Almost 2 years out - QUESTION

Hi all! Here's some background followed by a question for the vets!

I'll be 2 years out in October and been maintaining pretty steady at my revised goal of 145-148 lbs since about January. My weight fluctuates A LOT (easily can fluctuate by 10 lbs) but I've been good at keeping up the rules/exercise/vitamins consistently to maintain. 

I'm 29, single and live in a big city so I obviously enjoy going out on the weekends with friends and I give myself Saturday night to have a few drinks (fyi: vodka soda has the least amount of cals) and indulge a bit. This hasn't really affected my weight overall even though I see the scale go up a little on Mondays but jump right back into it. 

Last night I planned to have pizza after a night of going out and was able to successfully eat 2 slices of cheese (thin but decent slice size). Is this normal at 21 months? Although I control it, i feel like I can eat more than the average gastric bypass patient at 21 months. Even with my regular food, I can usually eat between 4-6 oz of protein!

Thin crust or regular? I could eat a ton by about the two year mark (and still can). It does mean I have to be more careful about how much I eat, but I have managed to keep it under control. You can, too!!

It was quite thin! Not bready like Pizza Hut crust!

Thanks for the encouragement though - hope I can maintain like you moving forward!

I was wondering about the vodka soda. The soda is a carbonated drink, and I was told not to drink anything carbonated, as it would stretch my pouch. Maybe if you are consistently drinking carbonated drinks your pouch is a bit larger and able to tolerate bigger portions of food (like 2 pcs of pizza)?

(I'm not a vet, but thought I would toss in my 2 cents :) ) 

Carbonation cannot strench your pouch. It has an opening at the top and bottom, and any buildup of gas would exit out of one or both of those before it would put enough pressure on your stomach muscle to expand it. To do otherwise would violate the laws of Physics.

It is nonsense that some surgeons use to scare their patients into giving up diet soda.

Lora

Mind blown!!!

Whaaaaat?  You mean I can have a Pepsi max??   

Yep.  Just be aware that the carbonation is uncomfortable for some, though, and can result in burping or gas issues.  

Soda obviously isn't a healthy choice -- nothing but chemicals -- and there are a  number of legitimate reasons for choosing NOT to drink it, but fear of pouch stretching isn't one of them!

Lora

I would still recommend avoiding soda, even diet soda. It seems to be the gateway for many to fall back to their old habits.

When I go out to eat with my friends who have also had weight loss surgery, I notice those who never got to goal and/or regained a lot of their weight back all seem to drink diet soda (and I know not everyone who drinks diet soda battles regain, but it seems to be a common denominator among those who do).

I love pepsi max.  But...it makes me really hungry and I tent to eat more, and...drinking more than one serving every few days irritates my bladder...and cause me to be incontinent... As weird as it is it is true.