soda
We can drink them. They aren't particularly healthy for us, but we can drink them. They cause discomfort for some people, but not for everyone. I have no problem drinking diet soda, but I hardly ever do because I just don't like it that much.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
You CAN drink it (it will NOT stretch your pouch or corrode your staples, or cause ulcers), but especially early out many people find the carbonation to be uncomfortable. There are also SOME studies that say it contributes to leaching calcium from the bones, but there also studies that don't support that. There are also studies that show a correlation between drinking diet soda an weight gain, but CORRELATION is not CAUSATION. People don't get fat from zero calorie cola, they get fat from the other things they consume. For some people, soda might cause them to want to eat. For others (like me), the soda replaces the desire to have something sweet.
I waited until about 6 months out, and I always pour it over ice to cut the carbonation a bit, but I have a diet soda more days than not. It isn't really a healthy choice, of course, since it is nothing but a bunch of chemicals, but many of us still drink it occasionally or regularly.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
I am 4 years out and still can't drink soda without getting uncomfortable. I do have a "sick ****tail" that I love and crave when I'm sick.....Sprite zero on crushed ice with a splash of cranberry juice. I'll let it sit a bit and melt so the bubbles aren't too bad....but I must have this when I'm sick. Otherwise, I do not drink soda. I really do like water and lemon the best.
Not only do I know that they aren't good for us ( I was drinking them for a caffeine hit ) and a fitness trainer told me a long time ago that it makes it hard to lose weight and that didn't cure me but when my surgeon made it a requirement to stop, I figured that he would have to have good reason. That was the last time I had a diet coke. I've had an occasional sip and my pouch didn't like it. Fortunately, I rarely think about it.
