The pouch test was just what I needed. I had really started eating lots of carbs. Carbs are what has derailed every diet I have ever undertaken and I was starting to eat them with reckless abandon. I was down as low as 248, but gained a couple pounds back and have been hovering there for months. My one year anniversary is coming up at the end of May, so I really wanted to get back on track.
The first few days the carb cravings were pretty strong. I caught myself, literally, reaching for things and had to stop and remind myself about the test. I am proud to say that I did not crack at all during the five days.
When I started eating soft and solid proteins, I definitely felt my pouch again. Total food volume was not even half of what it has been lately, because I got uncomfortably full. I was still "hungry" but it was mostly head-hunger.
I made it to the gym three days and just walked around the track there. I found that I went to bed early every day to avoid thinking about food. By the end of the week, my carb cravings had reduced a lot and I realize (well...actually I "remember") that I just can't have the carbs in the house. Most of my cravings were triggered when I saw things that looked good.
So I would say the pouch test was very effective for me. Jane is going to start it this weekend and I am going to do it with her for support. In addition to breaking the carb addiction (or at least bending it pretty good) I got a few more benefits...unlike others here, my gas problem went away! I now know that carbs are what was causing it. That has been the only difficult part of post-surgery life for me, so this is a big motivation to avoid carbs.
And the biggest bonus is that I reached the CENTURY mark!!! (Insert happy dance here)
I have now lost over 100 pounds since surgery and am only 15 pounds from goal! I started at 250.5 pounds on Monday morning. This morning, I weighed exactly 240.5 pounds. I lost 10 pounds! That is 106 pounds since surgery and 189.5 from my peak weight!!
Thanks for getting this challenge started, Cindy!!
Same Squishy...in a new, smaller, environmentally friendly package!
-Mike-