Well, Snow, it saddens me that so many leave the church after their teen years, and perhaps come back in their later years when their faith takes on more importance. It was true with me as well. I read your profile also, and I’m sorry to hear that you and your family are experiencing so many significant health problems. As far as the diet is concerned, every one of them left me feeling starved - to the point where I concluded that there was no victory without the feeling of deprivation. It feels different with this flexitarian diet that I’m on now. All I had to buy was a book. I occasionally have the momentary cravings for sweets, but no feelings of starvation. And instead of depriving myself, the diet just asks you to make incremental additions to your diet instead of taking things away. Eventually, the more veggies and fruits that you eat, the fuller you will feel and have less cravings for the more destructive stuff.