I used to drink lots of soda. I was hooked on Dr. Pepper. Since surgery I've cut it off, but everyone once in awhile, I want a sip. A couple days ago, I took a VERY small sip of my husband's and held it in my mouth until it fizzed up and had no more fizzy bubbles. Can anyone explain the real danger with soda. My doc says no soda, but doesn't really offer a satisfactory reason as to why.

I can live with no soda... and I don't crave it or anything. I've been so good since I cut it out and have been very surprised at my will power regarding this subject, since I have unsuccessfully tried to eliminate it from my diet during pre band life. I'm just wondering about people's perceptions on soda.

I am so proud of all of those who have comitted to breaking this habit.... not only will it make you healthier in general to not drink it (diet or not), but also, you are taking care of your band better. Any doctor that says pop or any other carbonation is ok, is crazy!

Kammi in Everett, WA

I am glad I read this. Before I was hooked on diet sodas. My Dr and dietitian said don't drink it because it will hurt. It is good to know that it could also have bad reactions on the band too and not just being uncomfortable. I do not drink any soda now any ways just a sip here and there.

hey, ya'll!!! Remember the FIRST diet soda ever created (I believe) called TAB back in the 80's. Yes, believe it or not it's still available at many grocery stores such as kroger or wal-mart. I was addicted!!! I drank anywhere from 6-10 (12 oz) cans per day sometimes.

If I can give up sodas, ANYBODY can!!! My dietician told me horror stories long before my surgery & of course my doc says no.

Crystal light (wal-mart brand, that is) is a delicious alternative. Morning sunrise orange is my FAVORITE.

I love DRPEPPER too, craving it every day since I was banded. the dietician explained to me that the carbonation in it makes your stomach swell & your pouch will stretch. she broke my heart when she said i was never to have it again but i've just decided to make the muscle milk my new favorite drink!!! ALSO---can ANYONE tell me how to upload/add my ticker? totally confused...

I was a Cokeaholic also..what makes it even worse is that I work for Coke..I've been off sodas for over 6 months now. It;s very hard tho when you're surrounded by it all day..if we didn't have free Dasani to drink I think I might go crazy.

The one thing I have noticed though is that after not having it for so long when I take a sip or two of my DH's drink, it just doesn't taste the same. Go figure.

You poor thing! BUT...I love Dasani...and would love to have it free at work!

I don't even miss soda... just iced tea and coffee which I can have after a month or so...

I too was a tabaholic...my husband would buy me 4 cases per week..I had my last tab the night before surgery. It has now been 3 weeks without tab after 28 years of addiction!!!

Holland- AWESOME! I too haven't had soda since my surgery. As time goes on it's getting easier.

I just wrote this somewhere else, but my doctor says the gas from soda can cause slippage. He prohibits it only in the first six months to 12 months after surgery, but I prefer other drinks anyway so I don't see myself going back to it.

my docters said same thing about the gas,i used to enjoy a can of pepsi max in summer,but since my band and not haveing cool drink in so long,if i have a sip,i dont enjoy it and end up divideing the can betwen my boys,so i really dont have it anymore,i have water/coffe/tea and juice from time to time.

I stopped the sodas hoping to be over the hump of missing them by the time I get to surgery. I drank de-caf, sugar free, so I didn't have a physical addiction, I just loved the taste. Already, I've noticed a big difference in that I'm NOT as hungry as normal. Maybe it's in my head, but there's a marked change in my hunger issues. I have to gain five pounds for my appointment to be approved for surgery, but I LOST three this week. I've drank the difference in water, so I know it's not just water weight I've lost. I don't know, but I'm starting to believe the carbonation was expanding my stomach to make me feel hungrier, or maybe, it's my nerves anticipating the band surgery. I usually drank about 24 oz of diet soda a day.

I had a pretty funny thing happen to me this week. My husband and I went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch with fill it yourself drink area. I was ready to break out and get my all you can drink diet coke. I had to LOL - the frickin' diet Coke dispenser had a big Out Of Order sign on it, and I ended up getting un-sweetened tea. (it was JUST the diet Coke too, all the others were fine!) A sign from God? If so...maybe God is looking out for me in this...at least I'd like to think so. This is a life changing chance for me.

lol kiz, the machine knew you were coming.

I take a sip once in awhile, but my doctor says no soda so I stick to tea and water. I was a huge diet pepsi drinker and I really miss it but I was surprised at how easy it was for me to give it up.

I kinda miss having a Pepsi on a hot afternoon, but what I'm really missing is having an ice cold beer! I've tried a sip, and yes it hurts like there's no tomorrow. So I'll stick to water and maybe an iced tea. I'm skeered of pop.:sad:

I'm used to having one or two 12 oz bottles of diet/caffeine free Coke a day. Also, I like getting diet coke when we go out for Mexican, but what I'll miss is having an ice cold beer. It's not even that I drink beer often, but when I do, it's usually in association with something fun. Barbecues, sporting events, out with friends, etc. I just find beer to be more of a social experience, and there's no drinking it flat or having a substitute. I know it's not a huge price to pay for getting healthy, but I will morn my loss...:drool: (Well, truthfully, that might be a tad melodramatic - lol, but I will miss it)

Just pulled this off the internet - I believe it's by Michael Murray the alkaline diet proponent. It does make you think - don't see many thin people drinking diet soda and it never helped me lose any weight...

Why "Diet" Soda Makes You Fat

Many people see diet soda is an innocuous, harmless beverage that

can't possibly cause any harm to their waistline since it doesn't

have any calories. Think again.

Research published this summer in the medical journal Circulation

shows that people who drink more than one soda a day -- whether

it's regular or diet -- have an almost 50 percent increased risk

for metabolic syndrome, which doubles their risk for heart disease

and diabetes.

Two years ago, a study at the University of Texas Health Science

Center found that there was a 41 percent increase in the risk for

being overweight for every single can of diet soda a person

consumed daily.

But how can something with no calories increase the risk for

obesity and heart disease?

There are several possible ways.

First, my own theory is that the sweet taste works in the brain to

create a conditioned response. The body responds as it usually does

to normal sugar -- with insulin, the fat-storing hormone. Those

circuits in the brain are pretty primitive and ancient, and they

can't immediately distinguish chemical fakery. As far as your brain

is concerned, sweet means sugar. It's entirely possible that

physiologically, you would respond to aspartame in the same way as

you would to table sugar. It's only a theory, but it makes sense to

me.

Second, sugar creates its own cravings. Just as a taste of rum

creates an unstoppable craving in an alcoholic, it's entirely

possible that the taste of sweet, even if it's fake, creates the

same cascade of cravings in a carb addict that regular sugar does,

leading to overeating and binging and all the rest of the reasons

people put on weight.

Third, many people think that by drinking diet beverages they're

"saving" calories. They subconsciously allow themselves to eat

more, figuring it's not doing as much harm since they're drinking a

diet drink. The diet drink gives them subconscious "permission" to

eat more.

What's worse than making you fat, aspartame may be toxic. Aspartame

is made primarily from three ingredients: aspartic acid,

phenylalanine and methanol. Methanol, an alcohol, breaks down in

the body to formaldehyde, a poison if there ever was one.

Apologists for aspartame say that it doesn't create enough

formaldehyde in the body to cause any damage, but I'm not so sure.

Exposing children to formaldehyde levels as low as .75 mg daily for

several months has been shown to cause gradual toxicity. Plus, diet

soda is frequently stored in hot warehouses, causing chemical

breakdowns that went undetected in the original safety studies that

looked at "ideal" conditions.

Soda is bad news, whether regular or diet. Period.

Note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss,

nutrition and health. He's a board certified nutrition specialist

with a Master's degree in psychology. Dr. Bowden is also a life

coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of

the award-winning book, Living the Low Carb Life.

[www.jonnybowden.com]