Wow, what a lot of really great ideas for me . . .and for all of us here. Thank you!!! I'm following a lot of it and have lost 12 pounds so far. Mainly by cutting out most carbs and white sugar,and as Kelly suggested, doing interval training. I'm also keeping bags of fresh, pre washed baby carrots, baby bell peppers and green beans to munch on when I get hungry. Last night we grilled out burgers and I had mine without the bun. It's getting easier to eat like this and I'm finding the cravings for sweets and cheese are becoming less with each day . . . thankfully! As I mentioned in an earlier post here, I wasn't vastly overweight, just at the tops of what my weight should be for my height and age. Now I'm 12 pounds lighter and my clothes fit so much better! I'd still like to drop another 8 pounds. We fly out this Thursday morning to Palm Beach and then on to the Tampa area 4 days later. I've already eaten dinner and lunches out several times since I started this weight loss drive and have found it pretty easy to eat out healthfully . . . as long as it's in a regular and not a fast food restaurant. Salads with grilled meats, nuts, etc. are my go-to's, with a lite salad dressing on the side; hold the croutons and bread sides (LOL). But, as always, I have to be so careful that "lite" doesn't contain any artificial sweeteners, as I'm extremely allergic to them, especially aspertame/aspartame. So many thanks for all the great, helpful ideas. I'll continue to read them, although I'm not sure if I'm taking my laptop with me to Florida yet. Lynn

First off if i were her i'd get a second opinion and a new dr with a Heart!! In 2008,i had a total knee replacement,3 months later when i went for my final check up with my ortho dr i had found out a few weeks before that i had breast cancer.WTF within 3 mos 2 major surgeries. Anyway when i was at the ortho dr's he said to me,are you ok,you don't seem like your jolly self,at which point i lost it and started crying.When he asked what was wrong i told him of the diagnosis.He said,honey don't worry too much,they've come a long way from where they were 20 years ago,and i'm sure you'll be fine. After his exam and a clean super bill of health from him for my knee,he hugged me and told me he'd keep me in prayer.I thanked him and felt so much better when i left there. A compassionate and caring dr is what your friend needs as well. I also agree with all of what has been said by the op's. For me the first day i found out,i knew before they told me,that i had cancer.I had had many mammos and a few biopsies before,but this one seemed different,like it was taking too long,IMHO,and they were taking too many samples.I started crying while they were still doing the biopsy,and cried all the way home and for over 4 hours after i got home.Poor DH didn't know what to do.He called one of my sisters in N.Y. state and told her and asked her to tell everyone else that needed to know ,other sisters.He told them i didn't want to talk to anyone then ,but would call when i was up to it. Everything progressed sooooo fast that it seemed sureal.DH went out and got me a small tape recorder,that one of my dr's suggested,as they said,you're going to hear so much info in the next few weeks that you'll never be able to retain it.When i went to see the surgeon,my #1 son,DIL,Dh and that recorder went with me.Less than 2 weeks from diagnosis i was in the hospital being prepped for surgery.There were a lot of folks all over the world praying for me,my family and my medical staff.I told the dr's on the way to surgery that they were being prayed for by many people,they thanked me and said they had said their prayers as well.I had a great team from start to finish. Tomorrow i go for blood work,then sometime this week i'm supposed to have a cat scan,(must call about that tomorrow,then after that's done i go see the oncologist. I have been getting check ups every 3 mos,but this one he set for 4 months,so we'll see how it goes,i'm believing all thigs good. I hope your friend gets a 2nd opinion and quicker appointments for whatever she has to do. She may not feel like talking to anyone when she first gets home from the hospital,or from chemo appts if that's the route she has to take.So tell her if she doesn't feel like talking that she can tell you and you won't be offended. These procedures take the winds out of your sails.Best of luck to all of you,will add you all to my prayer list. Take care,God Bless kathi

I agree with making changes you'll keep. I lost over 20 lbs last year, and I made changes I could do for the long run. For instance, I gave up all soda, but not coffee with cream in the morning. I care about coffee more. I started buying expensive, rich dark chocolate and just having 2 little squares from the bar in the evening if I was craving sweets. One bar would last me 3 days if I ate a piece every night, but I never do. I cut out as much white carbs as I could...noodles, potatoes, rice, breads. I would have a little bit if I really wanted it, but cut waaaaay down. I also added in exercise that I liked. I knew I would never, ever go to the gym every day. I started with yoga, which I love, and then added swimming, which I also love. They are exercise I actually enjoyed and looked forward to so it didn't seem like a chore (that I knew I would stick with). Worked for me! Good luck.

I re-post U. of Michigan link on how brewer's yeast help with diabetes: http://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-2816000 Also another link on how brewer's yeast work to lose weight for reference: http://www.naturecity.com/blog/weight-loss/brewers-yeast-extract-may-help-with-weight-loss/ "At the six week point, the researchers noted that the yeast hydrolysate group already had significant reductions in calorie intake. This reduction was maintained through the end of the study. At the conclusion of the study, the researchers noted an average 5.7 lbs reduction in body weight and a 17.3 cm2 reduction in abdominal circumference in the yeast group, compared to 1.8 lbs and 7 cm2 reductions in the control group. Researchers from Jeonju University in South Korea conducted the study. It was published in the January 2014 issue of Nutrition. Previous studies have found an association between yeast hydrolysates and increased energy, better immunity, and improved gastrointestinal health." **** From Straw: The biggest help with my sleep & losing weight is CUTTING OUT SOY MILK ... I was so sleep-deprived when I used soy milk. I didn't know that soy interferes with the absorption of magnesium (necessary for sleep & help with diabetes). I have 3 older sisters who are diabetic, and they consume soy-milk daily. I already informed them of the inflammatory carrageenan in soy products, plus depletion of magnesium. Carrageenan is in many products, including ice cream, milk-substitutes (almond & soy & coconut), coffee creamer, and cake-mixes. Here's a link of what contains carrageenan: http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/ Here's a National Institute of Health abstract on the link between carrageenan and diabetes: "This is the first report of the impact of carrageenan on glucose tolerance and indicates that carrageenan impairs glucose tolerance, increases insulin resistance and inhibits insulin signalling in vivo in mouse liver and human HepG2 cells. These effects may result from carrageenan-induced inflammation. The results demonstrate extra-colonic manifestations of ingested carrageenan and suggest that carrageenan in the human diet may contribute to the development of diabetes." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22011715/