Diet soda?

Hi, everyone

What's the consensus about diet soda a few months after surgery? I'm nine months out, and I've abstained so far, but I kind of miss my Diet Cherry Pepsi.

IMHO, no, no, no, and no. :). Diet soda has zero nutritional value, can cause bloating in the sleeve, and the ingredients can cause hunger and cravings. Just my thoughts. :)

My doc said no carbonation....ever. I also was told by a trainer that carbonation bloats the stomach and will make you want to eat more. I still crave my soda but I'm not taking the risk.

I'm 10.5 months out and occasionally have some diet pop now. I stir it lots to get rid of a bunch of the carbonation, then take very small sips to make sure it isn't too bubbly.
If you're going to try it I suggest doing so at home. My sis (sleeved an hour after me) took a good swallow of diet coke awhile back (without all the stirring I do) and said it came back up faster than it went down.

My surgeon says a small amount of carbonation after you've lost all your weight, have a mature sleeve and are maintaining is okay on a rare occasion. He pointed something out to me about diet sodas to always keep in mind: Diet soda is sweetened with artificial sweeteners that trigger the insulin reaction in most people. Long and short of that is that people who drink a lot of diet soda also tend to store fat much more efficiently than non diet soda drinkers. That means diet soda helps you stay fat. Counter productive to the cause, I'd say.

I'm almost 18 months out and have yet to have a diet soda. I've had a few sips of flavored sparkling water, but that's it.

I have a friend who was sleeved about 3 years before me. She drinks diet Pepsi by the gallon again. She has gained back about 40 pounds. Her eating isn't great either, but I think it's the soda and the wine she drinks that has really pushed her weight back up.

I'm not so sure about the artificial sweeteners link, since the protein shakes so many of us drink are loaded with them. Even the most carb conscious people on here eat/drink things with artificial sweeteners. (Yes, there are a very few that avoid all artificial sweeteners, but they are very much in the minority)

However, I totally agree that diet pop can be a step onto the slippery slope of regain - possibly because of their close association with "fast food," and crap carbs?

Hey, I'm with you on the sweeteners for myself personally, but I do try to limit them. I've never been a soda drinker anyway. But your comment got me to thinking so I did some research.....

There are two oft cited studies that cite artificial sweeteners as a catalyst for gaining weight. In one, done on rats, it showed that the rats who were given the artificial sweeteners ate more calories than rats given sugar. So the conclusion was along the lines of that artificial sweeteners can influence the hunger mechanism negatively because the sweet taste isn't actually giving the body any energy. The other study was done in TX on 5,000 adults. Also, showed that adults that consumed diet soda were more likely to eat more calories and become obese than those who drank regular soda. Yet another study of 9,000 adults showed that soda drinkers (both regular and diet sodas) were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than non soda drinkers.

The article went on to state that there is a lot more evidence that people who drink diet soda as an aid to lower their overall calories and have an overall healthy and low calorie diet geared for weight loss can use diet soda as a successful tool in their weight loss strategy  arsenal. The article went on to state that there is not yet enough evidence to conclusively prove that diet soda influences trends of obesity, but that many people do have the mentality that they can eat a higher calorie crap food because they are drinking diet soda (now that sounds familiar to me! ), thus causing weight gain.

Thanks for your comment! I enjoyed doing a little research on my lunch break today!

Why even go there? Soda has no nutritional value whatsoever. Not drinking it ever, is part of clean eating and a healthy lifestyle. It may not hurt your sleeve, but it hamper your weight loss, ruin your teeth, and contribute to spiking of the insulin response. It is total junk for your health. All the scientific research attests to the negative effects of soda on one's health. 

Thanks for all the responses. I guess my question is whether it's the carbonation that's the problem or the artificial sweeter or the caffeine. As others have said, artificial sweeter is pretty common. I drink flavored water all the time, with artificial sweeteners and caffeine, so that wouldn't be much of a change for me.

Is soda really more of a junk food than flavored water?

As for association with fast food, that's not an issue for me. I work from home and make my own meals most days. I don't see myself going back to McDonald's on a regular basis.

The question is, then, whether the carbonation is a problem.

I think the artificial sweeteners are also problematic and I try to stay away from them, when I can. I don't use artificial sweeteners in my protein shake, although some of what I consume, contain stevia or xylitol, which may be less of a problem . Definitely, I stay away from crystal light, since some versions contain aspartame .

Some people can tolerate carbonation, which may be part of why people crave soda. But, I think the cravings are linked to the additives that manufacturers add to soda to induce cravings.

I can't even tolerate carbonated water, so I may be an exception. My sleeve doesn't like it. As far as flavored waters, look at the ingredients.

Carbonation can add to gas and since our stomachs are smaller, there isn't much room for the gas to go.