When I first had my surgery 2.5 years ago, Water never sat right and always tasted funny. Before surgery, I drank water like it was going out of style. And even still, I find water tastes off to me and many times it doesn't taste good either. Some days it is ok, most days not. So I find myself drinking a lot of sugar free drinks. I have tried finding ones that are sweetened with natural sweeteners, but there are not very many, and the ones that I have found I have to order online and are expensive (I also live in Canada). And I have tried making my own like kool-aid sweetened with Stevia, real iced-tea. The koolaid was ok, but I do not like tea and could not get over the taste (although I LOVE Arizona Sugar Free Lemon Iced Tea but can't make something similar). I have tried cutting them out, but then I don't get in enough water in a day.

So what have the rest of the vets found? Any hints or tricks? Does anyone know of any other naturally sweetened drink mixes or a good recipe?? Or do I just accept drinking artificially sweetened drinks for life!

I'm hit or miss, perhaps it's tied to what else I'm eating I'm not sure. Sometimes plain Water is no problem, other times it makes me feel nauseated or tastes "off."

I sometimes use Mio drops but artificial sweeteners and I don't get along well. For me, a fruit infuser in a pitcher of water works wonders, or one of the True Lemon, True Orange or True Lime packets. I just need something in there to add flavor and detract from that icky aftertaste I sometimes get and this does the trick.

I, too, find that if I rely on plain water I don't drink enough in a day.

At first I thought this was due to the water where I lived but the problem has persisted no matter where I'm at. It's crazy. Sometimes water is nice and refreshing and other times it just makes me feel kinda sick.

I hope you find something that works for you!

~Cheri

I always like water, COLD water, out of a water fountain. Well, that isn't possible here at the house. I seldom ever drink water here at the house, I drink iced tea with stevia....and coffee with stevia. With that said, any time I go to Starbucks, I get a large glass as a 'chaser' to my coffee. They have the best water ever, triple filtered is what I think the girl told me. When we eat out, I try and get two glasses drank before the meal arrives. I love to drink it out....a lot of ice and lemon, and I add a stevia. It is not lemonade, just real refreshing. I have been drinking it like this for years....for some reason it just isn't the same at home. LoL

I used to love plain ole Water.

Post surgery I found it metallic, weird and basically undrinkable without some kind of additive.

Now, it is "ok" but i don't love it anymore. I mostly drink "sugar free beverages" like crystal light etc. but if served tap water, I can drink it. I wish I loved water still - I think that is probably the single biggest negative long term side effect of this surgery for me, but, i am not really complaining.

I enjoy plain Water the same as before surgery. I also like it with just a splash of juice or infused, and that would be good if you don't like artifical sweeteners.

I like a splash of cranberry or OJ. Not much, because calories add up, but even an ounce is plenty for me.

For no calorie, try an infusion. Put a few slices of a fruit or veggie and/or a few sprigs of a herb in a pitcher of water and let set for at least an hour.

Lynda

I guess I'm lucky cause I have had no problem with water. I drink alot of it because I sweat alot at work and working out. Usually I take in between 128-140 oz per day, and yes I still log it. I love to add propel powder to my water, plus it helps with the electrolytes. I probably add 2-3 packets per day.

I still love plain Water also, but it does need to be ice cold.

I have various assorted crystal lite mixes but find that I actually prefer water over something sweet to drink. I hate sweet tea so that is a good thing.

The one thing that I will allow in my water is True Lime. It's not sweet, just like adding a squeeze of lime to your water (it's crystallized lime without added sugars). That might help.

I just heard about adding sea salt to my water after a workout (instead of gatorade-type drinks) to replace lost electrolytes. I've tried it but not the biggest fan. Sometimes I can handle it if I do a mix of sea salt AND True Lime.

So this is not to scare you, or to say that this is going to be your problem also but it's worth noting here. The citric acid in a lot of drinks can be bad for your teeth. (The True Lime that I mentioned has it also...so buyer beware.)

http://lapbandgalsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/06/are-you-bulimic.html

It's one of the many reasons that I try to drink plain old water.

My experience with Water before and after WLS mirrors that of CowGirlJane. Maybe we drink the same water. there is some truth to that statement...

I loved all type of water before surgery, including, but not limited to, tap, bottled and sparkling after. I was a champion water drinker and rarely drank much else.

After surgery, it was quite the opposite. Water had a strange metallic composition to it. Literally felt and tasted like I was sucking on metal. For this reason, I spent a while going through different water enhancers as a post op, looking for not only flavors I enjoyed, but also ones I could keep drinking day after day all day without negative consequences like acid reflux. Almost every Water Enhancer I tried from crystal light to Mio either had my throat burning by the end of day or otherwise had a strange after taste I was unable to manage long term.

After a few months I found Dasani drops. Perhaps they were not available until then because I had not seen them before. They were good and had a cool, smooth refreshing taste consistently day after day. No burning in the throat. I settled on a couple flavors I really enjoyed like Pink Lemonade and Coconut pineapple. Recently I have also found Wild Grape which is really good (actually my wife finds the flavors in the store and I latch onto them to her chagrin ).

Fast forward to about 6 months post op and I started to tolerate plain water again. I am a year out now and still do not like plain water that much, but can stomach it if no flavor is available. I am not sure if I will ever love plain water again, but the flavor has allowed me to drink 1-1.5 gallon a day (required for high level of fitness activity and very high Protein consumption of 150-170 g - trying to get athlete strong).

I can drink tap water fine and have since after surgery with flavor, so no need for me to only drink ice cold water. Usually, I drink normal temperature water that is not chilled. However, I have noticed ice water is sometimes more refreshing or enjoyable to me and a nice change when I have access to it.

I too had problems with drinking water after surgery. I also don't like the taste of "sugar free" so I either make ice tea or add lemons, fresh mint, cumbers or orange slices to my water. Water has to be ice cold in order to drink it plain but it still tastes "off". Good luck everyday does get better.

I had trouble with plain water after surgery - the taste didn't bother me, but it sat heavy in my sleeve. I found it was far easier to stay hydrated if I added flavor, and Mio became my go-to solution because the squeeze bottles are so convenient at work or in my purse.

Now that I'm almost two years out I'm trying to transition back to plain water - I think it's bad training for my taste buds to be sipping on sweet drinks all day long. Most days at least 1/3 of my water consumption is probably plain.

I had problems drinking water after surgery but I just kept at it and now it taste as good as it did before surgery. I drink my water with ice in it and I drink it during the night also when I wake up off and on, of course it's room temperature by that time lol. I did try Mio but that made me have cravings and I hate the artificial sweetener taste, plus I felt like the artificial colors were staining my teeth lol. I just kept making myself drink plain ice water and then eventually the weird taste went away or I got used to it. Plus nothing quenches my thirst or makes me feel hydrated like water does.

I can only drink Water at room temp. I have a filter on my faucet. When I am anywhere else, I try to find water that isn't cold.

Some people say it's the PH of water. Try bottled water because they put other things in bottled water.

I do drink things with stevia but I try really hard not to have anything with aspertame in it.

I have never really paid attention to how water tastes. When I'm thirsty, I DON'T CARE, I just grab and guzzle. I have never counted or measured h much water I drink, or distinguished plain water from flavored water. I don't sip it all day or carry it around. I drink when I get thirsty. I typically drink tea more than anything else, and plain water probably second. After that, coffee, then wine.

When I first had my surgery 2.5 years ago, Water never sat right and always tasted funny. Before surgery, I drank water like it was going out of style. And even still, I find water tastes off to me and many times it doesn't taste good either. Some days it is ok, most days not. So I find myself drinking a lot of sugar free drinks. I have tried finding ones that are sweetened with natural sweeteners, but there are not very many, and the ones that I have found I have to order online and are expensive (I also live in Canada). And I have tried making my own like kool-aid sweetened with Stevia, real iced-tea. The koolaid was ok, but I do not like tea and could not get over the taste (although I LOVE Arizona Sugar Free Lemon Iced Tea but can't make something similar). I have tried cutting them out, but then I don't get in enough water in a day.

So what have the rest of the vets found? Any hints or tricks? Does anyone know of any other naturally sweetened drink mixes or a good recipe?? Or do I just accept drinking artificially sweetened drinks for life!

I'm with you! I never really drank water before, was a DIET COKE addict, but I seriously could not stomach it at all after surgery. Made me nauseous. Now I drink LOTS and LOTS (no fizzy drinks at all) but I have to have something in it like Crystal Light.

I still need to flavor my water at almost 2 years out. I find that if I dilute low calorie Gatorade I can get a lot of it down. If not I will get dehydrated. I also like th orange MIO drops for a long time. Water use to hurt my stomach. I had been an advid diet Pepsi person before. Lol

Well, I am glad that I am not the only one that still flavors their water. I don't love the artificial sweeteners, but I have not found a good substitute yet, so I am just going to stick to it. It helps me keep my fluids up and helps curb my hunger.