Happy New Year! Thank you for joining me for our first 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin of 2014. I do hope your holidays were meaningful and inspired. And perhaps you are feeling a sense of excitement as we start this new year. I certainly am happy to start fresh in 2014 and have my sights set on dedicating myself to healthy behaviors and living well.

In this 5DPT Bulletin we address the questions people are asking right now about the 5DPT. One thing we have learned about our WLS community is that we have curious minds and an inquisitive spirit. We want to learn the things that support our ongoing weight management efforts. Some of the current hot topics include carbohydrate cravings and withdrawal, struggling on Days 1 & 2, understanding liquid restrictions, weight gain after the 5DPT, and living the Four Rules.

While this bulletin is a tad longer than our usual monthly publication we hope you will spend some time going over the topics. Sometimes it is the smallest nugget of wisdom that can make the greatest difference in our life.  I hope you find many helpful nuggets of knowledge here that serve you well in your life after weight loss surgery. Thank you for including the 5 Day Pouch Test as part of your experience.

There is no doubt about it: the 5 Day Pouch Test is an enthusiasm generating phenomena. More people have done the 5DPT after hearing by word of mouth how someone else took back their WLS tool and lost some weight too, in 5 easy days. If we are struggling and don't know how to "get back to basics", if we have lost all hope, and suddenly we learn about someone just like us who got back on track in five days, it is easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm.  Just like the young child eager to ride a two-wheel bicycle without training wheels we are prone to crashes when we take off too quickly without learning the rules.

I don't consider this over-eagerness a failure: it is simply misdirected energy leading to an  unsuccessful execution of the plan.  There are four errors of over-eagerness that I see frequently, but can easily be avoided:

Let's take a look at each point of over-eagerness and consider ways to harness the energy and excitement while taking intelligent and reasonable steps to work the plan.

Restricting caloric intake. Do not restrict food or caloric intake on the 5DPT. You can have as many liquid meals as needed in response to hunger or cravings. Some people are inclined to restrict food intake during the 5 Day Pouch Test: this is not encouraged because it leads to increased hunger cravings and frustration. Do not restrict food intake: less is not better. Pay close attention to the signals your body gives and when you are hungry eat something from the approved menu for the day. Soups are measured in 1-cup servings and protein drinks are measured as the recipe or package directs. Stick with these portion sizes and eat what you can in 15 minutes. After 15 minutes discard what is uneaten and take pause to experience your pouch noting feelings of fullness and satiation. Wait at least one full hour before your next serving of liquid meal. Use this time to be mindful of your body; to get in touch with your pouch. Learning to feel the pouch and listening for authentic biological hunger signals is essential to your successful weight management. If you are truly hungry after waiting one hour then have another serving of one of the approved meals. Again, take only 15 minutes to eat and continue to be alert to the signals your body sends.

Carb Monster Soup Recipes: Days 1 & 2

Poorly scheduling the 5DPT.  Mark the date. Set a date and mark your calendar. Make sure you can follow the plan without the disruption of travel, social events or hormonal cycles. Enlist the support of family and friends. It is fairly common for people to schedule the 5DPT to begin on Monday and end on Friday. But many have found that scheduling Day 1 for a Saturday works more favorably for them. On Days 1 and 2 one generally needs frequent bathroom breaks, which may be uncomfortable in a workplace. Consider that as you schedule your plan. Additionally, many of us have made the mistake of completing the 5DPT on Friday only to celebrate with weekend binge eating come Saturday. If our plan starts on Saturday and concludes on Wednesday we can more easily transition to a Day 6 lifestyle on Thursday, thus avoiding the weekend binge phenomena. Consider all of this before scheduling your 5 Day Pouch Test.  Scheduling it for the right time significantly improves our chance for success.

Lack of planning. You must plan ahead to have the prescribed foods available once the plan begins. You must also take the necessary steps to remove trigger foods from your environment as much as possible. Before the plan begins, please make preparations: this will ensure your success. Plan your meals for all five days and do the grocery shopping before starting the 5DPT. We all know that the supermarket is temptation alley, do your best to avoid going there for these five days. Many people are surprised at the relief and empowerment they feel upon making their food plan for five days. With the menu choices made there is little to dwell upon and we have spare energy to focus on getting back on track.

LivingAfterWLS free download planning tools

Pursuit of Perfection.  At least once a day I receive this question, "I messed up on Day 1: Should I start over to get it perfect?" I have never done the 5DPT perfectly and I do not know anyone who has. Rather than make the five days about perfection make this time about learning. Little mistakes will not stop the world from turning. So forge ahead doing your very best and forgive little mistakes. Learn from each day, review the key learning points and make notes on your 5 Day Pouch Test Journal. Emerge on Day 6 knowing more about yourself and how to work your tool. You can do this! One of the biggest dietary mistakes we make is thinking we must be totally perfect or totally imperfect. We do not have to manage our plate with an all or nothing strategy: this has never worked for keeping our obesity under control. Start thinking about doing your best in the moment and on the day and celebrate the little moments. Our LivingAfterWLS motto embraces this: "Stop for a moment. Look where you are: You Have Arrived." Now is everything.  Never forget that perfection is not the goal in anything: doing our best on the day and in the moment is always the goal.  

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