The wait for my isolate is kind of killing me so, in the meantime, let's go over some of the questions I've been getting from friends and family:
Are you crazy?
Yes. Obviously.
Aren't you going to get hungry?
If I consume enough calories and watch my proteins carefully, hunger shouldn't be a problem. In his article with The Verge, Chris mentions that he was consistently full fro m the 38 grams of protein that his traditional Soylent provided. My mix uses 60g of isolate which provides a whopping 54g of protein per day. Yeah, I think I'm going to get full.
Won't you miss food?
Yes. Definitely. That's my problem. I have very low willpower when it comes to food. I grew up using food as a salve for broken hearts and bad grades and it's a crutch that I can't really afford anymore. I eat when I'm bored and it's a really awful habit to have. I like the taste of food even when I'm not hungry and I've edged over that line of obesity that I never wanted to experience. I'm in a really good place in my life to start this experience and I've got a Zumba class scheduled this fall that I'm hoping will enhance my results. Yeah, I'll miss the food but I won't miss not being able to get into my clothes.
Where did you get all this stuff?
Amazon, iHerb, and Vitamin Discount Center. The airtight storage containers came from Target.
What about the holidays?
Yeah, I know. I can't wait for the questioning stares when I settle in my chair at Thanksgiving dinner with a big glass of Soylent in my hand (sarcasm). I preempted this issue with a solid phone call to my immediate family members that are most likely to be impacted by my lack of holiday eating. They were very interested and surprised at my enthusiasm for this change and seemed to support it as a means to the end. I've gotten very big over the past few months and it hasn't gone unnoticed by my family. In addition to assuring them that I would still be present, I reminded them of their desire for me to be healthy and that said health is more important than tucking into the same food as they do.
Does that mean no more lunch dates? Meeting up for dinner?
Not necessarily. If my friends are comfortable with me ordering non-alcoholic drinks and watching them eat, then those social events are still completely possible. I can technically still have food from time to time so healthy appetizers aren't necessarily out of the question. Rob Rhinehart (inventor behind the Soylent craze) mentions that he always envisioned Soylent as replacing most food, not all food, and that users should be able to enjoy social functions normally. I do intent to stick to a strictly DIYS and, later, official Soylent diet as much as possible because a little bit of cheating on my diet could open the door for me to do a lot of cheating.
Why can't you just exercise more?
I've been asked this question in a slew of ways over the years (not just as Soylent-related) and it never fails to be insulting; it implies laziness and lack of thought. I have successfully used exercise previously to lose weight- it's how I know that my weight gain is a personal behavior problem and not a biological issue. I am a full-time worker that also attends school full-time all the way through the year (yes, summer and winter semesters as well). It is VERY difficult for me to balance my 40+ hour job, my course load, my husband, and my three dogs as well as both my and my husband's family's requests for our company. My lunch breaks are spent reading textbooks and I often stay awake into the night completing assignments, playing with my dogs, and tidying the house. Adding a workout routine to my schedule has been a nightmare. I will be going part-time at my job to attend the last courses I need for my degree during the week and I've added my Zumba class to that school schedule. So I WILL be exercising while using DIYS- I just won't be doing so for another 3 weeks so that my body can adjust accordingly.
Will you still have to cook for your husband?
No. He and I discussed this at length and he is also interested in a Soylent-type lifestyle. Unlike me, my husband has very little interest in food and only asks about it when his blood sugar drops. His solution for food once I've started drinking DIYS? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Seriously.
Is your husband going to be drinking DIYS as well?
He's going to taste mine but he'll be ordering official Soylent shortly and attempting a bodybuilding version of a lactose-free DIYS of his own until it arrives. He's be particularly interested in a variation of Schmoylent (you heard me) called People Fuel Plain that is designed for lactose-free needs. There's also a slightly more expensive variation called Schmoylent Clean that is lactose-free, gluten-free, and vegan that has a lovely review stating that it tastes like pancake batter. Interested? The creator of Schmoylent sells the completed product similarly to actual Soylent at his website, Custom Body Fuel, that has same-week shipping time frames. If my mix doesn't work out, I will be turning to Schmoylent before giving up and waiting for my Soylent.
What if it tastes bad?
I'm not overfond of Brussels sprouts or plain oatmeal but I still eat those. I'll deal with it. The end will justify the means... unless it comes out looking like boogers, in which case, Schmoylent will rescue me.
Why spend more on the whey isolate?
My husband is lactose-intolerant. I've noticed that, since living with and then marry him, my lactose sensitivities have gotten much worse. We don't keep regular milk in the house (only Lactaid, which has lactose enzymes removed) and dairy foods are kept to a bare minimum and now, when I have ice cream, I suffer for it. To nip both of us with one stone, we'll only have isolate in our mixes. Incidentally, talking to one of our fitness/bodybuilding friends, isolate is more finely designed to have a better impact on your health anyway, so we seem to winning out on this ingredient.
You must have spent a fortune.
I got this query yesterday and even though it wasn't a question ("Did you spend a fortune?" sounds pretty tacky and/or forced anyway), I really have to address it regardless. Soylent does sound expensive. I understand that. The smaller quantities available on Soylent.me aren't as cost-efficient overall but I went the bulk route available on their site which was a recurring order of $255 for 28 bags (1 month). Costly, right? Well, no. That's $9.11 per day or, more reasonably, $3.04 per meal. When was the last time you spent $3.04 on a meal - every meal - for an entire month?
There's a lot of hullaballoo about the expenses of this kind of lifestyle and, while my DIYS ordering was a bit haphazard and... interesting to calculate out, my real number crunching came down through my bank account. I downloaded a spreadsheet of my expenses for the past 12 months and deleted every row that wasn't food related. The numbers are rough since I had to do some fancy guesswork with visits to Walmart, Target, and the occasional gas station, but the overall picture is pretty clear: Partaking of Soylent would save me over $3,000 per year.
Want a clearer picture? I ordered Jimmy Johns for lunch because I didn't have the time this morning to figure out if I had anything suitable for lunch. Cost for that easily made sandwich, some chips, a cookie (I have no willpower) and a drink plus the driver tip for the convenience of delivery was just about $20.
$20 for lunch. Jeez. That's not unusual in a restaurant either. And let's not forget that the nutritional balance of this meal is severely questionable- chips, cookie, mayo, sweet tea... they all add up and not in a good way. With Soylent, I could eat and eat well for two days on the equivalent monetary value. So, you tell me. Did it cost a fortune? Not really. The initial setup did put me back a bit but I expect the long-run results to be less costly than if I continue my current chaotic and nutrition-less lifestyle.
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