At my 6 month follow-up appointment, I confessed to my bariatric surgeon that I have been substituting herbal tea (sometimes with Stevia, sometimes without) for some of my 64 oz. of daily Water. I can only drink so much water and the tea seemed to be keeping me well hydrated. Also, I read an article that said that you could do this without consequence.

Well my surgeon told me to cut it out and to only drink tea in addition to the 64 oz of water. I like to do what I'm told, but in this case, I'm feeling rebellious. What do you think? Do it the hard, boring way? Or can I continue to enjoy my daily teas?

Fluid is fluid, although keep in mind, the tea may also serve as a diuretic, which is kind of working against you since it pulls extra fluid from your body. I have not drank 64oz of water the entire time I have been sleeved. I drink diet pepsi, Propel, diet tea, basically whatever I want with minimal or zero calories and it has never bothered me or from what I can tell decreased my results. My doctor told me I could drink whatever I wanted after the first 6 week unless it irritated my stomach or caused gas pain, which sometimes soda can do.

Have you tried drinking water with lemon, the Propel water, water mixed with juice, or the low calorie gatorade? All of that is very low calorie and completely approved on every post-op diet I have seen. Sticking to 64oz of water for the rest of your life sounds awful....drink your tea and supplement it with other low cal options and as long as you're staying hydrated (which 6 months post op should not be a challenge), you're fine.

If it's liquid, I count it towards my 64oz of "water". And at least 12 oz of that is my Sleepytime tea I have every night at bedtime (instead of snacking in bed). Rooibos tea is another one of my favorites, as is the newly discovered Bengal Spice with milk...a great decaf version of chai. I also count the 16oz of decaf coffee I have every morning. I only drink decaf teas and coffee so I don't get the diuretic effect.

But really, you can't go wrong getting more than 64 oz no matter how you do it.

Edited December 5, 201411 yr by Kindle

@AvaFern. Finally, someone who has successfully lost weigh with this surgery admitted they have never drank 64ozs of plain water. Thank you! I have yet to drink 64ozs of plain water and struggle with this issue on a daily basis. Two weeks ago in desperation I went to the grocery and bought a couple boxes of herbal tea. I now drink a combination of plain water and warm herbal tea. I will now count my 10 ounce decaffeinated morning coffee also. Thank you!

I drink it too, just green tea and decaf. It counts!

^^^ no sugar just plain

I've tried about every drink out there and herbal teas and plain water seem to be my go-to's.

Getting the full amount of fluid is probably the thing I'm most worried about. This was reassuring to read! To the person who drinks 10 oz of tea at bedtime, how long do you take to drink that much?

The rules from my nutritionist are that any non carbonated, non caffeinated, non alcoholic and non caloric beverage counts toward your total. That basically leaves decaffeinated coffee and tea, herbal tea, Crystal Light (or equivalent), and Water.

The rules from my nutritionist are that any non carbonated, non caffeinated, non alcoholic and non caloric beverage counts toward your total. That basically leaves decaffeinated coffee and tea, herbal tea, Crystal Light (or equivalent), and water.

Why non-caloric beverages? I count my protein smoothie which is several hundred calories and 24-32oz of my total fluid everyday. And for the first 4 months I couldn't tolerate plain water or artificial sweeteners, so I drank milk, diluted fruit juice, regular sports drinks and pedialyte. The only thing I drank that didn't have calories was decaf herbal tea. Pretty sure I didn't go 4 months without drinking.

Edited December 6, 201411 yr by Kindle

I would say the canned answer is "don't go against your surgeon", but I probably would in this case. As long as it's decaf, liquids are liquids. Don't drink beer

I drink 32oz of decaf tea (I brew one k cup thru my Kuerig twice, so not using two k cups) almost every morning with my unflavored Protein powder, a little splenda and 2 tbsp. fat free creamer. I love it and it and I count is as half my Fluid intake for the day. I also drink about 24-32oz of regular Water daily too. Then I usually have another 16oz of decaf tea with my miralax in it at night.

I feel good and have been losing every week so far, and I am almost 6 weeks post op.

I'm glad to hear that so many of you have joined my rebel alliance! I will continue to enjoy my herbal teas. It's definitely helping me hit the 64 ozs. When drinking plain water, I never (or rarely) hit the goal.

I count all calorie free liquids as water, and I count milk too. Anything that is not a diuretic adds hydration right? I feel as long as I'm getting 64 ounces of non diuretic fluid in daily, I'm good. Lol.

Why non-caloric beverages? I count my Protein smoothie which is several hundred calories and 24-32oz of my total Fluid everyday. And for the first 4 months I couldn't tolerate plain Water or artificial sweeteners, so I drank milk, diluted fruit juice, regular sports drinks and pedialyte. The only thing I drank that didn't have calories was decaf herbal tea. Pretty sure I didn't go 4 months without drinking.

I don't know why, those are just the rules I was given. I was also told no fruit juice or sports drinks, and Protein shakes don't count as liquid. Different doctors, different rules!