something doesn't add up here- you said alli requires 30% of your calories to be fat and that 25% of those would be excreted so how do you get the 22.5 % ?? thx!

You're not absorbing 25% of your total fat intake which is 30% of your daily calories. 25% of 30 is 7.5.

30 minus 7.5 is 22.5 (%) of your daily calories coming from fat. 

Confusing, but all it really means is that you are on the low end of your body's requirements of 20-30% of your daily calories coming from fat.

Maybe Betty can explain better?

I started Alli two weeks ago and my total fat intake per day is averaging 23 - not anywhere close to 30% of calories from fat (average 15%) - but I also have had treatment effects and each meal is no more than 10 fat grams - so I am afraid to increase my fat intake - won't that increase the chance of more treatment effects?

I have been trying to deselect this posts responses for 6 mos. please help.

Wow..thank you so much for posting this.  It has been so helpful for me.  I never realized how important fat intake was; I always figured it was the less the better, but now I see that that isn't true! 

Hi Wannabesmaller,

Here is the math:

1. Your total fat intake should be 30% of your calories (e.g. 1400 calories X .30 = 420 fat calories; 420 fat calories divided by 9 = 47 grams of fat per day)

2. Alli will block 25% of the fat that you consume (e.g. consume 47 grams X .25 = 12 grams of fat are excreted)

3. The amount that is excreted is then subtracted from the amount that you originally consumed, making your total fat absorbed lower than the total fat consumed (e.g. 12 grams of fat excreted - 47 grams of fat consumed = 35 grams absorbed; a 1400 calorie diet that absorbs 35 grams is on 22.5% fat (35 X 9 = 315 fat calories divided by 1400 = 22.5% fat)

I know that the math is confusing, but the end result is accurate. You consume a diet that is 30% fat, but only absorb a diet that is 22.5% fat. You get the taste of fat, without all of the calories.

How is that?

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD 

 Betty-I think I'm a little confused and so I need your help please.  I'm 5'5" and weigh 156 lbs.  I have lost 2 lbs since starting taking Alli 7/1/08.  Should I be consuming 15 fat grams daily? (1400 calories?) Which means approximately 5-6 fat grams per meal?

Thanks for your help! :)

Hi Sanderpie,

I can't determine your calorie needs without knowing more information. You can read my first post on here about calories if you believe that 1400 is not correct. If 1400 is what you were given on here as your goal I recommend trying it for at least one month. A 1400 calorie diet would require 46 grams of fat PER DAY, which is 15 grams of fat PER MEAL.

Let me know if you have any other questions,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 Ms. Kovacs,

I would like to know the best way for me to make Alli work... I am almost done with my first bottle, and I honestly have not saw any changes in my weight, why could this be? Is it possible for you to give me some guidelines and advice on how to make Alli work, or at least see changes.

Is just I do not understand how much fat I should intake in order for Alli to work? I am not a big eating on greasy foods, so I hope you can give me something to make me understand. I am very confused.

Thank you,

Hi Jakee,

This can be difficult to understand. Everything that you need to know about how dietary fat works for this plan is in this post. Take some time to go through all of my responses in this. I wrote the initial post to explain this and responded to many more questions. You will find your answer about fat in here. The next thing to do is to read my post about reaching your recommended amount of calories on the beginning of this board. That will explain what you need to do to lose weight.

Let me know if this all makes sense once you read through all of it,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 So glad I saw this post! I am new to Alli- 6 days & 4 lbs. I ahve to say I was a bit disappointed to only lose 4 lbs, but after I read this, I think I can do better next week. I am confused at how to get all my fat grams & not exceed my caloirie target. My fat target is 54 gr/1600 cal- the highest day of fat this week was 29 grams/1500 calories. So do I need to hit the full fat target for fat each day to maximize the lost?

tyken

 Wow.  As the first poster said - It boggles my mind that I need to eat fat to lose it...but I think that's what I've been doing wrong.  I've been concentrating SO much on eating low or no fat that I am POSITIVE I haven't gotten enough.  Which is probably why I'm not losing like I think I should.

Well, that's easily remedied.  THANK YOU for posting this!!

 Hi everyone!

I am struggling to meet my calorie and fat requirements each day.  I am to eat 1800 cals with 19 g fat per meal.  Right now I am landing at about 1500 cals per day and between 45 and 50 grams of fat per day (3 of which are snack fat grams).

Can anyone help me to reach these goals?

Here is a sample of what I have eaten so far today....

Breakfast: smoothie made with: skim milk, 2 tablespoons flax seed meal, protein powder, oats, a tablespoon of cashew butter, frozen fruit and ice

lunch: 2 eggs scrambled with lean ham, mushrooms, onions, peppers, light laughing cow cheese and 2 slices of ezekiel bread (not my typical lunch but wanted to use up an open package of lean ham) 

dinner: chicken breast (cooked with 1.5 teaspons grapeseed oil) with polenta, green beans, zuccini and summer squash (added tablespoon of smart balance light to veggies)

snacks at this point 1 cup grapes and will probably have a sugar free fudge bar before the day is done

This amounts to about 1500 cals and 50 gs fat.  I am not sure how on earth to add more.  I feel like I purposfeuly add smart balance where I wouldnt normally and cook in oil when I would normally cook with cooking spray. I used whole eggs today instead of egg beaters or egg whites because I knew it would be more fat.  It feels counter intuitive...

Any insight anyone?

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

I realize that this post is pretty long so you may not have read through all of the responses. In one of my responses I included ways to increase your intake of healthy fat:

Flaxseeds: 1 Tbsp has 37 calories and 3 grams of fat - you can sprinkle this on your salad, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, and rice.

English Walnut halves: 14 halves (1 oz) has 185 calories and 18.5 grams of fat- you can have them on the side with your meal or add them to your food (salad, yogurt, cereals)

Almonds: 23 whole kernels (1 oz) have 164 calories and 14.4 grams of fat - you can have them on the side with your meal or add them to your food (salad, yogurt, cereals)

Avocado: ½ cup sliced has 117 calories and 10.7 grams of fat - you can use this in place of mayonnaise on sandwiches or add it to your salad. Here are more ideas http://www.avocado.org/.

Salmon: 3 oz has 175 calories and 10.5 grams of fat

Black Olives: 1 oz black olives has 66 calories and 5.7 grams of fat

Green Olives: 1 oz green olives has 41 calories and 4.4 grams of fat

Mackerel: 3 oz has 223 calories and 15.1 grams of fat

The nutrition information is from Calorie King.

When you are reaching your calorie goals you need to cut back somewhere else in order to make room for your fat intake. It takes some time and patience to get used to, but it's worth it for your weight and health. Take a look at your grains and sweets to find spots to cut back.

Let me know if you have any other questions,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 I completely agree!  I've been using the program fitday that I downloaded from the website for about 3-4 years now, on and off.  It works wonderfully!  Much valuable information and can actually be fun!