Comment by papa_bear | Hacker News Reader

Comment by papa_bear | Hacker News Reader

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Making it easy to do this is my goal with Eat This Much (http://www.eatthismuch.com), and before that, with http://www.Swole.me (the name being more bodybuilding focused before I added recipes and improved the algorithm to make something that would appeal to a normal, well adjusted person :)

If Soylent got popular enough, it would pretty much make my service obsolete. I doubt that'll happen anytime soon, but I'm still a huge supporter of what Soylent is trying to accomplish with taking the thinking out of what I should eat. You can actually use the two in conjunction pretty well by adding Soylent as a "custom food" on Eat This Much, making it take up about 80% of your daily calories, locking it in place, and then running the meal plan generator to fill in the last 20% of your calories with real food.

Here's an example where I added Soylent similar to one of their initial recipes, each serving being 1/4 of their daily recommendation (and a higher calorie target so I don't atrophy into nothing): http://www.eatthismuch.com/diet/802429276

If Soylent got popular enough, it would pretty much make my service obsolete.

Don't count yourself out just yet. Some people will always prefer to eat real food.

I've heard non-elderly, non-infirm people consuming the major brand product as a convenient replacement for meals.

Furthermore, all the existing makers have to do is launch another brand and Soylent is more/less boxed into an all but hipster lifestyle business. They would have to fight an uphill battle all the way as there is no real element of defensibly about it in a market where the existing players already dominate the key element: distribution.

As an example of branding nutritional beverages: as a kid, I like carnation instant breakfast because what kid doesn't like any excuse to have chocolate milk for breakfast? It's not quite the same as a complete nutrition product, but it's close enough to illustrate the point of branding. Most people dislike Ensure because it's associated with the infirm and the elderly. If one were to build a complete nutrition brand, it has to be associated with Olympians, military specops and so on.

>Some people will always prefer to eat real food.

I wouldn't count him out either. "Some" is likely going to be the overwhelming majority of people for at least another century.

I honestly hope I'm not around to see the day when actual food is too expensive for the average person to eat.

Does ramen, McDonalds, and frozen cardboard pizza count as real food?

I think actual food may already be borderline too expensive for the average person to eat. At least Soylent promises to make it somewhat healthier.

>Does ramen, McDonalds, and frozen cardboard pizza count as real food?

Nope.

It is pretty expensive to eat good, healthy food all of the time, but I still think middle-class families can afford it (although its getting harder all the time). Sometimes the crappy, unhealthy alternatives are cheaper, but there are still meals that you can cook at home that are pretty inexpensive.

How is it expensive? Local farms market for fruits/veggies. Some meat shop/costco for meat in bulk.

Perhaps I need to find a farmer's market and a meat shop.

Haha of course, hence the "I doubt that'll happen anytime soon." Though I wouldn't be surprised if it became commonplace for people to swap out their breakfasts for something like Soylent in the near future. I already do something similar by throwing milk, protein powder, ground up oatmeal, and flax seeds into a blender every morning. The convenience is pretty overwhelming, and it has a much better nutrition profile than a bowl of cereal.

I do the same for breakfast, but I feel more comfortable doing so because most of those foods are regulated. I don't believe protein powder is, which is a little scary considering how often it's consumed. If Soylent is to be treated as a supplement (lack of regulation) that is consumed exclusively, it's even more unnerving.

PS - Are you Louis? We had a quick email convo last year. If you need help implementing some of the marketing aspects of EatThisMuch, let me know.

Yep, that's me - I'll send you a follow up email in a couple minutes

Yeah, thanks for that recipe. I've been drinking those shakes for a week or two now, and I think I feel better.

The recipe, for those who are curious:

- 1/2-1 cup raw oatmeal

- 1-2 tablespoon(s) peanut butter

- 1 scoop whey protein powder (I use Gold Standard Double Chocolate)

- 1 tablespoon flax seeds

- 1 banana

- 1-2 cups milk

Blend the oatmeal and flax seeds into small bits before adding the rest, then add the rest and blend. Chocolate-banana-peanut butter taste, and a pretty good mix of nutrients.

Just discovered your site. Also love it.

Please keep with it. You have an actually unique and well implemented idea.

@papa_bear I just came across eatthismuch.com and I love it! Thanks

That's awesome to hear! I have a pretty long list of improvements to make, but let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions via email (louis@eatthismuch.com)

Oh man I've been using those sites since they launched! Once tuned it spat out pretty decent meals with good macros, I was really impressed.

Great redesign as well. That also looks like a fairly balanced meal, I'd down the carbs and up the protein though.

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