You can take Alli with low-fat meals (even if it is below the 15 grams of fat). The only difference that taking Alli with low-fat meals is that you are blocking less calories. If you are eating too low a fat meal then you may choose not to take Alli just because of cost considerations but Alli will block calories from fat whether you eat 5 grams of fat or 15 grams of fat. The recommendation is to take Alli with the three meals that contain the most fat and to not take Alli with when you have eaten no fat (because it won't do anything) and to not take Alli when you eat a high fat meal (unpleasant side effects).

Wow! This is great! I started my low cal low fat diet the other day and bought some lean cusines and smart ones for the freezer but when I got to the site today I got worried that maybe if I didnt follow the meal planner and lists I would not do as well.  Its good to see that I can eat a lean cusine for lunch and/or dinner and still be sucessful! I dunno about you guys but I am totally strapped for time, I'm a full time student and work as a pizza delivery driver and find it hard to pack lunch and dinner and eat breakfast on the run when trying to eat healthy, all the food suggestions need to be cooked and can be taken along very easily does anyone have any suggestions other than the freezer dinners (which I LOVE, dont get me wrong, but you can't really live on freezer dinners alone!) 

Thank you and best of luck to everyone! :D

Like you I am a full-time student and I also work (full-time as well). I can completely relate to being strapped for time. The only solution that has worked for me is really being committed to making a plan for my meals.

I pick a day that is relatively time friendly and I cook up a couple of easily portable dishes (like pasta or chicken and veggies). After everything has cooled, I pack it up into individual containers so that I can just grab my leftovers for lunch and go. By planning ahead I am able to break up my meals between things like Lean Cuisines (which I definitely keep on hand for when I am short on time or have no desire to cook) and real home cooked foods.

Also, investing in a slow-cooker or Crockpot is a great timesaver because you can just toss something in the Crockpot to cook while you are at work or school and by the time you get home you have a meal that you spent about 5-10 minutes time preparing.  

Hope this helps!

Thats a great idea! I'm always trying to find foods I can make quick in the morning or night before but portioning out pasta and such foods for the week thats awesome! I also love the crockpot idea, and I have one....locked in the trunk of my old car and kinda stuck right now...but i do have one that i'm hoping to get to by the end of the week! ;)

Thanks for your help!

You might also try for days that you are totally strapped for time and didnt get a chance to cook the oven roasted chick breast 6 inch from subway, its our list of low fat iteams and is really good w/ some veggies and little mustard!

The Lean Cuisines have been my saving grace!  

I'm a stay-at-home Mom, which can be WORSE for dieting than having a busy job or school because the kitchen is in the house with me ALL DAY   ;-)  

I have been pretty good at finding the Lean Cuisines with the low fat AND low carbs.  (I don't buy any with over 5 grams of fat).  Alot of times, these meals load up on the carbs to make up for the missing fat, I think.  Smart Ones are okay too, but I prefer Lean Cuisine.  My faves are:  Spaghetti with meat sauce, Spaghetti with Meatballs, Roasted Turkey with dressing, and one I only found once, the Vegetable Eggroll.  I eat Lean Cuisines for both lunch and dinner with a salad and a treat of the Pineapple Angel Food Cake (in the desserts section of this site) or a Jello Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Pudding cup (only 1 gram of fat).

Mmmm!

I don't like eating pasta, so I go with Banquet's selections.  The ones I buy are BBQ chick dinner, Chicken fried steak dinner, Turkey with dressing dinner, or the Mexican dinner.  I buy the Dragon eggrolls, 5 to a pack at Walmart, they are 100 calories each with 2 gms of fat for a giant eggroll, just nuke it for 90 seconds, yum!  Tampabayb

 Don't you have to worry about the high sodium count in those frozen meals?

Yes!  Some meals are higher than others so it's important to read the label.

It's also important to consider sodium in the context of an entire day -- rather than one food item.  That's easy to do with the alli Nutrition Log: it calculates everything for you!

In addition, some people are more sodium/salt sensitive than others.  One of the natural functions of sodium is to bind water, that causes water retention (more in some people than others), and that will mask a true weight loss.

The recommended amount of sodium (because it IS an important nutrient) is 2,300 milligrams, or less, per day.  If someone is having more than 3,000 mgs. per day that might cause more water retention.  In that case it's a good idea to review your daily logs, see where most of the sodium is coming from, and then see what other substitutions you can make.

I hope this helps.

Pat Baird, MA, RD, registered dietitian

 Oh the Lean Cusine Lasagna is great, I have been eating these too along with some Healty Choice, and Smart Ones

I also Like the Special K cereal with low fat milk and the meal bars they are all so good, its almost like not dieting

and it works, I have lost 7 pounds Im so excited

The best one i have tried is the Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita(sp?).  It is great and really filling.  Also kinda off subject but I got the best treat today.  It is the Skinny Cow Cones in the ice cream section.  I think it was 150 ca and 3gm fat for a good size cone.  Not something I would snack on all the time but great for a treat.

 I agree, I love the Lean Cusines dinner also & the sandwiches to they are also very good. dont forget when bored grab a lean cusines ice cream bar or a sugar free jello pack they are really good. i don't like the special k cereal, prefer smart start cereal.

 Hi I'm Adaliz, and I am new to Alli. This is my first time typing something to someone in this web-site. It's good to know I'm not the only one with a kitchen the entire day with me. How do you do it? I began taking Alli about a week ago, but I didn't think it was going to be so hard. I have three kids so I'm always preparing meals and snacks for them. I'm always in the kitchen. I asked my husband to stay with my daughter in the mornings, so that I can volunteer at my son's school just to get out of the house. Do you have have any other tips? I will greatly appreciate it. I also buy the Lean Cuisines, I love them.

 I'm Liz and in April started using a Laptop Lunchbox to portion my food better.  The two large containers hold one cup and the two smaller containers, 2/3 cup.  I do not have access to a microwave or any other heating device so I have to be creative on my food choices.  I am going to start to take Alli on monday.  I don't eat breakfast or dinner generally, and I don't drink a great deal of water so this will be a challenge.  I'm just wanting to drop some weight so I'm more comfortable.  I cook most weekends for the rest of the week.  I no longer buy Lean Cuisines.

I usually eat peaches & cream oatmeal with toast for breakfast then lean cuisine meals for lunch & dinner. If I snack its usually granola bars or the 100 calorie snack packs. Some days its hard for me to hit my fat & calorie goal (I don't have enough) but so far it seems to be working. I've been taking the pills for about 3 wks & have lost 7 lbs. (I did cheat this weekend & had McD's :( I still took the pill after & didn't have any of the bad TE. ) I'm a picky eater & haven't found any real recipes that sound good so the Lean Cuisines work better for me. The SmartOnes deserts are awesome too! I grab one of those if I have a craving for sweets.

 hi

lean cusines are good. but ive eating tonite already and almost time for some sleep. i try to eat small portions.

karen