I am doing okay today. Making progress in many paths. I have asked for God to help me for the first time in years and have many friends who are helping me as well as continuing to feel your support. I know my Mom is in a good place and that my sedative medication is history. It was not agreeing with me at all. Like a light switch I am trying hard to take the bull by the horns to take care of myself at this time. Tomorrow is a day to order flowers, clean ourselves up - I will be seeing my family doctor and will start taking responsibility for myself so I can be there in life with my family. Like all things in life, health - one step forward, one day. My problem with food now is reversed - it's hard to eat but I keep trying and drinking lots of water with our sudden heat wave. There is strength here and I feel from each of my dear friends. I will be back hopefully next week, but focusing on my health style and choices in life which I hope to learn from. I accept a higher power to guide me through this difficult time and I accept that I believe I have a substance abuse problem which I am determined to address. Let's make today count - it's precious. Lots of love to each and everyone of you. Peggy

Alisande, It's not too surprising that anyone should need an emergency heart bypass from the use of Cool Whip. The major fats used to make this horrible stuff are hydrogenated coconut and palm kernel oil. While natural unrefined coconut oil is actually a good fat, hydrogenation of this and other fats into hardened products like margarine and shortening creates trans-fats which are one of the major contributing factors for clogged arteries and heart disease. It should be no wonder why there is such a large problem with heart disease, since the use of these hydrogenated fats is so common in making the processed foods that are so popular in the marketplace. If people would become more educated about the existence and dangers of hydrogenated fat in food and started reading labels to check for the presence of these fats, and left products containing them on the shelf, the need for drugs to control cholesterol and heart bypass operations would no longer be so common Years ago, I used to eat a cereal called Kellogg's Cracklin Oat Bran. I remember that the label mentioned something about eating oat products like this could help lower cholesterol or some similar sounding health claim. Once I found out how bad hydrogenated fats were, I started reading labels, and discovered this cereal and many other food items that I was eating, had various amounts of these fats in them. Dotty's concern about full fat ice cream should be less of a concern if the ingredients do not list any hydrogenated oils. Many of the fancy flavor ice creams such as Rocky Road are made with ingredients containing this. One brand that I have found that has a variety of flavors without these oils is Ben and Jerry's. The same for chips. A lot of chips are fried in these oils, but you can find many that are not. Bacon does not contain hydrogenated fat, and if you use a good quality bacon and cook it to where it has most of the fat rendered from it, you shouldn't have much of a concern even about fat. A couple of good websites that discuss cholesterol, trans fats, and heart disease are located here: http://www.newtrendspublishing.com/SallyFallon/aboutSallyFallon.html http://www.mercola.com/forms/seminars/heart_disease.htm The reference to Sally Fallon is about a book that discusses dietary fats and nutrition. She was a speaker at a farm conference I attended this past winter. A lot of what she had to say only confirmed and added to, what I have learned over the last few years about how the health of people is being compromised by the changes that have taken place in the food industry over the past 50 years. The other website discusses cholesterol and heart disease, and discusses the hazards of trans fats, and why the USDA nutrition guidelines have contributed to an increase in heart disease. GG

"I'm used to eating ... whole grain bread or my discs...magic pops which are made with wheat...and pasta, and eggs, and cheese and crackers and peanut butter." along with the other foods you are listing is un-healthy eating! ... " Most of the foods you are eating sound bad! I understand you were looking for someone who has tried it and succeeded. I can only report that, although I am cheating, I have stopped buying products or eating meals that contain those foods. Easing my way there, lol. So my intake is way down. It's hard to contemplate but in reality is not all that hard to do. I guess gluten is one of the hardest to give up. Maybe dairy. I also incorporate anti-inflammatory foods in my diet. Once you start thinking this way, you will see all those processed and so-called "healthy" foods as unappealing junk food. The less the better. Of course your favorites are harder to let go of. But there are still yummy foods to eat and you don't have to go hungry as on a low calorie diet. 2000 calories of mother nature is not the same as 2000 calories of man-made junk. Your taste and the cravings do change. It's simple. Fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy lean meats, almond/coconut/flax seed milk, Soy-free Earth Balance for butter (you won't miss it!). Nuts, seeds, berries. Grass-fed beef is supposedly as healthy as fish. I don't drink milk but use one or more of the alternates on cereal and it tastes fine that way. Ick used for things like yoghurt or ice cream, but those are unhealthy processed foods anyway. The coconut ice cream I tried was edible but nothing to look forward to, imo. I have tried brown rice pasta (Joy) and it is a good substitute, better than the old wheat pasta we were supposed to be switching to. I don't know if it is on their plans and is certainly not a great choice if losing weight is your goal. I need to come up with some healthy desserts and snacks, bread alternatives. At least try Dr. Fuhrman's way of looking at things, focusing on high-nutrient foods. His patients also reap the big health benefits but are not specifically told to eliminate certain foods. He tells people to follow "the salad is the main meal". Load it with vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts. You might want to start slowly since your system is sensitive. I wonder if pro and pre-biotics would help straighten things out there. It sounds like you could have a gut imbalance. There are also enzymes for gas that a lot of people say works. I don't think you need to question whether or not it works, although of course it won't "cure" everyone. These aren't your typical infomercials. They are MD's for the most part. JJ is a Ph.D. They all have patient practices. This is now scientifically backed research. I don't think they are lying and the patients are made up stories. They aren't some of those doctors who try to sell their own magical supplements you can't live without either, although they might offer books, diet plans and some food products. This post was edited by snookums2 on Mon, Sep 23, 13 at 17:55

The bad thing is that I'm hungrier, and it's hard to stick to the calorie level that seems to produce rapid weight loss for me. I've been missing my target fairly often, and it feels like my body wants more food. So I've started packing a bento-type lunch, as mentioned in another thread, in hopes that at least my calories will be healthy ones. This is a classic example of dieting vs. lifestyle changes. Dieting is a temporary way of eating with the goal of losing weight, while lifestyle changes are a permanent change in one's lifestyle with the ultimate goal of improving one's health in all areas including weight loss (if it's necessary). IMO when someone says they "can't lose weight", what they really mean is "I can't lose weight as fast as I want to", and so they give up. The "diet" industry has brainwashed us into thinking that if we don't lose at least 1-2 pounds per week, then something must be wrong, and that's a big lie. Choose fruit over chips -- not because they're a "diet" food or "low-cal" but because fruit is a much healthier choice than fried potato chips. Eat a salad full of veggies with lean chicken -- not because it's a "diet" meal but because it's full of healthy nutrients that are good for you! Include a piece of 100% whole grain bread if you want and even a little bit of butter -- yes, butter! Take smaller servings (and only one of each -- don't go back for seconds) and skip the gravy and creamy sauces --- they're not necessary if food is well-seasoned. Eat smaller amounts more frequently. Don't skip lunch if you're planning a nice dinner out -- just eat a smaller dinner (dinner out doesn't have to mean overeating). Have a dish of ice cream now and then, just not most days of the week. Don't eat "diet" foods (low-fat cookies, etc) --- just skip those snacks altogether and eat the real thing only on special occasions. That's how I slowly lost 50 pounds several years ago, about 1-2 pounds per month, eating ~1800 calories a day of healthy food choices and increasing my exercise, and have kept off every single ounce even during holidays and stressful times. During the holidays I don't eat as many cookies because "I don't do that anymore", simple as that. I dropped those bad habits and they're not a part of my life anymore. Prior to losing weight I had acid reflux and have a family history of diabetes. The acid reflux is completely gone (without taking a single purple pill) and probably so is my risk of diabetes. I don't have the metabolism of a race horse; I'm a typical middle-aged woman with a desk job. I made simple but important permanent lifestyle changes in eating and exercise, and I stuck with it and persevered no matter how slowly the scales budged, and some months they didn't budge at all!