5 day pouch test....

I've been hanging out at this weight for far too long so I decided my mind needed a little reminder of what it needs to be doing, what it's capable of.  So I decided to do the 5 day pouch test from Wednesday through Sunday.  I really wasn't looking to lose a bunch of weight through the process, but more to remind myself I can do whatever I want.  I know it's a little thing, but it was five days where I followed the rules almost exactly and I learned some things along the way.... I'm going to give a bit of a daily commentary.

I followed the plan here.

Day 1 & 2: low-carb protein shakes, broth, clear or cream soups, sugar-free gelatin and pudding

On both days I drank my normal "breakfast" of a slightly sweet chai latte (which is a low cal, low carb version of regular chai latte).  Chai latte is pretty filling for me and on any given day I'm not hungry after drinking that until close to 11am.  So for these two days I also brought a 2nd "helping" (16oz) of it with me to work.  I also brought sugar free pudding, which I thought would be kind of "substantial" as far as "liquids" went.  

On day 1 it was easy and I remained satisfied, in fact I didn't even eat dinner because our fridge died and we had to run out and buy a new one - fun times - and by the time we got home,  I just wasn't all that hungry.  On day 2 I was a little more hungry and ate a couple containers of pudding, but it was still absolutely fine and I definitely could have done it again the next day.  I lost 2.8lbs after day 1 and 2lbs after day 2.

For the next three days I could eat as many times throughout the day as I wanted as long as I only spent 15 minutes eating and I didn't drink 1/2 hour before or after eating.  The not drinking before I eat was totally new to me, but the website says a dry pouch stays full longer.

Day 3: canned fish (tuna or salmon) eggs, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy) and also cottage cheese.

The odd thing about day three was that I was really tight.  The chai latte (it said I could still do my caffeine so I did) and then later the 1st thing of cottage cheese was no problem, but then I had some tuna fish and after about 6 small, very well chewed bites I was really uncomfortable.  I ended up throwing up a little and remaining really uncomfortable for about 40 minutes or so.  I wasn't able to finish the 2nd little thing of cottage cheese (and I eat these just about every day normally) before I got really uncomfortable for about a half hour.  I ended up eating the rest of the tuna fish for dinner.  I did melt a little cheese on the top of it (which, okay, was cheating) because I was afraid of continuing to feel badly.  I lost 1.4lbs after day 3.

Day 4: ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken, lamb), shellfish, scallops, lobster, fresh salmon or halibut.

On day 4 I still did the chai latte in the morning and then I had 5 small meals; the first 3 were four steamed shrimp each and the last two were roughly 2 oz of totally yummy cedar plank salmon.  I stopped eating at the first sign of 'fullness' or discomfort.  I don't think I stayed full any longer than a non banded person who had just eaten four steamed shrimp would have. The salmon was cooked covered in salt, pepper, and potlatch - so very salty.  I did not get enough water in on day 4 because I kept getting hungry because I'd only eaten four shrimp - and I had to wait 1/2 from the last time I drank to eat again, so I'd stop drinking so I could get to eating sooner rather than later.  I was also really bored on this day - there was no crunch, no wildly different flavors or textures.  Both the shrimp and the salmon were really yummy, but man I wanted something different.  I even ended up having another 16oz of chai - I think just because I was bored.  I gained .8 lbs after day 4.

Day 5: white meat poultry, beef steak, pork, lamb, wild game

On day 5 I made it simpler on myself.  I just ate chicken.  Well, I started with the chai latte.  (and I cheated again with some bacon the boys didn't eat this morning).  And then just chicken.  I decided I could deal with whatever hunger or boredom I encountered for one more day.  I cooked a bunch herb/white wine marinated chicken breasts and cut it all up into bite sized bits and really couldn't eat more than 2-3oz at a time.  I have been very diligent about the water today - I drank at least 20oz between each little meal.  Today the hunger level was very different.  I had the first chicken - probably 2oz before I had to stop at about 1:15 and then ate about 3oz at 4ish.  And as I sit here writing this at nearly 8:00, it's been four hours and I'm doing fine.  I've had my 20oz of water (well more really) since I last ate.  I assume I'll get hungry again before bedtime - but we'll see.

So - the lessons learned were that I think that website has lots of really information and I haven't yet really explored it, but I fully intend to.  I think not drinking before I eat is really important and I've never done that before.  I think I need to stop eating as much chocolate as I have been.  I feel like I'm tighter than I thought I was - maybe.  I am still a little unsure what it meant to be really hungry on day 4 when I absolutely ate the most and consumed the most calories and least hungry day five when I did not.  So far I've had a chai latte for 162 calories, 2 pieces of bacon and 5 oz of chicken.  I don't know the calories off the top of my head for the bacon or the chicken but it can't be more than the 1,008 I had yesterday.  Odd.  Okay, there you have it.