A Weight Loss Update, and How to Make "Soda"

First, the update on my weight loss. Sorry to anyone not interested, just skip down to the soda recipe!

It's been two and a half weeks since we started on this "real food" path, and I've lost 6 pounds. What have I been doing? Well, for one, I WASN'T exercising, which I find odd. It's just been too rainy, or too busy, so I've done practically no walking/running
(up until yesterday).

The things I have been doing with regularity is:
~eating soaked/fermented oatmeal every morning (1/2 cup dried oats soaked in a mixture of water and whey or water and yogurt, in pot with lid on stove overnight), rinsed in morning and heated with a bit of water, milk, cinnamon, and honey or maple syrup, with raisins or bits of apple in it. D eats this too (but not raisins);
~eating scrambled eggs daily (usually with cheese, or cream cheese, or labneh, as well as fresh cilantro or dill) and a piece of homemade toast with butter or natural peanut butter
~drinking whole milk (cream has not been removed), fresh from a cow - at least one cup daily, plus use in cooking

Note the trend? I've been eating MORE fat from animal sources but I'm losing weight. Huh. On the other hand, I haven't been eating as much garbage as I used to. I pay attention to labels and try to avoid processed foods. I haven't killed my chocolate addiction yet, or my love for ice cream, but something has to give. I am coveting a hand-cranked ice cream machine but we'll see....

Now. On to the recipe for "soda":
I ran across a recipe for homemade gingerale online (as well as amazing info on cheese and other things-thanks to David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D, and used it with great success, then tinkered with it to find a less-sweet option. Then I tried the same basic recipe with lemon instead of ginger, and am quite pleased with the outcome. One of my major addictions is soda, and I'd rather drink something I've made, even if it has sugar in it, over the HFCS crap you buy at the store. In any case, here is the modified recipe for a nice, light-tasting soda that is reminiscent of club soda, but better (as you could drink it WITHOUT alcohol in it):

~3/4 c sugar (the yeast need sugar-I don't think anything else would work)
~about 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (you could do lime, too, or vanilla for cream soda, or grated ginger...)
~1/4 tsp yeast
~water to fill (filtered is best)

Using a clean plastic 2L bottle (apparently it's a risk to use glass as the pressure could make it explode - I will experiment with a glass gallon jug and valve system), pour in the sugar and then the yeast using a funnel. Swirl the bottle around to mix the yeast into the sugar, then add the lemon or lime juice. Fill the bottle to within an inch of the neck with water, and cap tightly. Tilt the bottle several times until the sugar is dissolved, then place on the counter. Let sit for 24-48 hours (could be finished before this depending on how warm your place is-make sure you check), until you can't squeeze the sides of the bottle. Let it sit for a couple hours more, then refrigerate for several hours/overnight for complete chilling. Enjoy!

**it is possible to let it go for too long on your counter and risk having the bottle explode from the expanding gasses. Try to avoid this. Messy.