Hi Linda and everyone! Im pretty new to Alli....just started taking it yesterday.....somewhat. I'm very active-- I walk/hike about 28-44 miles in a given week--- With all that activity, I'm too scared to take the pills 3 times per day-- I eat fairly healthy already and Im hoping Alli can cut my calories so to speak about 300-400 calories per day....this will keep me in a prime range to lose weight or so I believe it will.  I took my first pill with my lunch yesterday.....nothing yet....so, I'll take one pill through the weekend and increase it to two on Monday.....hope this wont hurt my results....but Im just too scared. I dont think I;ll have any problems....dont eat a high fat diet.....but I just dont know how this is going to affect y system and Id rather not be out in the wilderness when I find out.  Hoping to hear from someone!

 Hello, allow me to introduce myself.  I am 38 and have 3 kids too.  2 boys; 18 years and 15 years old and 1 girl--she's my 11 year old cutie.  I work part-time as an RN and I teach college part-time and I am going to school full-time for my masters in nursing.  I have NO time to exercise; however, I don't really have much time to eat anymore either--or to cook healthy meals.  I have been on alli for 2 weeks now and have lost 5 pounds.  I love that the meal plans use real food and allow for quick (yet healthy) meals.

In addition to having 3 kids, I also have the same weight to lose and am roughly the same height.

I am 5'7", started at 188

current weight 184

Goal weight 135

Good luck to us all!

McLynda

 i am with ya !!!!! i have been taking alli,doing weight watchers and doing wii fit and have not lost an ounce .Does anyone have advice ...i want to be reaching 50 plus lbs wih all of you

 I did not do well with Weight Watchers point systerm (tried 5x and did not lose a pound in a month).   They used to have a core plan that worked much better for me.  I lost 50 lb but regained due to steroid treatment for asthma.   I need to increase fiber (whole grains, high fiber fruit and vegetables), and lower fat to lose weight.  Right now I am losing weight in spite of high sodium intake.  I eat out a lot because of disabilities.  So I am modifying restraunt foods to be lower in fat and calories.  My challange has been to eat enough calories to hit my goal.  I just am not that hungry.

So if WW still has the other plan, you might try switching.  Otherwise, just count calories like I am doing.  I learned today that we can substitute our own food for Alli's menue food so I will begin using their online tracker.

 I can't imagine how you manage with your schedual.  When I was in nursing school I used to jog a block and walk a block up the road during my lunch break.  Even 15 minutes was better than nothing.  You might try simple stretching exercises, too.  I also found some isometric exercises on the Alli site that can be done in a chair and some that can be done in bed..  You don't have to cut out a 1/2 hour block of time and increase your heart rate.  Just do what you can when you can.  You above all people know how much you need to exercise to manage your stress hormones and to relax.  What field of nursing are you in?  Bedside nursing in a hospital is exercise as is housework and gardening.

But, of course, I haven't started my exercises either.  It is one of my goals.  My priority is achieving my calorie goal right now.  I also have just started and lost about 5 lb. in 2 weeks.  Our 2 sons were in middle school when I was in school.  Now they have kids in middle school. 

Grandma Carole

 Hello,  I am new to Alli and have lost 5 lbs in the last 5 days.  I have found it really helpful to plan ahead before putting anything into my mouth ;) and having to write it down.  I am incorporating WW and I have a calculator I got when I used to do Curves.  It counts calories, fat, sat fat, portion, carbs and protein.  You can also add foods and meals not on the calculator.  Very helpful.  One thing I can't figure out, is where to add things on this site??  When I try to add items for myself, I seem not to know how to do this?  Any help? 

 Delete the meal  in the meal plan if you are not using it.  Click on  ADD ITEM.  Click on FOOD ITEM.  Fill in the item like boiled egg or yogurt and select the one that best discribes your food.  Add the item and once added you can change the portion by clicking on UNITS.

 It allows you to add some fast food and many prepared food, but does not allow you to add most restraunt items.  For instance, we often eat at Red Robin, a west coast chain.  Even when I modify the food, eliminating cheese and mayo or only eating a half serving so as to fit the food into our guide lines, I am unable to find anything  in the Alli tracker that remotely fits the food item in fat and calories.  So I am resorting to tried but true pencil and paper.  I even tried the trackers of other online plans  but only ended up wasting a lot of time and getting frustrated. Good luck.  Alli's  tracker is really great if you don't eat out much and follow most of their menues.

Grandma Carole

With the alli meal plan tools, you can also add anything at all in there, not just the items listed in its own library of food items.  For example, I put in the calories and fat and other nutritional data for all the frozen meals I eat and whatever else I eat at home that has a nutritional label, and, I put in the calories and fat from restaurant food, too.  Most restaurants post some kind of nutritional information online, and, if they don't, you can find something online on one of the nutrition calculators that is similar.  There is even an easy tool online where you can put in every ingredient in a recipe, tell it how many servings that is, and, it gives you a complete nutritional analysis of the recipe that you can then input on the alli meal plan. 

To add a new item not on the list, you go to your myalli.com main page, then you click on "my meal plan" from the choices on the left.  It should bring up today's menu.  You can navigate to other days with the little calendar feature near the top of the page.  Pick the meal that you want to add a new item to, like, for example, Breakfast.  Click on the little blue box that is labeled "add item to breakfast."  Scroll down on the pop-up window that comes up.  Click on the little blue box that is labeled "build a new favorite meal."  Fill in as many blanks as you have information for, and, then don't forget to click on the little blue box that is labeled "save."  Then you can find that new "favorite meal" in your list of "favorites" when you click on "add item to" whatever meal you want to add to.  I end up deleting every single suggested meal on the alli meal plan, and, I add in everything I'm eating instead.  I keep to the calories and fat for my alli plan, but, I eat different foods from what the meal plan suggests for me.  I love to then look at the "track progress" option that shows you how you've done for the past 7 days for all the nutritional information, so, calories, fat, carbs, protein and vitamins and minerals and more.  Very cool!

Olga

Thank you SO much, Olga.  I followed your instructions and added my BBO chicken burger to my favorites.  This will be so useful, fast and easy!  By the way, where do you find that online tool that calculates a recipe?  I have some like a Spanish vegetable  barley that I have never been able to calculate.  Can you supply the web page please?

Carole

Sure, the website I like is:  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

Under #1, there is an orange box labeled "add an ingredient."  You click on that and look up your ingredient.  It has a bazillion ingredients, so, I've been able to find everything I use/need in their lists.  Then you keep adding ingredients until you're done.  Under #2, there is a box for you to enter the number of servings that the recipe yields, and, then you click on the orange box labeled "calculate info."  I think it then opens up another little window with all the nutritional information, and, you can come back to your original page and add ingredients and calculate again or change the number of servings and calculate again.  I love it!!!

:-)

Oh, and with the alli meal plan tools, once you've added in all the things you eat often, you can have the list of favorites be sorted alphabetically in order to find things quickly, or, you can sort by calories so that you can scroll down to the calories you're trying to fit into your daily plan, and, you can see the food choices for those calories, or, you can have it sort by fat grams, and, you can see the food choices for the fat grams that you're trying to satisfy in a meal.  It makes planning so much easier and more varied for me because I would never be able to remember all those choices just in my head.

Olga

 Hi vanderson39.  I've been taking alli since July, 2009, and have lost 62 pounds so far.  My goal weight is 125, as I'm only 5'4" tall. I was also a bit nervous about taking 3 pills in one day, but quite honestly, I've had no problems.  I was lucky to go to the bathroom once a week, before, and now I'm actually regular!  Yippee!  I did have "treatment effects" once.  I overate cheesy pizza, but even then, the results really weren't that terrible.  No problem controlling it, just spent a little bit of time in the bathroom.  Don't be afraid to get started.  Alli has truly changed my life.  I started at 240 pounds, and am now down to 178.  I'm walking 6 to 8 miles daily, and feel healthy and energized for the first time in many years.  Once you find yourself feeling better and looking better, it's a lot easier to stay focused and on track.  Good luck!

Way to go, tunegirl!!!!

 Thanks so much for your cheer!  It's always fun to hear (or read) words of encouragement.

 All right girls, I'm in trouble.  I went out to eat at the Outback steakhouse and ordered my favorite:  Victoria's filet.  Big mistake.  They did not have nutritional information available, so, thinking it is a type of tenderloin which is low in fat, I ordered it.  56 grams of fat!!!  I found it online when I got home.  It's a good thing my meeting was canceled tomarrow morning because it will either be a long night or a long morning.  And now I know to order their sirloin steak or tenderloin instead.  By the way, Filet is a type of tenderloin but is definitely high in fat.  I usually get the large one and eat half of it, taking half home.  This time I ate all but 1.5 oz.  Oh woe is me.

Grandma Carole