I am 2 months post-op and I'm wondering when did people start to test out soda? I know every Dr is different so some may not allow any at all, but my Dr. allows diet sodas in moderation if you can tolerate them. If there are any "Sleevers" out there that are drinking soda when did you start drinking them? Also if there are anyone out there that are eating protein bars how many months post op did you start experimenting with them and what kind do you recommend if you eat them on the regular?

Many people on here successfully drink sodas. However--there is a risk of stretching your sleeve over time. I'm NOT NOT NOT willing to risk that for something as caustic as sodas that aren't good for your gut anyway, even though I adore them. It's the one thing my Dr. is asking his patients to give up permanently. I've got no problem with that! My two cents....

Well for the soda, I haven't touch the stuff or any carbonated drink since 1 week pre-op. I'll never touch it again. My doctor has scared us into thinking that the stuff can cause stretching, and in no way do I want to ruin my new tummy. But if your doctor is different, just follow what he/she says. Sorry couldn't help more in that department.

The Protein bars I got to start eating them week 5 when I got to follow the "regular diet" as my doctor calls it. I used to do pure Protein Bars but the seem like rocks going down to me, so I switched to Atkins bars, less protein but they taste better and go down better.

Edited February 7, 201214 yr by panda

With all the crap in them......why would you want to drink a soda? Plenty of healthy choices on things to drink. Use your surgery as a chance to get a clean break from that stuff.

I'm almost six months out and have recently started experimenting with both.

Soda - I'm in the camp that doesn't believe carbonation can stretch your stomach, but that we shouldn't drink it because it's not nutritious, can trigger junk cravings, etc. I find that it doesn't bother me, but it does make me burp A LOT and makes that chest gurgling sound that's so embarrassing. Plus there's no way I could drink more than 2 or 3 ounces, so I'll sip on it once in a while if there's nothing else available or if I'm just craving a taste (which isn't often) but I mostly prefer non-carbonated drinks because they're easier to drink.

Bars - **just my opinion** It was really important to me to learn how to get my Protein from real food. I stopped drinking shakes after a while and just tried to eat healthy and make time for my meals and learn how to plan ahead for them. Now that I'm able to eat pretty much anything I have started to try to eat balanced meals, including carbs. The only problem is now I'm not eating enough protein, so I started playing with protein bars. The point is, I personally think that bars should be an occasional supplement to whatever you're eating and I would recommend waiting on using them until you get then hang of your new "normal" diet.

I just tried a 20 cal Rock Star energy drink this past weekend. It says "lightly carbonated" on the can and I was soooo tired and sleepy, so I need a wake me up. I sipped on it for 10 mins and maybe drank 3-4 ounces. That was more than enough for me. Just didn't feel good in my stomach. I took a nap afterwards. : ) Not sure I'll try carbonation again. That's twice, along with a sip of chapagne that I tried on New Years and neither felt good in my tummy.

im afraid to drink soda since it was one of my vices before surgery . empty calories, full of sugar.i drink water,powerade one and crystal light. i am 3 months out and have no issue with protein bars.

Soda - no way. Haven't tried it. Won't do it. I've worked way too hard for my new body that I don't want to stretch my stomach.

Protein bars - love them. Eat them almost 4 times a week. I really like the Adkins Meal Replacement bars. They have 17-20 grams of protein per bar and are lower on the calories and fat than some of the others. I particularly like the chocolate Peanut Butter bar and the Chocolate Chip Granola bar. I have tried some Cliff bars but only when we were traveling and I had no other choice. I don't recommend those. Too many calories and carbs.

Anyway, good luck!

I was told that that the stretchy part, the big curvature was the stretchy part and that this portion of the stomach we have left doesn't stretch or only is able to stretch to accomodate the amount that will be your personal restriction something like a wallet when you put a few bills inside. What carbonation will do is put presuure on the stomach and make it fill with gas and that does not feel good. Pressure on the healing stomach is especially bad.

My plan is to use the juice I've frozen from my orange and pomegranate trees and pour a bit of carbonated Water over the cube. I won't do this until 6 months out. This will be an occasional treat. I will never go back to the store bought diet sodas with all the chemicals.

The soda issue has been covered. Apart from a sip to taste it, diet coke was a vice for me and I'm probably not going to try much of it except as occasional sips.

Protein bars, I'm anxiously awaiting shipments of Quest Bars and Oh yeah bars -- from the WLS twittersphere, I hear these two brands mentioned most often as the best tasting, highest protein with reasonable or low carbs.

i have Premier Protein bars and they are dense. I have two boxes now and I'm not sure when they will get used.

powercrunch are quite good but seem quite high in calories for the amount of protein you get...I think like 220 calories for 14 g, but decent carbs, like 10 g I think? From the arguments I've heard, their protein source, proto whey sounds like its quite good and absorbable.

Oh yeah nutrition offers samples of everything once per month per customer, so that is what I ordered. For $20 for all 4 kits, you get 8 bars, three RTD shakes and 5 packets of Protein powder, not bad!

http://ohyeahnutrition.myshopify.com/collections/ohyeah-sample-kits

Quest is here: there is a box that has a sample of each flavor here:

http://www.questproteinbar.com/

I drink diet sodas and have since about 3 months post-op. Everyone has their opinions and thoughts on sleeve stretching. I may find in a few years that I have "stretched it" ... but at 2 years out, I have the same restriction I did at say 9+ months out. (Of course, silder foods are not part of the restriction equation - they go down just fine & have for a long time.)