Soda

Have any of you tried drinking soda...I am craving in the worst way a Diet Coke...so I gave in and to be honest with you it tasted soooo good. What part of it is worse for us the carbonation or the sugar? Makes me wonder why after 10 1/2 months I gave in to this. Kinda scares me that I might give in to other temptations. I am guessing that it's cause I am so near goal (2 1/2 lbs away) and I might not try as hard.

I used to be a diet pepsi junky. I have tried it since WLS but I dont' like the taste now and it doesnt' go down well - it hurts. So I can easily take it or leave it. Before WLS that was one of my concerns - how I would do without having my diet pepsi, but I've been managing fine - i've found other things to quench my thirst. As long as you keep it in moderation, you should be fine in my opinion. Were you given any guidelines by your surgeon? You should follow what they say incase their version of surgery prevents you from having soda. They are empty calories anyway, so if you can avoid them it's probably best, but once in a while.... Being so near goal, you dont need to try so hard. You are going to have to figure out maintenance, which is a life-long thing, something you've got to live with. It is going to be very different from trying to lose to maintaining where you're at. Just keep a check on what your body is doing - if you begin to gain, then get back to basics. Otherwise, try to find the balance of calories in that your body needs to stay where you are. Best of luck

actually neither one is bad for you, what is bad is that cola products rob your body of calcium or make it hard for the body to absorb calcium properly and since we are already malabsorbers it's a double whammy. ANDI

Hi. Well.. I have to be honest....I drink diet coke,have for quite awhile now,it has never bothered me...the same as allot of other things!! Sometimes I don't think they did my surgery!! I don't get sick,never dumped,can eat anything without a problem! But as far as the soda goes,I don't go overboard on it,I used drink at least 3-5 cans a day! Now I may have one every other day. But maybe thats why I don't lose my weight like everyone else!

I drink and have not noticed a difference. granted, I do not drink every day and I buy the 8 oz cans, add one to to a 16 oz juice to 'spike' it. ;) Kat Blog [Photographer & Mom of 5] 275/146 [[ Some people are like slinkies, they don't really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.]]

I have read the same thing. It messes with your absorb. of vitamins and we already have a problem with that. I was a coke addict for years and gave it up. than about 2 years ago I started drinking them again and went back up to a 12 pack a day. The day of surgery I put them down and have not touched them since. I know how bad I can be about drinking them and am glad I gave up the habit again. I know lots of people who drink them but I choose not to for more than one reason. yes.. and now that you are so close it is getting so much harder to stay one track.. I hit that magic number and have been struggling every day with what I am doing. I thought saying I wanted to loose another 10 pounds would get me back on track, but truthfully.. i am having a tough time doing whats right now. Just stay on track as best as you can. I dont think drinking one once in a while is bad. just keep from making it a bad habit like i did.

from John Han**** Center on Physical Activity and Nutrition http://nutrition.tufts.edu/research/jhcpan/consumers/soda_and_bones.html More about Soda and Your Bones Information for Consumers * Health, Wellness, and Weight Management * Healthy Bones * Nutrition * Physical Activity and Fitness Information Last month's newsletter answered a question from a reader who had heard that carbonated beverages are harmful to bones. I replied that there's no evidence of such a danger -- so long as healthy drinks, like milk or fruit juice, aren't replaced by the empty calories of sugary sodas. Many readers wrote to say that they'd heard otherwise. This query was typical: Rumor in the health-conscious community has it that the phosphorus in carbonated beverages interferes with the body's proper absorption of calcium. Is this not true? Indeed, this is not true. Because there's widespread misinformation about soda and phosphorus, I want to provide a fuller answer. Phosphorus is an essential mineral, one of the body's building blocks for bone. The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for phosphorus is 700 mg per day for adult women. Though many women don't get enough calcium in their diet, insufficient phosphorus is seldom a problem because phosphorus is abundant in many common foods. But calcium metabolism can suffer when you consume considerably more phosphorus than calcium. This is because both calcium and phosphorus require vitamin D for proper metabolism. If there's an excess of phosphorus, less vitamin D is available for processing calcium, so calcium absorption is reduced. Could soda consumption cause a phosphorus excess? Very unlikely. Many sodas have no phosphorus at all -- and even those that do contain phosphorus have modest amounts compared to other common foods. There's no phosphorus at all in club soda or seltzer, according to the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (1998). Sodas that do have phosphorus contain well less than 100 milligrams per 8-ounce serving. Here are a few typical examples: Beverage Milligrams of Phosphorus Coca-Cola (8 oz) 41 Diet Coke (8 oz) 18 Tab (8 oz) 30 Sprite (8 oz) 0 Minute Maid orange (8 oz) 0 Source: Coca-Cola USA To put these quantities in perspective, let's look at some other foods. Among the most significant sources of phosphorus in the typical American diet are whole grains (including cereal), meat, poultry and dairy foods. Some examples: Food Milligrams of Phosphorus Whole wheat bread (1 slice) 64 Kellogg's All Bran (1/2 cup) 294 Cheerios (1 cup) 114 Ground beef, lean, grilled (3 oz) 134 Chicken breast, no skin, roasted (3 oz) 194 Cottage cheese, low fat (4 oz) 151 Skim milk, 1% (8 oz) 235 In other words, you'd have to drink more than two six-packs of Diet Coke to ingest as much phosphorous as you'd get from a modest serving of All Bran and skim milk. Reducing soda consumption to avoid phosphorus is like cutting back on carrots to save calories: Yes, carrots provide calories -- but they're very unlikely to be a significant source of excess calories in your diet. Finally, there are two legitimate bone-related concerns involving soda. One, which I mentioned last month, is that some people -- especially teenagers -- may drink soda instead of milk and consequently they don't get enough calcium. The other possible issue is caffeine, an ingredient in many colas and other sodas. Caffeine has a diuretic effect and can interfere with calcium absorption if you consume more than 400 milligrams per day (the equivalent of about four cups of coffee). If you're already close to that limit with coffee, and also drink several glasses of caffeine-containing soda daily, you might want to cut back or switch to decaffeinated. Typically, sodas that contain caffeine have about as much as teas that contain caffeine -- considerably less than coffee. But check the label for exact amounts. For example, an 8-ounce glass of regular Coca-Cola contains 31 milligrams of caffeine; there's none in the caffeine-free version. Nutrient Information Online For comprehensive nutrient information for any common food, search the USDA Nutrient Database.

I enjoyed sodas before surgery. I'm dealiing without them most of the time now. Occasionally, I'll buy a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (20oz) and it'll last me a week. However, I usually try to stick to Caffeine Free, Diet sodas. I guess that stems from my weigh****cher days when Caffeine free diet = 1/2 of water count (if you drank 16 oz of CF diet soda you could count it as 8 oz of fluids). I don't count it towards my fluids now. I also have to take VERY small sips or I'll pay dearly with gas pains. I drink diet sodas I'd say probably about 8 oz a week. So not much at all, but its good to know I can have a little if the craving strikes me.

Oh goodness.... I'm the bad egg here! I drink a can of soda a day and have for months now. Maybe that's why I'm stalling on the weight loss?