The infamous "Pop" question!

I am around 15 months out reached and passed my goal about 6 or 7 months ago. I am getting TIRED of water. Carbonation has not really bothered me at all, so I decided to give pop a try. I have found Coca-Cola Cherry Zero, Coca-Cola Zero, and Pepsi Max. These pop's have 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 Sugar, 0 Carbs, and only 40mg Sodium. So according to the nutrition label I see nothing wrong with these, and they do NOT bother my pouch at all. So with all this being said can anyone give me some facts to weather this is bad or not? Like will it stretch my pouch, is the caffeine bad for me (I am NOT caffeine sensitive). It is nice having the bubbly flavor without all the calories and sugar. I am just wanting to make sure its not going to effect me in a regain or harmful way. Any information would be very GREATLY appreciated. Thank You.

I've heard that the carbonation in soda (not sure if seltzer or other carbonated beverages have the same effect) leaches calcium from bones.  The sweetener in them also turns to formaldehyde when it reaches a certain temperature, that temperature being lower than the human body.  They aren't really good for you for a few reasons, but I doubt having an occasional diet soda is not going to make you gain weight.  I hope others can answer this too though, because I'm not sure.

The sweetener is most diet sodas is aspertame.  Isn't that the same sweetener in things like Crystal light?

I do believe aspertame is the sweetener in crystal light.  it's in a LOT of diet foods and pretty much unavoidable for us unless we stick to water for drinking and don't ingest a lot of sugar free foods.  I'm not going to sit here and say that I don't drink crystal light occasionally, though.   I'm kind of a believer of the rule that anything in excess can be bad for you so I just try to keep that in mind.

I read the book "skinny *****" back in the day and there was a whole section on why diet soda is bad for you and it made me stop drinking it cold turkey for like a solid 6-8 months...then somehow it crept back into my life.  It's gone again now though, hopefully for good!

I certainly don't think diet soda is good for you.  I think for most people, drinking it occasionally or in small amounts will not cause any serious problems.  I think that about most foods.  Lots of things aren't really healthy for us but they don't kill us either, as long as we use them in moderation.

No it will NOT stretch your pouch.   The laws of physics say that is impossible.

Yes, caffeine is bad for you.  It can cause nervousness, trouble sleeping, interfere with the absorption of some vitamins and minerals, and probably do other bad stuff to your body.  I don't personally think it's a problem if you use it in moderation, though.

No, diet soda will  not cause you to regain weight.  It has no calories.  How could it?  However, some studies have shown that the artificial sweetener in diet soda increases the appetite, and some people feel drinking soda triggers them to eat junk food.  Eating more or eating junk food could lead to weight gain, of course.

Soda is bad for you for lots of other reasons.  I personally don't think it's a problem in moderation, though.

Personally I could drink a 16 OZ redbull and go right to bed and sleep like a baby. It does IMHO help me concentrate better and I like the taste of diet red bull.  IMHO if it does not mess up your weight loss and your labs continue to be ok, a little diet soda water is not going to rock the boat.

BTW, I thought you were going to say you had surgery in the last two months, bent over, heard a "POP" sound and now have a ache in you side. You see that question posted all to often.