Is it best to count calories or fat grams when trying to lose weight?

Question

I've always counted calories when I do my shopping but now people are telling me fat grams are best. What's the benefits of both and how much of each is a woman allowed?

Answer 1

cut down the fat grams it will work i done that and already lost a stone in a month plus try and do some exercise it really does work good luck sweetie

Answer 2

I would say both. Calories are the simplest as it is a case of how many you take in vs how many you burn off - but you want to be healthy too so keep an eye on the fat levels (and the sugar and salt ones). No need to make it too complicated, but it is better to eat a bit more of a food that is low in fat than a smaller amount of a very fatty food. Not sure about the exact amounts, but I am sure if you surf around some of the many diet sites on line you can get a pretty good idea.

Good luck with the weight loss - I'm trying too and it can be such a bore. Personally I am concentrating on doing a bit more exercise, making sure I get in at least my five-a-day of fruit and veg and eating just that little bit less (oh, and cutting right down on alcohol). It is going pretty slowly, but I am beginning to see some results and I feel a lot healthier already.

Answer 3

Actually, I suggest you stop the calculating altogether. The best way to eat is eating a healthy diet, one that you can use the rest of your live.
When you're counting calories or fat grams, it might become an obsesion. It's important to enjoy your food, and eat healthy products you like. It doens't matter that you eat a few more calories or fats one day, just make sure that you won't make it a habbit.

Try to enjoy eating, and try to eat healthy. That's the best way to lose weight
The food pyramid is a great way to see what you should eat and how much.


But to answer your question:
You need approximatly 2000 kcal a day and 80g fat a day


The risk with counting calories is that you can chose the wrong products, not all the low calorie foods are healthy.
When you're counting fat grams, you'll have enough carbohydrates in your food and thats good, but the risk of a deficientie of vitamins A,D,E,K is higher, since they are only available in fat

Answer 4

Foods that are high in fat are also high in calories, but the same cannot be said for the other way round because high-sugar foods can have lots of calories but very little fat. Therefore counting calories will give you a good indication of which foods to stay away from, but for good health I would advise keeping an eye on both because you need to watch your intake of saturated fat in order to keep a healthy heart. Can't really tell you how much of each you should have a day in order to lose weight because it depends on so many factors, you should see your doctor for this (you should always get a full health check before going on a diet anyway).

Answer 5

I think it is best to watch the % of calories from fat in the food. The World Health Organisation recommends getting no more than 30% of your overall calories (kcal) from fat. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories (kcal) so the maths isn't hard to do if you read the labels.

If you don't eat anything that has more than 30% of its calories from fat, and you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full, you will be fine.

I find that the other real danger is in sugary drinks like coke and sweetened juices. These have huge amounts of calories. The best thing is to eliminate them completely. Diet drinks, un-sweetened fruit juices and water only.

There is more info at:

Here are some opinions on food and diet:

http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-iQ_TenI9dLT74fuxz0hwQxOHovpKsgI-?cq=1

All feedback appreciated.

Answer 6

whenever i want loose a little weight and eat healthier i follow the Weight Watchers plan, because it ensures you only eat the correct amount of calories AND saturated fats every day, based on your weight and height. Saturated fats are the ones we should look out for, as these are 'bad fats'. Doing Weight Watchers means you can still eat anything you want in moderation, so your not depriving yourself of the things you like, and your not doing one of those faddy extreme diets which never work in the long run. Exercising also, is really important, as is drinking loads of water. Hope this helps!

Answer 7

i went to rosemary connelly and u can stick to counting calories but they need to be a realistic amount because as u lose weight u need to cut ur calories more to continue losing but u have to make sure that all the food u eat is 4gms of fat per 100 gms or lower this is low fat food anything above is fatty also it is gd to have a day where u eat trats as this tricks ur body in to thinking ur not losing anymore and so when u do start healthy again u lose weight

Answer 8

Do neither, just eat what you normally eat and increase your exercise. Exercise is what burns the calories off and is what will ultimately drop the weight. There is no point in starving yourself to try and lose weight, eat your normal quota without going mad and stay off of the drink and try and exercise 4 times a week and go on a long walk at the weekend. You will notice the difference in a forthnight.

Answer 9

Watch your calories. I was in the military, and we ate three times a day. Every meal was greasy junk ...but I wasn't snaking inbetween. (adding the calories) I lost about 7 pounds in a month. Also, I have a roommate who has a nice body. She doesn't have a lot of time to eat...when she does its not healthy, but shes keeping her calorie count lower than myself (who now eats healthy, but way more calories) and our weights are both steady. Does all this make sense? Hope it does!

Answer 10

Think about it: gram for gram fat is very calorific. Cutting down fat would automatically cut down a lot of calories.

So yes, do both. But it's important that in an effort to cut down calories you don't be daft and forget to cut fat as well.

Common sense, not fad works.

Answer 11

Fat contains more calories than carbohydrates and sugars, nearly twice as much.
You do need fat as it contains fat soluble vitamins. Try looking at a diet like Rosemary Conley's. I've done her less that 5% fat programme and that worked, but you still have to count calories though. Exercise is also a must. (BOO)!
Hope that helps.
Good luck.