pouch test ?? 5yrs. out & gaining eeeek !

Hi All,
I am 5 years out and doing GREAT ! total loss of 130 lbs. felt wonderful and looked good. VERY happy for the past 4 1/2 yrs., now I am getting lazy and not paying attention to my diet and have gained 30 lbs. Which a good 10 lbs. is okay because everyone was telling me I was too thin. Now I know I need to start working out again and control the junk food.
What I would like to know is anyone going through the same ? is it normal ? any hints, tips?
Also, it has become a habit to enjoy a diet cherry pepsi, I still let it sit and go flat (sometimes) is there anyone else out there doing the same?
I recently heard about a 5 day diet & pouch test. Does anyone have any info on it ?

thanks for any and all advise....
good luck all,
Robin

Hi Robin:

I'm 8.5 months out from RNY.  My sister is 7 years out and my mom is 5 years out.  I recently went back to the surgeon's office (nurse practitioner and nutritionist too) because she's been struggling with a 25-30lb gain.  I can share with you what she's been told, but I would definitely suggest you go back to your surgeon's office and ask them to evaluate you and make sure you are back on track according to the new guidelines (a lot has changed in 5 years).  Here's what my mom is doing:

* Track all food (she's using www.fitday.com like I do) 

* Exercise at least 30 minutes 6 days per week (even if it's just a walk)

* Limit caloric intake to 1200-1400 calories, 60-80g protein 

* Each meal should include

     - no drinking with meals.  Wait 60-90 minutes after meals to start drinking again 

     - 3oz to 5oz dense protein first

     - 1/2c to 3/4c veggies

     - add fruit as able

     - avoid excess starches like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes while losing weight 

     - avoid high sugar and high fat foods

     - avoid soda (even diet soda) and any high-calorie beverages

 

So basically she's going back to the basic guidelines we had to follow after surgery while we were in the rapid weight loss phase.  In the first month after seeing the nutritionist, she lost 5 pounds. 

The surgeon ordered an Upper GI test to make sure her pouch was still in working order and that there wasn't any medical issues that were causing her to over eat.  Her pouch is a normal size and the tests showed she's fine in that area.   Now that she's back to dense protein first and not drinking with meals, she's very much aware that her pouch is working just like it should.

 

Some people swear that the 5 day pouch test works great.  I personally am a skeptic.  Many nutritionist say that there's never a reason for someone to be on an all liquid diet unless they are preparing for surgery or a medical test (and the 5 day test does 2 or 3 days of liquids).  I honestly believe that if you follow the guidelines I listed above that my mom is doing... you'll see some dramatic differences pretty quickly.

I was talking to my mom tonight and she was telling me she'd had issues with diarrhea and excess gas and feeling pretty yucky for the past week.  It took her a couple days to figure out why.  She and my dad just got back from taking the grandkids on a week-long vacation and she fell back into old eating habits of junk, junk, junk and more junk.  Guess her body had gotten used to the healthy stuff and was telling her to stop giving it the crap she'd been eating.  LOL!  She said she'd learned her lesson and she's going back to healthy food.

ALSO --- my mom was just diagnosed with osteoporosis.  She had not been faithful with her calcium supplements all these years.  And even when she did take her calcium, she was taking calcium carbonate.   So please make sure you are taking your calcium (citrate) and if you haven't been... schedule a bone density scan as soon as you can.  I'd hate to see anyone else have to go through what my mom is facing with brittle bones.

HTH
Pam

 

i tried the 5 day pouch test and it dose not work i was very weak and hungry!!!!! any other suggestions, like menus.

i have also been gaining acouple of pound and tried the 5 day pouch test and it does not work i was weak and hungry. any suggestions on menus or on how i can get back on track.