After weight loss surgery, you are best off if you drink, and drink, and drink. Getting enough Fluid can help you recover faster from surgery. After surgery and as you get further out, drinking enough Water can help you feel fuller and lose more weight.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get in your 64 or more ounces every day. The rule to separate liquids from meal times, and the fact that you can feel overly full especially right after surgery, can make it hard to get enough to drink.

It is also common that your tastes change. You may not like the taste of plain water, or you may find flavored water too sweet.

With all these challenges, how do you make sure to get in enough fluid each day? What is your beverage of choice – do you go for plain water, or use flavored water, or get in some broth along the way?

@@Sai Thank you so much! I'm going to order the grains right away...I really need to be on probiotics regularly and I like kefir a great deal. This is awesome!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in messages. I am such a fan of kefir... And for sure, you will have lots of questions. I know I did! Most important thing in the beginning is just know once you add the kefir grains to the milk, the milk is safe to drink from that moment on to weeks later (due to the fermentation).

@@rolosmom7 Lots of great recipes on the net Just look for fruit infused Water recipes. There are plenty of simple and fancy recipes. I got my fruit infuser water bottle on Amazon. At the time there were only 1 or 2 but now there are tons of good ones!

Yes, I've got a great one - I tried cucumber, grapefruit, and mint. It tastes horrid haha. I'm not sure where it went wrong, that combo is everywhere.

Did you mix them together???? or separate batches?

@@Sai I'm not a fan of sucralose either, so I've been making my own infused waters as well...

I'm curious about your homemade kefir...can you share how you do it?

It's super easy and fun. I've been doing it for years now. First you get 1 tablespoon of kefir grains (can buy it from Amazon or have a friend send to you since it really multiplies hehe), you add that tablespoon to 1 or 2 cups of milk, leave it out at room temperature for 24 hrs, strain the grains off, and you have kefir. You reuse the grains over and over. I still have the original grains from years ago.

To the strained off kefir, you can put it in smoothies, and use just like yogurt but it has waaaay more probiotics than yogurt, more strains to protect you from illnesses. Then with the strained kefir grains, you just add that into new milk and you do it over and over. It's easier to watch the video below as I'm not ept enough to explain it hehe. It's a great hobby too!

Here is my favorite youtube video (it healed this girl from Crohn's disease):

Can you do this with almond milk?

@@cbonet With the fruit infused water: Yes, you can mix the fruits.

With the kefir question: People do use them in coconut and almond milk, but once you use the grains, you can't reuse them again. You can grow them in regular milk (they need the lactose in milk as food so once the kefir is done, most of the lactose is gone), and they multiply like crazy, then once you get a lot of them, take a tablespoon of it and use them in your almond milk. That's what I've heard some people do.

Iced Water is my mainstay.

I love it. I drink it all day long. I feel great from being hydrated and staying that way.

I also LOVE my coffee. Favorite is a venti hot dark roast from Starbucks....5 Splenda and cream.

I can't freaking wait until my next morning off work when I can go to Starbucks after leaving the gym.....getting my cup of java and calling my best friend and catching up on what I've been missing.

Diet cranberry juice and Tito's vodka...

Oh wait! You mean legal stuff?? Lol

I also infuse Water with fruit. Have two going in fridge at all times because my only daughter usually raids it not long after I've filled it.

One is usually fruity- berries, watermelon and such. The other tends to be more veggie/herb based- cucumber and basil, mint and green/red peppers. Yeah. I know it sounds gross but it is actually good.

Coffee- and plain brewed sun tea.

I have no problem getting my ounces in. Usually way exceed them.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@cbonet With the fruit infused water: Yes, you can mix the fruits.

With the kefir question: People do use them in coconut and almond milk, but once you use the grains, you can't reuse them again. You can grow them in regular milk (they need the lactose in milk as food so once the kefir is done, most of the lactose is gone), and they multiply like crazy, then once you get a lot of them, take a tablespoon of it and use them in your almond milk. That's what I've heard some people do.

Thank you. I'm going to try to make it next week.

Plain Water, but has to be ice cold. I throw a couple of half-filled bottles in the freezer every day, then top them off with filtered water from the frige door when I'm ready to drink it. I have a bottle next to me or with me when I'm out and about. I'll have an occasional Cappuccino (maybe twice a week) with skim milk. Pre-workouts, I throw some Fairlife skim milk (ultra filtered, high Protein, very clean taste) in the blender with a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt, a few drops of coconut or vanilla extract, a few ice cubes and either a single frozen strawberry or a few slices of banana.

I also LOVE my coffee. Favorite is a venti hot dark roast from Starbucks....5 Splenda and cream.

Your NUT allows caffeine? I've been off the stuff since March.

My surgeon says coffee is fine too.

Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

@ How do you know when you need revision surgery? Did you ask to have it? Did they tell you that you needed it? Just wondering because I am sort of thinking about it but I don't know what makes you qualify for it, why for sure you need it, and who brings up the topic first.

Thanks!

In the beginning it was milk, pedialyte, tea, broth and protein shakes. Now it's milk, tea, LOTS of coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 and ice water.

@ How do you know when you need revision surgery? Did you ask to have it? Did they tell you that you needed it? Just wondering because I am sort of thinking about it but I don't know what makes you qualify for it, why for sure you need it, and who brings up the topic first.

Thanks![/quote

My regular bariatric Doctor suggested that I look into revision when I was having problems swallowing and the upper GI showed that my esophagus was getting very weak and tired. Last December, the band was completely emptied and left that way until late February. When fills were started back up, I had challenges at almost every one of them. I could feel food sitting at the back of my throat and would usually have to drink to force the food down and through.

When I had my revision this week, they found that the band had slipped and I had stomach prolapse. Not sure when that happened, but I'm glad it was found and the band is now

gone. I had a lot of scar tissue and the recovery hasn't been exactly easy, but I'm relieved to know that it's over.

Insurance covered both removal and revision.

@ Thanks. I should have read that you had LapBand. Good info to know. Hope all is well for you now.

For me warm water with bullion cubes went down well. I couldn't tolerate sweet very well after all the shakes. I added unflavored protein as well.