Readytobeme

Our house goes on market on Monday. That is the biggest part of the reason that I have not been around here. SO much to do! Still be cutting it close to be ready for pictures on Monday. I really hate the process. It will be very stressful for us as home prices have gone through the roof on the coast. We have a pretty nice home in the middle of 15 wooded acres where we are now. We LOVE the privacy and many other things about where we are now. When we move, we will never be able to afford anything even remotely close to this. I hear you about getting your walks in just by the work that you have to do. I am in the same place as you were/are right now. I had my grandson here visiting last week and we went to an amusement park. I did not do as good as I should have with my eating. I was very disappointed in myself. Trying hard to get back on track this week.

Great Job, Tracy! Huge congratulations to you!!!!!

Woohoo!!! You go, CJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, CJ. I just today hit 50 pounds down. It is great and I am very happy but, this puts me at your starting weight. Next week I am taking my grandson to an amusement park and i am hoping to fit on more rides. I remembered that you mentioned not being able to fit on many at your starting weight. I am a little worried about it Congratulations on a job very well done!

I came close to buying one of those a few years back when I was trying to get off the DMD. I have thought about it recently because I would love to help my husband get off the DMD. Thing is, he doesn't want help getting off lol He says it is his one vice and nothing that we truly like is good for us anyway. The caffeine content is very addictive. If it just didn't have aspartame and so much salt I would feel a little better about it.

Hi Stella. Sorry for the delay in reply. Welcome to the forum! Hang in there and things should get better quickly.

Welcome, Doc! That horse in your picture is a beauty. I look forward to hearing more from you.

I don't know, George. There seem to be enough people in this thread drinking carbonated drinks with no issue. Why not give it a try if it is important to you? I was heavily addicted to Diet Mountain Dew pre op. I got myself off of it and don't care to ever go back. Other than that 1 carbonated drink, they just don't interest me. I actually make my own diet kool aid using Stevia and love it. I never stopped drinking it since my son was little. So, I get plenty of flavor variety for my drinks that way.

I think that folks that already have their mind made up to drink carbonated beverages will do so. I did want to add another opinion to this thread for others that may read later on. "Why Carbonated Beverages are "TABOO" after bariatric Surgery"By: Cynthia Buffington, Ph.DDid you drink carbonated soft drinks prior to your Bariatric surgery? Do you still consume carbonated soft drinks? Were you advised by your surgeon or his/her nutritional staff NOT to drink carbonated drinks after surgery? Do you understand why drinking carbonated beverages, even if sugar-free, could jeopardize your weight loss success and, perhaps even your health?A carbonated beverage is an effervescent drink that releases carbon dioxide under conditions of normal atmospheric pressure. Carbonated drinks include most soft drinks, champagne, beer, and seltzer water. If you consume a soft drink or other carbonated beverage while eating, the carbonation forces food through he stomach pouch, reducing the time food remains in the pouch. The less time food remains in your stomach pouch, the less satiety (feelings of fullness) you experience, enabling you to eat more with increased risk for weight gain.The gas released from a carbonated beverage mat "stretch" your stomach pouch. Food forced through the pouch by the carbonation could also significantly enlarge the size of your stoma (the opening between the stomach pouch and intestines of patients who have had a gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion). An enlarged pouch or stoma would allow you to eat larger amounts of food at any one setting. In this way, consuming carbonated beverages, even if the drinks are diet or calorie free, may cause weight gain or interfere with maximal weight loss success.Soft drinks may also cause weight gain by reducing the absorption of dietary calcium. Dietary calcium helps to stimulate fat breakdown and reduce its uptake into adipose tissue. Epidemiological and clinical studies have found a close association between obesity and low dietary calcium intake. Recent studies have found that maintaining sufficient amounts of dietary calcium helps to induce weight loss or prevent weight gain following diet.The high caffeine in carbonated sodas is one way that drinking carbonated soft drinks may reduce the absorption of calcium into the body. Studies have found that caffeine increases urinary calcium content, meaning that high caffeine may interfere with the uptake of dietary calcium into the body. Keep in mind that one 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew has 50 mg of caffeine, and Pepsi and Coke (diet or those with sugar) contain 37 mg of caffeine each.Colas, such as Pepsi and Coke (diet or with sugar), may also cause calcium deficiencies from the high amounts of phosphoric acid that they contain. Phosphate binds to calcium and the bound calcium cannot be absorbed into the body. Both animal and human studies have found that phosphoric acid is associated with altered calcium homeostasis and low calcium.Drinking carbonated beverages may also reduce dietary calcium because these beverages replace milk and other nutrient-containing drinks or foods in the diet. Several studies report inverse (negative) relationships between carbonated beverage usage and the amount of milk (particularly children) consume.Carbonated beverages, then, may reduce dietary calcium because of their high caffeine or phosphoric acid content or because drinking such beverages tends to reduce the consumption of calcium-containing foods and beverages. Such deficiencies in dietary calcium intake may be even more pronounced in Bariatric surgical patients.Calcium deficiencies with Bariatric surgery have been reported following gastric restrictive and/or malabsorptive procedures. The reduced amounts of calcium with bariatric surgery may occur as a result of low nutrient intake, low levels of vitamin D, or, for patients who have had gastric bypass pr the biliopancreatic diversion (with or without the duodenal switch), from bypass of the portion of the gut where active absorption of calcium normally occurs. Drinking carbonated beverages may further increase the risk for dietary calcium deficiencies and, in this way, hinder maximal weight loss success.For all the reasons described above, including calcium deficits, reduced satiety, enlargement of pouch or stoma, drinking carbonated beverages, even those that are sugar-free, could lead to weight gain. Carbonated beverages that contain sugar, however, pose a substantially greater threat to the Bariatric patient in terms of weight loss and weight loss maintenance with surgery.Sugar-containing soft drinks have a relatively high glycemic index, meaning that blood sugar levels readily increase with their consumption. The rapid rise in blood sugar, in turn, increases the production of the hormone, insulin. , that acts to drive sugar into tissues where it is metabolized or processed for storage. High insulin levels, however, also contribute to fat accumulation, driving fat into the fat storage depots and inhibiting the breakdown of fat.Soft drinks with sugar are also high in calories. An average 12 oz. soft drink contains 10 teaspoons of refined sugar (40g). The typical 12-oz. can of soda contains 150 calories (Coke = 140 calories; Pepsi = 150; Dr. Pepper = 160; orange soda = 180; 7-up = 140; etc.). Soft drinks are the fifth largest source of calories for adults, accounting for 5.6% of all calories that Americans consume. Among adolescents, soft drinks provide 8%- to 9% of calories. An extra 150 calories per day from a soft drink over the course of a year, is equivalent to nearly 16 pounds and that weight gain multiplied by a few years could equate to “morbid obesity".In addition to the adverse effects that carbonated drinks have on weight loss or weight loss maintenance, carbonated beverages may also have adverse effects on health. Soda beverages and other carbonated drinks are acidic with a pH of 3.0 or less. Drinking these acidic beverages on an empty stomach in the absence of food, as Bariatric patients are required to do, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the gastric pouch and intestines and increase the risk for ulcers or even the risk for gastrointestinal adenomas (cancer).Soft drink usage has also been found to be associated with various other health problems. These include an increased risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney stones, bone fractures and reduced bone density, allergies, cancer, acid-peptic disease, dental carries, gingivitis, and more. Soft drinks may, in addition, increase the risk for oxidative stress. This condition is believed to contribute significantly to aging and to diseases associated with aging and obesity, i.e. diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, reduced immune function, hypertension, and more.From the above discussion, do you now have a little better understanding of why your Bariatric surgeon or Bariatric nutritionist advised you NOT to consume carbonated sodas after surgery? Your Bariatric surgeon and his/her staff want to see you achieve the best results possible from your surgery – both in terms of weight loss and health status – and so do YOU. Consider the consequences of drinking such beverages now that you understand more clearly why such drinks are “Bariatric taboo".

Awesome job at taking the weight off. Congratulations on being 100 pounds down!!! I think that I am/was alot like you. I never realized how big I actually was/am. I really have never been embarrassed in a swim suit at the pool, etc. like many others here describe. I have always been a confident person and felt like it is what it is. Now that I am losing the weight, I am realizing just how big that I am. Can't wait to get where you are ETA- I also always wear modest swim suits. I am not one to show much skin. Didn't want you guys to get the wrong impression lol

I have been told that the bubbles cause excess air/gas to form in the pouch. It can cause pressure on the staple line and cause leaks. Makes sense to me and I am in no hurry to have carbonated beverages but, that could just be me.

I really hope that is not the case for you. I think that is the same injections that my mom had a few years back. She had it done twice. It was supposed to be ongoing but she didn't want to have anymore after the first two. I will also keep my fingers crossed for you.

Yikes! After reading your link it seems that I have several more risk factors than I even knew about.

Thanks for this reminder. I just added a reminder for my phone for this time next year. Osteoporosis seems to run in my family so I need to be extra vigilant.

Wow! I do not envy you for having to move so quickly at all! I despise moving. We are actually putiing our house on the market in mid June. Hoping to sell and move back to the coast to be closer to our son and grandson. But, we both despise the physical part of moving. Ugh.I guess that it doesn't help that we are pack rats either. lol You will be in so much better shape to do this move than you would have been before WLS. You have done an outstanding job losing the weight and it shows! Congratulations and thank you for sharing your journey with us.

The others have said it all. Hoping that you have a great time!