I'm am doing some serious diet changing, and the probiotics are a huge part of it. The weight loss seems to be more of a by-product of the dietary alterations.
I added the kombucha to my diet about 4 months ago. I liked it, it was healthy, and low calorie, so I investigated what the whole probiotic thing is about. Then, frugal me who also loves cooking, I quickly decided to tackle making it myself. I started with a "scoby" from Amazon for about $10 and some cheap black tea. I dug out my big sun tea jar and got started. It's easy, and now there's always kombucha brewing. After I got the hang of that, I branched out to sauerkraut. It's very, very easy to make (cabbage, salt, time) and I've acquired a taste for it. I try to eat something fermented (a bit of kombucha, a bite of kraut, some yogurt, a pickle with my salad) at least 3x a day.
In the kitchen, I've branched out now, and last night did some pickles (cucumbers), radishes/carrots, and lemons. It took far less than 30 minutes, maybe more like 10. I put them in a dark, cool cupboard and that's it. They'll be ready in about 10 days but you can leave them for longer. You can leave the kraut for months.
The true miracle is the loss of a sweet tooth. I had something sweet nearly every day (ok, multiple times a day) for most of my adult life. Now, it doesn't even look good. I don't even want it. Dark chocolate was my go-to treat. I have sweets less than once a week now.
@neophyte , did you lose your sweet tooth at all, after all that Kimchi? I did a modified kimchi (no fish sauce) and ate it up. I love spicy!