Question:
Does anyone know about he cottage cheese or thick oatmeal test
Hi, im 5 months post-op -61lbs, im fairly happy about that and i loosing very slow. I took the oatmeal test today and i ate about 10oz of it, i added 2 packets of equal and 1/2 of tlbs of butter in it, so it wasn't very thick, but i ate about 10oz of it. Is that bad considering im only 5 months post-op? My calorie intake should be about 1000-1200 a day, i get in 64oz of water, i walk 2 miles 3-5 times a week, i don't get in all my protein which should be 70-75grams a day, but im trying really hard, there are times when i just don't want to eat at all, but i know i have to. If anyone has any suggestions on what i can do to speed up the metabo, plz let me know. The Dr put me on hypothyroid medication, and i dont see a difference in the weight lose. When i do eat, i feel like im eating to much sometimes, but i try to get in my protein from food, not shakes, i haven't had a supplement shake in a long time. DO u think that will help me at all? Thanx for reading open RNY 2/25/03 260lbs/199lbs/160lbs. — sexysag37 (posted on July 29, 2003)
July 28, 2003
I hope you get lots of answers to this one, I'm sitting at 194 now for
about 5 weeks and really wanting to lose about 35 more. I have decided
that in order to do this I'm going to have to diet. I still hang around
1000 to 1200 cal a day, I walk about 2 miles every 3 days, (this has to
increase to daily) and I'm only getting in about 40 oz of water. My newest
problem is meats/chicken have started to hurt when I eat them and I've had
better luck with carb foods not hurting (big no no) so in order to get the
amount of protein in I'll have to supplement. It sounds to me that you are
doing every thing they tell you to do Walk, protein and water so it will be
interesting to hear what everyone will recommend.
— Jeana S.
July 28, 2003
I will tell you what I am doing and that is not eating much at all. Since
I know I can eat more than most at 8 weeks post op, I've really had to cut
back my portions. At each meal start out with a teaspoon of this and that
and eat slow as to give your pouch time to fill, and then at that first
signal of "I'm satisfied" stop eating. I sip on hot teas at
night to ward off the munchies and that seems to help. Try some green tea
to detox your body and start from stratch. Just make sure you stay well
hydrated and continue to exercise. But the smaller portions will help, or
at least it has helped my slow weight loss. We can survive on very little
food, just make sure you take your vitamins!
— Patra R.
July 29, 2003
If your not getting in enough protein from food, then by all means, have a
supplement shake! And you have to eat, in fact,the more often you eat
(small frequent protein based meals) the more fuel you provide the
metabolism so that it can keep burning. Its like a furnace-if you don't
stoke it, it doesn't have anything to burn (and it burns those calories!)
As far as exercise, walking will not cut it unless you are walking very
fast and uphill to get the heart pumping. Only heart pumping cardio types
of exercise burn the calories. Weights build muscle, and tone, but cardio
burns. So, try the cardio exercise, get in all your protein, eat small
frequent meals, and try to up the water too, and check back with us in a
month. Bet you'll see a difference.
— Cindy R.
July 29, 2003
http://www.sabariatric.com/cottage_cheese_test.htm This website has
instructions for the cottage cheese test to check the size of your pouch.
Use Cottage Cheese not oatmeal. Were you hypothyroid? When the correct
dosages are perscribed, the Thyroid meds do not really make you lose
weight, they add to or replace thyroid in your body. I take synthroid. Good
Luck -
— M B.
July 29, 2003
I used stiff oatmeal. You do have to make it thick. If it is soupy, it will
go right thru the pouch. Your spoon should stand up in it.<p>Also,
make sure you measure VOLUME, not weight. I put it in a one cup measure and
ate from that. (My capacity ended up being just less than a
cup.)<p>To keep your metabolism steady, the best thing you can do is
eat small, protein-rich meals every few hours. Also, it helps to exercise
or at least stay active. I don't think the protein shakes are necessary if
you are getting plenty of nutrition from your food, but it sounds like you
might be struggling a bit now. If it helps you meet your protein goals,
then I say go for it. Make sure you find one that is low/no-carb and watch
the fat content. Some of them have a lot of fat in them!
— ctyst
July 29, 2003
(1) Your weight loss looks right on track for a so-called
"light-weight" (not slow); and (2) even if you get your 75 grams
of protein in per day, that's only 300 calories' worth (protein has 4
calories per gram), which means on a diet of 1200 calories, only 25 percent
of your calorie intake for the day is accounted for by protein. I'd try to
lift that percentage substantially if I wanted to increase my weight loss
rate. Shakes might help, but substituting more protein for some of the
carbs you're intaking per day might also do the trick. Then, there's
always the dreaded "E" word ... exercise. For many folks, there
comes a time when walking alone is not enough to achieve good weight loss,
and pushing yourself harder -- by speed walking, jogging part of the time,
or finding a more aerobic exercise -- could be very beneficial. ;-)
— Suzy C.
July 30, 2003
All I want to say is a word of warning about the "cottage cheese
test".
I did that. And according to that, at 9 months post-op, I could eat 12
ounces of cottage cheese. I wanted to die. Then a couple weeks later I had
to had a barium contrast test. I could see for myself that my pouch was no
larger than an egg. It was perfect. I could literally bend around to the
monitor next to me and see for myself. My surgeon even measured it for me
on the screen to prove it. Just a word of warning about the famous
"cottage cheese test". Good Luck!
— kultgirl
July 30, 2003
I have never heard of either the cottage cheese test of the oatmeal test,
and I guess I just don't understand why it is important to try to measure
the size of your pouch. I know that at almost 10 months out, I can eat
more than I could at 3 months out, but I still get easily full. Perhaps my
ignorance is bliss, but I wouldn't want to test the limits of my pouch-- I
much prefer taking an extremely cautious approach to battle my overeating
demons by simply eating tiny portions all the time.
— SteveColarossi
July 30, 2003
Steve--Here's why the cottage cheese/oatmeal test can be beneficial: I ate
1/4 to 1/2 cup up until I hit about 6 months out and then OVERNIGHT I could
eat 1 1/2 cups of food before I felt full. I worried and worried about it,
thinking something was wrong. Finally, I looked up the cottage cheese test
and did it to see if there truly was anything to bother the dr with. Turned
out that my pouch held about one cup--right on schedule. It gave me some
reassurance and let me know exactly how careful I needed to be. If my pouch
had held 12 oz I'd be a lot more careful about how much I eat. I know that
I can rely on my pouch to tell me when I am full. It has NOTHING to do with
testing your limits. It is about reassurance and knowledge.<p>Oh, and
the resting size of your pouch should be about the size of an egg BUT that
does stretch when you fill it with food (and that is the way it is supposed
to work). The cottage cheese test measures the filled capacity, not the
resting size.
— ctyst
July 30, 2003
I agree with the other posters. The cottage cheese test only shows you what
you the maximum you can hold, that doesn't mean you should try to get in
the maximum amount you can hold at each meal. I also started eating more
carbs than protein because they went down better. As a result, I am still
208 lbs from 292 and I am 13 months post op. I just tried the Atkins diet,
and lo and behold, I'm down 4.8 lbs the first week. CUT THE CARBS!! The
results of this surgery are quite different for women of color, we tend to
lose slower, also age has a lot to do with how fast you'll lose, so be
extra careful. Hope this helps.
— MURRAY
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