What counts?

One of the things I find frustrating while I'm tracking is what goes towards my fluid goals vs. what goes towards my protein goals and the happy medium between the two.

My surgeon's office has two categories - Hydrating Fluids, and Liquid Meal Replacements - I'm drinking everything, which means its all in liquid form...and therefore fluid right?

Trying to parse out pure hydration intake from the protein intake (at least at this point) is kinda tedious.

How did you guys handle knowing the difference between the two during the post-surgery liquid phase?

If it's a liquid regardless if it has protein in it or not, it goes toward your fluids goal. So if I had an 8 oz protein drink it counted towards my protein goal and my liquids goal. It's the only way I could get everything in.

At this point I'd really shoot for 64oz of non-protein fluid. I know it's not easy but it's going to help you release all the fluid you have stored in you right now. Get an early start. i used to get 8 oz down in the middle of the night.

This is even more important if you're sweating.

Yeah that's what I have been doing, separating the two....but now with the syntrax powder that I'm able to mix in water it seems like that particular mixture goes towards both.

This was literally one of the first questions I asked my surgeon at my initial follow up. He said everything we eat is mostly water anyway. He also told me he didn't like to drink water. Funny guy.

I just think it helps to drink more. Especially if you're still taking pain meds.

I always counted 8 ounces of my Syntrax powder as protein and the rest as fluids.

Fluid is fluid...like conazza said, if it's liquid, it counts towards your fluid goals. Protein drinks, broth, pureed or creamy soups, jello, SF popsicles, SF beverages, water...they all count towards your fluid goals. The plus is that protein shakes count for both your protein goals AND your fluid goals.

It took me a long time to be able to drink more than 64oz of fluid in a day. Even counting the shakes, etc, it was hard for me to get all that in during the first couple of months because I have a lot of trouble drinking plain water. The surface tension of it makes it hard for me to get down. Knowing that everything liquid counted helped me a lot.

Now, I average about 100oz a day of liquids alone, and get all of my protein from solid foods (I can count on one hand the number of protein shakes I've had since month 4).

Wow...100oz, you rock! I'm lucky then, that I actually really like water...and thus far my pouch seems to like it too. It feels hard to try and fit it all in when I can only do it a couple oz at a time, but I know it'll get better.

I remember Grim talking about getting in 128 oz a day, and I thought there was no way I would ever be able to do that! lol

In the beginning, though, I literally looked at drinking like a full-time job. It was sip sip sip constantly all day in order to get it all in. I hated it, but it had to be done!!

I was told a good rule is to never let a water bottle leave your hand the first six months and hardly ever thereafter.