Can Alli Be Your Friend?
Alli is the first FDA approved ‘diet pill’ to be sold without a prescription. But is this fat-blocking drug the magic pill people hoped for? Even the manufacturers don’t guarantee easy results when you use this over-the-counter dose of the prescription fat blocker, xenical. After you purchase the product you get membership to their program which includes individualized menu plans, guides for dining out, and other support. Unfortunately the amount of information provided to people who join seems almost insurmountable. To provide you with information you need on how the medication works, how to monitor your progress, how to set goals for yourself, how to make lifestyle changes, how to deal with setbacks, and more, you get over 200 pages of material!
How does the Alli program work? The drug blocks the absorption of 25% of the fat you consume, thereby depriving your body of these fat calories. They recommend you eat less than 50 grams of fat per day. Just so you have an idea, this is the amount of fat found in one Burger King Breakfast Biscuit with sausage, egg, and cheese, OR a Hardee’s Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger OR a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a medium order of fries. In other words, if you regularly consume fast foods of this type, you are going to have to keep away from them while you’re on the Alli program.
People quickly find out the side effects of consuming more than 50 grams of fat per day, so they avoid fatty foods. You see, the fat that you eat which is not absorbed is excreted at the other end of your digestive tract pretty much the consistency of a tablespoon of oil. The packaging warns of “anal leakage” and “undergarment staining”. The more fat you eat, the more troublesome this side effect may be.
Surprisingly, the actual amount of fat blocked from being absorbed on your new 50 gram daily fat allowance keeps a mere 250 Calories out of your system–enough to promote one-half pound of weight loss per week. The fat it keeps people from eating in order to avoid the embarrassing side effects, however, could easily surpass 50 grams per day, which would keep 450 calories out of the body, and result in up to a pound of weight loss per week.
Furthermore, what they advertise as ‘success’ is losing 5-10% of your body weight. It’s true there are many health benefits to an obese person losing 10% of their body weight. But most people who start a comprehensive, detailed program in which they are investing time, money, and possible intestinal discomfort probably are hoping to lose quite a bit more than that.
The bottom line is, if you generally consume large amounts of fat on a daily basis, and can cut many grams out of your diet, you can be successful at losing weight relatively quickly. If this drug and its side effects are what helps you to stay away from these high calorie foods, then Alli is indeed your friend.
Written by Laurie Beebe
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About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a Related posts:
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