5 day pouch test

Good morning all,

Has anyone ever tried the 5 day pouch test?  What did you think?

I challenged my monthly support meeting to go on the 5 day pouch test right after the new year as a way to get back on track and to shed any holiday pounds they might have put on.  They loved that idea.

I don't need to lose any more weight but figured I would do it too just for the fun of it.  Guess it could never hurt to challenge oneself.

Geoff 

I have never had trouble completing it but I have to say I have never really found it that helpful either for weight loss or for any long term effects

Geoff,

The value of the 5DPT is in resetting your "head" rather than in losing weight.  It's a reminder of whay you are capable of doing and a way of refocusing your efforts when you've gotten off track in portions, food choices, etc.  It can also be a great "detox" from overdoing it on carbs, fat, or whatever.

Due to my lack of a "pouch" I've done it with little trouble or impact, but it has helped my head by getting me to pay attention again. 

Hope this helps!  

Karen

My opinion won't be popular and I may get flamed for this (although no one should flame me on my birthday!) but I think the 5dpt is a bad, bad idea. It's basically a crash diet, and I know that many of us crash-dieted our way right into morbid obesity. Some say it's a way to de-carb but if you've let a lot of carbs sneak in and then suddenly take them away, you will feel miserable for a few days and run a high risk of falling off the wagon and crashing and burning. Also, if one has certain underlying insulin issues, it could be dangerous and bring on reactive hypoglycemia. I believe that a better way to de-carb is to track everything, get an idea of how many carbs you are consuming per day, then scale it back by about 15 grams per day until you are back in an acceptable range.

This is just my $0.02. Your mileage may vary, yadda yadda.

Lesley

If you read up on it, the purpose is to prove to yourself that your pouch still works.  It doesn't produce weight loss.  It is to return that feeling you get when you go thru the phases of foods.

So by the time you get to day 4 and 5 you will realize that you can be full with limited portions.  The creator of this plan defines this as justification for knowing that your pouch will still work for you if you eat the right things.  Very few people lose weight from this.  It was not designed to detox you from carbs.  Its only purpose is to show you how hungry you feel during certain phases of foods.  If your portions have gotten out of control, if you think your pouch is stretched out ... then the 5 day pouch test is for you.  Otherwise, it has no value.

I like the 5DPT.

Have I ever lost weight on it?  NOPE

However, when I feel the Carb Monster creeping on me more and more, I find it helpful to use it.

It reminds me to be concious of my foods, that my pouch works, and that carbs aren't needed to survive.

I appreciate the basics of it, mainly because it forces you to focus on protein rich foods. (if you adhere to it) and honestly, after it, I am very observant of the foods I put in my mouth.

With that said, any thoughts of it making you "lose" weight is a bad philosophy. At 6 years out, I know it's a mindset rather than a weightloss jumpstart.

Good luck. Be careful.