.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#235

Post by davycro »

rubatuga wrote: post #155

Although I was initially brought onto the hype train by great marketing and the promises of health and complete nutrition, I realize that my initial reliance on Soylent was actually part of a deeper problem, brought on by problems such as depression and inappropriate time management. When in reality I should have had enough time to eat out or possibly even cook a meal, I found myself relying on Soylent. I didn't leav…

For medical training, Soylent has been wonderful. On emergency shifts I often won't have 10 or 20 minutes to go to the cafeteria for a meal as there are too many acute patients. I used to rely on energy bars to get me through but I much prefer Soylent. They are quicker to eat and I know that I am drinking a someone balanced meal. I usually drink about three in an eight hour shift.

You raise a great point about self reflection and Soylent. To stop cooking entirely is madness, and Soylent can enable antisocial tendencies or depression. They shouldn't brand themselves as a complete dietary replacement for food.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#236

Post by d0lph »

tzamora wrote: post #43
skciva wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate a bit? What exactly is garbage about the ingredients?

Soy has proven to be not as healthy as people believe. Maltodextrin is just sugar.

Do you have any references for what you're saying in your first sentence?

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#237

Post by Judgmentality »

dmix wrote: post #229
Judgmentality wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but some things are more likely to be misused than others. For instance, Facebook. It's obviously a wildly popular and profitable product, but studies show that the more you use it the more likely you are to be depressed - but Facebook has a financial incentive to addict those users regardless. Anyway, I'm not really a fan of Soylent. I disagree with its health benefits. I think the company is pushing it as a f…

Facebook causing depression when used too much? What were the alternative groups doing? Correlation is a tricky thing to measure. I'm not sure how I feel about these types of studies or what utility they really provide. Other than maybe giving the reader some perspective on their life. Anything used in a poor context, for example not combined with the right attitude, environment, etc can cause issues. Often we just f…

So I actually decided to look for the source and you're right - the results are a lot more complicated than I thought. I guess I'm a victim of confirmation bias.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/07/49287102...

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#238

Post by greenshackle2 »

macspoofing wrote: post #89
johnfn wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally would never have slimfast because I'm not on a diet! This feels like a large distinction that you are missing here. If there are non-diet meal replacements, I don't know if any, which clearly seems like an opportunity for a product such as Soylent.

>If there are non-diet meal replacements Millions.

Name one. I've check the nutritional labels of every single thing that looks like a meal replacement shake around here looking for a cheaper alternative and didn't find one that came close.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#239

Post by sosodaft »

Latty wrote: post #194
rubatuga wrote: post #155

Although I was initially brought onto the hype train by great marketing and the promises of health and complete nutrition, I realize that my initial reliance on Soylent was actually part of a deeper problem, brought on by problems such as depression and inappropriate time management. When in reality I should have had enough time to eat out or possibly even cook a meal, I found myself relying on Soylent. I didn't leav…

> I think many people approach Soylent as a way to solve some of their problems, but people should realize it won't be and can't be. You are saying your case (and that of your friend's) apply to everyone. I've lost a lot of weight using Huel (a similar product made in the UK), because it makes calorie tracking incredibly easy and allows me to avoid thinking about food except when I specifically choose to eat somethin…

This, exactly. I use Huel to replace the meals I eat at home. As a consequence, it is the only food in my apartment. Removing the possibility of eating junk has helped me improve my diet a lot, and I still get to have a takeaway meal for lunch to sate my cravings for real food.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#240

Post by davycro »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #130
milquetoastaf wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What advantage does Soylent have over say, other meal replacements e.g. Slimfast, weight watcher shakes, juices etc that have existed for years before it and will continue to do so for years after? All I see is SV hype and marketing. In fact you just showed that Soylent is easily outplayed because you switched to a different drink already.

You can't go hiking with Slimfast, Weight Watcher shakes, or juices. What I don't understand: the REI market is the one place where Soylent is inarguably better than any other product in its niche, and nobody seems to give a shit about that. I carry a bag of dry Soylent in my SAR pack. When I get sent out on an assignment, I have no idea how long I might be out for. For less weight than any other option, I have dinne…

Agreed. I use Soylent as a replacement for cliff bars when I ski or climb. It's easier to get down and has more calories.
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