I will give the encouragement that I had acid reflux so bad for years that it would cause one of the nerves to my heart to spasm and my heart would actually skip a beat on a regular basis. I had thought I would be on various anti-acid meds for the rest of my life and would still need spot antacids (like the chewy Rolaids) when I did something silly like, say, drink a beer.

My doctor here in Indiana put me on Aciphex, which was pretty expensive, for 2 months, and I started eating yoghurt on a regular basis - at the end of that course of treatment my esophagus had healed and my reflux is so well under control that I very seldom (as in MAYBE once a month) have any heartburn at all, no matter what I eat.

For the weight loss, ladyat and I can recommend Weight Watchers Online without hesitation or qualification. They not only have a great support system without having to change your daily routine, they have EXCELLENT recipes that can be filtered by various special dietary needs. There's a monthly fee, but it is definitely worth it.