Hello,

I'd like a response on this from the moderator.  I have a couple of questions.  Alli boasts losing up to 50% more than traditional dieting, but at the same time it recommends an expectation of 1-2 pound weight loss per week.  Losing 1-2 pounds per week IS healthy, but can be done on any traditional low-fat diet without Alli.  So where is the extra 50% loss?  My next question is this is my third month on Alli.  I have lost 21 pounds, which equals about 2 pounds a week.  My current weight is 216.  How many calories should I be ingesting per day?  I started at 1800 but wondered if it should be decreased yet.  I go to the gym 5 times a week, 45 minutes each workout.  It seems like the exercise should make me lose MORE weight, not just the same 2 pounds each week.  Please respond, I'm getting discouraged :(  tampabayb

Yes, there are over 100 studies that show people lose 50% more weight with alli than just diet alone.  Generally this averages a period of six month when most of the weight is lost.  However, in the initial period many people lost more than that per week and then it tapers off to 1 to 2.

In addition, alli is a Program - as you know - that includes more than diet.  It also includes physical activity, journaling, learning fat and calorie amounts in food, engaging in regular activity, and making lifestyle changes over a period of time that will help them MAINTAIN the loss once goal weight is reached.

Few other programs offer the comprehensive approach of alli, and while other low-fat diets do help people to lose weight these diets are often abandoned because of boredom, lack of support, etc.

Everyone loses weight at a different rate for a variety of factors: age, starting weight, hormone levels, metabolic rate, muscle mass, etc. etc.  Your loss of 21 pounds in three months is excellent.  In addition, you've gotten into a good exercise routine -- which I'm sure has you feeling a lot better emotionally and physically.

I generally defer to the recommendations of the Personal Calculator.  That's because the calories are determined by all the personal information that's entered in the beginning; and each week for the check-in.  It changes calorie and fat levels when appropriate.

I suggest you weigh and measure everything you eat and drink for at least a week.  It's a great way to see if your counts are accurate.  It's very, very easy to underestimate portion sizes and so a few calories here, a few calories there might be 200 more calories that realized.  In addition, this is a valuable lesson in learning to judge how much to have when eating out!

Though you're exercising 5 days per week you may need to raise the level of intensity of your workouts.  You're burning less calories because you're moving around 21 fewer calories, AND because the body adjusts to the same amount of exercise.  It's helpful to change the types and amounts of exercise you do from time to time.

I hope this helps.  Please let me know if you need anything else.

Pat Baird, MA, RD, registered dietitian

 While you are waiting for the moderator, I want to say that I think 21 pounds @  2 per week is excellent.  Gosh, you've almost lost 10%--congratulations. JMHO.

I'm smaller than you and losing about 1 pound per week.  That might seem slow to some, I'm comfortable with that pace.  I'm sure you are right -- we could find other diet and exercise programs to lose the weight at this pace.  In fact if you do the math we are clearly doing most of the work with diet and exercise with a bit of assistance by alli.  If alli blocks 25% of your 19 g of fat three times a day @ 9 cal/g, that's about 130 calories a day.  It doesn't seem like all that much.  And yet, I'm doing much better on this program than any I have tried.  Maybe because  I enjoy being encouraged to eating healthy fats.  Maybe because each time I swallow a pill I am reinforcing my commitment to lose weight.  Maybe due to fear of TE's if I cheat.  Maybe because of the web support.  Maybe all of the above.  As long as it works, maybe it doesn't matter why, LOL.  I believe the 50% claim is based on how much actual people actually lost, not on how much one theoretically should lose.

Hopefully the dietician will respond soon.  Meanwhile hang in there and be proud of how far you have come.

Wendy

 Oh, Pat's response came up while I was thinking and typing. I still think you are doing great :).