Is it safe to drink diet caffeine free sodas..

If they go 'flat' first?

I Wish i would have learned, or listened....
I had my RNY in 2000 and I started drinking diet Coke shortly after...I am a diet soda addict.  I believe now, the carbination Streched my pouch to result in weight gain, and the so called additives actually give your taste buds wanting more SUGAR.....leaving you to fine somthing else to eat....
I urge everyone to stay away from diet soda...just my opinion.  Im currently looking for a revision. 
Michelle

The most I'm ever able to drink is 1 or 2 sips... even after I stir all of the bubbles out.

I mix a couple shots of "Light" OJ with lime flavored seltzer and a twist of lime, and pour it over tons of ice.  In 30 min it's just right to drink.

diet sodas have been shown to cause wt gain......
Phosphorus can leech calcium further from our bones..


http://www.wlscenter.com/NLArchive/mar_15_2007.htm
The Latest Study on Diet Soda
If you were normally a soda drinker prior to your surgery, as most of us were, you have probably wondered what the big deal is regarding drinking soda after surgery. You have probably heard the arguments that the carbonation in soda will expand your pouch. Therefore you may have reasoned that you will let the soda get flat and then drink it. Of course the time you wait for the soda to go flat may have gotten shorter and shorter, so that you may just be drinking the soda right after opening the can. And besides, if you are many years post op, the fear of expanding your pouch probably left you long ago.

And then there is the argument that if you drink decaffeinated soda, then there is no caffeine to dehydrate you because caffeine acts as a diuretic. So what could possibly be wrong with drink decaffeinated diet soda?

There is a new study reported March 12th on MSNBC from the University of Texas. Researchers followed 600 people over an 8 year period. They found that of those who drank 1 to 2 cans of diet soda per day, 54% of them over the 8 year period became obese. Those who drank 1 to 2 cans of regular soda, 33% of them became obese.

I am not suggesting and neither is the study that you should drink regular soda. And there is an argument to be made that the group drinking diet soda may have had a predisposition to obesity. However, this study is one more reason to consider how artificial sweetener acts in your body.

Most diet sodas contain aspartame which studies have shown decreases the serotonin in the body. Serotonin is the neurochemical that regulates emotions and appetite, among other things. Therefore a decrease in serotonin can cause depression which can lead us to turn to comfort foods as well as increase our appetite. So the caffeine free diet soda that you are drinking may very well be making you more hungry and causing cravings.

The jury is still out on Splenda. There have been some adverse reactions reported, so you may not be safe substituting Splenda for aspartame.

Just try going a week with no diet soda or artificially sweetened products and see if you notice a difference. Here are some substitutes for diet soda that you might want to consider

Water - pure and simple
Water with a little fruit juice mixed in
Water with a slice of lemon or orange
Herbal tea

I know not what u asked but of similar topic.......

BSCI eNewsletter March 9, 2004
Fluid Intake
Lesson #2 - The Dangers Of Carbonation
This is the Success Habit? that seems to stir people's deepest emotions. Many weight loss surgery patients see a Diet Coke?, or Diet Pepsi ?, or a Diet {insert your favorite flavor here] as their last and only "acceptable sweet" that's generally considered to be calorically and socially acceptable. Try to take away this last right and privilege from them and you've got a fight on your hands! We're not interested in fighting, or even arguing, so let's be completely clear about this; we can't offer you a hard scientific explanation, or scientific proof that drinking carbonated beverages will hurt your weight loss or weight maintenance efforts. But, if you are really interested in doing your best to be absolutely sure you can successfully lose your excess weight and then keep it off, you'll carefully consider the evidence.
Our Success Habits? study showed that the most successful patients *****ach and maintain their goal weight do not drink carbonated beverages. Additionally, our continuing experience has been that most former patients who have re-gained significant weight, and have returned to the support center to take our Back On Track class, have been drinking carbonated beverages. These two long-term observations tell us that choosing to drink carbonated beverages can be detrimental to your long-term success.
Three reasons to avoid carbonated beverages:
1. Distention of the stomach pouch and anastamosis
When a cold, carbonated beverage is consumed, it warms and releases carbon dioxide gas that was dissolved in the liquid. This gas can be trapped in your stomach pouch, causing it to distend and needlessly stretch your pouch. While it's true these gasses are not permanently trapped in your stomach (since they can be released through burping) any unnecessary, uncontrolled, distension of your stomach pouch places you at greater level of risk that you'll stretch your pouch to the point where you will compromise the effectiveness of the "tool" you've worked so hard to obtain.
If stretching your stomach pouch is not enough to concern you, consider what happens to your anastamosis (the new stomach outlet) when entrapped gas stretches your pouch. This undue pressure also causes stretching of the anastamosis. It is believed that an enlarged anastamosis is a greater problem than an enlarged stomach is for weight loss surgery patients. The size of the pouch outlet is more critical to the patient's ability to achieve satiety than the actual size of the stomach pouch. If the anastamosis is too large, food passes through the pouch too easily and will begin to fill and stretch the small intestine, in effect creating a larger holding chamber in the small intestine thereby allowing you to eat a much higher quantity of food before you feel full and your brain receives the signal to stop eating. The combination of a stretched pouch and an enlarged anastamosis are disastrous to your weight loss and/or weight maintenance efforts. Is the momentary pleasure derived from a diet drink worth the risk? Only you can decide.
2. Caloric Intake
Many carbonated beverages are high in calories, low in nutritional value and contain simple sugars. Not only do they add additional calories with low nutritional value and little benefit in achieving satiety, but also they are absorbed quickly into the blood stream, causing a rapid rise in blood sugar, elevated insulin levels, and increased hunger.
3. Caffeine
Many carbonated beverages contain caffeine, an appetite stimulant, which is detrimental to initial weight loss and long-term weight control