Hi Beth,
I started alli a couple of weeks ago. I also weighed 200, or, just under 200 when I got married a little over two years ago, and, I would like to lose the 25 pounds I gained in those two years. After that I would love to lose the 25 pounds I gained in the two years between meeting and marrying my husband.
The alli *DEFINITELY* helps. It's not just the extra 150 calories of pure fat that the alli eliminates every day. It's that by being mindful of what you're eating and trying to stick to a certain amount of fat per meal, you are more successful than without alli because with the alli, there is built-in accountability because of the treatment effects. Plus, you are more motivated because you invested money into buying the pills. The online support is really amazing, too, and, it's made a huge difference for me. I love the online tools, too, like the meal planner and the fitness log. The studies are there that prove it. People lose 50% more weight with alli than without it. Again, it's not just the fat calories eliminated by alli but also the fact that the plan itself keeps you more motivated and committed to diet and, for me, exercise, too.
The treatment effects have not been bad for me. I have only had a bad reaction twice. Once I think I ate my lunch and my dinner too close together. So, maybe it was too many fat grams at once in my body. And, more recently, I had not counted the fat in ground sirloin accurately. I had assumed that the cooked weight was less than the starting weight, but, with the recipe I used, I didn't drain off any fat or blot any fat or anything, so, the cooked weight should have been the same, for purposes of calories and fat. So, I underestimated the fat and calories. I must have had too much fat. My treatment effects have been limited to diarrhea about an hour after the meal with too much fat, and, the treatment effects have never lasted a whole day. The time with the ground sirloin, though, I wasn't able to work much because I felt too weak and had to visit the bathroom two times within a few hours. That time I think I may have actually seen fat floating in the toilet bowl. I had not ever seen it before. I eat enough stuff that the fat just gets eliminated along with the rest of my body's waste, not separate as fat floating in the toilet bowl. Anyway, I've not had any problems with not being able to control my BMs or with any accidents or stains, although I've heard that other people have had that happen to them.
I do eat a set number of calories. I aim for between 1600 to 1700 per day and 17 grams of fat in each meal. I also exercise an hour a day with my Wii Fit.
Good luck!
Olga
5'4.5"
CW: 197.8
SW: 225.5 (7-30-09), SIZE 18
aSW: 224 (8-7-09)
GW1: 213 (9-14-09)
GW2: 203.5 (10-24-09), SIZE 16
GW3: 183
