Anyone tried Alli?

[MaggieB]

Just curious. Haven''t had much luck losing weight and I have under three months til wedding. I only want to lose about 10-15 pounds. I''ve gained muscle I can tell because my clothes are fitting better, but I haven''t lost any weight. I''ve heard that Alli helps people that don''t have very much to lose. Any thoughts?

 

[jcarlylew]

it depends on your type of diet.

I thought it was helpful to jumpstart my diet. for me, not seeing results will not keep me on a diet. seeing that i dropped 5 pounds (becuase honestly i ate better, i was petrefied of the side affects) i thought it was great. after a couple months i did plataeu and then i stoped taking the pills.

did it work? yes. but i was out of shape, starting a diet.
will it work for you? only one way to tell, but my guess is no, if you are already fit.

 

[Sabine]

jcarly, did you have any side effects when using it?

 

[MaggieB]

Thanks JCarlycrew.

Let me say a little bit more about myself if it will help with people''s answers. I was not "fit" by any means when I started exercising. Nor would I consider myself fit now! I have an extremely thin frame, no boobs, no butt, with fat on it. So - if I didn''t put on muscle, I would need to lose 30 pounds in order to look skinny, although I wouldn''t look healthy, I would look like Kate Moss. I know, because I used to weigh 108 pounds.

I have started working out to burn fat and to become fit and active - to be healthy. If I can put on 10-15 pounds of muscle then I would probably look decent without getting down to 108, so even though I''m about 140 now, it''s a very unfit 140. I would be happy at 125-130 if it were shapely and not fat bulges everywhere.

 

[jcarlylew]

Sabine - only when i ate REALLY BAD FOOD (junk food or high fat food). and its true what they say. without too much TMI, make sure that you have good control over bowel movements. other than that, i did jet an upset stomach once in awhile, and a little bit of the side affect (okay, this is TMI but it basically looks like oil) but nothing so horrid. just a friendly reminder that just becuase you ate chicken, does not mean the heavy cream sauce makes it okay lol!

Maggie - since i am not an excersise buff by any means, or a nutritionist, i cannot give an answer other than advice. it will help you lose weight, i am just not sure how it will look on your body. for me, some people noticed it, but i didnt see it on me. i would suggest trying the trail (60 days?) and continuing to tone up, for your body shape. if you have a problem controlling your diet, well, this will help.

there is an Allie support i think in yahoo boards, and i found it pretty supporting.

While i was on it, i ate alot of chicken, and low fat dairy products (i cannot quit milk!) and stayed away from coffee drinks except americanos and regular coffee.

 

[Kayakqueen83]

Date: 9/16/2008 5:31:09 PM
Author: jcarlylew
it depends on your type of diet.

I thought it was helpful to jumpstart my diet. for me, not seeing results will not keep me on a diet. seeing that i dropped 5 pounds (becuase honestly i ate better, i was petrefied of the side affects) i thought it was great. after a couple months i did plataeu and then i stoped taking the pills.

did it work? yes. but i was out of shape, starting a diet.
will it work for you? only one way to tell, but my guess is no, if you are already fit.

I seriously considered getting on Alli until I read about the side effects. I just didn''t want to worry about bringing an extra pair of wants to my work, just in case.... Yikes, those warnings on the web site are crazy! But that being said, I hear that it does work quite well as long as you stay with the dietary restrictions. It just frightened me!

Good luck!

 

[jcarlylew]

i think i had ONE bad day of side affects - it was also the day after i ate half a pizza. Go figure. honestly, at least for me, as long as i had control on my bowel movements (and honestly, some people dont!) it wasnt a problem, even if i did have a day where i ate more fatty foods than allowed.

i think they asked you to keep your fat content for the day (or meal...?) under 15 gms which isnt that hard if you are watching waht you eat. i even ate at wendys (chicken sammich!) and didnt have a problem.

the first week my stomach was wonky, but after that it calmed down.

side note - make sure to take a daily vitamin since, as most diets and diet pills go, you lose absorbtion of needed nutrients.

 

[oobiecoo]

DH and I used it off and on. The side-effects were so bad that DH stopped using it but I continued. It really was disturbing but people will do anything to help lose weight. I''d recommend some extra protection in the undies though lol.

 

[marchswallowbird]

Yikes, what does that stuff do to you? I''d recommend the Sugar Busters! program as an alternative...

 

[dcgator]

Hey Maggie,

I have not personally tried that product, but to give a more general comment, if you have to pay for some miracle pill to make you loose weight, do you really want to make it a life-long habit or would you rather make a healthy "lifestyle" change.

I am not trying to advocate any particular product or "diet method" but think that a program of healthy eating habits and exercise is probably a better bet in the long term. I have successfully completed a program that is often featured on tv, etc, that advocates a healthy lifestyle versus a pill or frozen products. I have gotten a hold of my body and don''t need to keep paying for a miracle pill for it. I, like you, didn''t have a crazy amount to loose, only 20 pounds, but am so much better off now.

I wish you luck with whichever method you choose but encourage you to make healthy decisions for the long-term!

 

[jcarlylew]

Date: 9/17/2008 9:47:59 AM
Author: dcgator
Hey Maggie,

I have not personally tried that product, but to give a more general comment, if you have to pay for some miracle pill to make you loose weight, do you really want to make it a life-long habit or would you rather make a healthy ''lifestyle'' change.

I am not trying to advocate any particular product or ''diet method'' but think that a program of healthy eating habits and exercise is probably a better bet in the long term. I have successfully completed a program that is often featured on tv, etc, that advocates a healthy lifestyle versus a pill or frozen products. I have gotten a hold of my body and don''t need to keep paying for a miracle pill for it. I, like you, didn''t have a crazy amount to loose, only 20 pounds, but am so much better off now.

I wish you luck with whichever method you choose but encourage you to make healthy decisions for the long-term!

DC you make such a good point - the main thing is to changed the lifestyle, not the drug

 

[Mediterranean]

Date: 9/16/2008 8:07:48 PM
Author: marchswallowbird
Yikes, what does that stuff do to you? I''d recommend the Sugar Busters! program as an alternative...

March,

Alli makes it more difficult for the body to metabolize fats, so some percentage of the fat you eat passes through your body without being absorbed.


Not a HUGE percentage, though. If you were to lose, say, 10 pounds with normal dieting you''d lose 15 pounds with Alli.

The thing is, you''re excreting pure, undigested fat. Which, when exposed to the heat inside your body becomes an oily liquid (naturally, just like when you heat up ANY fat--think of the way that the solid white fat turns to liquid and drips off a steak when you cook it).

OK, but, the issue here is that you''re not heating up cold pizza or cooking a steak. It''s YOU that the melted fat starts "dripping" from.

Try it on a day when you plan to stay at home ALL day. And wear pants/undies you don''t really care about throwing away.

 

[Diva0413]

I''m taking Alli now. It''s helpful, but as others have said, boy it''s got some side effects. I don''t know about everyone else, but the side effects dissipated after about 2 weeks and so far I''ve lost about 5 pounds. I''ve also started working out a little more (yeah, I know it''s a Wii Fit, but it still makes me sweat!!!), and hopefully I''ll lose a little more.

Oh, and if you do decide to take it, make sure you take a really good multi-vitamin.

 

[marchswallowbird]

Ugh, not for me.

I''d rather just be really good about healthy eating and ramp up my exercise level. But that''s just me, different things work for different people.

 

[seahorsegurl]

Alli definitely works. I just rolled over the 50 lb mark (and lost .75 ring size, woo-hoo) with Alli''s help. I''ve done minimally more exercise than I did before, but I''ve had to be ultra conscious of what I eat, I like to think of it as negative reinforcement dieting. I''ve only had one really bad day and that''s because I had an Alli pill in the morning and in the late morning had two donuts. If I decide I want something that''s fatty, then I don''t take the pill with that meal. Go to www.myalli.com and you can read their message boards where people talk about their own experiences with it. You can give it a try, the cost factor isn''t that great so there''s not much to lose. Good luck!

 

[omieluv]

Congrats Seahorsegirl on crossing over the 50lb mark! Glad you were able to find a method that works for you.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

I saw this thread and I HAD to bump it up. Ladies please PLEASE do not use Alli! It warns that it can cause problems with the colon which it can and I have seen firsthand what it can do! My mom and I were both on Alli and then she went in for her mammogram (history of cancer, she had it 10 years prior) and the breast cancer had come back and they ended up doing a hysterectomy and during the surgery they found a growth on her colon that was not even closely linked to the breast cancer and the doctor determined it was from the weight loss pills we had been using. We both immediately threw our entire supplies of the product away and have not looked back. If you want to lose weight for your wedding do it the natural way- diet and exercise! That''s all ladies!

 

[sugarjo]

My mom took Alli for a couple of months and lost quite a bit of weight. (Sorry, I don''t know exactly how much). It really worked for her because she has a really bad knee and can''t do work out much without the risk of another serious injury that would result in surgery. So she started taking it with a low-fat diet and was very, very successful.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

I agree with whoever said that Alli is "negative reinforcement." That statement hits the nail on the head.

It''s not that Alli doesn''t allow your body to metabolize fats that results in weight loss- it''s that Alli forces you to eat less-fatty foods (to avoid awful "side effects"). A fear of oil spots and loose bowels will make almost ANYONE choose veggies and chicken over a cheeseburger and fries! Sure, not digesting fats helps a bit, but really, Alli simply encourages a low-low-fat diet.

But I''ve also gotta side with Smurfy: Finding the strength to do it on your own is FAR better than using any pill or diet supplement. The natural way is always the best way- even if it''s the rough road!

To anyone struggling with finding motivation: I highly suggest finding a local ''boot camp'' type of class. They''re all over the place: and many of them mimic "The Biggest Loser" You pay a pretty low entry fee and get about 12wks of small-group fitness and nutrition training: and the biggest loser wins the money from everyone''s entry fee!

 

[glitterazzi]

Okay... Smurfy''s post kinda hit home with me... I may throw out my supply too! I''ve had my bottle since it was first released... needless to say I haven''t used it very regularly - and I had my greatest weight loss success when I wasn''t using it! All the TMI posted is pretty accurate - although I ONLY had an incident once - and I''d taken it and then ate mexican food (yeah - dumb moment).

Anyway - what I really wanted to add here is something my nutritionist has told me time and again.

MaggieB - If you can tell a difference in the way your clothes are fitting you are doing all of the right things. I''ve been told to throw my scale away - because that number doesn''t mean anything. If you are gaining enough muscle and not gaining lbs on the scale - then you are DEFINITELY losing fat!!! Instead of a scale try using a specific article of clothing to gauge your weight loss. For me it''s a pair of pants that I can''t even get over my hips - but each month, when I can get them an inch higher - or the zipper an inch closer - that proves to me what I''ve achieved. When muscle mass is involved - numbers can go right out the window.

Good luck - and keep up the hard work. I know you are working towards the wedding day now, but think of it as a lifetime of health and wellness... it will keep you on track!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

I just want everyone to know this is an EXTREMELY old post, maggie probably doesn''t even read the forums anymore....I was just digging and it really hit me that people may still be using alli and not realize the dangers of it and I felt I should at least inform you guys of my personal experience with it. Who knows, by doing this I might prevent what happened to my mom from happening to someone else!

 

[princesss]

Hey Smurfy, thanks for the heads up on this. I''ll warn my friend who takes it.

Just wanted to point out, though, that the original post is only a month and a half old, and Maggie''s posted on the boards today.

 

[kellybelly]

a friend at my office used it before her wedding. she didn''t really need to lose any weight, but she took it and was also exercising. if you''re doing both, impossible to tell what the cause is for the loss!

for anyone who wants to get fit, i have one word-- RUNNING. it is the most complete exercise you can do to make you strong, fit, and build cardiovascular health.

 

[dcgator]

Date: 11/3/2008 11:02:57 AM
Author: kellybelly
a friend at my office used it before her wedding. she didn''t really need to lose any weight, but she took it and was also exercising. if you''re doing both, impossible to tell what the cause is for the loss!

for anyone who wants to get fit, i have one word-- RUNNING. it is the most complete exercise you can do to make you strong, fit, and build cardiovascular health.

Hey Kelly,

I would love to say that running solves all weight problems, but not really

I am an avid runner and am about 2 weeks away from a half-marathon. While I find running is a great exercise, it doesn''t give as good fat burn as just plan old elliptical or other cardio machines. I find that when I am not training as hard for a marathon and just running non-hard core, I have less fat, etc.

I am not saying its not a good workout, but for people who are novices to exercise, I would try the machines, or even a brisk walk, which is probably better for the joints!

Much love to all of your who are training for upcoming marathons though...Hang in there!

 

[marchswallowbird]

Just another post to say that running can also be hard on your knee joints. It is a great form of exercise for many people, but there are also other forms of cardio out there. Bottom line: do what works for you! If you love it, you will stick with it, whether it is running, spinning class, kickboxing, or something else.