For adults who are overweight but don't want to take prescription medications, Alli, an over-the-counter version of the prescription drug orlistat, may be a good option. When used in conjunction with a low fat diet and exercise program, Alli claims that you can lose up to 50 percent more weight while taking Alli than a person who isn't taking Alli.
Function
Alli is a lipase inhibitor, which means it prevents your body from breaking down fat into smaller components that your body can store. Approximately 25 percent of the fat you eat won't be broken down and will be expelled from the body through bowel movements instead of being stored as fat.
Diet Specifications
While you are taking Alli, you have to limit amount of fat in each meal you eat to 15g or less. It is important to check the fat content of beverages you drink to ensure that you won't go over your fat allowance. Some beverages, such as some coffee drinks with whole milk, contain fat you need to account for in your fat allowance for that meal. If you choose to snack, you must eat very low fat or fat-free snacks.
Treatment Effects
Eating more fat than 15g per meal may result in unpleasant side effects, which are also called treatment effects. Urgent and uncontrollable diarrhea is a treatment effect that is common if you eat too much fat in a single meal. Oily gas, oily or fatty stool, nausea and stomach pain are also possible. These are the result of the body trying to expel the excess fat that wasn't absorbed.
Time Frame
Orlistat is approved for long-term use of up to one year in adults, but the majority of the weight loss you will experience as a result of taking Alli will take place in the first six months of use, according to MyAlli. While you are taking Alli, you take one pill with each of your three main meals each day. When you first start the Alli diet program, begin your healthy eating plan three days before taking your first Alli pill so you don't experience treatment effects as a result of the excess fat in your digestive tract from the meals you ate before starting the program. You should continue following a low-fat diet even after you stop taking the Alli pills.
Warnings
If you are taking other medications, talk to your doctor or a pharmacist before taking Alli as there may be interactions between the Alli and over-the-counter, herbal or prescription medications. Additionally, there are reports of liver damage associated with Alli use. Signs of liver damage include clay colored stool, itching, dark urine, weakness, jaundice and loss of appetite.
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