Taste!

I've had a few people try Soylent 2.0 in the past week or so and they all say something different about the taste.

Thin, smooth pancake batter taste (without a lot of egg).

Like liquid bread.

Waffle mix, maybe? 

Rice milk.

Watered-down batter.


And, so far, it tastes lovely with a bit of Saigon cinnamon added (though it does clump around the mouth of the bottle), it's nice when blended with crushed ice (but gets overly watery eventually), and is going to be tried with some frozen blueberries and strawberries later.

Check out the Soylent Instagram account if you want more ideas! That's where I realized that I could re-purpose my Xanthan Gum to thicken some Soylent 2.0 and make a fruit shake out of it. Don't misunderstand- I am not purely on the bandwagon with Soylent right now. But their 2.0 is exactly the right taste, calorie value, and convenience for my life right now and it's hard to hold that kind of joy in when writing about the lifestyle. My recommendation is to consider what Soylent is doing as a guide for your version of DIYS. Or take a peek at other blogs like I Am Soylent or romp around Reddit; there are tons of people doing exactly what I'm doing but with far more flair. 

Soylent 2.0

It's amazing.

I should have given Soylent.com (formerly soylent.me) the benefit of the doubt.

Silky smooth, zero grit, minimal gas (TMI, I know), and pure convenience; Soylent 2.0 is the real deal. I am spoiled by the ease of slipping my shipping box into my fridge and not having to worry about remembering to mix up my formula the night before. No blender, no baggies, no issues.

Love? So soon? Why, yes- I think it is. I love me some pampering and Soylent 2.0 does exactly that. I am spoiled by the ease and taste of it.

Guys. Do it. Try it. Find someone who drinks it and ask for a sip. Worth it.

I already contacted SuperBodyFuel to refund my really delayed powder order (what is it with the powders being delayed?!) so I can go buy more 2.0. I'll keep you posted if I still feel the same - or if I suddenly start to waste away.

Well, short version... Not Dead

DIY Soylent did not kill me.

Thanksgiving did.

Last year, roughly around this time, I got onto the DIYS wagon, rode it for 40 pounds of weight loss, and then joyfully visited with my family while reveling internally over my new, slimmer shape.

I thought I could handle some Thanksgiving. I thought a bit of yummy food shared with loved ones would be okay.

Sooooo wrong.

Thanksgiving was followed by a 5x Christmas. I enjoyed holiday gatherings with my dad's family, my husband's family, my mother, with my co-workers, and then again with my close friends. That's a lot of solid food for a girl with no willpower and a hankering for some sweet potatoes.

Yep. I relaxed my hold on the beast and gave in to eating like a norm again.

Say hello to current me:

That's a big ol' girl right there. And a statue. Sorry 'bout that. But yeah... I eventually reached a lovely slim 235 pounds last year when the holidays hit. From 275. Forty pounds of weight loss in less than half a year.

And now there's me. At 291.6 pounds. Took me a while, I'll admit it, but golly did I seem to be doing my best to get all that poundage back. It took a lot of Swiss Cake Rolls and Gushers and Pepsi and Stouffer's dinners but I managed it. :/ 

So, here we are. I've tried my hand at mixing DIYS again but I can't tolerate the mix flavor any more. I've ordered a batch of KetoFuel from Super Body Fuel but their orders are backed up (sound familiar) and I won't receive my July order until maaaaaybe Halloween. 

My remaining option (aside from buying pants in a size larger than I've ever worn before in my LIFE), was to take an odd, unexpected path. 

I went back to Soylent and bought 84 bottles of Soylent 2.0. 

It's pre-mixed, pre-bottled liquid that tastes a smidgen less vanilla-y than a pre-made French Vanilla Slim Fast drink. It's borderline yummy, 400 calories per bottle, and arrived REALLY fast (ordered 9/16, shipped 9/18, arrived 9/23). The website suggests 5 bottles per day to attain a 2000 cal/day diet but I've already established that a full batch of DIYS tended to actually stretch for 2 days instead of 1. I calculated 3 bottles/day to get a tidy 1200 caloric count and ended up with 84 bottles for $238.00.

$238 for four weeks of grub that I don't have to pre-mix myself?! YES, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

I'll keep you guys posted on any health issues or fluctuations but Day 1 has already turned out seriously well. A little gas, no cravings, no lightheadedness, and a nice but not too tasty smooth drink. 

I might have to cancel my order of Keto Fuel from Super Body Fuel; I'm going to be spoiled by all this "buy it, refrigerate it, and then drink it" nonsense. 

Still Alive! Yay!

It's been a while! That's okay- no news is good news!

There have been a few hiccups along the journey, of course, so here are the updates:

Axcho's Custom Body Fuel was running behind on deliveries so my husband was without his People Fuel Plus for a few weeks; it has weakened his resolve and he eats food semi-regularly now. It's discouraging to me only because I want all the food I find in my fridge!!

I had an upper respiratory infection for about a week and it kept me from swimming. I kept up with my DIYS mix but my weight loss slowed down.

As I my illness tapered off, my midterms began and sucked all my laptime away.

During midterms, we had a big storm hit and it not only knocked my fence over but it also blew my power for two days. Want to know what doesn't work without power? My immersion blender (not so important) and my refrigerator (quite important). DIYS and Soylent must be refrigerated. Period. So I had to eat food for two days. Ugh. I cannot describe to you the tumultuous state of my tummy during that time. At one point, food going down my throat made my esophagus burn. It was fine but I was very distraught. My weight loss suffered and then my metabolism was off... it was not fun.

Because of all of that, my numbers are not as tidy as "half a pound per day!" as I'd like them to be. But 30 pounds in 10 weeks isn't bad!

Not bad at all! :)

-

Also, for those interested, my husband ordered a 7-day batch of Axcho's Schmoylent (which is a smidgen cheaper) and it arrived a few days ago. Taste, consistency, and overall appeal is improved vastly. He will likely be ordering this instead of the People Fuel Plus from now on.

Heck, if I didn't want my calories to stay low, I'd be on it too! I really like the lack of grit!

I am a choo-choo train

And I am still going strong.

I'm about to contact Soylent.me to cancel my subscription for their product (which is not estimated to arrive until the end of the year -- if I'm lucky). This decision was difficult for me because it means that I will need to continue purchasing and tracking my ingredients and then monitoring my consumption and bodily effects.

Reasons are twofold:

-Shipping for Soylent 1.0 is iffy thus far and many subscribers and Kickstarter backers have been waiting for over a year for it. I splurged on the monthly subscription (~$350) on July 21st and, shortly after that, the estimated shipping time on the website went from 10-12 weeks to 4-5 months. Stoppages in production have happened already and I, personally, find that instability to be very vexing.

-Soylent 1.0 is built around a 2000 calorie diet and is not intended for weight loss purposes as it has not been testing for that. As I am utilizing the adaptability of the Soylent medium to produce a low calorie and ketogenic food substitute, switching to a higher calorie blend would likely make me very unhappy. I'm thoroughly enjoying the changes in my body and I am not ready to switch back to a "normal" calorie lifestyle.

Since I've put so much work into making a blend that not only works for me body but also tastes good to me, I will be continuing my DIYS mix. It's consistent and I control it completely.

I'll likely put in an order for a few bags of Soylent 1.0 after I cancel my monthly subscription just so I can taste the differences.

Adjusting for the Long Term

Tomorrow marks my 6-week point for DIYS. I've had some minor ups and downs but, for the most part, DIYS seems to be the earmark for my life changing for the better. We're looking at a 20 pound loss in 42 days.

None of my clothes fit right anymore. I love it. My measurements confirm that I've lost weight in areas other than just in my chest (thank goodness).

Tons of energy. Seriously. I feel so much younger. Caffeine not only makes me more efficient but also boost my metabolism; I seem to lose a bit more weight on days that I drink coffee or have an energy drink.

I'm not embarrassed to wear my swim suit when I go to do laps. I'm still overweight but that doesn't matter so much to me anymore. Yeah, I have big flappy arms and lumpy thighs and a fupa- but you know what? It's less than I had before! And that's awesome!

It feels like I own my quirks instead of them owning me. I have absolute control over this part of my life and it's liberating. Who cares that I spent two hours yesterday putting together quart baggies with my DIYS mix? I don't have to worry about food AT ALL FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. Strictly controlled? More like strictly free to do whatever the hell I want on my lunch breaks.

As far as my DIYS mix:

• I just had to reorder some of my main ingredients. I purchased roughly one month's worth of ingredients for my first round (with some extras purchased of the cheaper stuff in order to save on future shipping) and I've only had to order the Whey Isolate, Splenda blend, and some more cocoa powder. 
• Whey isolate is more expensive than whey protein powder but I found it for CRAZY cheap this morning. $77.41 per 5lb container. And it's PRIME! So I totally bought two. 
• I've been consistently restocking peanut butter powder and vegetable oil because both my husband and I have been using that in our DIYS; Shelby adds peanut butter to his mix to improve flavor and boost protein and the oil has been shared. I'm considering using Amazon Prime Pantry and keeping these on constant reorder. I'll let you know how that works out.
• While I have really (shockingly) fallen in love with my food scale, I wish I had one that measured in .5 grams. Two of my ingredients are measured at 2.5 and 3.5 grams and I have to eyeball those and just pray. When I find a more fine-tuned scale at a reasonable price, you better believe I will post it on here.
• By pre-mixing my DIYS every two weeks and putting the individual portions into baggies, I'm not only making my DIYS faster at night (takes me about 5 minutes to add water, blend, add water, and then add oil) but I'm also super sure that I'm not screwing up my mix. 
• My husband wanted to know why I didn't just add all the ingredients for 14 days of DIYS into one big pot and then scoop out the right amount of grams per serving into a bag. I insisted that that would be a very good way to get unbalanced portions of nutrients. What if all my sulfur clumps up in the bottom? Psh. 14 baggies all lined up and opened and I can just dish out that many servings of one ingredient and then put it away. Repeat with the next. Feels very factory line-ish but it's very rewarding. And! When I ran out of isolate for two of my baggies, I marked them and then kept putting the rest of the ingredients into all the bags. Now, when my isolate arrives, I just add that to the two baggies that need it and I'm two days better off with barely any extra time spent.

Recommended pattern for mixing up a pitcher of DIYS:

1. Add about two or three inches of water to the bottom of the pitcher. Does not have to be a particular temperature.
2. Open baggie of pre-mixed DIYS and pour into pitcher. Recommend getting entire baggie into the opening of the pitcher before tipping to prevent powder escaping.
3. Agitate the open pitcher to get the powder to start mixing with the water in the bottom. Do not do this aggressively. 
4. Add more water. I add water to about the halfway point of the pitcher because my immersion blender is not overly long and too much water means that it cannot reach the bottom. 
5. Use immersion blender. Make sure to get the clumps of DIYS that will stick to the sides of the pitcher. 
6. Add water to your heart's content. I like to pour in water while the blender is going. I have noticed that grittiness is reduced when DIYS is thick like a milkshake so I have been adding less water. My final level is rarely over three-quarters of a pitcher. 
7. Personal addition: When I pre-mix my DIYS, I still have to add a little extra Xanthan Gum manually to my pitcher (about 1/4 tsp). It's like it loses its potency by being in the bag with the other ingredients. This is the part where I'd include it.
8. Add oil last. Blend. 
9. You can still add water after this; I usually pour a bit down my immersion blender when I'm pulling it out of the pitcher to make sure I have all my ingredients in the pitcher and not drying on my blender. 

I'll include a video of this next time for clarity. You'll get to see how messy it gets in a kitchen where your food is in powder form!

Special Occassions

Shelby and I celebrated our third anniversary over the weekend and splurged on real food as a treat for ourselves. I've lost 16 pounds and he's not that far behind me so we felt it was okay to enjoy chewing on a meal again.

Turns out that the meal kept us full for pretty much the entire day. I had a ham and cheese omelet and he had steak tips and eggs (with pancakes); both meals were as gentle on carbs as we were willing to compromise for and, honestly, I knew that I wouldn't be able to take down a stack of pancakes like I used to. I get full on real food but it doesn't last very long- that's the glory of DIYS. My protein count is high enough that I can sip on it and feel nice and not hungry even though my mind still isn't sure that it's satisfied with just drinking a beverage.

Also, we drink a lot of tea in my house. With the added liquid intake, the tea helps assuage any extra hunger pangs because, like most Americans, we'd gotten out of the habit of drinking the proper amount of daily water and we often confused thirst pangs for hunger pangs. That shouldn't be a problem now!

Just another note about the formula- DIYS doesn't stay fresh for longer than 2-3 days. I'd say that 3 days is generally pushing it and there's a sour/bitter smell that accompanies the taste when it's past its prime. Just a heads up if you want to try it for just one meal at a time- you'll have to mix it in smaller, more frequent batches!