[Fat in Hong Kong]

I recently started a new plan counting calories which in the past has worked well for me when I've stuck with it. However, this time around, even though I've been motivated and counting my calories each day and jotting them down, the scales don't seem to be moving I joined forces with a good friend of mine so that we could lose weight together and give each other support. She is counting fat grams and is having far more success than I am. The meals I've been eating have been heathly, with plenty of fruit and vegetables and mostly home made from scratch, so I know exactly what has gone into them. Last week, after gaining a pound, I was determined to do really well this week and made sure that I counted everything that passed my lips ... I've kept within my daily calorie allowance of 1500 calories (I need to lose around 50-60lbs), but alas, the scale stayed the same ... and my friend lost 2.5lbs!! Where am I going wrong?? I beginning to feel as though I'm wasting my time, it's all so disheartening, especially when I know how good I've been

Can anyone who has experienced weight loss with both calorie counting and counting fat grams please tell me which method they found most successful and/or more sustainable.

I'm considering switching to counting fat grams to see if I can do better with it, but as I've never done this kind of plan before, I'm a little unsure how to go about counting the grams ... where do I get the information from with regards to how many grams are in particular foods ... any website to recommend?

Also, how do I know how many fat grams I should be eating each day?

Thanks!

[QuilterInVA]

You can eat a ton of lowfat, nonfat food and take in way too many calories but the fat grams will be low. I suggest you try to keep carbs to 50%, protein at 30% and fat at 20% for a month and see how you do. www.livingstrong.com has a great free program for doing this and their database is huge.

Do you weight a measure everything? Sometimes we eyeball bigger portions than we think.

How much does your friend have to lose compared to you? If she has a lot more, she will lose faster.

Good luck!

[Fat in Hong Kong]

Thanks for the information.

Yes, I have actually been weighing and measuring everything before counting the calories, so I know that it's not because I've been estimating things incorrectly, which annoys me even more! Also, my friend has to lose around 10-14lbs less than I do ... so it's not because she has a lot more to lose and is losing it more quickly

After considering the fat grams and also checking out some information on websites, what you said regarding eating a lot of low fat/non fat foods, but still having the potential to eat far too many calories, I thinks it's probably best for me to stick with calorie counting. As I already have a fairly healthy diet, but have the tendency to overeat (when I'm not trying to lose weight!), I think that counting fat grams for me could be a recipe for disaster. I'll persevere for the next couple of weeks and see if the scales start to move in the right direction ... maybe it's water retention!? Either way, I'm not letting it beat me this time. Doing it with someone else makes me even more determined to succeed ... however long it takes!