Cottage Cheese test unreliable!

Well, I did the cottage cheese test twice and came up with the same result....an 8 oz pouch. I was devastated. I finally decided to try the oatmeal (I think Connie mention to try tuna but I couldn't stand the thought of it....). I made it with low-carb milk so as to up the protein content of it (1 serving has 17 grams of protein when made with that milk!) Anyway, I'm starting to dump on it anyway. Oh well. But the news! The news! I ate 6.5 oz of the oatmeal. I also feel like the last large bite was too much, so I would put my pouch at 6 oz. Also the fact that I'm starting to dump right now would give me the indication that I indeed ate a little too much for this test. I haven't dumped in a long time. I think over a month. So there you have it - a 6 oz pouch instead of 8 oz. Still stinkin' HUGE but not as stinking HUGE as I thought it was originally. Oh - and if you decide to try this, I made the oatmeal very thick and I used old fashioned oats...not instant. Cottage Cheese = Oatmeal =

do you know who patty buttler (not sure if that is the correct spelling or not) is on the main message board? she just posted about this, this past week.. said the cottage cheese test is not accurate and the ONLY test that is accurate to determine your pouch size is a scope/scan.. dam can't remember which one.. pretty sure it's a scope though.. I happen to believe this.. I don't see how that whole cottage cheese thing can give you an accurate reading on the size of your pouch. it doesn't make since to me at all.. I know if I am eating water mellon I can eat at least 10 ounces (never have weighed it so I am guessing.. but a LARGE bowl full anyway) however If I am eating steak I can only eat 3 oz at time..yes have weighed it recently.. now cottage cheese isn't as watery as watermellon or as dense as steak but when chewed it's way more liquified than steak could ever be. ok rambled.. sorry!! I want to know what my pouch size is.. not by one food over another but in whole.. I don't have a surgeon I can see either. I had my surgery in florida while living there. I try not to worry about my pouch size.. and unlike you (read your last post) I do have head hunger.. BAD!! I will be 13 months out on the 16th. my worst time is in the evening. when I am board and lonely.. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm exactly like when I was a post op! I still have 17 - 20 more pounds to loose (to be at my personal goal of 135) and have had 20'ish more pounds to loose for 4 months now. I have stopped loosing and fight like hell not to gain. becuase of that night time grazing.. it's kicking my ass.. I try talking on the phone, I try getting on here and getting involved, I try reading, I try crafts, but *I* still have issues that are not going away and I want to feed them.. it's hard. and it's a life long fight. I know that now. The only thing that has saved me thus far is I don't graze on crap. I do make good choices. "but" good choices "ALL THE TIME" don't work for loosing!! and I understand about the main board. I only post on there when I really have something to say.. most times people are too freaken rude on the MB for me. 9 times out of 10 I will respond privately.. and even then I propably get one email back.. Theresa

Theresa - I think the test might be a barium type drink and xray to tell how things are going. I know scoping can tell the size of the stoma though. I did find that the cottage cheese was unreliable. Oddly enough, the small apple I had today was enough to fill me up, so I guess some days are better than others. I just know that some foods seem to take forever for me to fill up. It's funny being concerned about this though because before surgery I would never have thought about that at all. I would just find something else to eat to keep me from feeling hungry. On the head hunger: I honestly don't feel like I have it, but I do find that sometimes it's easy to make poor choices. And example would be that last week I was hungry and my MIL had potato chips out. Well, I had a couple handfuls before I realized and made myself stop. Well, once I ate them I had them every day for a few days in a row. I finally got hold of myself and stopped, but it's so easy to fall into old habits. To me it's partially that I can't think of what to cook and partially that I liked the taste. I don't feel that holds some special psychological significance to me. If you look at it in the sense of someone smoking, you might see some similarities. The average smoker isn't smoking out of emotional damage or poor psychological outlook. They are doing it because they are addicted, for one, and they are doing it because it's pleasurable, for two. Having been a smoker, I could see it for what it was. When I went on Atkins, I was better able to see my weight problem for what it was. That isn't to say that there aren't many people out there who struggle with food on an emotional level. It's just to say that sometimes bad habits are just bad habits with no real underlying meaning. Sometimes a craving is just a craving. I would not classify all cravings with head hunger. Certainly many of them could go hand in hand, but sometimes we know we aren't really hungry, but whatever it is sounds really good to us at a certain point (thinking like when you smell popcorn at the movies). I know I have a long road to travel still, but I'm feeling pretty optimistic that this will eventually work for me. It might be slow, but at least I think it will work. Then one day having half a sandwich and a small bag of chips will be something that I can do for lunch every day without having to worry about eating too many chips because 1 sandwich just wasn't enough to satisfy me. Dina

hey dina, yes it is funny how somethings *now* after surgery we think about where as pre-op it never occured to us.. I don't think that 40 lbs in *2* little'ole months is being a "slow looser". your doing awesome.. I know my doctor told me pre-op to expect to loose 1 pound per day for the first x amount of time, then 1/2 lb and so on.. well I took that to mean "LITERALY" one pound per day and when it didn't happen I fell apart. when he said that he didn't make it clear that it would "average out" over time. In the begining I would loose nothing for a week and then loose 5, 7+ lbs the next and so fourth.. at around 4 months I would only loose the week after my period. by 9 months out I had lost 100 lbs. (I needed to loose 121 lbs to be at 135) I think too many people take the numbers too seriously and thats why so many people think they are slow loosers. Your only 2 months out. when you hit one year and look back your gonna think "WOW" x amount of weight lost in x amount of time.. OMG WOW!! your "living through it" right now so it seems slow.. but dina, it's NOT..your really are doing awesome. your also right about a craving being a just craving.. but "I" am an emotioanl eater.. always have been. and sad to say always will be. however the first 9 months I did awesome.. then some pretty terrible "life crap" happend and I fell back into eating for comfort. and now every freaken night is torture for me. the more I fight not wanting to snack the more I do. it's a tug of war and it's rediculus to say the least.. I need to get off my butt and join a local overeaters annoymous or something.. anyway keep up the good work. and I can't wait till you are further down the road and watch you say OMG.. I can't believe I lost x amount.. LOL then you can join me in worrying about gaining.. LOL (have you read the boards long enough to see that it's either one or the other??? LOL) theresa

Theresa - Thanks for that shoring up! Amazing how something so simple put in a different light looks so different. Yeah - when have I lost 40 lbs in a couple months a few days before? Uh - never. Okay. You got me there! As for the snacking, I know it may not work for you, but a suggestion in case it does: I sometimes don't want to eat dinner per se and may skip it only to find the hungries come on later. Of course, not wanting to eat a meal, I wanna snack. What I found that works wonderful is to get those Genisoy Soy Crisps and put FF Philly cream cheese on them. It's a great snack because it is really protein packed but you'd never know. The Soy Crisps are high in protein and fiber and taste wonderful, and the FF Philly is 5 whopping grams of protein per a 2 tbsp serving with 1 gram of carbs. So if I feel hungry and want to snack instead of eat a meal, I go for those! I also can't possibly eat a whole serving of them...even with my huge stinking pouch! Dina

Hi Dina, Can I ask when your surgery was and how much you have lost. I wonder about the size of my stoma sometimes. It seems like food goes right through me. I had my surgery on 9/23. Shelley

Shelley - I'm 2 months out and have just now as of 15 minutes ago lost 40 lbs. I have been losing slowly and I only have these weird sudden losses every few weeks. I was hanging at 36 for the longest time and within 24 hours I'm at 40. Have you mentioned your problem to your doctor? Maybe they can scope you and check your stoma out. How much have you lost? Dina

Dina, I am pre-op, but I think 40 lbs in two months is actually a WOW and Woohoo! I would be totally happy losing that amount. But, I also understand the concern with your pouch size and the fact that the loss will eventually taper down, bit by bit. I love the fact that you've also chosen to see the positive side of your pouch being a little bigger than you'd planned. That's the positive Dina...coming out of her funk! Michele

Thanks Michele - that made me smile! Dina