To all of you using Alli,i have a question.I never eat 15 grams of fat per meal,except on ym cheat day.Would Alli do me any good?TIA

I was on Alli for 2 weeks before going on vacation. I followed the plan, staying under the 15 grams of fat per meal and lost 8 pounds with no problems. I did see some small oil spots in the toilet but it wasn't anything that was a problem (no accidents) and to me that just meant that the Alli is doing what it is supposed to do.

I went on vacation during the 3rd week I was taking it. I ate in restaurants a lot and tried very hard to eat the way I should. I ate a lot of fruit and salads but there were some meals that I know exceeded the 15 grams. I gained back just a couple of pounds and I'm not very worried about that. They will be back off this week I'm sure. But this is what I discovered:

You can't just not take the Alli pill for one meal to avoid treatment effects if you are going to go over your 15 grams. I did not want any treatment effects while I was on an airplane so I didn't take any Alli all day that day and I had one day where I had a little problem (but made it to a bathroom in time, thank goodness). The Alli stays in your system for quite some time, even if you don't take a pill (I'd say 48 hours). I didn't take any yesterday when I got home, just to see what would happen and I still found a lot of oil in the toilet. So, basically I didn't take any for 48 hours and the oil bubbles were still showing up. Just some good info to know.

I am sure some of my meals exceeded 15 grams but I still tried to watch what I was doing. I am back to sticking to it very closely now this week and I hope to have a loss after this week.

One thing that I've discovered, vacations and things like that are part of life and we have to learn to deal with them and get back into focus when they are over!! Otherwise the weight will pile back on again.

Hope everyone is doing OK. Let us all know any feedback that you feel we need to know!!!

DNR

Hi everyone!

I just got back from vacation ( we went camping ) this weekend plus my home computer is still messed up so I haven't been here since last Tuesday!

I am glad to see everyone is doing great! I stayed on track for most of the week, with the exception of Sunday. I overindulged but haven't had a major TE like I was expecting.

I lost another 3 pounds, so I am excited!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

So nice to see so many posts about Alli.
Have my weigh in next week so I will see how I have done. Have been doing the lean cuisines and fruits and veggies. Bagles ( what more can you want for 1 gram of fat God loves me lol ) and cream cheese ( have to love the whipped kind little more fat then low fat but sure tastes alot better and lower fat than the regular. I know my fat is way under 42 grams day and i probably take in 1800 calories. I wonder if the Alli will help put a kick in the weight loss.
I don't want a magic pill, would just be nice for a little help to see a bit more results.
Have been on my life change 2 months on the 14th of this month. 5lbs lost the first month, hope I did as well this month.

Glad you are doing so well and sure glad to see Alli does seem to work. Think after surgery on the 2nd I might try it.Never tryed any diet aids before.

I havent started taking Alli yet, I'm doing my couple of lowfat days before I do. I cant wait though! But I ran into a little problem.

I told my dh last week as we walked past the Alli display at the store that I was going to start taking it. He asked what it was and without getting to detailed I said it was a Fat blocker, and that it was the only FDA otc approved one. Well then this weekend we are sitting around the campfire and he tells me about this woman that he works with who is taking Alli. Apparently she was being quite graphic about it. She had just started taking it on Friday and told the guys "I've already been to the bathroom 5 times this morning, this stuff works GREAT" So now my dh has a bad taste about it. He thinks its just a high priced laxative. I've told him otherwise that this woman obviously isnt taking it right, I'm pretty sure you arent supposed to be going to the bathroom that much...are you?

It seems to me like she thinks its a license to just eat whatever she wants and that its working because it just all comes right out. UGH! She also told my dh that it gets rid of ALL the fat she eats.

Its people like these who give diet plans a bad name!

Congrats to all of you who are losing! Its so inspirational to see the enthusiasm from you! I cant wait to get started!

~melissa

Well, I am heading into my 3rd week on Alli, and this is what I can tell you. If you eat High Fat foods while taking it, yes you will probably go to the restroom MANY times. I have noticed that if I stay close to the 15grams per meal (the website recommended me to be at 17) I do not have TE's. But if I over do it, then I do go more frequently. Nothing embarassing, but I have to go.
I am due for my second weigh in and will do that in the morning, I was supposed to do it today but I got busy before I left the house this morning and forgot (it isnt hard to forget something you HATE doing..lol)

Confession: I was supposed to check in yesterday, but I didn't. I haven't lost a single pound since last week, and I wanted to hit my goal of 238. I will check in today, no matter what. Even though I did not lose, I have been on my diet, keeping my food journal religiously, and exercising each day. I should have been happy with that. Instead, I am back to that same old scale-fixation. I do not want to sabotage myself, yet again. What are some ways you guys have found to beat that battle? I can't see being stuck at a number for a month or so, as some have experienced, without just cracking from the disappointment. This is a stumbling block I'd like to learn to deal with before I hit one of those huge plateaus 50 pounds from now. Any suggestions?

Hun.e.b.
The starter kit can be returned for any reason, so buy it and let dh read the materials with you. Then, maybe you could try it for a week, showing him how it keeps you on track, how you have to be committed to it. Then he will understand it better and can explain to the woman at work how to use it correctly :0) If he won't buy it , go to the myalli.com website and let him read up on it there. Or you could also buy the book Are You Losing It? as some have suggested. I hope he will give it a fair shake! It really works for those that use it right. Last week I lost 10-11 pounds. this week i was stuck, but it kept me completely on program, as i have been since I started taking it on the 21st of June.
Good luck!

I'm not a great motivational speaker, so I hope you don't mind if I just share my mentality with you.

For me, the thought is, "What's the alternative?" For weight-loss to be successful, most people can't just hop on a diet and then casually set it aside once they reach their goals, expecting to remain slim and happy for the rest of their lives - after all, the hard work is done, right? But a diet isn't meant to be work, a project we devote ourselves to until it's "complete" and then turn our attention elsewhere... it's meant to be our everyday life. It's a life-long process, and if we don't exert as much effort to change our mentality as we do our food and exercise, we're only setting ourselves up for disappointment in the end.

Being healthy is a lifestyle, and it's yours now. Do you want to go back to satisfying your immediate cravings and being unhappy with yourself? I know I wouldn't!

Every single day I stick with this new way of living I am so pleased, like a huge burden has been lifted! I no longer have to stare in the mirror in disgust. I'm not beautiful and slim yet, but what makes that okay is that I will be. I have chosen to be. It may take years of sweat and toil, but I will be making myself many times healthier inside and out in the process, and as well as both physically and emotionally stronger. Knowing this almost makes me not care what the scale says.

After all, what other option is there?

Getting OFF my soapbox, I recently posted a list of plateau-breaking ideas on another member's thread, and I hope you don't mind me pasting them here. It's not certain yet whether you've really hit a plateau, but if you're anything like me you might get antsy and need to DO something about that scale, even if maintaining for a week is perfectly normal. These definitely aren't the only ones out there, but they've caught my interest:

* If your calorie intake is just barely enough to lose weight, you could lower it - a LITTLE; too low too fast can be a bad thing!
* If you've already cut your calories to a fairly low amount, you could consider trying the "zig-zag" dieting method. Some sources recommend you eat 3 days at your low calorie level, then one to three days at your "maintenance" calorie amount or a little higher, then back down to the weight-loss calorie level for 3 more days. Like if I were to try it, I'd eat 1500 calories Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then 1800-2000 calories Thursday, then 1500 again for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, etc. It's supposed to keep your body from getting too used to its calorie deficit and lowering your metabolism to compensate. Our bodies can sometimes be more adaptive than we realize!
* Add in weight training to your exercise plan, if you aren't already doing this. If you're not losing, maybe you can take advantage of the surplus calories to build a little bonus muscle, which should by default increase your basal metabolic rate just slightly. Who knows, maybe it would be enough to nudge you off your plateau.
* The last suggestion (and what I would probably try first if I hit a plateau) is changing your exercise type. If you usually walk, try stairs or jump rope or get on one of those crazy gym machines to get your cardio for awhile. Some folks say it's a good idea to keep your body guessing, or it can adapt itself to most any routine and make itself a more efficient, calorie-conserving survival machine.

Don't give up! I know you'll get past this.

Thanks

Hon.e.B.

I agree with StillTryin about how many times your husband's co-worker was going to the bathroom. The first 2 weeks I was on Alli, I stayed at or under my 15 grams and I didn't go to the bathroom any more times than normal - but when I did, there was oil in the toilet. So, it was not a laxative in my case by any stretch of the imagination. But . . . when I was on vacation last week, even though I tried to eat like you are supposed to, I know that some of the restaurant items had more fat in it than what I had been eating. In one instance, I asked what kind of low fat salad dressings the restaurant had and they had NONE - which is unusual anymore so I tried not to use very much dressing. Some of those times I had more fat than I should have and I went to the bathroom more often and had way more oil in the toilet than I had the previous 2 weeks.

So, in my opinion (and I'm no expert by any means) I would say if you do what you should, most people probably don't have a problem. And I do believe that you do have to be very on track to make Alli work the way it should. I think some people probably test it to see how far they can go and still make it work and they will probably have problems at some point. I'm not saying any of this because I know everything, this is just my opinion ...

D

Does anyone know how much the refill pills cost? My starter pack ends this weekend. I haven't been to Wal-Mart yet, but wondered if anyone knew.

I have been on vacation since the 4th and I've eaten out quite a bit and when I do, I usually don't have a meal at night. Not because I'm trying to cut calories - I'm just not hungry. I go back to work tomorrow and will be back on track with the meals. My next weigh in is Friday and I want to meet my goal of 219. Right now I don't feel it. In fact, I feel kinda bloated. ) Guess I should have stopped at the meal and passed on the smoothie.

I'll get on track again.

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I have been on Alli a week. Lost about 2 pounds. Did have one evening of horrific stomach problems but after that have had none. I honestly believe Alli helps curb your appetite. I did feel bloated for about a day and now everything is fine except for this terrible headache I have had today. I had to take 1/2 of a pain pill and two advil and it lasted about three hours. I feel fine now. I am taking it because my doctor told me I had to lower my cloresterol and to lose a few pounds. It definitely works.

Hello again! Phoenix, I have a REALLY hard time staying away from the scale and it is a killer when you don't see any change...makes you want to feel like why bother trying, right? I try to remember the feeling of when I got on the scale when I WASN'T trying to lose weight, and the feeling I get when I step on there and KNOW that I am trying really hard to get myself healthy. I think, okay no pounds lost but I am making such an effort this time. I am doing something about it! So many people sit and complain because they want something for nothing...you are not doing that! You are working your butt off (literally) and this is SO hard. Losing weight is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I try to do little things to cheer myself up...like paint my nails and toes, take a nice long bath, pamper myself a little...just without food! When you are overweight, you don't have a whole lot of self esteem and don't always take the time to do nice things for yourself. I am a tomboy, so little girly things make me feel a little better. What makes you feel better? I realize that this a quick fix, but it might make you happy for just long enough to make it to tommorrow, where you'll continue to try again and again. I'd rather fail a thousand times on the scale than to never do anything to try to change that number You are doing awesome and have inspired me along the way. So thank you! D