Click image for printable PDF

Maybe it's the fall sports season that has so many of us in the competitive mood lately. Seems like things have really heated up on the weight loss surgery scrimmage lines where it is more popular than ever to compare and compete with one another in our weight loss. And while some healthy competition can be a great motivator the comparison of weight loss can lead to utter discouragement. I see it even with the 5 Day Pouch Test that people are making comparisons in how much weight is lost in the 5 days and if they do not meet that superficial standard they consider their 5DPT effort a failure.  It is not.

Unless you pound-for-pound and fork-for-fork competitively gained weight with another person you have no business competing to lose weight. Contrary to popular culture, weight loss is not a contest. Weight loss is a life saving initiative owned by the one taking action.

By all means we should compare our experiences. Let's share recipes and exercise tips. Let's give reminders to drink our water and take our supplements. But let's leave the competition to the amateurs. As weight loss surgery patients we understand that our lives were in danger from obesity and we took medical action to change the course. We are much wiser for it. Few people who join their positive energy forces in a united effort for better health ever feel burdened by not living up to an artificial contest.

If you are feeling beaten by the competition I invite you to download and print the copyrighted poster above. You can get it here. Please let it serve as a reminder the grand purpose of this weight loss surgery experience. You deserve to be healthy and pursue many prizes that far exceed the dot-marks on a weight loss ticker.

Remember, we are all in this together and we are here for you.  Please be sure to take a look at some of the free download worksheets LivingAfterWLS has available for you. These free tools are designed to support your best efforts for improved long-term health with weight loss surgery. Download Tools

Today's Bulletin includes FAQ's people are asking. And, as always, the bulletin is loaded with links to further information and resources. Thanks for joining me, I value the time you give to our publications. If you enjoy the 5 Day Pouch Test be sure to participate in our LivingAfterWLS Project 2014: "Uniting like minded people through education, support, and community while promoting health sustainability and weight management with weight loss surgery." Learn more here: Project 2014.
 
Sincerely,

 
Question: I'm starting Day 1 today, tried last week and kept making it until around 3pm and then would eat off the plan. How can I prevent afternoon hunger or cravings that take me off the plan?

Answer: One of the mistakes I see made during the 5 Day Pouch Test, and in our daily routines, is we try to muscle through afternoon hunger with will power or difficult attempts to ignore it.  If we truly have afternoon hunger, as opposed to an afternoon snacking habit, a better strategy is to acknowledge it, plan for it, and make sensible choices. Rather than respond with a bag of chips or a soft cookie plan for the hunger and be ready with a cup of yogurt, a protein bar or shake, slices of deli meat and cheese, or even a cup of soup. During the 5 Day Pouch Test, always select your snack choices from the approved menu to keep you on track for day 6.  As you enjoy your allowed afternoon food think about how rewarding it is to acknowledge your afternoon hunger as a biological need and then respond to that need in a mindful and healthy way.

Question: I cannot seem to get past Day 1 without messing up and have to start over the next day. How can I get Day 1 perfect so I can move on to Day 2?

Answer: Remember - the 5DPT is never about perfection. Who among us can possibly live up to the lofty standards we set for ourselves? The 5DPT is about learning, re-learning, growth, understanding, kindness, and self-nurturing. Each meal is a new opportunity independent of anything that has come before. Do your best, learn, and march forward with the same gritty determination you had going into WLS. With that said, there are ways to increase your performance on the 5DPt. Here are a few quick hints:

• Schedule the 5DPT when it fits into your life and there are the fewest days where you are not in control of your schedule or diet.
• Plan your 5 days and write down meal plans, exercise schedules, and strategies for moments that will present challenges.
• Shop ahead of schedule and do your cooking in advance, if possible. Many of the recipes are family friendly and can be shared to avoid cooking tempting things for other people.
• Ask for support. Get with your family, friends, online support groups, or others who will empower your efforts. Avoid people who are spoilers and avoid becoming your own spoiler.
• Journal your effort. You are going to the effort to use the 5DPT as a catalyst for change. Use the 5DPT journal to record the event and lessons learned. This becomes a useful resource any time we feel slightly off track. Download the Journal 

Question: I'm having a hard time finding something for breakfast on Days 4 and 5. What can you recommend?

Answer: Traditional breakfast usually means whole grains, dairy and fruit or juice. The focus on a high protein breakfast presents a challenge to our traditional practices. The 5DPT is a good time to look outside of the cereal box for high protein choices. Protein first thing in the morning is a great way to raise our metabolic thermostat because it takes a lot of energy to metabolize protein. More importantly, a breakfast of 70% protein or more will stabilize our blood sugar and prevent hunger cravings. Here are some ideas:

Eggs, leftover tuna patties from Day 3, measured portions of cottage cheese or yogurt, peel-and-eat shrimp, ground beef, chicken, or turkey patties grilled or broiled, each provide ample protein to start the day. And of course, in a pinch, we can always count on protein drinks or meal replacement bars for the first meal of the day.  Day 4 Recipes

Question: Can I have a salad or vegetables with meals during the 5DPT?

Answer: Vegetables are to be used only as ingredients in meal preparation, such as salsa on grilled fish or the Carb Monster Soups. By restricting vegetables and fruit (complex carbohydrates) during the five days your body is forced to go into high metabolic burn to digest the protein. This should result in weight loss. In addition, restricting complex carbohydrates and eliminating processed carbohydrates helps regulate your blood sugar (glucose) preventing cravings and energy swings. 

On Days 1 and 2 the soup recipes are made with vegetables and legumes to help counter carb cravings or carb withdrawal associated with the change in diet when beginning the 5 Day Pouch Test.  Soup Recipes

Vegetables and low-glycemic fruit should be gradually introduced back to the diet on Day 6 and beyond. The focus must always remain on Protein First. A portion-controlled high-protein diet is how we lose weight after a surgical gastric procedure, and that is how we can maintain a healthy weight for the rest of our life.

5 Day Pouch Test Website

Get your favorite 5DPT books on Kindle for immediate download. Don't have a Kindle device? No problem. Download their free software for computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone and enjoy your books on any and all devices. Check out our page here:

LivingAfterWLS Kindle

List Price: $9.95 per title - Instant Download
S & H: NONE!

Also available in paper copy on Amazon:

    If you are like me and many others with WLS, we are falling short on our daily protein intake. There are learning points from the 5 Day Pouch Test that we can use to help get our diet back on track. Here are a few of the points that work as useful guides for me when I feel my efforts need refocused back to the basics:

Eating lean protein will create a tight feeling in the surgical stomach pouch:  this feeling is the signal to stop eating.
Many patients report discomfort when eating lean protein, yet this discomfort is the very reason the stomach pouch is effective in reducing food and caloric intake. Animal products are the most nutrient rich source of protein and include fish, shellfish, poultry, and meat. Dairy protein, including eggs, yogurt, and cheese, is another excellent source of protein. (page 33, 5DPT Owner's Manual 2nd Ed.)

We worry so much about the reading on the bathroom scale and so little about the reading on the kitchen scale.
The only way to know exactly what we are serving our self is to measure and weigh portions.
Eyeballing hasn't worked for us in the past. Leaving it to pouch control doesn't necessarily work. Weigh protein, 3 to 4 ounces per meal. Measure soup, 1/2 to 1 cup per meal. Count bites: 2B/1B Rhythm - 2 Bites Protein to 1 Bite Carbohydrate. Monitor water, at least 64 ounces a day. Measure food and water intake as vigilantly as we measure body weight on the bathroom scale - one becomes the other.

We are so ready to celebrate or agonize over a few ounces changed on the bathroom scale, yet so indifferent to measuring our meals on the kitchen scale. Can't we see the two are intrinsically related and one affects the other?

I know from experience that when I leave my meals to chance rather than planning them in advance I fall short of all of my dietary goals. Leaving my diet to chance is how I became morbidly obese in the first place. If I wish to manage my weight and keep my obesity in remission I must plan my nutrition.  "One of the best ways to enable your success with the 5 Day Pouch Test is to plan in advance your meals for the duration of the plan. This is not a difficult task as you are only planning for five days. Many find having a complete plan to be liberating: the decision making is done.
One must only concentrate on following the plan and focusing on surgical pouch and how it functions when used properly." (page 39, 5DPT Owner's Manual 2nd Ed.)

Develop a new awareness and listen to your body. Finally, just as hunger is not an emergency, it is also not a failure. If you feel hunger during the 5 Day Pouch Test carefully assess the signals to decide the state of urgency. After careful assessment if you are still hungry then eat something from the approved list of foods for the day. Associating hunger with feelings of failure often leads to destructive eating and inappropriate food choices. Feeling hunger is not a moral problem: it is simply a small part of a very complicated biological process.  (page 73, 5DPT Owner's Manual 2nd Ed.)


5 Day Pouch Test Website: Featured Articles

Question: What is the best way to get the eBooks from LivingAfterWLS?

Comforting on Day 6 and Beyond

Understanding the Liquid Restrictions of WLS

Ingredients:
1 package fully cooked chicken meatballs (from the freezer case)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 (4-ounce) can green chilies, chopped
2 (15-ounce) cans Italian-style stewed tomatoes, chopped, reserving the juice
8 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:
Chopped cilantro
low-carb tortilla strips
Avocado cubes
Sour cream
Pickled Jalapeno
Monterey Jack cheese


Preheat oven to 425. Arrange meatballs in single layer on a cooking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes.

While meatballs bake heat olive oil in a 4-6 quart stockpot. Brown onion and garlic.  To the onions add the green chilies, stewed tomatoes, chicken stock, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce.

Simmer the soup for 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in the cooked meatballs and bring soup back to a simmer. Serve soup with garnishes.
 
WLS patients should eat 3-5 meatballs topped with a modest serving of liquid.

5 meatballs contain 13g protein, 11g fat (3 saturated), 6 grams carbs.

You might also enjoy White Turkey Chili

LivingAfterWLS, LLC
Kaye Bailey, Founder
Evanston, Wyoming 82931