Day One: Liquids

The most difficult part of the first day was limiting my intake. During phase one, fluids must be sipped slowly, only 2 to 3 ounces at a time. To start, I measured out 3 ounces of water and poured it into a small juice glass. As I drank from the glass I made a mental note of how many sips it took to finish it (about 4 small sips). For the rest of the day, I drank from a 20 ounce water bottle, which I refilled once, limiting myself to no more than 4 sips at a time.

For breakfast I had a Naked protein juice smoothie, using the juice glass to measure out portions. Since my stomach is not the size of an egg, like bariatric patients, a few ounces did not make me feel full. No surprises there. Keeping in mind the amount of liquid patients are able to consume at a time (2 – 3 ounces), I drank about 8 ounces over 30 minutes.

I was careful to continue drinking about 4 sips of water or unsweetened juice steadily throughout the day. In the afternoon, my friend stopped by with coffee. Caffeine is on the do-not-eat list. Luckily, she got me a decaf, which I sipped happily, 3 ounces at a time.

As the day went on, I progressed to thicker liquids. Here is what I ate/drank today:

• 8 oz. Naked Protein Mango Juice Smoothie
• 8 oz. Chocolate milk
• 8 oz. Low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 11 oz. Vanilla protein shake
• 8 oz. Black bean soup

Thanks to the vanilla protein shake, which had a whopping 35 grams of protein, I consumed a total of 72 grams of protein for the day. Unfortunately, the shake was disgusting. It took a great deal of effort and discomfort to get it down. I'll try putting some protein powder into a fruit smoothie for tomorrow's breakfast.

Rachel