Just curious how people are holding up to this....I do not drink soda often at all. Honestly maybe 1 time a month or if I get sick I would have a sprite to settle my tummy. Now that I am not allowed to have it seems more tempting. Just wondering what others did to satisfy that need. Honestly I would rather have a club soda with lime....yum. I am sad to give up sparkling water...I drink Propel to switch it up. But I am open to other ideas, PLEASE!

It's a myth. It doesn't expand the stomach it just gives you gas

On 6/22/2017 at 7:03 AM, ShilohD said:

Its the one carbonation. My dietician told me the reason they say no soda ever again is beca use the carbonation causes your stomach to expand, which makes you hungrier, which makes you eat more.

The whole reason for the surgery is to make the stomach smaller... why take the chance that the soda would make your stomach bigger? It defeats the whole purpose... in my book, it's just not worth the risk.

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I'd ask your dietitian to retire for the sake of their patients getting better advice elsewhere.

Edited June 23, 20179 yr by PatientEleventyBillion

I concur..

Science has factually proved that carbonation does NOT stretch the sleeve. Get a new dietician ?

To be honest, diet soda is the one thing I am concerned about giving up. Not that it has worked obviously, but I have the mindset that if it weren't for that, I would be heavier. I often satisfy my sweet tooth with a diet soda and I drink about 2-3 a day. So, I already, pre-op, started trying to let it go. I am down to 1 a day and hoping to switch to 1-2 glasses of decaf iced tea with truvia eventually so that the transition later will be easier. I'm sure I will miss it and be tempted too. I was actually told a different reason...that carbonation can upset your stomach and cause more gas. Has anyone experienced this problem?

Edited June 23, 20179 yr by kathy51

Note that cola beverages have been associated with low bone mineral density in women due to the fact that they have phosphorus, which can increase the loss of calcium from the body through the kidneys. Another reason to consider to limit your consumption of cola drinks/soda.

To be honest, diet soda is the one thing I am concerned about giving up. Not that it has worked obviously, but I have the mindset that if it weren't for that, I would be heavier. I often satisfy my sweet tooth with a diet soda and I drink about 2-3 a day. So, I already, pre-op, started trying to let it go. I am down to 1 a day and hoping to switch to 1-2 glasses of decaf iced tea with truvia eventually so that the transition later will be easier. I'm sure I will miss it and be tempted too. I was actually told a different reason...that carbonation can upset your stomach and cause more gas. Has anyone experienced this problem?

It actually causes my stomach sharp pain so I avoid it.

I am one of you that thought I would never be able to give up Diet Pepsi. I am within my two weeks pre-op, almost finished week one. I stopped drinking Diet Pepsi approximately two weeks before my pre-op because I have been drinking it since I was a little kid. I swear I switched from milk in a bottle to Diet Pepsi LOL. I knew this would be very hard and needed time in case I failed. I will say first couple days, I missed it a lot. I felt only a drop in my energy level because of the caffeine and thankfully no headaches. I decided to start taking B12 every morning with my normal pills that I take and I noticed a big difference immediately in my energy. After about four days I never had another craving for Diet Pepsi. People walk around at work drinking it and I have no problem at this point. I'm not gonna say that I couldn't pick up another one and still love the taste of it, I'm just not thinking about it like I did initially Take the leap. I drink water and one bottle of Bai water or Premier Protien Clear a day to give me some variation. I will tell you with the Premier Protein Clear I find it too sweet. I add a little bit a water to cut down the super sweet taste and then it is perfect. Good luck everyone! Surgery is Monday 7/3. ?

Edited June 24, 20179 yr by Here_I_Go_Again

Thanks for the link to the Bariatric Pal store website . I didn't notice it and it looks like it has lots of useful items. Has anyone tried vitamin patches?

Edited June 24, 20179 yr by kathy51

I occasionally have Diet Coke and have never experienced negative effects from it, but I'm more careful to not overdo. I mainly have it if I'm at a dinner party or the like and being served something spicy, because I have a wimpy tongue and Diet Coke helps to soothe it better than water. Every once and a while at the movies I'll order a Kids Pack which comes with popcorn and a tiny soda. I no longer habitually buy gallons of Diet Coke at the store, and very rarely ever order it when out. I started doing this about four months out from the VSG, and continue to perhaps once every month or thereabouts. (I've been below my goal for a year now).

The main carbonated drink I have to avoid is sparkling water. It makes me sound like I have something bubbling inside of my chest when I drink it, which is quite embarrassing when I'm out socially.

On 6/24/2017 at 1:01 PM, kathy51 said:

Thanks for the link to the Bariatric Pal store website . I didn't notice it and it looks like it has lots of useful items. Has anyone tried vitamin patches?

I tried them but I don't FEEL enough of a difference to keep spending money on them. I am looking into liquid vitamins because those are the only vitamins where I actually feel a difference.

Also, I drink carbonation very sparingly. I almost NEVER finish a drink though.

I have allowed myself a San Pellegrino or a Seltzer on occasion. No syrup, based sodas at all, however. This is a decision that I made prior to my surgery, and it has been fairly easy to stick to it. Like everything else, it's about occasional use only.

On 6/20/2017 at 2:30 AM, MFM008 said:

I still drink regular soda. Not diet soda when I want one. I still lose weight.

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@MFM008 When did you have your VSG?

Im a newby to this group, here is my opinion...my doctor said to stay away from soda or carbonated beverages..that lasted for a year or two. I drink all diet soda's. Diet dr pepper is the worst. It seems the more you drink of it the more you crave it the more you drink of it ! terrible just terrible ! viscious circle ! I would honestly just like to break that addiction too ! so besides food addiction, there is the soda addiction lol ! Really if you are able to eat or drink in moderation you should be good. Anything in excess is bad !

I found this article on another WLS site. It's old but makes sense:

By: Cynthia Buffington, Ph.D

Did you drink carbonated soft drinks prior to your Bariatric surgery? Do you still consume carbonated soft drinks? Were you advised by your surgeon or his/her nutritional staff NOT to drink carbonated drinks after surgery? Do you understand why drinking carbonated beverages, even if sugar-free, could jeopardize your weight loss success and, perhaps even your health?

A carbonated beverage is an effervescent drink that releases carbon dioxide under conditions of normal atmospheric pressure. Carbonated drinks include most soft drinks, champagne, beer, and seltzer water. If you consume a soft drink or other carbonated beverage while eating, the carbonation forces food through he stomach pouch, reducing the time food remains in the pouch. The less time food remains in your stomach pouch, the less satiety (feelings of fullness) you experience, enabling you to eat more with increased risk for weight gain.

The gas released from a carbonated beverage mat "stretch" your stomach pouch. Food forced through the pouch by the carbonation could also significantly enlarge the size of your stoma (the opening between the stomach pouch and intestines of patients who have had a gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion). An enlarged pouch or stoma would allow you to eat larger amounts of food at any one setting. In this way, consuming carbonated beverages, even if the drinks are diet or calorie free, may cause weight gain or interfere with maximal weight loss success.

Soft drinks may also cause weight gain by reducing the absorption of dietary calcium. Dietary calcium helps to stimulate fat breakdown and reduce its uptake into adipose tissue. Epidemiological and clinical studies have found a close association between obesity and low dietary calcium intake. Recent studies have found that maintaining sufficient amounts of dietary calcium helps to induce weight loss or prevent weight gain following diet.

The high caffeine in carbonated sodas is one way that drinking carbonated soft drinks may reduce the absorption of calcium into the body. Studies have found that caffeine increases urinary calcium content, meaning that high caffeine may interfere with the uptake of dietary calcium into the body. Keep in mind that one 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew has 50 mg of caffeine, and Pepsi and Coke (diet or those with sugar) contain 37 mg of caffeine each.

Colas, such as Pepsi and Coke (diet or with sugar), may also cause calcium deficiencies from the high amounts of phosphoric acid that they contain. Phosphate binds to calcium and the bound calcium cannot be absorbed into the body. Both animal and human studies have found that phosphoric acid is associated with altered calcium homeostasis and low calcium.

Drinking carbonated beverages may also reduce dietary calcium because these beverages replace milk and other nutrient-containing drinks or foods in the diet. Several studies report inverse (negative) relationships between carbonated beverage usage and the amount of milk (particularly children) consume.

Carbonated beverages, then, may reduce dietary calcium because of their high caffeine or phosphoric acid content or because drinking such beverages tends to reduce the consumption of calcium-containing foods and beverages. Such deficiencies in dietary calcium intake may be even more pronounced in Bariatric surgical patients.

Calcium deficiencies with Bariatric surgery have been reported following gastric restrictive and/or malabsorptive procedures. The reduced amounts of calcium with bariatric surgery may occur as a result of low nutrient intake, low levels of vitamin D, or, for patients who have had gastric bypass pr the biliopancreatic diversion (with or without the duodenal switch), from bypass of the portion of the gut where active absorption of calcium normally occurs. Drinking carbonated beverages may further increase the risk for dietary calcium deficiencies and, in this way, hinder maximal weight loss success.

For all the reasons described above, including calcium deficits, reduced satiety, enlargement of pouch or stoma, drinking carbonated beverages, even those that are sugar-free, could lead to weight gain. Carbonated beverages that contain sugar, however, pose a substantially greater threat to the Bariatric patient in terms of weight loss and weight loss maintenance with surgery.

Sugar-containing soft drinks have a relatively high glycemic index, meaning that blood sugar levels readily increase with their consumption. The rapid rise in blood sugar, in turn, increases the production of the hormone, insulin. , that acts to drive sugar into tissues where it is metabolized or processed for storage. High insulin levels, however, also contribute to fat accumulation, driving fat into the fat storage depots and inhibiting the breakdown of fat.

Soft drinks with sugar are also high in calories. An average 12 oz. soft drink contains 10 teaspoons of refined sugar (40g). The typical 12-oz. can of soda contains 150 calories (Coke = 140 calories; Pepsi = 150; Dr. Pepper = 160; orange soda = 180; 7-up = 140; etc.). Soft drinks are the fifth largest source of calories for adults, accounting for 5.6% of all calories that Americans consume. Among adolescents, soft drinks provide 8%- to 9% of calories. An extra 150 calories per day from a soft drink over the course of a year, is equivalent to nearly 16 pounds and that weight gain multiplied by a few years could equate to “morbid obesity”.

In addition to the adverse effects that carbonated drinks have on weight loss or weight loss maintenance, carbonated beverages may also have adverse effects on health. Soda beverages and other carbonated drinks are acidic with a pH of 3.0 or less. Drinking these acidic beverages on an empty stomach in the absence of food, as Bariatric patients are required to do, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the gastric pouch and intestines and increase the risk for ulcers or even the risk for gastrointestinal adenomas (cancer).

Soft drink usage has also been found to be associated with various other health problems. These include an increased risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney stones, bone fractures and reduced bone density, allergies, cancer, acid-peptic disease, dental carries, gingivitis, and more. Soft drinks may, in addition, increase the risk for oxidative stress. This condition is believed to contribute significantly to aging and to diseases associated with aging and obesity, i.e. diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, reduced immune function, hypertension, and more.

From the above discussion, do you now have a little better understanding of why your Bariatric surgeon or Bariatric nutritionist advised you NOT to consume carbonated sodas after surgery? Your Bariatric surgeon and his/her staff want to see you achieve the best results possible from your surgery – both in terms of weight loss and health status – and so do YOU. Consider the consequences of drinking such beverages now that you understand more clearly why such drinks are “Bariatric taboo”.