Dr has given me Orlistat....what to do???? HELP

ajfc1971
ajfc1971 Posts: 258 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
I have lost 50lbs by eating correctly 1200 cals + exercise cals and being on here has been great. However I have only lost 1lb in the last 3 mths. I have upped my exercise.
I have lost at total of 17.5% of my original body weight, due to the stopping of weight loss then the Dr and the dietitian advised that I give this a try. I don't think my diet it that high in fat anyway.

Has anyone give this ago and what do you think????

Replies

  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
    I have not used prescription strength Orlistat but I have used Alli, which is a lower dose of the same thing.

    My advice is to carry an emergency pack with you everywhere you go, as in a ziplock-type bag with clean underwear and personal wipes! While it didn't happen terribly often, that lovely side effect did happen at the least convenient moments. I was able to exercise, even hike through Germany, without issue, but a sudden sneeze would leave me in a bit of a predicament. I did not use Alli for long.

    On the upside, it did help me lose weight through diet modification. I was afraid to eat fatty goodies. The fat found found naturally in some foods, like nuts, did not seem to make a difference, but you let a piece of cake past my lips and it was on!!

    BTW... 17.5% is a fantastic result! Congrats!!
  • traceygl1967
    traceygl1967 Posts: 72 Member
    I have tried them before and since i ate low fat anyhow it did nothing for me I had none of the nasty side effects either since there was hardly any fat to get rid of from what i ate. I lost no more weight with them than i was losing just by eating right
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    without being able to see your food diary, all I can say is chances are high that you're not eating ENOUGH calories and this is why your weight loss has stalled. See the following two topics on these forums for further assistance in figuring your BMR (what you need to stay alive in a coma, more or less) and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 , as well as "when is 1200 calories appropriate? HINT: Almost Never" http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/908271-when-is-1200-calories-appropriate-hint-almost-never
  • kmcosgrove115
    kmcosgrove115 Posts: 260 Member
    Can you open your diary so we can see what you are eating???
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    Without seeing your diary, we can't help you.
  • dovetail22uk
    dovetail22uk Posts: 339 Member
    Throw them away.

    Or keep them, use them, wear brown pants at all times and enjoy the explosive diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

    Would suggest eating more calories. Lots of people on here have reported breaking a plateau by eating their TDEE for a couple of weeks then going back onto TDEE-20%. I would imagine that 1200 calories is not your TDEE-20% and you would benefit from continuing with a higher calorie goal.
  • blantondwb
    blantondwb Posts: 49 Member
    Please becareful with taking this! You MUST drink no less the 64 oz of water every day and if you are not eating enough fat this product will cause extreme constipation. On the other hand if you are eating to much fat stay very near a bathroom! I took the product once daily for 3 months. I found that I was not eating enough fat for the product to work as claimed. I don't eat a lot of fried foods or foods with a lot of added fat.
  • DesireeAshley90
    DesireeAshley90 Posts: 137 Member
    I used Alli, practically the same thing. That side affect only happened to me when I ate badly, i.e. small chili cheese tater tots or eggs with oil (even pam). It is not that bad and it worked very well for me. I don't use it currently but I did in the past. Just remember that it WILL punish you if you go off plan.
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
    The ultimate decision of whether to take or not to take prescription medicine is yours, personally speaking, I think doctors prescribe way to many drugs when a change in diet and regular exercise will accomplish the same goal. I guess they think, there's no money to be made if all you have to do is eat right and exercise.
  • dovetail22uk
    dovetail22uk Posts: 339 Member
    Hang on. Alli is a "watered down" version of Orlistat that you get on prescription so its effects will be less. It's designed so that you excrete some of the fat that you ingest. So if you know what you are getting into that's fine, but you will have very oily poos. No way around it.

    But remember that you need fat for your body to function properly. Those people who said they were eating a low fat diet already so it didn't have much effect - why on earth did your doctor prescribe it to you then?!

    All it does is stop you absorbing some of the fat in your diet so you get less calories from the food you eat. You could just eat fewer calories (try working out your TDEE-20% and eat that) or exercising a bit more.

    If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
  • dovetail22uk
    dovetail22uk Posts: 339 Member
    The ultimate decision of whether to take or not to take prescription medicine is yours, personally speaking, I think doctors prescribe way to many drugs when a change in diet and regular exercise will accomplish the same goal. I guess they think, there's no money to be made if all you have to do is eat right and exercise.

    So true.
  • ajfc1971
    ajfc1971 Posts: 258 Member
    Thanks guys my diary is now open
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    I've looked back through about a week's worth of your diary - the very first suggestion I can make is to LOG EVERYTHING. Most of your days are incomplete, so even with the open diary we still don't have an accurate picture. Sure your fat LOOKS low but IS IT really? I don't know, you didn't log lunch. Or dinner. Or both. So that's the first thing.
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
    Weigh and long your food.... everytime you eat. I also see a lot of generic estimates for take away. That's not such a great idea, as you have no idea what place A uses compaired to place B. A once in a while guess no big deal, a twice a week guess has the chance to erase a small deficit.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    eh.... I personally wouldn't take it. I don't want the terrible you-know-what side effects of it.

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