Soylent

Are you going to do the hack where you can allegedly boost your eye's sensitivity to higher infra-red frequencies once you've got a baseline going on? It's only thing that ever tempted me to try it.

So last night was interesting. I ended up kind of freaking out about how little food it seemed to be and ended up eating two more bananas because I thought I would be starving. So including the two I mixed into the Soylent, that was 4 bananas (more on that later.) It was really hard to not pick at my kids' leftovers, which tells me something about how many calories I have been ingesting without even thinking.

Because of the ice and bananas I was able to spread my consumption of the Soylent over about 1.5 hours. By the time bedtime rolled around (recall the extra bananas) I was stuffed. Not really bloated or stomach ache, just uncomfortably full. That did help me avoid any snacking though. I also felt really alert, kind of like after a cup of coffee, but not as jittery. So it was a little hard to fall asleep but when I did I slept very soundly.

I did experience some burping at first and later gas, but not to an excessive amount. It think this is something they worked on through their beta testing and may relate to sarapen 's post. I am not too worried about that as I am still eating regular food, just not as much.

This morning I was hungry but after some time on the treadmill and a bowl of cereal, I am back to feeling pretty full again. I have been reading about adding coffee flavorings. I may try that tonight. I need to work past the taste. The biggest motivator right now is that I have 11 bottles left and I am too cheap to just throw them away. Maybe by the time I get through these, I will be in a routine.

I'm weary of offering advice, particularly when it comes to dieting, but if you keep giving your body extra sugar it's going to use that for fuel instead of fat and you may end up sabotaging your efforts. Not to mention all the stuff that goes on with insulin and blood glucose. I get it may be hard to get it down, but putting a bunch of bananas and chocolate syrup in the mix is going to work against you. Unless you were eating a ton more sugar and starches before and this is a step down. Is there some type of low sugar flavouring you could use to make it easier to consume without adding a bunch of extra calories and carbs? 

As for throwing away the nuggets, they are either going into the trash or into the sewer, and they won't give you a ton of benefit before getting to the sewer (other than some energy, but you've got some of that stored up) so is it that big of a waste to throw them away? Just think of it as bypassing the part where you ingest it and sending them straight to the refuse pile instead of indirectly. 

Day 3:

261 lbs

mix with 1 banana, 1 cup strawberries, 30 ml honey, 1 cup ice

Still a bad aftertaste, but doable. Not quite as full of a feeling.

Day 4:
262 lbs

mix with 2 bananas, 30 ml chocolate syrup, 1 cup ice

For some reason this one went down a lot better, the first few sips were hard, but after that it was kind of pleasant.

Maybe I will try cinnamon tonight. I think I will still need the bananas though, even with just one it is hard to drink.

On the upside, you're losing!

Also cinnamon helps level out blood sugar spikes, so even if you don't taste it you might want to add a little to it for the health benefits. Trying to think what else you might add to help it go down. Maybe one of those flavoured syrups coffee shops use to make lattes and stuff? They have sugar free versions of vanilla, hazelnut, etc. Anyway if you're getting kinda used to how it tastes maybe thats the easiest. 

Yes I am, down to 258lbs. I guess this would be like day 13 since I do not drink it on the weekends. The taste is growing on me a bit, it is just that first swig of chalkiness that I have to get over, then I kind of enjoy it. I am still mixing 2 bananas, ice and chocolate syrup. But I have started experimenting with cutting back on the mixers a bit now that I am more used to the taste.

I really waffled before I bought my second 12 pack. I wondered if I might get the same weight loss result by just using skim milk in a mix or by closely watching my calories at dinner time. My main concern was fullness. The soylent really, really makes me feel full. And I am afraid anything else might leave me feeling like I was on a diet.

That's really interesting. I wonder if it means his gut microbes are less effective than most people's or if it just means that the foods used in soylent are different enough from the average American diet that it has changed his flora. He doesn't seem to say whether this difference is good, bad, or just different. I have been reading up on intestinal flora a little, and besides it's part in helping the body ward off infections, there is now some conjecture that it even effects a person's body chemistry to the point of possibly being a factor in depression. Really fascinating stuff.

Alright, 1 month update:
I just bought my third 12 pack of bottles, so I have consumed somewhere around 25 bottles so far.

Weight: 255 lbs (9 lbs lost in 30 days) I figure I am consuming 1500-1800 calories on weekdays. Interestingly the weight loss motivates me to be very careful of calories on weekends too. I was a bit worried about overconsuming on weekends, but that has not been the case so far. Actually I have thought about just making a soylent shake when I am hungry on the weekends, knowing that I will feel full and not overdo it.

I have dropped the mix down to 1-1.5 bananas and a lite sugar free chocolate syrup. I look forward to my shake and it still fills me up. Only once every few days do I even notice the chalkiness, I think I have mostly worked past that.

I am a little concerned about the iron content long term. I have a genetic blood disorder where my body is super good at storing iron. Excess iron can damage your organs so I have to get a few pints of blood drawn each year to keep my iron levels down. I have an appointment in December, so we will see if it is different than usual. This summer my levels were still normal after 6 months, so I am not too worried though.

It is really fucked up. It is not communicable in any way, but most places will not take it. The Red Cross says that it would violate their policy of not getting reimbursement for donating because you would get out of paying to get it drawn.

There are a few groups that have been trying to get this changed, but there are still no places nearby that will take it. The total charge is about $400 per pint. I pay about $100 out of pocket. Last year was my first year and I had to have 7 pints taken out over 6 months.

I have seriously thought about it. About the only thing holding me back is that I would probably have to deceive my doctor in one way or another.

Another up and down month. Currently 251 lbs. I was down to 249 for a hot minute but that did not last through Thanksgiving. 2 lbs a month is a little slower than I would like, but at least I am still moving in the right direction.

I did get my blood drawn to check my iron level this morning, so I will see what the results of that are next week.

Oh wow it has been a while since I updated this. I was pretty much stuck at 250-255 for the rest of the winter so two weeks ago I figured I needed to change things up. First I switched from Soylent to Slim Fast. That dropped 200 calories off my daily intake. But I really did not like the taste and now I am trying the Special K Protein shakes. Same calorie count as Slim Fast, but the taste is a lot better. So far it seems to be working. I am down to 246 lbs, my lowest weight in about 12 years.

I just randomly found this thread, and am not sure if you've seen me talk about it elsewhere on the site, but I've been drinking Huel Black Edition shakes for the last 11 months at work. I started drinking them because I wanted an easy breakfast and/or lunch that would be filling and also help me control my blood sugar for my type 2 diabetes. They've worked well for that for the most part. They have a bunch of different flavors, both in regular and (low carb) Black Edition.