Hi Everyone,

I had posted this in response to a question and was told that it helped a lot of people understand why you need to reach your fat goal:

Thank you for taking the time to post this Betty. 

I was one of the people who had an incredibly difficult time upping my fat intake.  Finally, when my weight loss came to a standstill I upped my fat grams and voila, I've started losing weight again.  It boggles my mind that I need to eat fat to lose fat, but then - who's complaining!  

Thank you for that valuable info, Betty! I started Alli on 8/2/07. I'm also on Jenny Craig. The whole premise of Alli makes a lot of sense. I believe that I, like so many others have been doing wrong for so long that we've convinced ourselves that it's right; a little brainwashed. So, I decided to work Alli the way it's supposed to be worked. It's a new program that deserves a new mindset.

My first order of business was to journal and then see what work I needed to do to reach my targeted number of calories and fat grams.At first I started thinking how can I lose weight on 1800 calories and 19 grams of fat. But alas! An aha moment. I haven't been successful doing what I've been doing. Wouldn't this be something to have Alli be my last food plan???? By the way, I've already lost 1.6 pounds since 8/2/07!

Thanks again!

Janet

I thank you too, Betty.  Some days I reach my calorie goal and my fat goal, but haven't reached my protein and carb goals.  So I'm getting too many calories from fat.  I'm trying to do better and do the nutrition log 3 or 4 times a day, so that I can keep better track of what I'm eating.

Tikii

 bumpity bump :)

Caryl

 

this is great. but why don't the nutrition logs show percentages. maybe i'm just bad at math, but if i haven't eaten the recommended number of calories, i'd like to be able to adjust percentages, to make sure i'm eating as healthy as i can, even though i can't manage 1800 cals.

Smithy, go to www.fitday.com , that is the site I read that Betty reccommends.  On that site, you can input your food item and the program will tell you the fat percentage and everything else. When I started using fitday, I thought it was a pain in the neck but now I couldn't calculate without it.  Good Luck

Having the same problem I have been on a low fat and low calories for three weeks now and lost 9 pounds . I'm not seeing the progress that wanted. I eat very low fat and low calories everyday and exercise at least 3 to 4 times a week. I started alli yesterday on the nineth of August. I am not eating alot of fat at all. Will this pill help me at all if I don't increase my fat intake. Eating more fat too loose weight seems so wrong. I need some advice. I now weigh 163 and my goal is 135. HELP:

Hi Afarmer,

The guidelines for weight loss are to lose 1 to 2 lbs per week and you are losing more than that. The less weight that you have to lose the slower it will come off. At your weight I would plan for a 1 lb per week as a goal. If you lose too quickly your body will burn more muscle for energy than fat. The more muscle that you lose the slower your metabolism gets and the harder it will be to keep the weight off. I know that it feels like it will take forever to reach your goal. When we are gaining weight we get instant gratification from the food. It's short-term pleasure followed by long-term pain. When we are losing the gratification comes later on. This becomes short-term pain for long-term pleasure. Instead of looking for the final number, set small goals that you can celebrate. Start looking for your 10 lb weight loss and have something ready to reward yourself for that. If you can reach that goal 3 more times you will reach your final goal before you know it.

Good luck,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

Betty, thank you for your very simple explanation of proper fat intake.  I am one of those people who discovered I was not eating enough fat and had to add it to my diet to start losing wt.  I had been eating fairly healthy, just not enough fat.  I'm posting that on my frig to help me remember. 

My one weakness is my love of peanut butter, so if I'm planning a meal that is too low in fat I'll have 1/2 serving of peanut butter to add in some fat and satisfy my craving.

 

 

Brilliant summation of very important info on the need for some fat.  It is funny that you are a moderator and moderation is what this whole diet thing is about.  It is not about denial or suffering, but moderation.  I love knowledge and your explanation was super.  Jim

I'm 5 ft and started Alli at 126 and after 4 weeks have lost 6 pounds.  I've been very faithful to the calorie intake of about 1000 calories but am having a very hard time getting even 12 g of fat a day.  Everything is fat-free or low fat now days.  Am I suppose to buy whole milk instead of skim...?  Help.

Hi Betty - I just started Alli this weekend and I already feel I may have lost a pound or two. I want to know if I should substitute low fat and fat free whenever possible, or follow the meal plans as listed?  I am doing Heartland 1800. If a menu calls for such things as sour cream, or tortilla chips and does NOT say low-fat or fat free, should I substitute or not? I did see in one of the guides that you should subsititute whenever possible, but this will have an effect on the total daily fat consumption. Please advise - thanks Cara

Excellent question..........I'm having the same problem buying fat free products.  I look forwarad to the answer!

Betty,

 

Thank you sooo much for that explanation.  I have lost, gained, and finally maintained since I started Alli.  I (thankfully) have not gained back all that I have lost, but it still makes it tough to stay on track.  I know I am not doing as well tracking - I'm not writing everything down, but I have a good sense of the fat grams - and I have always been under.  Now I see that I am hurting myself.  It is going to be tough getting on track now - I teach and we are back to work, but I think that once the kids are back and there is less temptation to go out to eat with the team everyday I will be able to control my calories better - it is hard to estimate from a restaraunt.

 

Thanks for all your hard work- we appreciate you!

 

Jennifer