Question:
I have lots of questions about the first clear liquids phase diet!! Help!!
First of all I want to make sure I am doing absolutely everything right. Does the Crystal Lite Ice Tea have caffeine in it? Also are we allowed to have caffeine at this stage at all? I am having trouble drinking water, I was never very fond of it. Any suggestions to get it down? Are fruit juices bad for you? I've been drinking white grape juice & have had no dumping from it. If fruit juices are fine what kind of fruit juices should I be looking for that are best for WLS patients? Last question, any other suggesions to spruce the liquid phase up? I cannot stand the clear broths they make me sick. Any other suggestions? Thanks! — Allison T. (posted on April 16, 2002)
April 15, 2002
You shouldn't drink iced tea It does have some cafine in it I was told that
caffine is a dueritic and you have to add the amount of cafine drink to you
water. If you have a 12 oz mug of coffee you should drink at least 76 oz of
water instead of 64oz. Crystal lite lemonade or any other flavor is ok.
Fruit juice is a high calorie liquid and should be drank in VERY small
amounts(4- 6oz) per day . You will get alot of advise here, before you take
any of it please call your Dr !!!! Some Dr have you on clear liquids for
2weeks some for 4 and some say eat what you can!!??-- Good Luck
— Robert L.
April 15, 2002
Well, there is less caffeine in crystal light tea than in regular tea. I
do know that Crystal light tea has 11.25 mg. of caffeine per serving.
Compared to 6 oz. coffee that has 70-80 mgs. caffeine. Your doctor should
ok this little amount of caffeine in the crystal light. I have heard
through the AMOS grapevine that there is a decaf crystal light tea
available. I would limit caffeine if you don't cut it out completely.
Robert is correct when he says you have to drink more water to counteract
the caffeine. Remember that not only do you have to drink your required
amount, but add an oz. of water to every oz. of caffeine that you consume.
Thats a lot of drinking especially for a newly post-op. I will encourage
you to drink the water, it will become habit after a while and you will
absolutely crave it! For other clear liquids you could drink hot tea,
flavored if you like, just make sure that it is decaf. You can probably
eat sugar free popcicles, and jello. I believe these are also clear
liquids. Check with your doc or nutritionist on these. I was never on
clear liquids, we go home on puree/soft solids. All docs are different.
As for the juice, I would limit that also. It is high in sugar. If you
HAVE to drink it, dilute it lots!! I know its hard in the beginning,
figuring all of this out, but it does get easier with time. Hopefully
someone else can give you more tips on the liquid phase. Welcome to the
other side!!
— Cheri M.
April 15, 2002
I was told by my Doctoer that fruit juices are to high in natural sugar,
yhat will not make you dump, but that over time they came make you
imune(sp?) to regular added sugar and you will not dump. he also said that
most foods have a tiny amount of caffiene in them and that the amount in CL
is less than what is in most foods so i should treat it just like water,
the last poster was right in the amount of caffiene in CL I posted a long
time ago where I called the company and asked them the amount on their
product. It is not like coffee, or soda at all. So I would not worry about
it. I also went home on a pureed diet so all Doctors are different. Let me
know if I can help with anything. Oh by the way I drink CL everyday at
least 40oz of it and 80oz of water, I am 7 months post op and down 85
pounds(you can see my pics on my web site from my profile) I think I am
doing just fine in my weight loss and drinking the CL. Nancy
— nkoehler88
April 15, 2002
Hi Nancy, actually I got the info from using the library as a resource. It
was your post where I got that. Thanks for posting that information!!
— Cheri M.
April 16, 2002
Anytime!! I am so excited about this surgery I am on the information
highway......LOL. I always wanna know more!!
— nkoehler88
April 16, 2002
As a big Crystal Light tea drinker, tea was the first question on my list
when I left the hospital to go home to my clear liquid diet. Crystal Light
does have a decaffeinated tea, it's just as good as the regualar tea. As
for the caffeine, my surgeon at BTC told me to avoid all caffeine for the
first two weeks, get in all my water during this time, then I could have
caffeine on day 15, lol! Juices, I was told, were great, but be sure there
is no added sugar and dilute by half with water for the first two weeks.
Have you tried SF popsicles? Blue Bunny has some that are yummy! SF
Jello jigglers are fun to slurp up. You could also freeze your juice or
make a slushy out of it. SF Kool-Ade (sp?) has some different flavors. I
know some of this sounds so juvie, but that was about it for me and I had
to do something different with the Jello, heh! The first three stages of
my diet were so depressing for me but it's been *so*well*worth*it*!!!
Congratulations and Good Luck!
— DonnaCarol
April 16, 2002
ok, this is going to sound weird but this what i had once or twice when i
was going crazy with the liquids. i drained the liquid off of canned
spinach. i love spinach anyway, but i just had to have something different.
also, i couldnt stand broth in the can or bullion either. i took regular
soup and strained the liquid off and had that. good luck. this two shall
pass.
— PATSY N.
April 16, 2002
I had a lot of trouble drinking water or crystal light both made me feel
queasy(sp). I tried diet snapple the orange/carrot and the pink lemonade
were my favorite. Diet snapple was the only think I could stomach for a
couple weeks. I'm 5 weeks out today and have lost 37lbs now I can drink
the water and crystal light with no problems. Also sugar free popsicles
saved me during the liquid stage I like lifesavers brand but you might try
sugar free fudgsicles for something different.
— Alison N.
May 7, 2002
Boost makes a juice type drink with 8 grams of protein in it. That is what
I'll be on post op.
— KCAllen77
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