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Alli use being met with success
Hi all,
I used Alli earlier this year and lost 10 pounds immediately, like within 3 weeks. It was really easy to follow the low-fat eating required to avoid the "treatment effects" of the medication. Yeah, I was a little gassier, moved my bowels a little more often, but it was totally tolerable.
I went off of it for the summer, just because I felt like I could continue losing without it. Well, I didn't. Yeah, being off of the Alli allowed me to make food choices that were a little fattier, which is a mistake, obviously.
I went back on it last weekend and have already lost 2 lbs! Hooray! Feeling great!
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Re: Alli use being met with success
Basically, you can't lose weight or maintain your weight loss unless you're using this product? So: are you really willing to use it for the rest of your life?
Doesn't it make more sense to lose weight (and maintain your weight loss) in a sustainable way--not to metion, in a way that doesn't affect the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins?
I understand that losing weight more slowly can be frustrating, but learning to live more healthfully is going to be way more sensible in the long-run.
I totally see your point and agree with you.
That said, I think that some people have so many positive associations with fatty foods that using Alli as a tool to develop extremely negative associations can help get them in the habit of avoiding these foods (the same way that people avoid foods that make them feel nauseous or cause any other discomfort). With negative consequences to eating the "wrong" foods, it may be easier to develop and stick to better eating habits. Once those habits are established, presumably one discontinues the medication.
Personally, I think it's much less extreme than bariatric surgery, and that seems to be something a lot more people are doing these days.
slubkin, I learned to avoid overly fatty, gross foods when I discovered that eating them gave me no energy and just weren't worth the calories. But, if I really want a cheeseburger, I can have one without getting "anal leakage".
OP, please please read this post: http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_alli-weight-loss-medicationnew-warning
Diet pills really are not the way to go. I mean, if there was a pill you could take that was totally safe and healthy that made it easy to lose weight and keep it off, wouldn't everyone be skinny?
We'll just not tell H about this little fact, m'kay?
Hmm, that's true. I honestly didn't think of it that way. My post was definitely knee-jerk in nature.
I guess my problem is that many people DON'T make that negative association, and go back to making the same poor choices once they go off the pills (at least, according to this page at the Mayo Clinic website [link]) and end up gaining the weight back, which means a choice between being overweight or being dependent on a pill with possibly serious side effects.
So: I think it's best if weight-loss can be acheived in a healthful and sustainable way.
[QUOTE]Wow a lot of criticisms! And some bordering on personal attacks. I was just simply sharing a tool that has worked for me and wanted to share it other women who might be considering this but just wanted to hear a more personal review. It's not like I was saying "Just eat grapefruits and drink wheat grass". For the record, I have kept the previous 10 pounds off that I lost in the spring. So I wasn't out "eating cheeseburgers" since then. Obviously I am maintaining and doing something right. So let's to the math...if I lost an average of 10 lbs over three weeks in the spring, that's just over 3lbs per week. And for long term success, slow weight loss is recommended. Hmm....I think I am meeting that. I ride my bike to work every day, 5 miles each way. So I get an hour of exercise 5 days per week. I would say that is pretty awesome compared to most of the US population. I think it's important to use this board to be more supportive and not as critical. But the need to criticize complete strangers comes from a place that I am not at. So I wish all of you luck and happiness. Especially to those who need it most.
Posted by celadorr[/QUOTE]
It's not about criticising YOU as a person.
People are criticising your choice of weight loss tools not only as something that has potentially very serious long-term side effects, but that might simply not be the best choice for others considering their eating habits or personal preferences.
It's important to share this kind of information so that we can all make INFORMED decisions about what is best for each of us as individuals.
Also, I meant to say this before, but fat isn't bad. Dietary fat =/= fat on your thighs. Our brains need fat to function properly, so something that limits your intake of fats isn't doing you any favours. To me, it would be better to learn what is a good fat, that helps our bodies function, and what's a bad fat, that hinders us.
If you'd like to learn how to lose weight and get fit the natural, healthy way, stick around, ask some questions, but if you want to keep plugging something that's shown to be dangerous and is just a quick fix, well, good luck, but we'd prefer you took that somewhere else.
We'll just not tell H about this little fact, m'kay?
And Raynes - for being a "moderator" you sure are being the rudest person on the board. maybe you should consider giving up your title and stick to just being another bossy bride to be like everyone else!
[QUOTE]Wow a lot of criticisms! And some bordering on personal attacks. I was just simply sharing a tool that has worked for me and wanted to share it other women who might be considering this but just wanted to hear a more personal review. It's not like I was saying "Just eat grapefruits and drink wheat grass". For the record, I have kept the previous 10 pounds off that I lost in the spring. So I wasn't out "eating cheeseburgers" since then. Obviously I am maintaining and doing something right. So let's to the math...if I lost an average of 10 lbs over three weeks in the spring, that's just over 3lbs per week. And for long term success, slow weight loss is recommended. Hmm....I think I am meeting that. I ride my bike to work every day, 5 miles each way. So I get an hour of exercise 5 days per week. I would say that is pretty awesome compared to most of the US population. I think it's important to use this board to be more supportive and not as critical. But the need to criticize complete strangers comes from a place that I am not at. So I wish all of you luck and happiness. Especially to those who need it most.
Posted by celadorr[/QUOTE]
While 3lbs per week seems like slow weight loss, it isn't. The human body can really only lose 1-2 lbs of fat in a week, so anything else is either muscle, water, or the gross buildup on intestine walls. I think it's amazing that you exercise 5 days a week, but you might have been able to lose the 10lbs and kept it off with that exercise alone.
Jennabob - i doubt you have even ever tried Alli so you really have no room to say that its "the easy way out".
I doubt any of you on here are actual experts on weight loss. As someone who as successfully lost 60 pounds the "old fashioned" way, eating healthy and working out, and has been featured in health magazines to talk about it let me say that taking Alli is not an easy way out. You still have to make healthy eating choices, use willpower, work out and keep up a healthy lifestyle. It sounds like you all re a bit jealous that other people are having weight loss while maybe you are struggling? Thats just a guess but all your bitterness makes it seem like thats what it might be. Its sad that you all find it "frustrating" that other women arent losing weight the way you think it should be done, maybe you should support fellow women who feel pressured to be thin on their big day.
LADIES - THIS is why women feel like crap about themselves! Its not because of men or media, its because OTHER WOMEN put down each other instead of lifting them up. Maybe if we supported one another then women wouldnt feel like they need to take Alli or go on diets!
[QUOTE]Jennabob -<strong> i doubt you have even ever tried Alli so you really have no room to say that its "the easy way out".</strong> <strong>I doubt any of you on here are actual experts on weight loss.</strong> As someone who as successfully lost 60 pounds the "old fashioned" way, eating healthy and working out, and has been featured in health magazines to talk about it let me say that taking Alli is not an easy way out. You still have to make healthy eating choices, use willpower, work out and keep up a healthy lifestyle. <strong>It sounds like you all re a bit jealous that other people are having weight loss while maybe you are struggling? Thats just a guess but all your bitterness makes it seem like thats what it might be.</strong> Its sad that you all find it "frustrating" that other women arent losing weight the way you think it should be done, maybe you should support fellow women who feel pressured to be thin on their big day. LADIES - THIS is why women feel like crap about themselves! Its not because of men or media, its because OTHER WOMEN put down each other instead of lifting them up. Maybe if we supported one another then women wouldnt feel like they need to take Alli or go on diets!
Posted by SheenaNash1[/QUOTE]
This is ridiculous, but you're right, I'm not a weight-loss expert. I've actually never been overweight--so I don't think this is jeaslousy talking. I spend time on this board because I am an athlete, and I really like learning and talking about fitness and exercise physiology. I think it's fascinating what we can do with our bodies when we train them properly.
I would never tell someone that he or she needed to lose weight, because it's none of my damn business; but I fully support people who want to get healthy and strong. I love being strong, and if I can help people get stronger by posting what I know about fitness on a wedding website, then (apparently) I will. Alli will not help people get fit, or strong. It may help people lose weight, but that is not the same thing at all.