That's fine in terms of fending off dehydration. The more you drink, the less dehydrated you will be. And dehydration is the number one reason people end up in the hospital following surgery.
I am constantly researching reasons for drinking water after bariatric surgery. I have consulted with Johns Hopkins and with the Mayo Clinic and dozens of other in addition to weight loss support groups and blogs. I plan to interview my local Bariatrics Center leading doctor.
The reason you need to drink water is because it is the thing that helps your cells regenerate and water has at least a dozen other essential, functions in the body. If you don't want to drink water, and you drink flavored water instead, I think that's a really easy way to stop getting enough hydration.
Drinking water also accelerates weight loss, and isn't that something we all want? Some bariatric clinics even recommend drinking 90 oz of water in a day.
Clinics and websites and blogs seem to differ on whether or not flavored water should count toward water. There is a molecular construction to water and it does a very important job in your body. That molecular structure is altered if you add something to it.
You will be doing yourself and your body and your weight loss maintenance a huge favor if you drink the minimum required Shearwater every single day. It's the eight by eight formula which is 8 glasses containing 8 oz of water.
Interesting enough oh, I also found a lot of places that recommended drinking chilled water. The series there is that your body will expend more calories trying to warm the water up. Not everybody agrees with this, but that's what I do. Furthermore clinics recommend drinking pure filtered or spring water instead of water out of the faucet. Even if you put it through a Brita filter you won't be getting the pure water that you will be getting if you buy it in big jugs at your grocery store.
I have not had a sip of Municipal Water for many many years. I only drink bottled water and I chill it in my refrigerator. There's more water in my refrigerator than there is food. My weight loss has been phenomenal. The way I look now compared to the way I look before is so pleasing, even though I am pushing 70. I only wish I had done this sooner.
The upshot of the whole deal was that the majority of clinics and students and experts is that you should drink your 46 ounces of water a day. And you should add your Crystal Light or whatever flavored beverage you wish in addition to the 64 oz of water. Soup does not count as water. If your dietician tells you that , she is wrong. Soup is food, it has calories, it does not rebuild the cellular structure of your body. It is for nourishment, not for hydration. A protein drink is also not water or a tool of hydration.
It used to be when diets were coming out about every week there are all sorts of tricks in order to lose weight, but they were not necessarily permanent and they usually did not work on people who are morbidly obese. One such tool was drinking a bottle of water before each meal. The logic behind that is that if you are full of water you are going to eat less food no. That's all well and good butts it's not recommended for post-op drinking and eating.
Oh, and I think as Bill said, caffeinated beverages should be kept at a minimum, if used at all. I could tell the reason for this is that they actually contribute to dehydration.
