Not a week goes by without my coming across thought provoking research studies, articles, and commentaries about weight loss, nutrition, and health. But sorting out what deserves my attention from what doesn’t isn’t easy. Today, I will share with you some news from the past 5-6 weeks that matters.

Weight Loss Success Stories: Are you getting the whole story?

I like to read the stories of people who are successful in their weight loss efforts. So often there are common themes. But common themes don’t necessarily tell the whole story.

I found an interesting article posted on the blog for CalorieLab on January 29 written by Sarah E. White. The title of the article is Weight-loss tips from REAL women (as opposed to celebrities). Sarah shares the highlights of successful “losers” from a variety of recent magazines.

The common themes of watching portion size, making healthier choices, and exercise are central to many of the weight loss stories. However, one of the stories focuses on success achieved in a drastic way. This is the story of Ellen Kelley who had many struggles with weight over the years and weighed 535 pounds at her highest. For Ellen, success only came with gastric bypass surgery.

There are many reasons why surgery may be a legitimate and necessary choice for some people for sound medical reasons. Unfortunately, I feel surgery is becoming an all too common theme and may at times be portrayed as an easy solution.

I don’t believe the reality of the lifestyle changes required after surgery is well known. And there are other drawbacks to taking such drastic measures that are not as well publicized as the success part of the story.

I came across a video news clip (also posted on January 29) about a woman whose success with surgery for weight loss was a mixed blessing. Her story is not at all uncommon and it’s one more people would benefit from hearing. If you have minute watch the video and see what you think:

What do you cook when you are on a low calorie diet?

I’m always on the lookout for healthy low calorie recipes, especially those that are easy-to-make and not too time-consuming to prepare. Sometime soon I hope to share with you a list of great recipe sites that offer a wonderful selection of easy-to-prepare healthy recipes.

A potential problem for many recipe sites is that you have to sort through lots of not so healthy recipes to come up with those that are both healthy and low calorie. In the meantime, it is all too easy to get distracted by delicious looking less-than-healthy high calorie dishes.

Today I will share one site that has nothing but healthy recipes. This site, developed by the Health and Human Services Department of the U.S. government, provides 100 recipes based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: A Healthier You

What I like about the recipes on this site is that they are categorized by the time needed for BOTH preparation and cooking. You’ll find a selection of recipes that can be prepared and cooked in 30 minutes or less, 60 minutes or less, and 90 minutes or less. Some of the dishes are not what I consider to be low calorie. No problem. Because the dishes are healthy just eat less than the recommended serving size, if necessary, to keep the calorie count down.

The recipes include appetizers, soups, breads, beef, poultry, fish, vegetables, pasta, rice, sauces, desserts, vegetarian dishes and more. Included are a selection of kid-friendly recipes and multi-cultural dishes. AND each recipe has nutrition information including grams of saturated fat and milligrams of sodium. This is big help for anyone on a heart healthy diet.

Bon appetit!

Have a great week, watch your calories, and stay healthy!

(Did you have a chance to read my last post on where to find great food databases online for calorie counts?)

A while back I wrote an article on where to find low calorie meals offered by national restaurant chains. This past week I came across some new choices to add to your list of ideas. This may be especially helpful if you are on a 1200 calorie diet. I’ve also learned of an inexpensive way to get some inspiration to exercise with some DVDs from the pros. And I have an update for you about My Food Diary, my favorite online calorie tracker. It’s the service I use to create the 1200 and 1500 calorie sample menus that I’ve been sharing.

Small Sammies are now available at Quiznos

Quiznos now has two low cal and low cost versions of their gourmet flatbread sandwiches called Sammies. For only 200 calories and just 2 bucks each you can choose from two new flavors: Balsamic Chicken or Black Angus steak.

You could team up one of these sandwiches with a side salad for an additional 130 calories (comes with either balsamic vinaigrette or buttermilk ranch dressing). That comes to 330 calories total. It sounds like it might be a reasonably nutritious choice, but I can’t comment on that till the nutrient breakdown is available. However, I’m sure this combo will come up short for calcium so you would want to get enough low fat milk, yogurt, or cheese with your other meals and snacks.

More Ideas:

I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal posted in the January 10 issue about low cal restaurant meals that might interest you. Evidently a group of reporters (?) from the Journal actually purchased a variety of low cal restaurant entrees for testing at an independent lab to see if the calorie counts matched the claims.

It seems that most of the calorie claims were in fact accurate. However, what the Journal reporters noted, and you will want to keep in mind is that the calorie counts typically did not include anything extra. An example they mentioned is the 340-calorie Subway sandwich. If you, as a customer, request variations on the original sandwich or ask for additional mayo or a slice of cheese, the calorie count will likely be significantly higher.

Something else to watch out for are the extras that come with meals, especially take out. Breadsticks, dips, or chips are only a few of the possibilities you might find in your take out bag along with the main item. For more tips and restaurant meal ideas you might want to read the article yourself.

Motivation for Exercise:

Has it been bitter cold where you live? With all the ice and snow and extreme cold that we’ve had for a quite a while now, I’ve had to put walking outside on hold. I usually don’t mind going to the gym but at 11 degrees below zero, I’m not thrilled with the idea of going anywhere. Sometimes having fresh new ideas for exercise routines I can do at home is just the inspiration I need to make time and do it!

I discovered an offer by Columbia House that might interest you as well. It seems that you can order 5 DVDs for only 50 cents a piece. This company has a good selection of just about anything you might want on DVD.

From kickboxing, to Pilates, yoga, body sculpting, keeping fit in your 50s and many more, there are plenty of choices for exercise. So if you’d like some inspiration, maybe something new and different will spark your enthusiasm. (You can check out the exercise DVDs at Columbia House by peeling away the ad in the top right corner of my website.)

MyFoodDiary.com

My Food Diary now has more than 50,000 foods listed in their database! Wow! When I wrote my review back in August there were about 45,000 food items. This is far more than any other service I’m aware of online. If you get a chance do take a look. Whether we like it or not, calories do count!

This coming week I have a new sample menu for a 1200 calorie diet. It was somewhat challenging to put together because I wanted to share one with you that does not require any cooking (other than heating something up in a microwave oven.) Achieving nutrient balance with 1200 calories can be very difficult when working with convenience foods and, in this instance, a lunch from a restaurant.

Till next time, watch your calories and stay healthy!