I have been on Alli now for almost a month (3 days shy) and I have lost 4 pounds. I have excercised more this past month than I have in years. So why do I have this misconception that the pounds should be falling off. Everyone else I know that is either on Alli or Adipex has dropped like 12 pounds or more in 30 days. If my body struggles to shed the pounds, then how am I to reprogram my brain to continue on. I dont see any reward in this and need some encouragement or advice to continue on. I have managed to miss my Alli pill over a few meals but never do I miss a day. I know that has something to do with it, but my diet has almost completely changed as well. No fast food, mostly fish, chicken and brown rice, and more water than a camel drinks. I am in a state of despair....great :(

 Don't feel bad I am in the same cruddy boat and have lost only 2! It makes me wanna cry!

 Hi my name is Becki and have been on Alli for a little over two months. So far I've lost 32 pounds.  I know it can be frustrating and I have had about four different weeks were I have lost nothing and think that this is it but then I start losing again.  Only about 2 pounds a week when I lose but it is making a diffence in the long run.

You said you are exercising more. What are your doing.  If you are building muscles you may lose a pound of fat and gain a pound of muscle which makes you think that you are not losing but the inches are coming off.  Also you said that you have missed some of your pills.  When you do take them are you taking them with your meals because that is important.  You say you have changed your eating habits which is great that is the hardest thing for all of us to do but are you watching your portion sizes? One of the first things I did was to run out to walmart and get a set of measuring cups, spoons and a small food scale($20.00) that can be left on the counter so I have no excuse why I am not weighting my food. Example: in the morning I like to have a bagel with ricotta on it.  The bagel is easy to calculate because the package does it for you but the ricotta you have to measure so I put the bagel on the plate and then the plate on the scale and 0 it out then I measure the ricotta by grams to get the exact amount.  That way I know what I am eating.  Now sometimes I can't do this like when I ahve home made soup but then I measure out portions like 1-2 cups depending on the kind of soup I am having.

Also another thing that I do that I did not do before is I have a snack in the afternoon.  I notice that if I don't my blood sugar drops but it also helps me from over eating at dinner which I was doing because I was so hungry.  Sometimes i might have acheese stick mid morning too depending on what is going on sometimes I am so busy I don't have time to think about food.

Hope this helps good luck and don't give up. Remember you did not put the weight on in one month and it takes time even if it is 1 pound at a time.

Becki 

 It is hard...

It is one of the hardest things I have done-

However, it is so worth it!

One thing you didnt indicate is what your start weight was- From my experience- that has a lot to do with initial weight loss...

I have been on the program for 13 weeks, and I love it! Somedays are a huge struggle, somedays I want to throw in the towel...but it is so worth it! I lose on average 2 pounds a week. That's it, no more than that ever! Sometimes its one, sometimes its none-

Keep your focus straight ahead- don't look around to see what others around you are losing, each body is different. Take pride in the strides you are making to improve your quality of life! And best of luck!

 Readytodrop,

     What calorie intake are you doing??? I found when I started I had a start weight of 183. The calorie intake suggested to me was  1600. It was TOOOOO much so I lowered it to 1400 & that made all the difference.  I have been on it 16 weeks today & have lost 17lbs. I'll take it....slow & steady.

Hope this helps

Joanne

 Hi, I started in Aug and i have lost 17lbs and if i can do it any one can... I found the most important thing is staying on your cal and fat for the day. I am on the 1800/19 make sure you stay in cal range and get your fat in...also i watch my salt intake. I really do not cut it out but i do not add any.  I only lose about 1 to 2lbs a week also that is the best way.

It took me a little while to adjust to every thing but it is so worth it. Dont give up you can do this.  Also look in the forum and get help from the experts about alli.  I have tried everything and this really works. I will be cheering you on.

 OOP's what i meant about experts is the Betty Kovacs post...ask her she can really help you and readying the post really ansewed alot of my questions. Hope it will help you also.

Hi Everyone,

I really do get how frustrating it is to lose weight slowly and see other people losing faster than you. I promise you that this is one time when faster is not better. When you gain one pound from eating excess calories, 75% of that is fat and 25% is muscle. Yes, you do gain muscle. Your body needs it to support the extra weight. When you lose weight you would like to lose all fat, but that isn't how it works. If you lose 1 to 2 lbs per week you will lose 75% fat and 25% muscle. If you add some resistance exercise you can increase the amount of fat and decrease the amount of muscle, but it still won't be 100% fat. Your muscle burns calories so having less muscle means that you burn fewer calories and weight loss will be more difficult.

When you lose more than 2 lbs per week you are losing more muscle and less fat, which is never a good thing. Even if you are exercising you will still lose more muscle. It can even be dangerous to lose very quickly-especially to your heart. The guidelines to lose 1 to 2 lbs per week were set for a reason so trust them and know that you are taking care of your body. 

Let me know if you have any questions about all of this,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

Betty that is how it is working for me.  the first month I dropped fast about 16 pounds with two of those weeks at 0 pounds which is always the way with me.  Since I have been losing 2 pounds a week with an occasional 3 pound week and every now and again a week were I do not lose at all.  But if  I lose 2 pounds a week I'm happy because I know I am soing it right and I did not put all the weight on in a month so I really do not expect to lose it all in a month.  I am at a point that I really can see a difference and clothes that I haven't wore in years are starting to fit me again plus I actually want to go out and buy some new jeans and I haven't wanted to do that forever.  I'm waiting till I drop just one more dress size that way even if I reach my goal I will still be able to wear what I buy even if it is a little baggy.

 Slow and steady wins the race!

 dont feel discouraged, i know that its hard but i agree with everyone in the long run it is totally worth it.

i am 23 and have been over weight my entire life. i have tired everything from adkins to south beach to that hollywood diet where u only do liquids and always put the weight right back on. since i started useing alli about a month ago i have lost 7 almost 8 pounds. and though it may not sound like much its better then nonething. i have noticed that things that use to be big are now smaller (like my chest area and my tummy) but if you are working out a lot you are not only getting rid of a ton of calories but you are also putting on muscle, which is a lot heavier then fat so donlt get discouraged hun just take ur time and try not to stess. everyones body works differently with this product and we all see results in different ways. just dont give up and try takeing less calories then they tell you too, they told me to take 1800 calories and i just coudln't do it without getting sick as heck so i lowered it to 1400 or less and i have been seeings results which is great.

but dont be affraid to ask for support from us thats what we are here for. i have added u as a buddy and i will give u my e-mail address for even more support so please dont give up and just keep with it.

as dori from finding nemo says "just keep swimming just keep swimming just keep swimming swimming swimming"  you will do AWESOME as long as u stick with it

Army Wife T

Hi RebekahM,

Congratulations on your success!! No one will ever lose every single week so it's important to know that the weeks where you maintain or gain a little will not last forever. It's easy to get discouraged when this happens, but it's not worth letting it ruin the success that you have had. It sounds like you understand this and are on track. Keep up the great work!

The exercise physiologist who I work with tells our clients that "this is a marathon, not a sprint." I love that cause even the pros need a break when the marathon is really, really, really long. A break doesn't mean that you are back to where you started. As long as you get back up and start moving again you'll finish the marathon. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other...

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

One thing this process has taught me is patience.  It's taken me over a year to lose 42 pounds, but I have just 5 more to go and I can tell you that I am never, ever, ever going to regain it. 

Good luck and hang in there.  It'll be worth it in the end. 

Caroline