After visiting this website, reading the posts and looking at some facts ive decided to take the plunge! Ive taken the advice of starting a low fat diet before starting the program so about a month ago i started keeping a food journal and tried to cut out everything out of my diet that comes in bag: chips, junk, etc.  Ive also cut fast food down and if i go its a salad w/ lo cal dressing or a plain baked potato. I cheat sometimes though! When i started i weighed 248 (i hadnt weighed myself in a about a year so that was a big shock). I weighed myself today and im at 237, so im encouraged that im seeing results and im hoping for no side effects when i start taking the pills! I ordered the starter pack online today along with the cook book ( $4 on amazon!!!) and by the time i recieve them im hoping i will lose a little more :). Im 22 years old, and am starting to walk at least a mile 2-3 times a week (gotta step it up!). I work for the Postal Service and go to school full time, but now im on summer break :) I also ride horses but not as much as a should. Im hoping to get into the nursing program so thats another thing thats motovating me to get healthy. I dont really have a weight goal right now, i would love to get down to a size 10 and just feel healthy, thats my goal i guess. Thanks for the site, and although this is my first post i have been reading along with many peoples expierences and i am inspired!! I need to figure out how to make a signature with my weight stats!

Thank you, Katie.

Hi Katie and Welcome!!  Sounds like you have been doing great without the Alli pills, so they will just help to boost your weightloss!  Way to go!  I too am a full-time student on summer break (don't have to go back until Aug. 20th) so I thought this was the PERFECT time to start Alli.  I'll have my 3rd week weigh-in Monday.  Good luck to you and I hope all goes well!!

~Roxanna

Great to hear Katie! Congradulations on your newfound motivation!!! I'm actually been feeling bad lately about my own lacking motivation, but reading your post I can ..... feed on it I guess you could say. Very cool.

 Anyway - here's a tip. I haven't had great success, due to my on again off again instable life, but with the last almost year on alli, I found that strength training made the biggest difference in the rate of loss... it bumped it up from 2lbs a month to 10 lbs a month! Although I don't usually have metabolism (at all) it was awesome. 20 min on MWF is all, just with dumbells at home when the kids are napping (then a rewarding, relaxing bath after)   :)

Also, it sounds like walking 2-3 times a week is a good starting point. Stay there for at least 3 weeks or more is my advice. It's too easy (and too risky) to burn out. I do it all too often. My motto for this round is "Take it easy". I'm not going to be hard on myself. I'm not going to message board every day. I'm not going to get obsessed with planning meals all day long. (OH SORRY, I'm talking to myself!)

Good luck! And good idea with the cookbook! It's so awesome! This coming from someone addicted to cooking magazines, and owns at least 8 other cook books...

We're here for ya!

Annalisa

Hi Katie,

Welcome to the board! You seem to have done everything that you were told to do and are now see the results of your hard work. You have some great goals and are off to a wonderful start.

I wish you lots of continued success,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 I had to look at this post of mine because i couldnt remember the day i started taking the pills!!! Just wanted to share. I have lost 10 lbs in a little less then a month and i am soo excited. I just ordered my alli refills so i dont run out! I have never had a TE, and im happy about that but i have been very careful not to go over the 15 grams a meal. Ive had a couple set backs and im so proud of myself for not giving up (like i usually do). First of all I got laid off from my job at the United States Postal Service, where i have worked for almost 3 years, my building is closing, I was offered a job in either Utah or Arizona but i declined, i love California and i dont want to leave! I am looking for a job, and if i can i want to find a job where i am more active during the day and get away from that desk job :) I also had an infection on my leg that ended up being the MRSA (sp?) staph infection.  I was on 2 different antibiotics for 2 weeks that upset my stomach almost everyday but yay they worked and im all better now! The yogurt the pharmasist recommended helped a lot, (I told him i was on alli and he told me that i should stick with it and that the antibiotics will be making me sick, not the alli). My leg was surprisingly ouchy for about a week so i couldnt do my regular walks, which im sure i could have lost more with but im happy none the less :) Im happy now to be back on track. I also found out that my best friend is getting married in Cancun Mx next June so that will give me an extra little motovation to lose the rest of my weight before then! Beach body here i come :)

 Hey Katie:

I am new to this Alli program too!  I just started taking the pills yesterday.  I am still trying to figure out how the website works though..LOL  Your messages have been inspiring and I am looking forward to success!  I am 29 and in the medical field (ultrasound) and travel alot for work so I am a little weary of how I will do when I am away from home.  I am very overwhelmed with the information on this website and am realizing all I thought I knew about health and being healthy is very much lacking!!  Hang in there and share any tips you have with me.  I am very intersted in stayong in contact with other alli newbies so I can make sure I am doing this right as well as making friends with the "long-timers" to get some motivation and help.  Hang in there Katie and keep in touch!

~Sonia~

 Katie,  I was browsing the posts and was very impressed with what you said in yours.  You remind me of myself when I was younger (we won't say how much younger, LOL), always busy and doing something - working, going to school, activities.  You touched my heart when I read the line you wrote about how you hadn't weighed yourself and when you finally did, you were in shock.  When I finally weighed myself, I actually accused my husband of standing behind me and putting his foot on the scale.  But once you get over that shock and finally decide to do something, that's when things start to happen.  You're taking the right steps toward reaching your goals.  This site is great for support.  Take it from me.  I don't post a lot, but I read the threads all the time.  Just knowing that there are other people out there like me is enough to keep me going when I am discouraged.  I've found that setting small goals and reaching them really helps, rather than having one long-term goal in the future that seems impossible to attain.

So hang in there and best of luck to you!

Elaine  (mrsELB)

sw: 243, cw: 204, cgw: 199, gw: 160

Hi all,

I just started Alli last Friday and I was very apprehensive because of the all of the talk of "treatment effects".  As a matter of fact, I have been a little constipated and gassy.  But seriously that is normal!! LOL!!  So far no weight loss though and I am getting a little discouraged.  I am trying to stick with the 12gs of fat per meal and 1200 calories and I actually might be under.  I started back to the gym last week and am using the eliptical machine 3 times a week and will work in some weights too.  I am just so used to doing Atkins that being on a low-fat diet is a little strange for me.  It is soooo hard to lose the weight this age - 49!!  And holding!!  Any advice would be greatly appreciated....Lori :-)

 Im pretty new too! I was also afraid of the TE's so i have been super careful not to go over 15 grams. I havent had any problems and i am soo glad. Dont be discouraged if you dont lose weight fast, esspecially if you are using weights! You are getting those muscles :) What i found is that even on the weeks i dont lose much maybe a 1/2 a lb or so i measure myself. It always shows that i am losing inches, so that kind of softens the blow :) As for eating advice, i eat a lot of chicken, I have also tried garden burgers, and ground turkey, cause my boyfriend and I and our familys are big red meat eaters and that was the hardest to change i think. I also cook a lot for myself, when i do a chicken stir fry i use tons of veggies. I use the big bags of frozen veggies from costco when i dont have any fresh ones around. To fill me up I also make a lot of whole wheat pasta with chicken a bunch of different ways. I have come to prefer the wheat pasta and it seems to fill me up better. I also use a fiber supplement, like fibersure, i add it to my juice, water, pasta sauce, everything but soda, and i know that helps to fill me up. I always have a bottled water with me as well. I looked up all my favorite restaurants online to see thier nutritional values, and saw what i could eat there and how much. I was happy to see that most everywhere had a few things i could eat. Good luck on your journey :)

 MrsELB: Thank you for such a nice compliment :) I can totally relate to the scale thing, I made my boyfriend wait outside when i weighed myself, then i was like "what???" I even took off the small amount of clothing i had on thinking it would make a difference, needless to say it did not. I am amazed how much a difference i find in myself with just about 15 pounds lost. I have tons more energy, (i think the vitamin is helping with that too), my clothes that didnt fit now do, and those clothes that were a little too tight are now comfortable or a lil too big. That little bit of results will keep me going. I had a little set back, found a new job, i got lucky but they sent me to Portland Or for training for a week with just a couple days notice, didnt have the $ or time to get my alli refill. I got lucky that i was walking a lot, and dragging luggage around the whole time, plus sweating and drinking tons of water. I was so tired and too lazy to stick to my diet 100%. I was relieved to see i hadnt gained any weight on my trip, but i didnt lose any either, but i do think i gained some muscles :) Im just like you, i am kinda like a message snooper, i read a lot. I too have found that this site is a big help, but only if i actually use it! haha! You are an inspiration, and im back on track and feeling good :)  Best of luck, keep up the great work!

 Sonia- Thats so funny i almost went to school in North L.A.to be an ultrasound tech, how do you like it? I still dont know what im gonna end up doing but im hoping it will end up in the health field! I got a new job surprisingly fast after being laid off, i got lucky. I got a job with an airline with my city's airport. They have sent me to Seattle and Portland and back to Seattle in a week, so i am begining to see what you mean about the travel, its really tough!! Im excited, the job is 100% different then what i was doing (its a good thing) yay! Good luck!

 Your mesage is encouraging, wow almost 40 lbs! I am going to have surgery in a month and really need to lose 15 lbs before facing anymore changes with my hormones. In the past I could have achieved this goal but since turning 50 the only change in my weight has been up!  I am just finding my way around on the Web page and it is very helpful to read about everyone elses experiences.

Good Luck! Your weight loss is awesome!

Martha