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?)