Hi Twoswyfts,

Have you been reaching your fat grams for each meal? The information about how that works is in my next post on this board. Your goal for fat with 1350 calories is 15 grams per meal. Reaching your fat goal will make a difference.

If you are reaching your fat and calorie goals than give this one more week. If you don't lose anything send me your height, weight, gender, and age. I also need to know any medical history and medications (if you are comfortable sharing).

Hang in there,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

Hi BonMom3Kids,

I am really glad that this makes sense to you. All of the misinformation out there makes things very confusing. Thanks to all of your feedback I have been able to come up with posts that address the confusion on here. As long as I know what your questions are I will come up with ways to help.

I wish you lots of success,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

What your suggesting does not add up for me... I'm confused... I'm 46 years old... I work out three times a week (cardio) and what you say here is that at my mainenance calories of 1756 per day, in order for me to loose 2 lbs per week - I would need to cut my calories to 756 per day? 

This site suggests that for extreme weight loss I should cut my calories to 1176 per day which is a full 420 calories more per day (perhaps a lean cuisine for dinner with a small roll) Seriously, I think there must be some mistake... are you sure I should be cutting a full 1,000 calories from my DAILY calories to loose a mere 2lbs per week? 

I'm seriously freaking out here because if your calculations run true, I will have eaten my calories for the entire day with my 1/2 cup of 1% milk and 1/2 cup of Total Healthy choice cereal for Breakfast, my 1 cup of grapes for mid morning snack and my Lean Cuisine and small potato roll for lunch!  And I'd still have to work out?  What? Are you sure?

Seriously Freaking Out! 

It's all a mathmatical equation: 3,500 cal = 1 pound.  You must burn 500 cal exercising daily to loose 1 pound a week not including what you'd loose w/ calorie reduction.

Hi Betty,

 I tried calculating the BMR to find out my total cals....I'm one who is not losing, but gaining on this plan...5'5" 168, now 171 after a week.  Supposed to have 1600 cal and 51g fat/day...sticking to it very well, added walking 3x/day...still gaining...after I tried the BMR website, if my calculations are correct I should be eating 1374 cals per day, not 1600....does this sound right? I don't want to starve, but I sure as heck don't want to gain!

And I have no idea what my cal intake was prior to this, I guess a normal day would be 1600-1800 cals but probably way more fat than I realized...RIght now I feel like I'm eating a lot just to get to 1600 cals...

thanks,

Lisa 

Hi Tamahone,

I can promise you that freaking out won't help. If you did your calculation correct than what this is showing you is that losing 2 lbs per week is not realistic. The less that you weigh, the slower you will lose it. People think that they can lose at the same rate regardless of how much they have to lose and that is not the case. Obviously, cutting 1000 calories per day is not an option for you. You can cut 500 calories per day and lose 1 lb per week. Based on your maintenance calories you are probably not very overweight. I don't know your height and weight so I can't verify if you even need to lose weight. The Mifflin St. Jeor calculation has been tested and is an accurate way to determine calorie needs. If you happen to have more muscle than the average woman your age than you may be able to lose more. The only way to test this is to do it.

I would be happy to check the calculation for you if you want to send me your height, weight, and gender.

Good luck,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD 

Hi Lisa,

I looked up one of your previous posts to get your age. I did the calculation for 35 year old, female, 5'5, 171 lbs and active 3 x/week and came up with a maintenance calorie of 2026 calories. To lose 1 lb per week you subtract 500 from that and are at 1526 calories. If you have not been losing on 1600 calories than cut back to either 1300 calories per day and 43 grams of fat OR 1400 calories and 46 grams of fat per day. Do not go below 1300 calorie for now. You do not have a lot of weight to lose so you can't cut too much out.

Give this a try and you will see some results,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

Guess I must have put the info in wrong I don't know. I am 5'2" , right now at 249, 49 yrs.old., female and am sedentary (desk job). I have lost 13 lbs. so far in 8 weeks. But I think I probably am just using too many calories. I don't know. I just want to keep the weight loss at least 1 to 2 lbs, I don't want anything extreme. I have hypothyroidism and take medication so I know that it does have some effect on weight loss. But I must say that I went for a 3 month check up last week and my doctor was very pleased with my loss so far and my BP prior to Alli was 156/80 and at the check up it was 118/72. So I really need to keep it coming down. I have always had a weight problem, have done every diet in the past (a bad thing I know), even the way of weight loss clinics (that do work, while you are there !) but this does seem to be a way of life and I've learned I can live and eat just as well without frying ! I do know in a perfect world I should exercise dailly and I have Gazelle (that for a year I used it 30 min. nightly)but we moved 5 mos. ago, broke my routine and I've not gotten back into it. So...  Thanks for all your help.

Hey,   I need to do the exact same thing!!!   How do we do that---anyone????

Thanks,

Pam Curl

I think these two very informative posts  need to be put on the dieticians forum as well. There a lot of people there still asking these same questions.  Just a thought, Betty.

Betty, are you saying that if I don't eat all my allowed calories and fat each day, I won't lose?

Thanks! Ren

Hi Ren,

I can't give you a definite answer on that one without knowing what you are doing. I am saying that the optimal plan is one where you reach your calorie and fat goals as often as possible. It's worth trying it this way to see how it works.

Good luck,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

Hey Betty!

Im a gal who'sbeen told that I dont eat enough fat and calories....i eat a protein drink,banana, and a cup of tea with fat free hazelnut coffeemate...and the same thing for lunch and have a wheat burrito with blk beans and a little hummusfor dinner......I work outdoors with weedwhackers, chainsaws, lawnmowers etc......come home around 6:30 I'll go out and walk 4 miles up steep hills......I say I'm about 20 lbs overweight(I've been ata plateau for a very looooooonnng time)I was wondering if alli will help me get over this plateau.....with eating a little more fat and calories than usaul.....(which I was told to do)

I thank you for your time, Betty!

Redwolf

Wow!  Do I understand that some folks have trouble eating all the calories they are advised to eat,. by you.  Can I buy some of their calories that they have trouble getting down?  I know you use all the science and number crunching to come up with the amount of calories we need but I just can't help but wonder why I am literally starving to death with 1800 calories a day.  Well I feel like I am starving.

I am an old 68 year old man who needs to lose only around ten to fifteen more pounds and I ride a bike 17 miles a day, six days a week and I am hyper by nature so I feel I must burn more calories that the average person.  

In the meantime, I want you know that I really appreciate all the incredible work you do to help us and I do not envy your job.  And, in fact I am averaging about a pound a week since I started on Alli a couple of months ago.  So I am incredibly happy with Alli and the opportunity to buy it.  Jim Monroe
 

Hi Betty my question is ok I plan to stick with my recommended 1800 cal for my weight however I have began really excersising alot as much as an extra 600-700 cal burn a day.  Is this bad?   I walk and I use my eliptical and some weights. Mostly the eliptical from 30min - 1hr a day.