Have any of you tried the new diet drug Alli?

I am interested in your experiences good and bad.

Let me know what you think.

I don't know if you'll get any answers...Unless people are using their laptop on the commode.

This is really a serious question. There are a ton of stories about emergency bathroom trips but it seems to always happen to a friend of a friend's cousin.

What's the real story?

I don't know anyone insane enough to try it. I attended a lecture about this drugs and drugs like it. It was before this particular drug came out but several people in the room had tried drugs like it and described their "oily, explosive episodes". Gross. By the way, they were all still overweight. Don't do it, the only thing that works is proper eating and exercise.

i got the perfect diet fad for you...

stop sitting around, eating, and wondering why your fat.

its called the eat less and excercise more diet. wait, theres nothing to buy so obviously you wont think it will work.

Okay, rugby...that's all well and good, and it's certainly the *right* way to do things....but some people have problems with those very simple ideas.

We hear that a lot, on tv, from doctors on Oprah, or wherever...it doesn't seem to be sinking in all that well now, does it?

Some people need a little extra help. Myself? I have hired a personal trainer to make me more accountable. It's better than accidentally pooping my pants. Others seem to be willing to take that risk if it will help them.

I'm sure in a couple of years they'll find out that Alli causes your liver to disentegrate or eat other organs or something. Remember Phen-fen?

The problem with the drug occurs when you continue to eat fatty foods. It causes the body to malabsorb fat, and so the explosive events are far more likely to occur if you consume too much fat. If you're motivated to cut fat out of your diet, (and that would motivate me), it will be far less of a problem. There are diseases, like cystic fibrosis, that cause fat malapsorption, so the problems associated with it are well known. Besides weight loss, the biggest risk with fat malabsorption is that you don't always get enough vitamins ADEK absorbed.

-but some people have problems with those very simple ideas.

-I have hired a personal trainer to make me more accountable.



-That is why they stay fat, no pill will help them.

-Good, i think personal trainers are excellent motivators. They make sure you work out, develop good eating habits, and you are less likely to just skip out on working out that day because you know someone will be there waiting on you.

I think that more people should look into getting a personal trainer and a diet buddy at work. It makes the whole transition into healthier living alot easier.

The problem with personal training is it is incredibly expensive...and yes, one could make the argument that it is money well spent (I'm a teacher, not a huge salary by any means but I have made myself afford it but I'm lucky) but not everyone will be able to afford it.

I think most people with reasonable intelligence realize that no pill will make them lose weight with no effort...however, a lot of people are in denial, or are not really ready to make the life change required to really lose the weight and keep it off. The stats on people who lose weight and then gain it back plus more are scary...people become easily complacent...or easily fooled...and think, oh I can have some cookies, I'm at my goal weight, and the vicious cycle starts all over again.

There are plenty of books out now that focus on healthy, moderated eating habits and moderate amounts of exercise, and they are best-sellers. It is too soon to tell if they will make much of an impact.

My (personal, humble, and completely unsubstantiated) theory is that our food is pumped so full of crap (preservatives, partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, and the like) that it is finally taking its toll on our health as a society. Last night, at a family dinner, relatives were discussing the 60's and 70's and how no one worked out but people were much thinner. It made me think about how different we eat now...not only is it portion-distortion, as they are now calling it, but it is the quality of food we eat.

End rant. I will enjoy my highly processed lean cuisine now. Blech.