Drink Ideas Please

I went to the pre-op class yesterday and found out we cannot have anything with sugar or artifical sweetner in it. I'm not sure what to have to drink besides water since everything has either artifical sweetner in it or is carbonated. Any suggestions? Thanks, Maureen

Maureen, I have the same rules. No carbonated or artificial sweetener. Obviously you can't avoid all the artificial sweeteners as they are in some things, such as low fat yogurt and sugar free jello which the doctors tell us to eat I know that some people do get sick from the sweeteners, but I think the main reason they tell us no artificial sweeteners is that we are going through all of this and detoxing our bodies of the bad stuff we have been consuming. And drinking things that are artificially sweetened is just putting more junk back into our bodies that we don't need, and they don't count as your water intake. (at least that is what they told us at one of my classes) Trader Joes is great for buying food that is natural. You might look and see if they have something you might want to drink. I have found their stuff tends to be a little to high in carbohydrates (such as their yogurt) because they don't add artificial sweetners, but maybe you could find something tolerable there to drink. However; give the water a chance. Your putting yourself through having the surgery. You really do want to do what is best for your body afterwards which is less sugars (artificial or real) and more natural and healthy foods and water. I know easier said then done. I have found that just getting in my water and protein is a full time job, and I don't really have time nor room for anything else. Lemon in my water gives it some added flavor from time to time when I get bored with the plain water, and eating fruit (like grapes) can cure my sweet tooth sometimes. I don't know if anyone else likes the sugar free jello, but I have found that since my surgery it taste really bad. Possible it is the artificial sweetener that taste bad, not sure.

What about milk, are we allowed to have it? I know someone asked this at the pre-op class but I forgot what they said.

Nope... no mil****il 4 months. There is alot of sugar in Milk and then you are drinking extra calories. That is one thing that took me a long time to get used to, as I absolutely LOVE milk. But aren't you lapband? I think Blackstone has a different plan for LapBands, but i might be wrong. Maybe Carole can post what she can eat and drink at certain timeframes.

I love milk too. I especially like it if you put it in a freezer for a minute and got it really cold. I'm going to miss drinking it. I have been adding fat free milk to my powder proteins and it has been fine. I use half milk and half water. I asked them about it and they said it is okay if you are mixing it with the protein, or if your protein drink has it in it, but not to drink it alone because it would be considered a snack and might make you dump from the sugar. I think your right though that lap band is different.

BTW. I tried adding some of the liquid calcium (strawberry flavor) to my chocolate protein drink today. It wasn't too bad. I had a banana in there so it was like a strawberry/banana chocolate drink. I"ve been having a problem getting in all my calcium and just thought about this today. Only problem is that I have to keep stiring it because the calcium seems to be heavier and goes to the bottom. But if anyone is having a problem getting in calcium you might want to try this.

Nicole. What is the stuff that you drink from Sprouts? I bought two cans of worldwide protein. One strawberry cream and one banana cream. They are really high in protein (35 g) but they don't taste too good. I haven't tried the banana, just the strawberry so far. Don't you use worldwide powder or something? Is it better then these ready to go cans?

I use the Worldwide Protein in the cans... I get the strawberry cream or the chocolate. If you chill them really good and them drink them over ice, take a sip once every minute... it's not too bad. I havent had to drink one in a week because I am getting my protein in other ways majority of the time. Otherwise I use the Sprouts Soy Protein powder for my fruit shake that I make here and there.

Hello everyone, I asked the dieticians at SBC about splenda and this is what they had to say: We don't recommend the use of artificial sweeteners because they can trigger hunger and sweet cravings for some people. This can often lead to snacking. This will be a personal decision for you to make for yourself, however, we do not recommend the use of it. There are certain things we really can't avoid it in, however, such as light yogurt.

Chyrstal Lite. I put just a tiny bit in a water bottle and fill with water. I hate the taste of plain water. This has helpled me get all my water in. GEES did I say the word "water" enough. Good Luck Pam