Anyone use Alli? (Melanie the pharmacist... need your thoughts too!)

Stephanie0523

Stephanie0523

Cathlete
Not sure I spelled it right, but I'm considering using it. I had my third baby in October and am having trouble losing the babyfat this time around. Clean eating, exercising, but having such SLOW progress... I read about the um.. side effects of it, but I think those are only prevalent if you overeat or eat too much fat, which I don't... Any thoughts??
 
Hi Stephanie,

I'm not Melanie but I am a pharmacist. My personal opinion of Alli (the OTC version of Xenical) is that it is no substitute for clean eating and exercise. It's basically a fat binder. And it can have some nasty side effects. Personally I LIKE fat in my diet. (I don't do well with carbs) And I tend to eat a lot of healthy fats. So this lowfat diet plan wouldn't work with me.

I think of this as similar to Antabuse. It's an older drug that used to be used to deter alcoholic intake. If you take it and drink you get very sick. If you take Alli and eat fats, you will have some negative side effects. So IF you take the drug, you might have a tendency to change your behavoir and avoid the 'forbidden' item. Don't take the drug? No such incentive.

So if it helps you deter your behavoir, you might want to try it. IF the diet plan works for you. And IF you will stick to the program. BUT I think you can accomplish the same results IF you stick to a clean eating/exercise program.

Btw my mother tried the Rx version a few years and hated it. She stopped after just a few days.

Just my $0.02

Edited to add:
"The average weight loss for prescription-strength Xenical is modest — about 6 pounds greater than diet and exercise alone after one year. So at half the strength, Alli could conceivably result in an average of 3 pounds lost in a year in addition to the approximately 8 pounds you could expect to lose from diet and exercise alone."

From this link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alli/WT00030
 
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Stephanie0523 said:
Not sure I spelled it right, but I'm considering using it. I had my third baby in October and am having trouble losing the babyfat this time around. Clean eating, exercising, but having such SLOW progress... I read about the um.. side effects of it, but I think those are only prevalent if you overeat or eat too much fat, which I don't... Any thoughts??
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You may not want to hear this, but your progress should be slow...1-2 pounds weight loss per week is a healthy weight loss. I put less than zero stock in any of these supplements, I'd rather workout intensly, watch my diet, if I can't lose the weight using those tools, then I'd rather be heavier.

Please be careful using any type of weight loss supplement, the risks outweigh the rewards, IMHO.
 
I did several years ago when it was new and only by prescription (Xenical?) I only took it for about a month it was expensive ($100 or so) and my insurance didn't cover it. I lost 17lbs that month, but I also quit drinking pop and eating crap bc I didn't want the gastrointestinal side effects of the medication. So, I can't say it was strictly the medication that worked. I didn't gain the wt back when I quit taking it, but that prob had a lot to do with eating rather than pill popping. I wouldn't waste the $$ on it again.

My $.02
Nan
 
It's proven that people that use Alli/Xenical not only do not learn any positive eating habits, they actually tend to eat higher fat, because they abuse the drug. The drug also means that you are not getting healthy fats- and if healthy fats weren't so darned calorific, they would be considered almost a miracle food, they are so good for you. And it does nothing about sugar- a much more problematic substance than fat.

Quick fixes don't work- and I've tried every one that exists. I lost my 125 pounds the hard way - a healthy nutritional plan and exercise. And I'm keeping them off that way too. And as hard as it is, it's a lot easier than constantly screwing with my body's chemistry and living with false hope by taking crap that only makes things worse.

Put down the Alli, pick up the weights and get moving- you will get a lot farther, a lot quicker and it will stick.
 
jloewe said:
You may not want to hear this, but your progress should be slow...1-2 pounds weight loss per week is a healthy weight loss. I put less than zero stock in any of these supplements, I'd rather workout intensly, watch my diet, if I can't lose the weight using those tools, then I'd rather be heavier.

Please be careful using any type of weight loss supplement, the risks outweigh the rewards, IMHO.
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I agree with Jerry. My opinion for myself is the slower is comes off the morel ikely it is to stay off. Be patient w/yourself. Keep up the good work! :D
 
Let's be clear. I'm not a big eater who sits on the sofa all day. I eat clean and exercise. I don't drink soda. I don't eat fast food or even any restaurant food... I eat as clean as I can, getting lots of water and fiber into my diet. I've been doing it the right way. For months. Not looking for a "short cut." Not one of those people at all. I just literally am getting to be at my wits end. I've lost about 10 pounds in five months. Should be twice that much -- at least!! When 1,200 calories a day and Cathe don't cut it, what do you do? I'm seeing some progress, just not enough to please me. I want to live in the body I did two years ago!!

Thanks for all of your input, though, guys. I'm just frustrated, I suppose. :confused:
 
Stephanie, I am not post-pregnancy but I did drop 13 pounds in the last month or so by switching from heavy lifting/splits to circuits. Maybe something like that will help if you haven't tried it already?
 
Stephanie0523 said:
Let's be clear. I'm not a big eater who sits on the sofa all day. I eat clean and exercise. I don't drink soda. I don't eat fast food or even any restaurant food... I eat as clean as I can, getting lots of water and fiber into my diet. I've been doing it the right way. For months. Not looking for a "short cut." Not one of those people at all. I just literally am getting to be at my wits end. I've lost about 10 pounds in five months. Should be twice that much -- at least!! When 1,200 calories a day and Cathe don't cut it, what do you do? I'm seeing some progress, just not enough to please me. I want to live in the body I did two years ago!!

Thanks for all of your input, though, guys. I'm just frustrated, I suppose. :confused:
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Based on your eating habits, I don't think Alli will help you Stephanie. If you are already eating clean and not getting much fat in your diet, it just won't do that much (if anything for you).
 
I just started Allie for the same reason with my Dr. approval. I've been on Weight Watchers with the scale not moving plus I am on medication that makes it hard. I just started yesterday so I don't know the results yet. I don't have the side effects because I am eating a low fat diet. I think you would get the effect if you ate too much fat. I did my research for a while before starting. I think this will have to be really up to you. I know how frustrated you are. Maybe just get the small bottle and try that. HTH:)
 
Stephanie0523 said:
Let's be clear. I'm not a big eater who sits on the sofa all day. I eat clean and exercise. I don't drink soda. I don't eat fast food or even any restaurant food... I eat as clean as I can, getting lots of water and fiber into my diet. I've been doing it the right way. For months. Not looking for a "short cut." Not one of those people at all. I just literally am getting to be at my wits end. I've lost about 10 pounds in five months. Should be twice that much -- at least!! When 1,200 calories a day and Cathe don't cut it, what do you do? I'm seeing some progress, just not enough to please me. I want to live in the body I did two years ago!!

Thanks for all of your input, though, guys. I'm just frustrated, I suppose. :confused:
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Actually, I don't think it would be healthy for you, it sounds like you are eating too little as it is, and removing even more nutrients from your body would be bad, you need some fat to be healthy, and I'm not sure you get enough as is.

I'm sure I won't be the only one to say this, but 1200 is WAY too low, especially for someone who works out, and I know if you are working out to Cathe, then you are WORKING OUT!

It might take a leap of faith, but you may want to start to increase your calories, with all healthy foods of course, you really should get out of the habit of 1200 a day. If I can stay around 1700/day, I seem to lose (super slow btw, it's been like a pound a month), but I like to eat. I maintain in the 2000ish range.

I really don't think Alli is the answer for you. You could just to make sure, look into going to a doctor that specializes in hormones and thyroid and get a full workup done to make sure it's not something like thyroid.

You could also check out something like the GoWear fit, so you can track your food intake AND see the calories you really burn everyday.
 
Dela said:
Actually, I don't think it would be healthy for you, it sounds like you are eating too little as it is, and removing even more nutrients from your body would be bad, you need some fat to be healthy, and I'm not sure you get enough as is.

I'm sure I won't be the only one to say this, but 1200 is WAY too low, especially for someone who works out, and I know if you are working out to Cathe, then you are WORKING OUT!

It might take a leap of faith, but you may want to start to increase your calories, with all healthy foods of course, you really should get out of the habit of 1200 a day. If I can stay around 1700/day, I seem to lose (super slow btw, it's been like a pound a month), but I like to eat. I maintain in the 2000ish range.

I really don't think Alli is the answer for you. You could just to make sure, look into going to a doctor that specializes in hormones and thyroid and get a full workup done to make sure it's not something like thyroid.

You could also check out something like the GoWear fit, so you can track your food intake AND see the calories you really burn everyday.
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I completely agree!
 
IMO, Alli is just an expensive way to train you to eat lower levels of fat (because if you take Alli and eat fat, well, you know what is supposed to happen).
 
Stephanie0523 said:
When 1,200 calories a day and Cathe don't cut it, what do you do? I'm seeing some progress, just not enough to please me. I want to live in the body I did two years ago!!
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Hi Stephanie -ITA with Dela...I don't think your eating enough.

FWIW, I don't think Alli is made for someone with your eating and exercise habits anyway, so I really don't think it would help you at all.
 
Stephanie0523 said:
Let's be clear. I'm not a big eater who sits on the sofa all day. I eat clean and exercise. I don't drink soda. I don't eat fast food or even any restaurant food... I eat as clean as I can, getting lots of water and fiber into my diet. I've been doing it the right way. For months. Not looking for a "short cut." Not one of those people at all. I just literally am getting to be at my wits end. I've lost about 10 pounds in five months. Should be twice that much -- at least!! When 1,200 calories a day and Cathe don't cut it, what do you do? I'm seeing some progress, just not enough to please me. I want to live in the body I did two years ago!!

Thanks for all of your input, though, guys. I'm just frustrated, I suppose. :confused:
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I TOTALLY understand your frustration. I've struggled with this my entire life. However I've had some recent success in losing weight. I was already mostly raw vegan and track my calories/macros so I really couldn't do much on my diet. (I thought) It's been the same since Sept 08 and I had not lost anything. The changes I made were -
- increase my calories. (I checked my RMR and BMR and I was below)
- bought a GWF device

My caloric bump was just 100-200 calories per day. But it seemed to make the difference
The GWF opened my eyes to my caloric burn perceptions. And it motivates me to just keep moving.

Between the two of these I've started losing. So far 4 lbs in less than a week. I DO have a lot to lose and I think I've been storing it up. lol I also expect it to slow to a standard rate (just not stall PLEASE!!) So I'm sure my results are not average :p

AND I just finished STS 3mo rotation last night. My strength has increased on everything. I never thought I could curl 20lb dumbbells for more than 8 reps :cool:

YMMV
 
Dela said:
Actually, I don't think it would be healthy for you, it sounds like you are eating too little as it is, and removing even more nutrients from your body would be bad, you need some fat to be healthy, and I'm not sure you get enough as is.

I'm sure I won't be the only one to say this, but 1200 is WAY too low, especially for someone who works out, and I know if you are working out to Cathe, then you are WORKING OUT!

It might take a leap of faith, but you may want to start to increase your calories, with all healthy foods of course, you really should get out of the habit of 1200 a day. If I can stay around 1700/day, I seem to lose (super slow btw, it's been like a pound a month), but I like to eat. I maintain in the 2000ish range.
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This is a bit off-topic, but 1200 is NOT too low, depending on how "big" you are and if you're eating the correct foods.

I am 5'3", currently 128 lbs and about 28% bodyfat. I am trying to get down to 24% and get down to about 120, but that number on the scale is not important.

I am eating about 80-100 grams of protein and lifting very heavy weights to help maintain my muscle mass while dieting. Eating that much protein is not easy. It's difficult to overeat (animal) protein. I cannot lose fat if I go above 1300 calories per day. I am sloooooowly losing, but am counting every single calorie that goes into my mouth. This is new to me, but very eye-opening.

Any workout, including Cathe's do not burn a whole lot of calories, especially for women my size. Even when I was running for an hour at 6 mph, I was burning 500 calories at most. 500 calories is a large bagel with cream cheese and sugared coffee.

Stephanie,

I don't know what your stats are, but, as others have mentioned, slow and steady wins the race. If you are very close to your goal, your body is going to fight you every step of the way.

It took me almost 2 years to lose 20 lbs. I was VERY discouraged.

As I said, I've never weighed or counted my calories strictly, I just eye-balled my portions. Getting that digital scale was the best thing I did.

I know it's frustrating to lose so slowly. Hang in there!!
 
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