Me too. I mean REALLY bad. Since the mid 80's. (I LOVED TAB!!!)

It was the thing I would end up having the hardest time reconciling myself to- being without it.

And then the moment!

We have a SodaStream at home, and one of the flavors is Diet Coke. It's just the syrup.

When trying to "get off" the Diet Coke habit, I would take a glass of cold Water, add in a little bit of the syrup, and voila! Had a Diet Coke taste fix! Eventually, I weaned it down to a few drops until it was pointless to even put it in there. But it helped. A lot.

I will- on occasion- have a Diet Coke. Can't consume a lot, maybe 4-5 sips, but it's a treat, and I consider it as such. For me? Better than justifying a few bites of cake or some other ridiculous carbs.

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At 2 years out, I have 1 7.5 Oz can of Coke Zero every day. By the time I finish it, it's pretty much flat, lol.

Carbonation does not stretch your sleeve, just may irritate it immensely if consumed too early out. I know the artificial crap is terrible, but so is the crap they put in Gatorade and all the other artificially sweetened stuff we are often encouraged to drink in place of Water.

I gave up smoking, stay away from sweets (besides fruit), and eat clean 95% of the time. A girl needs some vices!

I drink Coke Zero every day. Usually through a straw...

sometimes I have a diet coke with splenda - or a cola from whole foods with stevia. don't seem to have any problems but it does take me a LONG time to finish it.

I've been 14 months without them now. If someone had told me that before surgery I would make a clean break, I'd have called them crazy.

Not only was Coke my choice of drink since I was a child, it was pretty much the only thing I'd drink from am to pm. Even when I switched from real Coke down to Coke Zero, I still couldn't stop. These products are designed to keep you craving more. Being addicted to anything is not a good idea. I was drinking them right up to the day before surgery. It's hard to admit that something, anything, has that much control over your life. While it tasted good, it was harming me every bit as much as being fat was.

Yes, the craving was hard in the beginning, but I hung on, and just as I was seeing the pounds melt away, I was feeling the Iron hold that soda had over me begin to diminish. Now I only drink Water. And I enjoy it!

Yes, some post ops go back to it in moderation after surgery, and do fine. But if you're a hard core soda drinker, my advice would be to not drink it as a post op. Don't chance allowing that demanding monkey to take residence on your back again. It's the same approach I take with fast food, sweets, salt and other things. I know my weaknesses and I want to do everything possible to keep this weight off long term.

Plus, I've already consumed enough of this stuff to last several lifetimes. It's a big part of what got me here in the first place.

I dare say Coke Zero has little "control over my life" nor is it a "demanding monkey on my back". Few things have an "Iron hold" on me and I'm quite positive I'm not "addicted".

Or were you just being tongue in cheek with this...?

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="LipstickLady" data-cid="4264633" data-time="1474141428"><p>I dare say Coke Zero has little "control over my life" nor is it a "demanding monkey on my back". Few things have an "iron hold" on me and I'm quite positive I'm not "addicted".Or were you just being tongue in cheek with this...?That's great! Glad you are still able to drink it! ????

... I think some can handle diet coke, coke zero, etc ... but I think #the candidate was talking about people like me . I quit diet coke habit before surgery (in January) but still have cravings . That tells me I cannot handle even a little bit . I wish I could because I enjoyed DC a lot . But for now - I have to keep the DC monkey away ... but straws are nice

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... I think some can handle diet coke, coke zero, etc ... but I think #the candidate was talking about people like me . I quit diet coke habit before surgery (in January) but still have cravings . That tells me I cannot handle even a little bit . I wish I could because I enjoyed DC a lot . But for now - I have to keep the DC monkey away ... but straws are nice

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Thank you for explaining it better than I did. I have to keep away as well. ????

I was a diet Coke fien I loved my Coke!!! But...having the WLS and knowing that this would be my last ditch effort I did comply with the guidelines I was provided. I wanted to be a success and not a statistic and fail like I had with all of my attempts to lose my weight and keep it off!! I know I'm not the only one that has tried many many different weight loss programs, heck I even tried them 2 or 3 times!! I think that drinking carbonation is a person's own choice. Now I have never been a big drinker but I love COORS Lite when it is hot!! I also gave that up for the same reason. My thoughts ( for myself) was why try things out that may or may not hurt your Weight Loss? I did have a sip of my grandson's Moutain Dew because I had a extreme headache and needed something to take my Tylenol with. Let me tell you it felt like I had drank Draino it hit my PRISSY POUCH and hurt so bad I have not and will not drink it again. But...with that being said it is a personal choice!!

My Coke Zero is perfect when I think I'm hungry. The carbonation keeps me from being able to eat for hours.

i was a regular Mtn Dew JUNKIE. totally addicted. had at least 2 or 3 44oz fountain pops every day.

i gave them up completely in my pre-op and did awesome until about 17 months post op.

Then i started drinking diet Vernors, then slowly made my way back to the Dew. I'm once again totally addicted. i've started a wean off of it AGAIN and starting a 5 day pouch test monday so tomorrow will be the last of my pop again.

i really need to stay away from pop in general- my kids and hubs love it too and if MOM has it, everyone has it. it's just terrible for all of us.

I do like those little tiny 2 oz cans, i may consider getting those at some point once I am close to my goal and enjoying one daily, however it will be Coke Zero...

another Vernors fan.................. yum.

I think the issue is more the empty calories from regualr sodas. Like I said, I know the artificial crap in Coke Zero or diet soda isn't ideal, either. I also know that there seems to be some studies saying that artifical sweeteners can cause weight gain (the jury is still out on that).

I like my little can of Coke Zero a day. So far I've maintained my weight for a year up or down 5 pounds, so for now it's working for me. When and if it's not, I'll figure it out.

@@LipstickLady has maintained her weight for like 2 years, so it's obviously working for her, too.

What works for me may not work for you. In the mean time, you'll pry my Coke Zero from my cold, dead hands.

I think the issue is more the empty calories from regualr sodas. Like I said, I know the artificial crap in Coke Zero or diet soda isn't ideal, either. I also know that there seems to be some studies saying that artifical sweeteners can cause weight gain (the jury is still out on that).

I like my little can of Coke Zero a day. So far I've maintained my weight for a year up or down 5 pounds, so for now it's working for me. When and if it's not, I'll figure it out.

@@LipstickLady has maintained her weight for like 2 years, so it's obviously working for her, too.

What works for me may not work for you. In the mean time, you'll pry my Coke Zero from my cold, dead hands.

I agree. It's a weird conundrum that diet soda is not recommended by most because of artificial sweeteners but drinks' like Crystal Light are. Another argument is the acidity in soda, but it's OK in coffee'? The carbonation argument is phooey. Air won't stretch a sleeve.

I consider my Coke Zero my "cup of coffee'". Same color, same caffeine, same calories. It's just cold instead of hot and I drink it through a straw instead of a mug.

Agree- I've always called my pop "my coffee" and at work I gather at the coffee counter with everybody else, I just have my soda instead of a coffee mug.

However, I DO enjoy a good cup of flavored coffee too!

As far as artificial sweetening- well I am a big fan of Stevia drops for most things. I figure the small amount of artificial sweetening that is in a tiny can of pop is probably not enough to do much- the studies of aspartame and brain dysfunction involved 3-4 LITERS a day.