Question:
Need creative ideas to help me increase my water intake...

Hi! I'm 5 weeks post-op today, and i'm still having such a problem with water. I know how important it is to prevent dehydration and promote weight loss, but i've been such a camel all my life, barely drinking a glass of water a day and very few other drinks as well. by the time i remember to drink, I find 3/4 of the day gone and very little in the way of fluid down my throat! i've tried popsicles (but can't justify having more than one a day), jell-o (again, once small bowl a day seems to be my limit), charts, and different crystal light flavors. i've conquered carbs, but i can't seem to win the war over water! Please give me any innovative ideas or hints you may have come up with that could help me. Thanks! P.S. - searching the archives for this topic is too hard as you draw up literally 1,000's of posts. Thanks again! (Proximal OPEN RNY, 7/7/03; 227.6/202.8/133.0)    — sweetmana (posted on August 11, 2003)


August 11, 2003
Try starting your day with the water - when you get up and have your first thing to eat/drink, grab your water bottle and hold onto it. What I do is have shaved ice - I have a little shaver and it is wonderful - you can add SF koolaid if you need to but I even like mine plain. I don't like snow cones because the ice is too hard like rocks, but my Hawaiian shaver is wonderful.
   — bethybb

August 11, 2003
How about Protein Nectar, I make that with water and it is the consitency of juice and the apple tastes like apple juice. Then there is snow cones with sugar free syrups. Add sugar free syrups to water to change the flavor too. Did you know you can freeze the little tubs of SF Jello? Just stick a stick thru the foil lid. Very good and doesn't feel solid (hard) so easy to eat. Crunch on ice throughtout the day. You really need to get your water in, you don't want to become dehydrated. Know you can do this.
   — [Deactivated Member]

August 11, 2003
i dont know if this would be okay or not so you may want to talk to your dr about it but i only drink water when it is ice cold with ice cubes. that seems to be the only way i can tolerate it simply because it seems more refreshing. i dont know if it being that cold though would hurt your pouch. just a thought:)
   — harleigh2002

August 11, 2003
I drink weather I am thirsty or not. I try to take a sip every couple of min. If I am reading the message board after I read 2-3 post SIP. Watching TV on every comercial SIP SIP (2 because they are further apart) I have had a friend who hated water that would drink it from a fancy wine or cocktail glass because it made her feel special. I personally drink the flavored water such as crystal lite or SF Tang much faster. I am rarely feeling thirsty but am able to drink 80 oz at 4 weeks post op. Try some of this and see if it healps.
   — dianekoch

August 11, 2003
Try Fruit2O, it is flavored non carbonated water. It has no calories, no sugar, and a yummy taste!
   — Heidi J.

August 11, 2003
Propell fitness water, made by gatorade.....it does have 2 gms of sugar per serving tho but taste great and works for me. Jamie
   — Jamie M.

August 11, 2003
I'm the same way - I hate drinking water. But I am always thirsty anymore! I discovered SF Koolaid a couple of weeks ago and it has become my best friend. I can drink an entire quart in a day easily. What I like best about it is that you can't taste the artificial sweetener, which was a real problem for me with Crystal Lite. Propel water is also terrific (I like the orange and the berry best). I'll put one in the freezer about an hour before I want it and it comes out frosty and slushy. Yum!
   — MomBear2Cubs

August 11, 2003
I also was not that great with getting in my water early on. I found that drinking out of a water bottle as in the kind you would buy your water in at the store for some reason goes down faster for me. I, however, have a spring water cooler in my kitchen so I don't see the need to buy additional water unless I am away from home.Now at six months out, in the AM I do one of two things. I either take my sports bottle and squeeze a piece of lemon in it with a few sweet and lows and fill it with water, OR I make iced coffee (decaf) in it and take it along with me in the car and push myself to finish it before I get to work (30 to 45 minutes). I make the iced coffee with Folgers instant (1 heaping teaspoon) and 3 or 4 sweet and lows. I then fill the bottle from my water cooler and then add skim milk. The coffee is mild and easy to drink. When I get to work I refill it with either the "lemonade", coffee or just plain water and drink that down before the end of the day. I then drink another bottle either on my way home or after I get home. I try to only drink 1 or 2 iced coffees so I don't add too many calories from the milk. My sports bottle holds 24 oz..
   — Fixnmyself

August 11, 2003
I've never been a big water, or really any type of liquid drinker.Whenever I would feel thirsty I would just take a drink or maybe two.BUT since surgery I have made a conscious effort to change my ways.Going to the hospital for dehydration is NOT fun.I still struggle to get in all my fluids but this is what helps me.......In the morning I get a sports bottle and fill it with water and ice.I take it with me wherever I go.When the ice melts I add more ice..At the end of the day it doesn't even seem like I've had that much to drink because i just keep adding ice all day but the ice really adds up.For some people, me included, it really is a very important behavior change or habit that you need to work on forming.
   — jennifer A.

August 11, 2003
I do love water and drink plenty, but I hate tap water! Bottled water gets awfully $$ so I bought a Brita faucet filter. It works great andis much more convenient than the table top or pitcher models. A squeeze of lemon or lime adds lots of flavor, or you might try adding a bit of your favorite juice or tea, or try making some sun tea. I buy bottled water and then reuse the bottle for weeks, carry it everywhere and sip often. You can develop this habit too!
   — Chris T.

August 11, 2003
I agree with Beth, the first poster. I would be lost without my Hawaiian Delite Ice shaver. I think they can be found easily at most Walmarts. No this is not a commercial for Walmart. LOL, that is where my sister found mine at for me and sent it to me. I could not handle water at first after my surgery, Everything nauseated me. But ice chips, crushed ice, now that I could do. The colder the water the better. Or hot broth, hot tea, I could do that. I think it all counted towards the fluid requirement. But water is best for hydration. I am always making a huge glass of shaved ice and adding water to it, then taking a spoon and eating ice and water together. I love it!! I have also added a little bit of fruit juice for flavor to my ice. I cannot stand Splenda and am allergic to Nutrasweet/aspartame. But I do great with Stevia/fructose combos. It is hard to find things with those in them. But I also found a protein drink that has Stevia and fructose in it. So I am pretty well set. I think making those ice shavers so we can get them is great!! They run about $20 for the electric ones. I am constantly shaving ice.
   — Lise W.

August 11, 2003
I had trouble drinking water after surgery, and I don't know if this was right or not but it really helped me get my water down. This might sound silly but I would have a mint or chew mint gum long enought for me to drink the water, the mint seemed to settle my stomach since the water seemed so heavy. Maybe this would help
   — Janine B.

August 12, 2003
When I was newly post-op I had trouble drinking water. It just seemed to make me feel sick. I tried crystal light (pre-mixed in bottles), fruit 2o, kool aid, etc. But I found that v-8 juice seemed to go down the easiest and satisfied me the most. I asked my nutritionist about this and she said that drinking V-8 juice is a wonderful way to get in your required amount of liquids and also get some vegetable nutrition too. So if you like V-8 juice, like me, you are all set. I mix a little lemon or lime juice along with a drop or two of hot sauce into a glass of V-8 with lots of ice and I feel like I'm having a cocktail.
   — Kimberly B.

August 12, 2003
Here's my suggestion on drinking water. In the morning, grab a 20-oz bottled water. Drink, sip, on it until it's gone - I mean take it with you EVERYWHERE. Pace yourself, cause you are going to drink 3 of these a day (60 oz.) When it's gone, refill with Brita water two more times and keep drinking. You'd be surprised at how you can develop the habit of doing this. I can't go anywhere without my bottle and using the 20-oz size bottle makes it easy to keep up with how much you are drinking. Good Luck.
   — Carolyn H.

August 12, 2003
The life saver for me was tea. I know it's the summer and the weather is hot, but I'm in Florida where it's always hot and would drink decaf tea, as it was easier on my new tummy. I still do at this time and I get a variety pack with different flavours, but raspberry is my fav. If it was not for tea and shaved ice I do not know how I would have gotten any water in. Good luck.
   — sharon E.

August 12, 2003
I use the Fruit 2.0 here in Cincinnati as well as a product called Diet Botanicals . Get them at Sam's Club. I also know that Adirondack makes a flavored water but they are in the Northeast and Northeaastern Ohio.
   — snicklefritz

August 12, 2003
My daughter likes the Fruit2O, but I don't particularly care for them. I prefer the sugar free Tang IF you can find it! Crystal Light is too sweet for me, but I am absolutely NUTTY about diet Snapple in Snapple Apple and Cranberry Raspberry. I drink it all over plenty of ice to dilute it some. Also, I like to drink iced green tea (I know, I'm weird) and it's supposed to be good for you.<p>Best of luck to you cuz I know I still have problems with it. One other thing I do is keep bottled water in my fridge all the time. Whenever I go in the kitchen I take a few swigs. I seem to be drinking about 32 oz a day like that . . . Not too shabby considering I used to go all day on less than that for my first 2 yrs postop!
   — ctyst

August 12, 2003
I am JUST like you... I hate water! I used propell, diet snapple's Diet Air, Fruit20, just about anything I could to get liquid in me! The only thing that seems to work for me is first thing in the morning, I pour a 24 oz. glass of ice cold water for myself and won't let myself have anything else until that water is gone. I hate it. I despise it, but I make myself do it. THEN, an hour or two after eating, on two seperate occasions throughout the day, I do the same thing -- pour myself that icy cold 24 oz. glass of water and won't do, eat, say, watch or read anything until I get it down. It only takes about 15 minutes to do this, and my body has benefited so much from it, it is unreal. It took me nearly 17 months AFTER wls to be able to get determined enough to do this, and do it every day!!! I am now 9 weeks pregnant with my first child, and I think that has helped in the determination area, too! LOL! Good luck... it is just like sticking to the diet to begin with... determine you are going to do it, then do it!
   — Sharon m. B.




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