Hi Tljack1,

You do want to reach your recommended amount of calories and fat right now. The only way to know if you will lose weight at that level is to try. I have another post that will explain calories and the reason why you need to reach them. It's on the top of the message board with this one so take a look at that. You will see why it's healthier to not lose too quickly. You can definitely go too low in calories and cutting another 500 sounds like you are too low.

Take a look at the calorie post and let me know if you have any other questions,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

This really sounds good. My problem I can see with the meal plans is that I work 16 hours a day 6 days a weel.That gives me no time to cook. Can I eat lean quizines for my diet and take alli with it? A lot of the meals have only five fat grams. If I eat them along with taking alli should ZI eat 3 five gram meals( they are small anyway)? Or do you have any other suggestions on a way to eat or get the right food if I do not have any time to prepair  the meals that you guys suggest? Please help!

Thank you for this, Betty.  I think I might have been tempted to go TOO low on the fat, but now I know that it would be counterproductive.  Thanks again.

I am having a hard time with the calorie goal and fat grams.I cant seem to get my fat grams  past 25 ( target 36) without going over my calorie limit.I am suppost to be on a 1200 calorie  plan a day. But cant seem to get it right.yesterday I did 1400 and today I did 1300. Just by overdoing the calories a bit  and not yet reaching my fat goals will I gan  weight? Will alli still block 25 percent of my fat if it is only  25 a day? What if i have a snack that has fat grams ? Will alli not block that fat if I had not had the pill for a couple of hours? I am worried and confused. I am in menapause and need to take off  the weight to keep my blood pressure  in better shape. Also If I take my omega three  capsules does that count as fat and calories?Should I count this on my  journal?

I have finally been able to reach my fat grams  per meal.That took some doing. I went a little bit over on my caliories of 1200per day. I have been exercizing daily.In the four days I have Been on alli I have lost two pounds. I must be lucky or something . But that doesnt stop me from being   thankful considering that I have tried other things and never ever lost one pound in months. I realize sometimes your body will loose at first and then stop for awhile. But I am thankful for anything. Now I only have 21 more pounds to go to reach my  goal. Then my blood pressure will reLLY BENIFIT FROM THat!

Hi Marcie1954,

The goal here is to learn balance. If you are going over in your calories that means that you need to cut back somewhere. When you are reaching your fat grams then you are going over in carbohydrates and/or protein. Most people find that carbs are the problem. You may need smaller amounts of grains (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc). Make sure that you keep accurate food records and see what percent of your calories are coming from fat, protein, and carbs. Alcohol will also increase your calories so be careful with that.

Alli will block 25% of any fat that you consume within one hour of taking it. That means that your snack won't have any of the fat blocked if you consume it later on and it won't work any any meals later that day or the next day if you don't take it. Any omega-3 supplements should be taken at least 2 hours after taking alli to prevent any of the fat from being excreted.

Let me know if you have any other questions,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

BettyKovacs:

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:

The way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than your body needs. If you are sticking to your calorie goal for at least two weeks and you do not lose anything that means you need to cut your calories back a bit. You can cut back by 200 to 300 calories per day from what you were doing.

Now for my explanation on fat. I believe that fad diets have done a great deal of damage to peoples view on diet and nutrition. We have guidelines for good, healthy nutrition based on extensive research and yet the fad diets, that usually have no research to support their claims, have more impact on shaping our eating than the guidelines. There is such a thing as too little fat and it will cause problems for your weight and health. If you want the research to support this I would be happy to provide it.

The guidelines for our diets can be seen at http://www.iom.edu/?id=12702 and are:

• 45 percent to 65 percent from carbohydrates
• 20 percent to 35 percent from fat
• 10 percent to 35 percent from protein

The alli plan requires that 30% of your calories come from fat. Out of those calories, 25% are going to be excreted. This mean that your diet is actually 22.5% fat, which is close to the minimal amount recommended. For anyone who consumes less than 30% and takes alli, you are going under the recommendations for fat. That means that you are also going over the recommendations for carbs and/or protein. Too much and too little of any nutrient is a problem.

You have all invested your money, time, and hopes in this so why not trust it and do as recommended? When you need to cut back on your calories that is fine. The key is the balanced diet component. If you read the credentials for the people who have told you how to follow the fad diets you will be amazed to see how few have any training in nutrition. Your being given advice from nutrition experts on here and are being told the truth about how to do this the "right" way. If you can commit to learning to balance things out for the next 3 months it will be an investment that can end up improving your health and well-being while losing weight. Wouldn't it be great if this were the last diet that you had to go on?

I am here if you have any questions,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 Please I need help with this program. I have been on Alli for eight days now and no serious changes is going on. I understand all about the calorie and fat intake..but how can i force myself to eat when am not hungry..this has poted me to eat fast food because they have more fat and calories...am i doing the right thing..is that why alli is not working for me?

what kind of fat do i need to take in for alli to work..is it trans fat, saturated fats, or just natural fats like nuts..i usaully eat low fat or non fat foods, from milk to my spaghetti...please am getting discouraged over everything and just wanna stay fat..

thanks.

Hi JessieAloy,

It can take time to get used to eating more fat. The goal is to consume as little saturated fat as possible and no trans fat if you can. That means that mono and polyunsaturated fats are the ones that you want. Here are some healthy options for these fats:

- 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

It will make a difference to your health and weight to work on this so don't give up.

Let me know if you have any other questions,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD