Soylent Weight Loss: Are the Claims True?
The product is used to give an equal amount of nutrition and energy without having to take the time to eat, and it is FDA approved, unlike other questionable meal replacement products. The product was never intended to be used for weight loss or to replace all food in a person’s diet but is shown to be used for that purpose. By replacing meals or daily snacks with a bland drink at a fixed amount of calories, the Soylent weight loss plan can be extremely effective for managing calories.
Since the discovery that Soylent products can be powerful for weight loss, the brand has doubled down on healthy liquid meal replacement drinks and released a host of new products tailored to individual preferences.
The Ingredients in Soylent
The ingredients shown on the soylent bottle can be a bit confusing considering most of the list items are not very familiar. Since it is a meal replacement, specific ingredients are put in to make it have all the nutrients and macronutrients you need.
The primary ingredient in the product is water, the other main ingredients include:
- Soy protein isolate. Soy is a plant-based protein derived from soybeans that have gained some controversy over time because it contains phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens imitate estrogen in your body which can cause some negative effects such as it being harder to gain muscle lean muscle mass. Although, it is also known as a complete protein which contains all of the nine essential amino acids that are very important for your body to function.
- Maltodextrin. This is a processed food powder obtained from starchy foods such as corn, wheat, or rice. This ingredient is specifically a food additive that is made to make products creamier.
- High-Oleic sunflower oil. This is the fat source of soylent which is made of mostly polyunsaturated fats. It has been derived from sunflower plants that have been developed to have a large concentration of oleic acid. This makes it so soylent is high in monounsaturated fats as well and free of harmful transfats.
- Isomaltulose. This is a type of sweetener that is shown to be better for our bodies because it digests more slowly, which leads to more stables blood sugar levels.
- Canola Oil. Canola oil is a basic oil that is used in most households as a good source of monounsaturated fats.
The Breakdown of Nutrition
Soylent meal replacement drinks are a blend of soy protein isolate, isomaltulose, high oleic sunflower oil, and essential vitamins and minerals.
They are also nut-free, lactose-free, and vegan, which makes them very accessible for all people wanting to try. Here is a basic breakdown of the nutrition in soylent products:
The calories of the soylent drinks are 400. Having a drink be 400 calories doesn’t necessarily seem to be something to use as a weight-loss strategy since most weight loss drinks are fewer calories. Although soylent has never claimed to be used for weight loss, it is supposed to be used as a meal replacement.
The amount of fat in soylent is 21 grams. This is seen to be a high amount of fat in a 400 calorie drink, especially being made with soy. It’s fat content is probably the most problematic and worrisome part of soylent for people looking to it for weight loss. High-fat content isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it is healthy fats like in soylent, but if you are drinking more then one a day, then it starts to be over the daily amount.
The carbohydrate amount is 36 grams, and protein amount is 20 grams. The amount of carbohydrates is a good amount for the 400 calories, and the amount of protein is high. The higher the amount of protein the fuller and more satisfied you feel, as well as being essential for muscle building.
Soylent is also loaded with a multitude of vitamins and minerals needed for your daily recommended amount, such as:
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin A
- Iodine
- Zinc
- Vitamin C
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- etc.
So, How is Soylent Used for Healthy Weight Loss?
While Soylent was never meant to be used for weight loss, it is possible if you are only consuming soylent for all of your meals. This falls under liquid diets for weight loss by only drinking liquids, whether it be juices or shakes, and in return restricting calories in the process. While many people don’t have the time to make their meals throughout the day, soylent can be used to replace unhealthy fast foods that you may choose instead.
Using Soylent for weight loss makes it very easy to monitor your calorie intake, which in turn makes it easier to lose weight but shows that the product itself isn’t making you slimmer. When customers were drinking the Soylent, they realized that the drink wasn’t something they craved, so it was harder to drink it mindlessly. People were more in tuned with their body and its cravings while drinking Soylent for weight loss, which halted all unnecessary eating.
Does the Product Really Work?
When it comes to Soylent weight loss benefits, we have to first look at what the ingredients are providing, which aren’t necessarily unhealthy but aren’t producing any out of the ordinary health benefits.
Soylent weight loss is only shown to work because of calorie restriction and not because of healthy ingredients or a boost in metabolism. And truth be told, that’s how any weight loss system works anyways: through a calorie deficit. This type of calorie restricting behavior is not a sustainable way of weight loss and falls in the category of diet restriction, which is proven not to work long term.
Diet restriction tends to produce a yo-yo effect in which a person will restrict calories in an unhealthy way and then immediately go back to their old diets or binge eat back to their starting weight.
Soylent weight loss benefits provide a quick way to lose weight, but it does not give people a sustainable way to make healthy foods long term and sustain their weight loss.
Soylent drinks are also higher in calories than most diet or meal replacement shakes, and when drinking more then one a day results in a high amount of fat consumption. The two specific ingredients, soy and maltodextrin, are not always tolerated well by the body when consumed for some people. Those ingredients also do not help if you are trying to build muscle or tone up in the gym.
This provides a good example in which soylent as a weight loss product doesn’t give your body the right ingredients to build healthy muscle for substantial weight loss.
Is Soylent Healthy?
It’s not entirely black and white when it comes to deciding whether Soylent is healthy for you or not. When following a Soylent only diet for weight loss, it works for people who are eating a high-fat diet since 33 percent of it is fat calories. Although, their different products can have different individual nutrition, especially the new one we covered in our Soylent Squared Review
Even though the fat in Soylent are healthy fats, it provides over the daily amount recommended by most nutritionists if you are consuming more then one a day. Most nutrition professionals recommend no more then 30 to 35 percent of total daily calories from fat, and even if you are drinking one a day, you should be careful to make your other meals low in fat.
Soylent products are advertised as low glycemic foods because the glycemic index is below .55.
There are a number of studies done that show low glycemic foods being efficient in reducing blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, which is how the low glycemic diet was created.
It took popularity when people started looking to it lose weight from, which is why soylent may be seen as such. Although, low glycemic does not always automatically mean healthy and more research needs to be done on the diet itself.
With soylent’s minor queries on high-fat levels, the main problem is that it is taking the enjoyment out of eating and provides no knowledge on how to make healthy foods for the long term. The soylent diet is not a long term way to lose weight, and that becomes a problem when the diet is over, and you revert to your old unhealthy lifestyle.
Soylent can be very useful in getting better nutrients in comparison to empty caloric snacks and fatty desserts late at night, but it should never replace your daily meals. We recommend using soylent to replace unhealthy choices when you are actually hungry and unable to make healthy foods.
We are aware that not everyone has the time to cook healthy, flavorful meals three times a day and sit down to eat it. Soylent is a suitable replacement for people looking to lose weight, but have busy lives and are prone to unhealthy decisions.
Overall Conclusion on Soylent Weight Loss
While Soylent isn’t promoted as a weight loss product and the ingredients aren’t made to replace all meals throughout the day, it can produce weight loss results. Replacing soylent with some or all meals can result in calorie restriction and being more in tune with your hunger cues. Liquid weight loss diets work so well that new companies are trying to battle it out for market share. These days, it’s Huel vs Soylent for weight loss.
Although, the product itself contributes nothing to the weight loss people are experiencing as a result, which shows that it will not guarantee long term results. There is also no guarantee that soylent weight loss is healthy, and when looking at the ingredients and doesn’t show much promise for long term use.
I would recommend soylent weight loss to people who are overweight or people who are looking to shed pound by cutting on overeating on unhealthy snacks.
While Soylent isn’t a weight loss product, it is a meal replacement that provides a way to get all your nutrients in when you are in a time crunch. This can help people overeating on snacks after meals by instead drinking soylent, which has been shown to be more difficult to mindlessly consume or over consume.
Health Energy Guru | Soylent Weight Loss
132 Serenade Ct, Henderson, NV 89074
(702) 381-5290
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