Question:
what is this cottage cheese test???

I HAVE LOST 50 LBS. I WAS OPERATED ON SEPT. 20, 2004. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT DOING THIS COTTAGE CHEESE TEST TO DETERMINE HOW BIG MY POUCH IS. THANKS    — shamokin (posted on December 19, 2004)

December 19, 2004
My open RNY surgery was back in July and I have never been able to eat more than two ounces of food at any given meal so I haven't tried the cottage cheese test. However, from what I have read on the boards eating cottage cheese should give you an indication of how much you're pouch can really hold. Measure out how many ounces you think you can handle and begin by eating it slowly. This is suppose to be pretty accurate from what I've read, but like I said I have never tried this because I know my limits.
   — Belle

December 19, 2004
The only reason to conduct a test is to use the information gained for some purpose. That being said, what is the purpose of knowing exactly how big your pouch is? Will you not follow your doctor's guidelines and eat more? Will you use it as an excuse to ignore discomfort and continue eating until you reach your "limit"? At three months out, it is still a great time to be training yourself to eat small measured meals-- not seeking the outer limits of your pouch. For me, I never did the cottage cheese test-- my surgeon told me my pouch was one ounce, I believed him. I knew from trial and error (and stupid mistakes early on) that some foods would swell and fill me uncomfortably and others could go down without a hitch--- all of which was dependent upon what I had eaten the meal or even the day before. Whether my pouch could hold 2 oz. or 4 oz. of cottage cheese wouldn't matter (and it wouldn't matter how long it took my pouch to empty if I was following the rules about waiting between eating and drinking) as my meal size was being limited by me. So, to make this tool work, I decided early on to simply follow the high protein, low carb lifestyle that my surgeon preached. And it worked, losing half of my total starting body weight within 11 months and going froma 62 BMI to below a 25 BMI within 23 months.
   — SteveColarossi

December 20, 2004
The "cottage cheese test" is yet to be endorsed by any doc I have seen. It's a waste of time... and stress. I CAN eat about 12 oz. of cottage cheese when doing this test. When my surgeon and GI doc did a barium constrast study at well over 1 year post-op Lap RNY, my pouch was still the size it is supposed to be. <br><br> To reitterrate what previous poster wrote, CAN you eat more than you should? Probably. But why would you? This same logic is frequently applied to dumping. Once some find out they CAN eat junk, they start. I dump, but I have a good friend that at almost two-years post-op has no idea if she does or not. She doesn't want to know. So why would you want to know if you are able to sabotage yourself?<br> Eat wisely, drink your water, and get exercise. With the exception of a mechanical failure, you will be successful.
   — kultgirl