Hey, I'm west coast USA too. Fresno. Where are you? About Stevia, thanks for sharing that with me. I know of only one other person who uses it and she too has Interstitial Cystitis like I do. Supposedly IC and IBS go hand in hand. I'll make sure to check the ingredients in the Stevia before I purchase it. It may be a while as we have so much regular sugar in the house. Since I don't eat much of it, it takes a long time to use up and I hate to throw money away. My husband has a sensitive stomach too and I don't know how he'll react to some of the things that I take so I need to think of how to cook for him as well. For the most part we eat healthy at home. I think I eat much healthier than he does all the way around.
I wasn't trying to lose weight until I started unexpectedly gaining last year. I gained a lot and have been told that it's common when you're Perimenopausal. In fact, I need to finish getting ready to go to the gym so I can get back and get some chores done.
Sometimes it's so hard to stay focused by I have to keep trying and believing that things are going to get better as soon as I find the correct path. I think I'm already headed that way. Take care. Heidi