My sort-of Soylent diet

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
For cost, convenience, and health reasons, I'm starting on a liquid diet. This will be the thread where I talk about it.

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I was inspired to do something like this when Soylent came onto the scene, and because I'm now in a position to really give this a good shot, I went ahead and bought everything I needed.

As far as what it was that I bought, I settled on the Keto Chow 1.0.4 (Rich Chocolate) recipe, as seen here: https://diy.soylent.com/recipes/keto-chow-104-master-rich-chocolate Commercial Soylent, and all the DIY recipes I saw, had massive amounts of carbs that would cause a huge insulin spike after each meal. I figured that even if I wasn't going to go keto (which wouldn't be right for me anyway), the fact that it was almost carb-free was a huge plus. There were side issues with other recipes as well, like grittiness, high manganese, etc. All in all, the author (Chris Bairs) seemed to have done his homework so I felt confident this would work.

I do plan on eating out for lunch several days a week but for breakfast and most dinners I plan to stick with Keto Chow.

I'll be making a few additions to the Keto Chow recipe. First, I'll start by chewing sugar-free (xylitol-sweetened) gum 2-3 times a day, to stimulate saliva production for the ongoing remineralization of my teeth. Second, I want to start adding resistant starches to my diet. The easier way will be to eat a few tablespoons of raw unmodified potato starch daily. This stuff is type RS2. The slightly more inconvenient way is to start cooking retrograded mashed potatoes with tons of butter, but the upside is that the butter makes bulking cheap and easy. Retrograded potatoes have more RS3 (good for the distal colon) and less RS2 (meh).

The prevailing theory of online communities is that with excess RS2 (>4 tbps per day), the gut flora don't ferment it fast enough in the proximal colon, thereby allowing "sufficient" amounts of RS2 to make it through the distal colon and into the feces, thereby fueling the colonocytes throughout the entire large intestine. Anyway, there's lots of reading material on resistant starches, but the benefits of eating enough of it appear to include: lower risk of colorectal cancer, blunting of post-meal insulin/blood glucose spikes, reducing hunger, better bowel movements, improved mood, and deeper sleep. The downside is that many people seem to have established populations of the wrong kinds of bacteria and yeasts, that negatively impact health when they gorge on lots of RS. If I happen to fall into this group, I'll pop probiotic pills.
 
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Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
2016-02-08:

Mixed up my first two batches of Keto Chow in a blender, following the recipe to a 'T' other than that I didn't grind up the multivitamin pill. The smell of the shake is dominated by the protein powder, which is to say it's not particularly appetizing. I did get used to it afterwards.

My blender jar is not large enough to blend all the ingredients together at a drinkable consistency, so I blended all the ingredients together with as much water as I could fit, and then poured it out into a larger container. To this I added more water, stirring to mix.

I tried one meal's worth roughly an hour after the mix had been put into the fridge. It wasn't very tasty, which was worrying because a) I really wanted it to work, and a bad taste wasn't going to help, and b) if it wasn't going to work I'd just wasted hundreds of dollars. Also, I was bloated afterwards and had loose stools, but this is probably because of the cream working against my lactose intolerance.
 
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Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
2016-02-09:

For breakfast today, I had a Keto Chow (hereafter "KC") meal. For what it's worth, the mass of this meal, which I had decided should be exactly 1/3 of the entire day's mix, was approx 537 grams. It's thicker than how most people would drink it, which I estimate to be roughly 22-24 oz altogether, but with the overnight sit it was surprisingly good. I would still consider an ordinary meal tastier than this, but overall not *better*. I popped two lactase pills right before I drank it and I think that took care of the lactose issue perfectly.

Picked up some Blender Bottles tonight, will try them out for tomorrow's mix. From this point on I'll be substituting canola oil for the MCT oil as I don't need or want to be in ketosis, and I'll be adding a bit more protein powder to accommodate my LBM (~151 lbs at 12-14% BF).
 
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Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
2016-02-10:

Drank a KC breakfast from last night's Blender Bottle mix. Compared to the blender, there was more (released) aeration, which was evinced by the thicker layer of foam on top, and obviously there were a few more lumps. The fiber also appeared to settle more to the bottom. Still, nothing too bad.

I diluted this breakfast even less than yesterday's and I actually gagged on how thick and kind of slimy it was. A bit more water did the trick. I think the texture was smoother and more shake-like with the blender.

I took a fish oil pill right after the breakfast and about 2 hours later I was getting fish burps. Nothing too bad. For me, one meal staves off hunger for 3-5 hours which suits me just fine.

For lunch I had a shawarma plate (rice, donair/gyro meat, side salad, pita), and for dinner I had two meals worth of KC. Both were drank within an hour of each other. My stomach seems to be holding up just fine.
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,234
7,057
136
I've tried both the powdered & liquid soylent. The liquid is more convenient (and more expensive), but I actually like the taste of the powdered better. Plus I can add flavorings to make it more interesting. It's fun to play with food like this...I mean, people in comas survive for years off this stuff, and, uh, upright people live off Mcdonalds & Mountain Dew, so we know you can survive on a wide range of food inputs.

Be warned that you may get some gas & stuff...most people aren't eating as healthy as a Soylent diet is, so you may be getting like triple the amount of fiber you're used to...it can be uncomfortable for a week or two while your body adjusts.

One thing I really like about soylent, aside from the convenience, is that it makes other food taste better. Like if I do soylent for breakfast & lunch, eating real food for dinner tastes awwwwwwwwwwwesome, even if it's just something like Subway. Your tastebuds freak out after having bland flavors all day; it definitely makes eating food more fun.

Also really useful for controlling your calories & macros easily!
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
I've tried both the powdered & liquid soylent. The liquid is more convenient (and more expensive), but I actually like the taste of the powdered better. Plus I can add flavorings to make it more interesting. It's fun to play with food like this...I mean, people in comas survive for years off this stuff, and, uh, upright people live off Mcdonalds & Mountain Dew, so we know you can survive on a wide range of food inputs.

Be warned that you may get some gas & stuff...most people aren't eating as healthy as a Soylent diet is, so you may be getting like triple the amount of fiber you're used to...it can be uncomfortable for a week or two while your body adjusts.

One thing I really like about soylent, aside from the convenience, is that it makes other food taste better. Like if I do soylent for breakfast & lunch, eating real food for dinner tastes awwwwwwwwwwwesome, even if it's just something like Subway. Your tastebuds freak out after having bland flavors all day; it definitely makes eating food more fun.

Also really useful for controlling your calories & macros easily!
I've only had three KC meals so far, but excepting the one where I didn't do anything about the lactose, I didn't have any issues with gas.
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,591
2
71
My blender jar is not large enough to blend all the ingredients together at a drinkable consistency, so I blended all the ingredients together with as much water as I could fit, and then poured it out into a larger container. To this I added more water, stirring to mix.

Consider a stick blender.


Drank a KC breakfast from last night's Blender Bottle mix. Compared to the blender, there was more (released) aeration, which was evinced by the thicker layer of foam on top, and obviously there were a few more lumps. The fiber also appeared to settle more to the bottom. Still, nothing too bad.

I diluted this breakfast even less than yesterday's and I actually gagged on how thick and kind of slimy it was. A bit more water did the trick. I think the texture was smoother and more shake-like with the blender.

Have you considered a stick blender? ;)


I took a fish oil pill right after the breakfast and about 2 hours later I was getting fish burps. Nothing too bad.

Are they enteric coated?
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Consider a stick blender.




Have you considered a stick blender? ;)
I'm a bit of a clean freak in some ways, so I don't want to use a stick blender unless absolutely necessary. Typically there's a seal on the impeller shaft that's inside the "bell" at the end of the stick, which serves to keep liquid from traveling up the shaft. This seal usually isn't sealed well to the bell. Food then gets stuck inside and is impossible to clean.

However, I'm looking at the Ninja QB1004 which has no lower seal. In theory this means that the system could be "perfectly" cleanable by hand. I just wish the jars were glass... they're probably made of polycarbonate which is going to screw with someone's hormones.

Are they enteric coated?
I would hope so. http://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signature™-Omega-3-Fish-Oil,-180-Softgels.product.11248464.html
 
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Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Fack, I have to double-check that the lid on the shaker is snapped in tight before starting to shake. I had brown spots all over my shirt, counter, and floor last night.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Black-ish poop. Everything else seems fine. Maybe my teeth are a shade whiter? Not really enjoying it so far.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Nothing too remarkable. I'm still doing it for the most part but I just have to hold my breath while I drink.
 

Mai72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2012
11,562
1,741
126
In regard to purchasing a blender, have you thought about a nutribullet? I love using my nutribullet over a blender because it's so easy to clean.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
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Reactions: NicolasCC

NicolasCC

Junior Member
Oct 5, 2016
3
0
1
I actually bought the Ninja QB1004 and I detest it. It's impossible to completely wash by hand and I don't use the dishwasher.

http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-Master-Prep-Professional-QB1004/dp/B004XK4N9C

I've used it once and have no idea what to do with it now. I don't think I can return it...

great choice man!
I'm also into juicy stuff :)))

but why r u having problems with it again??

i also have Ninja actually.. thats why i'm interested.

i clean it regularly by hands and it's fine!
btw if u're interested, i found it on this site: http://blendnelb.com/
apparantly they have a lot of healthy stuff! I'm looking for a juicer now. smoothies r not enough 4 me)

and this soylent diet...... i've no idea what it could turn into. share pls!