Preparing for the 5 Day Pouch Test

In deciding to do the 5 Day Pouch Test I started by researching it. If you want to find out more about what I am going to doing check out http://www.5daypouchtest.com/ I read about the test on many websites with many women post-op talking about how fabulous was and how it got many of them back on track with their post-op diets. At first I was skeptical and didn't think it would work. I also thought to myself that why would you need something like this after having WLS! Here I am to say that maybe I was wrong in jumping to conclusions and when I was newly post-op that I didn't need something like this. I hadn't been through and live my life with this tummy yet. I hadn't had experiences to lead me to this, but now I have and I'm excited about this opportunity.

When I first decided that I needed something to kick start me back to what I was supposed to be doing, I didn't look here first. When I did decide on reading about this type of pouch test I read the research, got the book, talk to the founder, read a ton about it and talked to many people about it as well. This past week I even spoke to my dietitian about it. I had to look at myself and I had to look at my eating habits. My dietitian wasn't upset with me and though she said she couldn't endorse something like this exact test that the principle behind it is not a bad thing. She talked about a reset plan which entails many of the same things. My reset was going back to the basics, measuring food, watching calories, watching carbs, and watching sugar. Hence exactly what the pouch test does. So here I go!

Today I went shopping. I had a lot of what I needed in the house, but I went out for specifics. I got a ton of fresh fruit for protein smoothies: 3 pints of strawberries, bananas, blackberries, and blueberries. I purchased some oj for smoothies, and I got 1% milk as well for pudding and shakes; I also purchased so low cal egg whites for day 3 as well. I got low fat low carb yogurt in key lime flavors too. I even picked up a few chocolate protein shakes for added change in the next two days. I cut up all the fruit, prepped it, and am ready to take this on. Now you might think why didn't I get protein powder? Well I don't do well with protein powder. I have one shakeology shake left that I will use, but I'm going to be drinking milk and looking for protein there versus powders, but I did get enough protein shakes to push my protein up to not be hungry the next two days.

The focus for the next five days is remembering portion control, feeling full and satisfied not over full, to eat slowly and chew chew chew. I'm going back to my small plates, my baby spoons, and chewing my food much more than I have been. I'm going to really watch my water intake and keep focused on drinking before and after meals. I think by doing this, I'm going to be more aware of me, my pouch, and how we interact. I want to feel full and not be hungry. I want to focus on the good things I can put in my body and not take in the junk that I have been.

Over the last half of year I've added some carbs back in. I will eat pasta, rice, and breads. I will eat mashed potatoes and french fries, but I don't need to this! I need to commit to this because I slid back into the old habits that my brain wants versus what my body needs. I don't need these there are better options. I don't need sweets there are better healthier options. This is about me and my tummy and I've not been treating my tummy very well. So here is the reset. Wish me luck!