Does alli work for a weight loss pill? The quick answer looks to be yes, but there is one major downside, so read on.
Alli is the over-the-counter name for orlistat which is available in prescription form as Xenical. If you're going to ask for it, you might like to know that it's pronounced like ally, not alley. It's essentially a fat blocker and it works by preventing your body from absorbing the fat from the foods we eat, and it's the one freely available drug that has FDA backing for its claims to aid in weight loss. You might think you can eat all the fatty foods you want to and then take alli to negate the effect, but sorry, that's not true. It should always be used with a low fat diet plan with the supervision of your doctor.
The amount of weight loss achieved with alli is variable. In one study involving one-year clinical trials, between 35.5% and 54.8% of subjects had a 5% or greater decrease in their body mass, although we don't know how much of this mass was fat. Between 16.4% and 24.8% of these subjects achieved a 10% or more decrease in body mass. With a calorie controlled diet, the effects can be expected to be greater. It was also shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The participants got back an average of one third of the weight that they had lost after they stopped taking alli, but this is typical of most dieters.
The main disadvantage of alli is the side effects with digestive and bowel problems. The higher the fat content in the diet, the worse these side effects are likely to be, because the undigested fat is expelled from the body. Flatulence, loose stools and bowel incontinence can result, especially in the early stages before the body is used to the drug. The manufacturer's website warns, "You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work. [Or may we add...take a few diapers?!!]" You *really* need to want to lose weight to take alli!
Luckily these side effects are reduced if you stick to the suggested low fat diet and as the manufacturer hints, the potentially embarrassing side effects can actually be helpful in encouraging you to keep to your diet. Also remember that alli does not claim to work without consistent efforts toward weight loss from you. What they do claim is that it's able to improve your weight loss by up to 50%. For example, a person who lost 10 pounds without taking alli would lose 15 pounds with it. It boosts your weight loss and rewards your efforts with better results than you can get by yourself. Note though that individual results will vary and aren't guaranteed.
Unfortunately there's no magic diet pill that will melt away all your excess pounds when you sleep, but alli is a pill that does have documented results. If you're determined to lose weight and have been struggling with diets with very little success, it may be a good time to discuss it with your doctor and find out if alli will work for you....even if you do need to bring a briefcase with dark pants to work every day!! [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]