So it’s been a bit over a week since I finished up the 5 Day Pouch Test, and I’ve had a few people asking me questions about it… I sort of left the last posting stating how I likely wouldn’t know the impact for awhile, but let’s see if I can address some of things now.
How much weight did I lose? Well, I tried to be up-front and realistic in the fact that this isn’t… and shouldn’t be about losing weight in and of itself. If you go in to doing the 5DPT with the expectation of losing a bunch of weight that week, I think not only are you doing it “wrong”, but you’re doing it for the wrong reason.
Another regular on the BTV Forums posted some pretty passionate thoughts she had against the 5DPT. And yes, I had to stop of a moment as I read them to remind myself this was about the 5DPT and not about me. Least I don’t think it was. One of the arguments against it was that it’s simply another “crash diet”. While I disagree with the assertion that the 5DPT in and of itself is a crash diet – mainly because it isn’t presented as a way of losing a ton of weight – I have seen people treat it as such. The folks that feel they can go off the wagon and it’s ok, cause they’ll just do this every few months to “get back on track”. While maybe the original author could do more to dissuade this whole scenario, I don’t believe using it in this way is outright supported.
Does it fit a broader definition of “crash diet”? Yea… I suppose. But at the same time, how many folks who have had bariatric surgery out there rely on logging their food intake day in and day out? How many continue to count calories… or protein… or carbs? How many of these same folks blast programs such as Weight Watchers because they are “diets”? How is what they’re doing not a “diet”?
Yes, I personally tout eating a healthy diet. I use the “d-word” in the sense that diet is what you eat on a regular basis and that the by-product of a healthy diet is that you can reach and stay at a health weight. When talking about diet in general I am not using it in the sense of being something you “go-on” for a period of time with the specific goal of losing weight. I’m talking noun vs verb.
There’s probably more I could get in to here… but that’s for another posting I think.
So did I lose any weight? Maybe. I didn’t make a concerted effort to weigh before and after. I did weigh myself at one gym the Saturday before and at another gym the Friday I ended and there was a 1-2 pound difference towards losing. Can it be attributed to the 5DPT or was it just a difference in scales or some other factor, there’s no way to know for sure.
Overall, I did find myself eating better this last week. Possibly even eating less on average than I had been over the last few months. And I am also eating better overall again, avoiding the junk better. But not entirely.
Can I attribute any of this to the 5DPT? I’m inclined overall to say not really. But again, it comes back to my original thoughts on using this as part of a mental-reset. And it’s also why I said it could take awhile to figure out if it’s helped even in that context.
Do I regret having tried it. No. Even if all it’s done is given me that first step back towards more mindful eating, towards getting myself back on track, on making me more aware of what I’m doing, what I’m eating, etc. Than I suppose it was worth it.
And I still ain’t buying the book.
Hello Rob!
Just dropping in to say I followed your progress through the 5 Day Pouch Test of which I am the author and copyright holder. I am composing an email that addresses so much that has been discussed here. Publicly I say “BRAVO” Rob. This is one of the most rational and fair accounts I have been privileged to read about the 5DPT since it was first published on my blog in 2007. The 5DPT was borne of my own urgency to figure how to “get back to basics” and stay there in order to keep my obesity in remission with healthy weight management by way of RNY gastric bypass. In my book, and on http://www.5daypouchtest.com and even in my YouTube discussions I repeat that the plan is not about weight loss, the plan is about taking control in a manner that respects the body both physiologically and psychologically.
People who read the plan completely understand it is not about weight loss. They are also able to identify if they even need to do it. (People in the first year-18 months should follow the specific plan prescribed by their WLS center and not do the 5DPT). I know the 5DPT is not for everyone and I know the results achieved are as different as we each are different. I am not out to change the world of WLS or be a prophet to the gut-whacked among us. But if the 5DPT can give someone a new sense of hope and confidence when they have reached the lowest point imaginable telling me, “I failed at this too and now I’m one of ‘those’ people gaining back the weight” — well then I guess a short investment of 5 highly focused days is worth gold.
Weight loss surgery isn’t easy. I underwent surgery in 1999 one month after my surgeon operated on Carnie Wilson, a medical first when the surgery was covered live over the Internet. Since then my weight has been too low and it has edged up as well. I have walked the path of absolute elation when the weight is down and I have tread with heavy hopeless burden the course when the weight is up. This is a tough journey. If the 5DPT helps another person make the shift from the path of self-loathing and failure to the path of empowerment and self-respect then I have served my WLS Neighbors well. Like you, Rob, those who accept the self-assigned calling of supporting our fellow WLSers do so because we empathize with the plight of obesity and we embrace the strength and power of the human spirit. That power and strength of humankind is seldom borne as a shooting star, rather it is cultivated one step at a time, one fork at a time, one “Well Done” at a time.
Thank you for taking your life in a direction of sharing yourself and building on the triumphs and lessons of the human condition. Thank you for sharing your experience with the 5 Day Pouch Test.
Hey Kaye.. thanks for the comments.
I had debated on contacting you before I did this… but .. well, it ended up being a sort of last minute decision so..
I think a lot of the feelings towards this are not based on what you are actually attempting to accomplish with sharing this, not with your intentions behind it, but rather the skewed (and sometimes not so skewed) perception of how people are using it.
Just because you can use that lawnmower as a hedge trimmer doesn’t make it a good idea.
I don’t know.. maybe some stronger and/or more prominent statements on your site about just what the 5DPT “is not” would be of benefit.
Course, this is the internet, and people tend to see what they want, believe what they want :>
Hey Rob, thanks for sharing your account of the 5dpt. It was 2 years ago that as a “lost” wls post op of 10 years I found the 5dpt and it got me back on track in a major way. I had lost all perspective of my wls rules and was living life and trying to diet like a normal person. when in fact my stomach is not normal. I had given birth to my son and was very focused on everyone else’s needs and was not focusing on me. It was my husband who actually said “you need to go back to your wls ways” BINGO. The 5dpt got me back to living a wls life. To me it got me back to those first few months of post op eating. Did I loose weight? yes. but in fact gained most of it back when I started eating solids. BUT like you say loosing weight was not my initial objective. It was to get back to a low carb high protein way of eating. Which for the past 2 years I have accomplished. I am eating and blogging as a post wls patient. My weight is down overall and I feel so much better with less highs and low from a carb/sugar perspective. I have also had some back lash about my 5dpt story. It silenced me a little but I’m happy to say i feel as if the 5dpt is a good way to get back to basics. As wls people we dont need to diet anymore we just need to stick to our wls ways of eating and our tiny tanks will keep us in check. Ok I said it. :)