In prep for my surgery in July, I have been reading lots here and adjusting my food habits. One thing I cut cold turkey is sodas.

I always drank diet 7-Up or diet vanilla Coke. I only ever drank one day, more on weekends.

Oh my did I get a strong craving for it the other day. It isn't the sugar because I drank diet, it could be the caffeine, but what I really craved was the carbonation.

So I was joking with myself that they must put HEROINE in to keep us addicted.

I haven't given in but still crave it quite strongly.

oh well, better find out now hey?

cokes are really hard to give up, i managed to switch from regular to diet, but I know I'm going to have to give that up soon too. I think we just crave the carbonation. I'm trying to drink more regular water and when I crave a coke I drink crystal light or flavored water or tea instead.

I personally think it's the carbonation, too. My diet Coke was so hard to give up! But I haven't had any soda for 3 months now, so I think I'll survive. You will, too, even though it sometimes doesn't feel like it Hang tight and it will get better, I promise.

Emily

I used to drink about a 12 pack of cokes a day. I drank them right up until I was forced to stop. I thought I could get away with having a soda once in a while. I tired a coke 1 month after banding and I was crying on the floor for about an hour with gas. It just hurt so bad. That was the last time and I don't miss them.

Sometimes I think the bubbles would be nice but my re-trained body reminds me of the outcome and I grab a bottle of Propel instead! I feel your pain!

7 Up, originally named Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda, was concocted in 1929 in St. Louis, Missouri. It originally contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. Many early soft drinks contained herbal or pharmaceutical ingredients. This was removed in 1950.

Contrary to popular belief, the coca leaf extract cocaine was never added to Coca-Cola, per se. Because cocaine is naturally present in untreated coca leaves, small amounts of cocaine were also present in the beverage. Today's Coca-Cola uses "spent" coca leaves, those that have been through a cocaine extraction process, to flavor the beverage. Since this process cannot extract the cocaine alkaloids at a molecular level, the drink still contains trace amounts of the stimulant<SUP class=plainlinksneverexpand id=ref_rielly>[5]</SUP>. The United States DEA oversees the importation of coca for Coca-Cola, and later sale of the extracted cocaine to the drug industry where it is used in the creation of many of the common drugs whose names end in "-aine" (such as Procaine).<SUP class=plainlinksneverexpand id=ref_wsj>[6]</SUP>

Lithium and cocaine. There's why we love it so much! *laughs*

I miss my carbonation every one in a while..... Fear has kept me away.