Alli (that new diet pill)

---

Posted by 040508Bride
I've been following a little to fat free diet since last week plus taking the Alli and i've lost 5 lbs since about wednesday of last week.

---

I'm glad you haven't had any of the side effects, just be careful - your body NEEDS fat to metabolise certain essential vitamins, for cell repair and generation. Omega3 fats promote good choloesterol and cardiovascular health, the list goes on and on why we need fat in our diets.

Alli cannot distinguish between good and bad fats. I understand the desire to lose weight quickly, but please be careful, work with your doctor to monitor your health while you are on Alli.

Good Luck!

Well--you don't know about that. Do you remember the commercials for Zelnorm, the medication for IBS? They had women pulling up their shirts and showing you their stomachs? That was taken off the market earlier this year because it turns out it affects some people's hearts. Just like Propulsid, a similar drug was taken off the market years ago for the same reason, just worse symptoms.

I'm not saying that it will affect your heart, it's been on the market in its stronger, prescription-only form for a while. But you never know, lots of drugs have to be taken by millions of people before enough evidence comes out that they have dangerous side effects. Like Celebrex.

It's one thing to take a drug because you have a medical condition that needs treatment. It's another thing to take a drug because you want to fit better in your wedding dress. If you're already eating a low-fat diet, you're dieting. You don't need a drug to keep you from absorbing even more fat. I don't think people should take any medications unless it's absolutely necessary. (And I happen to take a bunch of prescription drugs, but I need them, just want to point out that I'm not an anti-medication crank.)

Just my opinion. (As someone who lost more than 100 pounds with diet and exercise.) Your mileage may vary.

---

Posted by 040508BrideOther impt. info is that this pill only works on the GI (your stomach) system so you don't have to worry about a rapid heart rate and feeling jittery.

---

I def. appreciate everyones comments and concern however, I am not taking this to lose the weight quickly. Actually, this medication does not promote rapid weightloss at all. It will help you lose the weight that you are already set on losing. If you take the pill and then go to mcdonalds for all of your meals, you'll have a messy issue and you won't lose anything. I am already on weight watchers and I'm using it for now as an assistant. It helps me stick to the program better because i know what is in store for me if i don't and i don't want to deal with that. I saw the post last week about it and i even commented on it. I am a nurse, and I already spoke to my doctor about taking it, and she's aware of everything and already prescribes the full strength to her patients. She hasn't had any problems with it, nor have her patients, nor have mine. That's not to say it is 100% safe because who knows. However...if you understand the biochemistry of the ingredients and how it works, you'll see it is a relatively safe medication. This does not work like stacker3, xantrex, etc. It has a totally different mechanism. I understand that there are people who are just dead against taking 'diet' pills...I am too. I would never ever suggest anything that claims to speed up your metabolism or anything like that....This medication suggests that you only consume a certain % of fat with your meals. If you go overboard....well...thats where the problem starts. If you don't go overboard, you don't have that problem. Some people need that kind of 'pressure' hanging over the head. I'm def. a stress eater, and between my wedding, school, house, and my grandfather...well it hasn't been good. This is helping me get through it. I am not suggesting anyone take it, I am not raving about it, I was just posting my point of view on it. So far it is working for me, it's giving me the help i need, i don't have anal leakage (there is nothing in the world that is worth that!) and I just thought i'd share my experience with it. I am not on a crash diet, I am not compulsively working out or doing anything that would put me in danger. Not for nothing--this wedding planning is taking the life out of me--I want to be there to at least enjoy it!

---

Posted by soon2bmrsdunn

---

Posted by 040508Bride

Ok, I am generally VERY against all of this diet pill nonsense, however....Alli (the low dose version of Xenical/Orlistat) is something that has been approved by the FDA so i figured, eh how bad could it be (don't get me wrong, not everything approved by the FDA is great). So I started taking it last week....I'm sure anyone who is interested has read about the potentially wicked side effects and i just wanted to let anyone interested know that as long as you follow the diet--those side effects do not happen. I've been following a little to fat free diet since last week plus taking the Alli and i've lost 5 lbs since about wednesday of last week. IDK if that has anything to do with the pill but i'm sure it does. Other impt. info is that this pill only works on the GI (your stomach) system so you don't have to worry about a rapid heart rate and feeling jittery. Just thought this would be helpful if anyone was on the fence about taking it. Just bc it blocks the absorption of fat doesn't mean you can eat a big mac...well...you can.....but i don't think it's worth the helll you need to pay later!

---

I am glad it's working for you and without the side effects but do you think if you maintained the same diet without the pills you would have lost the same 5 pounds? I think you would have since you are on a non fat/little fat diet and it was your 1st week. JMO. Good luck!

---

It wasn't my first week, I've been on this diet for a while on an off, this has kind of given me the push to stay on the 'on' side of things. I don't want to deal with the side effects. I don't think I would have lost 5...I probably would have lost 3, which is still good....and i don't expect to lose 5 this week, i expect to lose probably 2-3. It's not one of those 'lose 20 lbs in a month' kind of deals...thats not healthy.

Actually, the safe way to lose weight is 1-2 pounds a week, with 1 pound being preferred. Losing too much can affect your metabolism, and it's just not healthful in general.

I'm not trying to knock your weightloss. I just don't see the point of this pill, I never did. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to learn how to eat better. A pill that allows you to eat fat but not absorb the calories is not going to do that. And as someone else said, you need fats in your diet.

My personal experience of having struggled my entire life with diets was that the only way I managed to lose the weight and keep it off was when I stopped eating all 'diet' food (except Diet Coke) and ate enough fat to keep me from getting hungry. No, I didn't eat a high fat diet like Atkins, but I ate a salad with vegetables, protein, and a controlled amount of full-fat dressing every day. I didn't crave high-fat foods, and I didn't get starving before dinner. And I consistently lost 1-2 pounds over a couple of years. I didn't eat that every day, but most days.

It's one thing if you're so overweight that you need to get the weight off immediately for your health--your blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. And another thing if you want to take off five pounds fast for a specific thing, like your wedding. If you really want to lose weight and keep it off, I believe the only way to do it is to increase your activity level and change your diet using real food. You can't be on medication or eat diet food for the rest of your life (I hope.) But you can exercise and eat a reasonable diet of real food.

Again, only my opinion. I just don't see the point of spending a lot of money--Alli is not cheap--when you could just eat fewer calories or exercise more.

---

Posted by 040508Bride
It wasn't my first week, I've been on this diet for a while on an off, this has kind of given me the push to stay on the 'on' side of things. I don't want to deal with the side effects. I don't think I would have lost 5...I probably would have lost 3, which is still good....and i don't expect to lose 5 this week, i expect to lose probably 2-3. It's not one of those 'lose 20 lbs in a month' kind of deals...thats not healthy.

---

---

Posted by 040508Bride

this seems to be a touchy subject for some. IDK if maybe people aren't reading my post correctly or they are misunderstanding me, or what...but I am not starving myself, i AM working out, i AM having food that has some fat in it, i AM NOT living off of diet food, and i AM using this as like an assistant. I am overweight, but otherwise healthy. I am NOT looking to lose weight just for my wedding, this is something i have struggled with for a long time. I am NOT looking to lose an irrationable amount of weight nor am i looking for unrealistic or unachievable results. I am not relying on this pill to do all of the hard work for me, I am working very hard myself. The only reason why i even posted this is because there are (obviously) a lot of myths and misunderstandings about it when the truth is, if you follow the directions, you do what they tell you, you consult with your DOCTOR or NURSE, you can have great results SAFELY! I am a nurse, I take my job very seriously, I love my profession....I would not take this if it was dangerous. There are myths going around that no matter what, if you take it, the side effects are horrendous, when in fact, if you do what youre supposed to do, you won't have ANY side effects. I have been on it for a week and i'm wearing white pants today and i'm not leaking oil....it was more or less to clarify that if you NEED to take it, it can be a good experience. I DO disagree with the people who want to take it that are not substantially overweight. This pill is NOT for you. This is NOT something that should be taken if you are 5-10 or even just 15-20 lbs overweight. That is NOT reccommended. I do however suggest that ANYONE who is interested speak with their doctor or nurse first! Good luck :)

---

honestly, to me it sounds like you are doing everything right, you say you are eating right, and working out, i think what confuses me is then why take the pill ... The whole thing about this pill is that you don't eat fatty foods or else you will leak, but if you just cut out fatty foods like you are already doing without the pill then you will get the same results. This pill seems to be more of a mental thing i guess. You even said it yourself, if you do what you're supposed to do, which i think exactly if you do that then you'll lose weight on your own regardless.

Also seems like you know all about the pill, you're a nurse and did your research first...but what about when you stop taking the pill? See with all type of diets, pills, or anything like this the thing is you won't be on it for your whole life, so at one point you will stop but when you do stop your body will change dramatically again. Whenever you change your eating, exercise habits from one extreme to another then your body changes alot. If you eat alot and never exercise then all of a sudden are working out all the time and eating healthy then you will drop pounds quickly at first, then you lose less bc your body gets used to it and most ppl even hit a plateau for a bit. Same thing if you eat no fatty foods then all of a sudden you do start eating it, you gain twice as much as you normally would bc your stomach shrinks and it can't take the same amount of food youused to eat so you can back twice as much, and when you gain and lose weight constantly what happens is you lose muscle mass and gain more fat making it more difficult each time since muscle burns fat. Many of us go on diets with the hope of losing the weight sometime in the near future, whether its weeks or MONTHS, but truth is yes if we do lose it doesn't mean we want to gain it all back a year from now, 2, 5 or more years from now. Just like i lost weight 2 years ago but doesn't mean that i was happy losing it 2 years ago and wouldn't mind if i had gained it all back now.

I had gained weight a little over 2 years ago and decided to do something about it, i worked out ALOT and ate very healthy, but guess what 2 years later i still have to maintain this. I had lost about 35 pounds and i started eating a little bit more, cut down on exercise a bit bc i had gotten thin and didn't worry as much, at first i didnt gain weight so i went with it and i put some back on and had to realize that its a lifestyle change not a temporary thing. And now i constantly eat healthy, once a week i will indulge a little, and have to continue to exercise.

yep...to a point it IS a mental thing...it's kind of like 'mess up and watch what happens'....it's my own discipline i guess you can say. On top of that, it DOES boost your weight loss a little, but eventually even with the pill I'll hit a plateau....I'm not planning on being on it forever, or even for a long time. I just wanted to try it, see how it was, and take it from there. If things stay the way they are now, I set a goal that I want to reach, and once I get there, I'll switch things up a little. I don't like staying on the same diet for long periods of time because eventually you get stuck (been there, done that). I did great with WW before, so when i'd hit a plateau i'd switch to core, then to FP's. Much like your brain, your body gets bored after a little while too. But you are right, I have done my research, i've asked my questions, my doctor is in on the whole thing, therefore i'm not too worried about it. IDK what will happen once I get to my goal, but I know I will not be on these pills for a lifetime. I just need to get myself back into control of things and back into a routine and then i'll prob stop. This is just kind of helping me break some bad habits