is liquids more important than food early out?

I'm just wondering as I'm allowed to start puree today. I can drink comfortably now. But get about 1 litre in a day 35 ounces. My bariatric nurse knows I'm abit slow on the drinking as drinking to much makes me get chest pain. So she said at least. 1.5litres though soon I should be on 2 Litre's. Or about 64 ounces.

I thought if I Start purees today I'll get even less water due to feeling full. Shall I leave puree for now till I've made it up to 64 ounces? And can do this comfortably?

Thank you !

If you are eating four times you have plenty of time to drink even allowing for the half hour wait after eating.

Carry your liquid around with you everywhere you go. Sip. Get your phone to ping every minute or two to remind you and sip again.

Logging your fluids might help motivation you to meet your goals.

Like many overweight people I never drank enough water. I had a hard time at first and found that flavored water was easier. After a few good weeks mixed with some bad ones that the more I drank the quicker the weight came off.

I drink at least 90 oz of water, usually more, every day now.

Fluids are important early on but you need food too. You may not feel full on soft foods because they slide through your pouch. Lots of us struggle to get it all in at the start. Just keep working on it.

By their nature pureed foods are very moist which means you'll be getting a bit of extra fluid from your food (not that we can measure it very well).

I believe I was about 3.5 weeks out before I managed 64 oz for the first time (and didn't do it again for another week). It really seems like a sipping marathon. The more you get in the better off you'll be.

The nurse suggested I could tell if I was getting enough fluid by the number of pees per day and the color of my urine. She said if I was peeing at least 3-4 times a day and the urine was pale colored I was getting enough (1st pee is always a little bit darker). Apparently the darker the urine the more strain on the body (kidneys I think).

I am now able to take three good swallows at a time (8 wks out). I admit to wishing I could drink more without the chest pain. I miss downing a big glass of water. I can need 15 minutes to drink what I previously would have downed in 15 seconds and when you're really parched that's a bit of a bummer.

If I can share some advice my dietician offered... "take it slow, listen to your body and be less critical of yourself (meaning me, not you). Everyone heals differently and just because you could or couldn't eat/drink something one day doesn't mean tomorrow will be the same."

She also reminded me the outside heals much, much faster than the inside - I keep this in mind when I get annoyed that something failed to go down as I'd expected (throwing up, burping, reflux, not tolerating something, etc)

One day at a time and if you need to, make it one hour at a time. You'll get there.

Oh, if it hasn't been suggested to you, try different temperatures of water. I used to prefer room temperature, now I can barely swallow it. I go for fridge or ice cold. Same was true for my tea, near room temperature, now I like it hotter. I wonder why?

Good luck, we're all here for you as we hope you'll be here for us.

Yes, fluids are the most important thing. You MUST get a minimum of 40-45 ounces a day to prevent dehydration. Dehydration can kill you, lack of food won't for a much longer time.

As you posted yesterday that you're able to drink more, you shouldn't have a problem getting your two liters in.

When I was at your point post-op, I made sure to get 32 ounces in first thing in the morning and before I ate anything. Then I'd always have my 32 ounce bottle of water with me to sip on the rest of the day with the goal of finishing it and starting in on the next one. Even with not being able to drink 30 minutes after eating (which I hope your team has told you), I didn't have problems reaching my fluid goals.

Hydration is your #1 job right now :)

dehydration is the number one problem at your stage. You need fluids more than you need food until you can reliably get 64+ oz on a day.

if you qualify for wls, your body has MORE than enough fat to burn for nutrition when you aren't eating much. As long as you have fat to burn, you aren't starving. Burning stored fat is what causes weight loss.

Thank you so much all for the advice. so helpfull!

I had managed half of the 64 ounces by 11am!!!! Really stayed focus. So I ate a couple tea spoons of liver pate' ( like that paste kind of puree texture lol ) so I will work on the other half split into 2 500ml bottles. (35oz + 35 oz for the day I hope!) 70 ounces is the goal so I think I can do this.

My kids are at school so seems I can focus on my fluid when they are here I do forget to sip.

And just room temp water seems to work. Was drinking crystal light I thought that was great. But today I have just had water and I'm feeling very thirsty today which I've not felt post surgery.

4.40pm

Total 3 ounces of the liver pate. I made thinking I'll eat it once lol. 1 ounce per meal. I'm told I should have snacks too. So next is to have one bottle of water. Before I eat any thing. Then I just have one to be sipping on

Thanks for your help all. And yes I've been waiting the 30mins between eating :)