The My Alli food plan is a personalized diet program designed to be used in conjunction with the weight-loss drug Alli. Alli contains the same medication-- orlistat--as the prescription obesity treatment Xenical, but in a reduced strength: 60 mg per Alli dose compared with 120 mg for Xenical. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Alli as a non-prescription treatment for overweight people age 18 and over.
Significance
Alli works by blocking your intestines from absorbing about 25 percent of the fat in the food you eat. That undigested fat passes through your system and is excreted in bowel movements. If there's too much fat in your diet, this can lead to harmless but very unpleasant side effects, which Alli marketing materials refer to as "treatment effects." According to Mayo Clinic nutrition specialist Donald Hensrud, these include frequent, hard-to-control bowel movements; loose stools and diarrhea; and "gas with an oily anal discharge." The My Alli food plan aims to prevent these symptoms by limiting your fat intake.
Features
The My Alli food plan is built around reducing calories while limiting fat intake to more than 15 grams of fat per meal. A daily meal plan, as outlined on the Alli website, might consist of a breakfast of waffles with strawberries and cream; a lunch of a tuna-salad sandwich with baked potato chips; a dinner of herbed chicken and potatoes; and a low-fat snack such as baked chips and salsa. People on the plan take three Alli capsules a day, one with each meal.
Considerations
The food plan is just one part of a larger behavior-modification program known collectively as the "My Alli Plan"--branded as "myalliplan." This 26-week plan is built on "four pillars": food, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle. It includes regular exercise, stress-management work and education about making smart food choices. You can set up a personalized plan online at the Alli website; registering is free.
Effects
The official website for Alli stresses that it is not a "diet" but a "complete approach to weight loss"--an integrated lifestyle program with dietary changes as just one element. Hensrud says that the Alli plan can indeed help you lose weight, although not much more than you would lose through a combination of a low-calorie diet and regular exercise without taking any kind of medication.
Warning
As it blocks digestion of fat, Alli also reduces your body's ability to absorb several vitamins, including A, D and E. That's why Hensrud says people who take Alli should also take a daily multivitamin. Don't take the vitamin at the same time of day you take an Alli capsule.
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