I am 8 days post op. I feel great. I can't stand the chemical taste" of sugar free items, so I've been avoiding them. Problem is, that leaves me with my protein shakes, water and different broths. I'm dying for something different. Any suggestions?

i'm on day three of pre-op and also hate sugar-free taste. I was just talking to my husband about this very thing last night. I told him that I sure hope my taste changes after surgery so I can sugar-free and enjoy it some.

Can u do crystal light? Or did you try diluting fruit juice?

I have been using monk fruit sweetener, which I get at Aldi's. It is natural and does not have the licorice taste that Stevia has.

Artificial sweeteners caused me pain in the the first few months. Plain water also hurt. I drank milk, dilute 100% fruit juices, and dilute regular Vitamin Water, Sobe, Pedialyte, etc. I used pureed fruit such as peaches, bananas and mangos to flavor plain greek yogurt. Don't know if you are allowed yogurt in your liquid stage....I was.

Diluted grape or apple juice

I also can't drink artificial sweeteners. I've recently been buying bottled decaf lemon iced tea 9gms of sugar and then mixing half with water. It's still kinda bland but beats just plain water. Also I found liquid whey protein vials at Walmart (42grams per 3.8 oz) then mixing it with a big water bottle sipping all day. It's sugar free but when it's so diluted it's not unbearable...

At 2 weeks I couldn't take the water anymore... I tried V8 low sodium juice... I thought I died and went to heaven ..soooo good... Something to wake up my taste buds. I have half a cup in the morning... I mix my Genepro protein in that. It's tasteless and orderless.

Minute Maid makes a 5 calorie lemonade in a can and I feel like I'm drinking a soda! Sonic has Splenda flavors you can order in a slushie. Propel has flavor packets and liquid flavoring. I hate plain water too.

Have you tried Crystal Light strawberry, banana, orange flavor? It's really good. I know what you mean about the chemical sugar-free taste - it's pretty rough to deal with. But I find this particular flavor of Crystal Light to actually taste like a 'regular' beverage. And if you add strawberry sorbet flavored Protein powder, it's REALLY tasty and gets you 21g of protein. Not bad, eh?

Good luck!