Ideally the foods you choose should have less than or equal to 8 grams of sugar per serving. Foods like dried fruits and juices may have high natural sugar content and should be avoided. Natural sugars from fruits or fruit juices do not have any fewer calories than table sugar and should not be considered low calorie substitutes. If the sugar content is high in proportion to the other carbohydrate content then it may not be a good choice.

Sugar is a carbohydrate. On food labels total carbohydrates include both complex carbohydrates such as starch and simple sugars such as table sugar and

A generalized goal is to drink approximately 64 ounces per day. This number depends on your height, weight, age and activity level. Initially you can expect to feel full from a few sips of water or clear liquids. During the phase I or liquid diet try to consume 4 ounces every hour. This would be approximately 1 ounce every 15 minutes. As the diet advances increase you can increase your intake to between 6 and 8 ounces every hour. Remember that you have to separate your liquids from your solids. It may be helpful to create a schedule and keep a food diary so you can review your daily intake. It

Post surgery you may find foods that are easy to prepare and easily digested. Many patients stick with the foods that personally work. If you feel that you are in a rut and bored by the same foods consumed daily it would be a good idea to explore new foods. Remember to introduce new foods one at a time to see how they are tolerated.

You are allowed and encouraged to experiment but please follow the guidelines, read the food labels and act with information. Your stage 3 diet is in actuality how you will be eating for the rest of your life to maintain your weight. It will be up to you to