5 Day Pouch Test Review

I thought that more than anything on this 5 day plan - those of you that have commented on the possibility of wanting to venture out on a journey like this - I owed at least a bulleted list (look Meg - bullets!) on the pros and cons.

Pros:

• It certainly is one way to force yourself back into focus about what eating for life really needs to be.
  
• It gives you a short timeline to follow in order to rid yourself from carbohydrates... which are truly the food industry's way of silently killing us, right? Anyone else notice the correlation between obesity rates rising and the rise of processed flour and sugar products in our culture?!
  
• It reminds you that your pouch is smaller than you think...
  
• It helps you stop the snacking that creeps back into your life over time...
  
• It has brought me back to a place where food is not my friend - it is simply a means to keep my body moving, and I truly am sick of eating at this point.
  
• It certainly feels like my tummy has shrunk in terms of the amount it can take in one sitting.
  
• More than the intake shrinking - it feels like the food stick with me longer - meaning that when the next meal time is upon me - I really don't want anything else. (Remember those days C&P girls?)
  
• It came at a time when John is just learning or relearning the rules of weight loss surgery - so it gives me a chance to start over.
  
• I'm focusing on only eating protein and getting my carbs from veggies and fruit...
  
• If I eat any other carbs will be from whole grain sources and no more than one meal a day can contain said carbs.
  
• I am focused on eating my protein first before anything else in the meal - if I have extra room, I'll eat a little something else on the plate.

Cons:

• It brings back all the horrible memories of the super restrictions right after weight loss surgery. Without the added benefits of just feeling like you didn't want to hear the word food because your insides were swollen.
  
• For me, it hasn't been the kick start to the weight loss that I thought it would be.
  
• For me, it is a bit too restrictive if you don't plan... meaning that I got bored with everything being the same texture.
  
• The carbohydrate withdrawls were a little intense... but not as bad as before my WLS when I tried Atkins for the first, second and third time.
  
• People at the office look at you funny for eating lunch time meals in the morning hours... (for instance my chicken that I ate at 9AM!)
  
• I haven't felt the greatest while on the plan, BUT with all the hormone issues and other things going on - it might vary well be other things causing those issues.

Overall, I'd recommend that anyone who wants to get back to the basics try this plan - it is certainly great at getting you there. Your experience might be vastly different than mine in the weight loss area as well. If you are interested, go here to read about the plan and get prepared to start your own.