Hello all,
I was wondering if any of you are consuming regularly diet drinks, without experiencing any weight increase impact, 1 year or more after your gastric bypass?
Craving a Coke Zero, but I am afraid I will get hooked on it and this will eventually impact my weight.
I am 1 year post RNY and almost at goal weight (struggling with the last 20 pounds).
Thank you!

I dont drink many fizzy drinks, I like zero sugar blackcurrant squash. I will occasionally have a long alcoholic drink and then I use diet Sprite, tonic or a Britvic 55 which is a fruit juice with added soda water. I have no problems now or earlier in my journey.

If you try one, my advice would be to to put it in a glass and stir it to de gas it a little.

i was a 2-3 Diet Coke a day drinker pre-wls.

stopped 2 weeks before surgery and pretty much stayed away for about 2-3 years. If I had to guess, i probably had maybe 10-15 over those 2-3 years (most of them consumed near the tail end of that period).

around year 3 i started drinking Coke Zero and now i basically have at least one (or equivalent to one) a day...sometimes more depending on what environment i'm in (i.e., party, hot weather or whatever).

I'll be 6 years post op in October and drinking it does not seem to affect my weight (i've stayed below goal weight all this time since reaching it at 7 months post op).

but as with everything, YMMV. my experience may or may not be what you would experience.

p.s. you specifically asked about diet drinks, but @summerseeker mentioned fizzy/carbonated drinks...so in case that is what you were also asking about, i started drinking carbonated drinks around month 3 or 4 and never stopped (i love me Perrier lol...i drink that stuff like water...oh wait, it is water, hahahhahahha).

I don't drink diet sodas at all. I have gone to a no nutritional value and unhealthy chemicals = I don't touch it. I think to myself why drink something with no nutrients and unhealthy chemicals, that stops any potential cravings.

I'm also a person who slips down the slippery slope at hypersonic speed, so I personally don't risk it.

I’m a night shift nurse. I live on caffeine. Coke Zero, sugar free redbull, coffee, tea. Hasn’t affected my success 5 years out.

I don’t drink sodas diet or not either except for soda water & tonic on the rare occasions I have a gin (can’t recall the last time I had one). I do drink sparkling water every day (San Pellegrino is my go to). I started drinking that around month 3 or 4 I think. I’d let it go pretty flat & sipped on it for hours interspersed with plain water back then. If I’m socialising I’ll sometimes have soda or sparkling water with a slice of lime if I don’t feel like an alcoholic drink.

I stopped a lot of carbonated drinks some years before my WLS as a way of managing my reflux, of course the calories (?) & I was questioning the use & impacts of artificial sweeteners. So I lost my desire/craving for it way before my surgery.

But you know you best & whether it will lead you down a slippery slope.

there aren't any calories in Coke Zero, so it shouldn't make you gain weight, but carbonated beverages can irritate some people's stomachs (which is why surgeons don't allow them the first few weeks or months post op - and some surgeons "ban" them for life). I drank Diet Coke occasionally before surgery, but then didn't have any for at least three years post-op. I tried one once while I was at an airport and after a sip or two, I dumped it out. It tasted like chemicals (which basically, it is...). After all that time away from it, it tasted awful. So that was that - haven't had one since.

I do drink flavored carbonated water a few times a week now. I still can't drink things that are highly carbonated because after nine years out, carbonation can still irritate my stomach. I can handle mildly carbonated drinks, though. But then again, if faced with a beverage that's too carbonated for me, I just let it sit there for a while until it flattens out enough for my stomach to tolerate it.

Hang in there, those last 20lbs or so come off very slowly! I am 16 months post sleeve and just hit my drs weight goal (although my goal is 5-10lbs less than his ?) I drink Coke Zero everyday and probably more than I should but that being said, it has not impacted my weight loss at all. I must be one of the few lucky ones that don’t get heartburn from it. However, I do notice I can’t drink it too soon after I eat. Good luck with those last few pounds! Just stick to the program and they will come off eventually!

I don't drink diet drinks per se but I love Bubly Grapefruit sparkling water. It’s a refreshing and tangy drink that combines the crisp taste of natural grapefruit with the effervescence of sparkling water. It contains no artificial sweeteners, no calories, and nothing unnatural. It helps keeps me hydrated. I'm kind of the paranoid type when it comes to artificial sweeteners because of the multiple studies showing despite being calorie-free, have shown that they can still interfere with weight management. So I prefer to stick with natural options.

I like Diet Coke, I was addicted to it for years. I think it was the relaxing part of phenylalanine. But I gave it up because of G.E.R.D. and possibly future osteoporosis problems because I already take a rather large amount of steroids (inhaled) to control asthma. Every once in a while I’ll have some D Coke at a party. I gotta say, my teeth are whiter now without it.

16 hours ago, learn2cook said:

I already take a rather large amount of steroids (inhaled) to control asthma.

a little off tangent, but wanna share:

have you ever head of the Wim Hof method? in a nutshell its a series of efforts that, when performed consistently over time can ease the symptoms of asthma (and other circulatory ailments ) or eradicate them altogether.

(i've included 2 links below, an easy read and a more in depth one, choose according to your attention span lol).

ANYWAY...my brother in law had been taking daily preventative steroid inhalers since he was a child (he's like 45 now). about a year ago he committed to the efforts outlined in the Wim Hof method (breathing exercises, cold plunges/showers, among other things) and for the last 6 months now has been completely off his inhaler. its really quite remarkable.

note though there is some controversy regarding reports of drowning surrounding the cold water therapy benefits, specifically due to unsafe practices and implementation, but u can be the judge of that urself if u got this far and want to read more below

easy read:

https://www.wellandgood.com/wim-hof-method/

a little more technical read:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-44902-0

I like to drink energy drinks from time to time, but I try to get rid of the fizz. The caffeine does tend to play havoc on my internal plumbing.