Addicted to Diet Coke

I miss my favorite root beer and occasionally get a sip, but just do it and see vs. fear it. I honestly don't miss it on a daily basis (just when I think about how great it was, ahhhhh). Same can be said about my old friend - entire chocolate cake, entire pizza, entire half gallon of ice cream and those wondrous days I ate all that as a snack. But then I think what life was like during those wondrous days. I couldn't walk to the bathroom at work so requested a formal placement next to the restroom (don't you think HR had some odd employment conversations with that one as that request required Corporate Officer approval), DVT/PE emergency room visit, Falling 4 or 5 times a year due to balance issues and not being able to catch my weight if it shifted forward, other medical ailments like HBP, diabetes...... I could go on and on, but living the 8XL life wasn't worth those wonderous feelings. Decide now, what you are willing to give up and find other things to replace them.

P.S. I've heard from chemists in my bariatric support group that even "flat" coke has enough CO2 to impact our systems. So if you are going through all this, I have to ask why sabotage yourself.

You've gotten the best replies and I'm weighing in just to second what White Dove said. There is absolutely no reason you can't eat or drink everything post op that you indulge in pre op. Nothing.

This is a major surgery and you'll want to respect your surgeon's rules in the immediate post op period without exception. Once you're fully healed and certainly by the time you're a year out and beyond, it's all you.

I too am a diet Coke lover. I didn't have my first post-op DC though until I was nine months out. No soda is worth a complication in the healing process.

Having said all that do I drink it now? At over ten years out, all day long Usually I make sure I've gotten all of my water in before I drink more than a couple. But technically DC is a liquid too and counts towards those totals. ( I can almost feel the shuddering out there.) I wouldn't necessarily call drinking 80 to 100 oz of any soda optimal but that's likely another post.

Anywho. Congrats on you're upcoming surgery! You've got a whole different life ahead of you. =)

Thank you. Yes it's exciting! My surgery has been moved from November to almost 2 weeks from now on September 19?! I just thought I'd have a little more time to get a grip on these things. Lol so now it's kind of a frenzy to get things in preparation and quit the habits I am currently sporting lol. It's funny DC is proving to be one of the worst.

Definitely hear ya. I put off the surgery for YEARS because I didn't think I could live without Diet Coke! Quit before surgery, never looked back. I switched to coffee, tea, lemonade. I DETEST the taste of Diet Coke now. (Just chemicals.) I was such a DC-aholic that I didn't even know what else has bubbles! Ha! I learned the hard way that wine coolers and beer are carbonated. I didn't like them, never drank them, and never knew! NOT hard to stay away. I belch (LOUDLY) after every sip. ???

It is not the taste that I am addicted to. It does taste like it came from a chemical waste dump. The addiction has to do with the caffeine, carbonation, the color of the cola, and the shape and colors on the bottle. It is designed to feel "right" in your hand.

So I used to be a big-time Diet Coke addict. At 4 weeks post-op, my surgeon gave me the OK for caffeine and carbonation (in small amounts). I tried a tiny sip of Diet Coke this week... and it tasted SUPER GROSS! I've heard that surgery can change your taste, but I didn't expect anything like this. So you never know!

I've heard that too! Hopefully not with every one of my favs lol

Jen,

listen very closely to me. Nobody, and I mean nobody (even you) was addicted to drinking soda like I was. Not just soda, but Red Bulls (about 2 to 3 a day). I was worried too. When I had the surgery, I didn't want to think about food much less soda in the first few days. Had to force water and food down. Then, my appetite came back but I followed the instructions of nothing to drink 30 mins before/after eating. Don't worry, if you don't follow that, your stomach will let you know and you'll be visiting the porcelain goddess.

What I'm trying to say is that you'll stop drinking soda. If I can do it, you can for damn sure do it too. I'm definitely not one of those follow everything to a T kind of people. But when it came to my diet and how/what I eat and/or drink, something just sort of clicked for me and I follow it as much as possible. You'll be the same way.

You'll be like me almost two months after surgery and amazed at the choices you eat, how much you eat, and how great you're doing on your diet. I promise you! Again, I was NEVER one of those people who followed all the instructions of whatever diet I was on. But something just clicked this time.

By the way, the only thing I drink is water now. Either plain or flavored with Crystal light lemonade. I couldn't think about eating anything without a regular Coke or Sweet Tea at one time.

I haven't had a soda for 3 years. I simply carry a 64oz jug of ice water around with me all day. sip on it all day.

I was thinking about your post today and it reminded me of something. You may be able to put your years of drinking diet coke to work in your favour.

One of the hardest things for me post WLS was developing good habits for getting enough fluid. One of the tricks that helped me is to re-use commercial beverage bottles with screw-on lids (e.g. diet coke bottles) instead of "water bottles" for cold liquids. I drink them more quickly and automatically. I think this is due to years of unconsciously sipping on diet sodas. Liquids in glasses tend to warm up, evaporate, and collect dust more quickly. I have tried using reusable water bottles, but I have found it difficult to develop a habit of drinking automatically from them. Plus, they smell funky after a while. And I find thermoses a bit intimidating (always afraid I'll break them.) So I just reuse ordinary beverage bottles lots and lots of times.

I've seen commercial beverages (fancy teas) in metal bottles with screw-on lids. Next time I run across them, I'll get one and see if it can fool my hand into thinking it's a diet coke. They would last indefinitely, which is even better for the environment.