Hi everybody. I'm a 49 year old mom/housewife/teacher and have been 75-100 lbs overweight for about 15 years now. I'm so tired of the battle. I started Alli on January 2nd. My goal is to  lose 10 lbs each month. I know that is pretty optimistic but so far I am making my goal each month. I am eating a very low fat diet and so I have had no nasty side effects from the pills. I and others are now noticing the difference since I've lost 22 lbs. (only 78 more to go!) Alli does help me lose more weight I'm sure than if I just dieted without it. I think losing more weight consistently is helping to keep me motivated. I lose something every week. Some weeks it's 1 lb, some weeks it's 4. One thing I am doing differently than the last 200 times I've tried to lose weight is this. My life is crazy. I work full time as a teacher, have three boys 15, 7, and 3, have a big house to clean and keep up, and like all other women I make sure everyone and everything in my life is taken care of. Instead of dieting, exercising and drinking 8 glasses of water a day I decided that I just can't do all that and everything else that is expected of me. Soooooo..... I only focus on my food intake. I take a walk when I can. If I'm home and think of it I'll drink water (more than usual), but I am very regimented in what I eat. Since I started my only "cheating" was 1 donut (a student brought for his birthday) and 7 cool ranch dorito chips. That's it in 2 months. I am so overwhelmed with taking care of everybody else and this is the only thing I can focus on. Doing this has really helped me keep my eating at the fore front of my brain. I really am inspired reading everyone's stories. They help me stay on track and motivate me. I hope I can inspire someone else.

CONGRATS! THAT'S AWESOME!!!

I'm glad you finally decided to start on the road to a healthier you. So have I so hopefully soon I can hit that 20 pd mark too!

Keep it up I know you can :)

If you feel like giving up remember that there is nothing that tastes as good as skinny feels!

 Congratulations on your weight loss!  Sounds like you're doing a great job staying on track -  keep us all informed on your progress!

Congratulations and thank you for your story. I am just starting alli and I have been looking for encouraging stories. I also have a very busy life with 3 teens still at home and 50 pounds to loose.  When I see others successes I know I can do it too. 

Sonya

Thanks for your replies guys! I am now down 23 lbs. Thursday I wore an outfit to work that I haven't been able to fit into for 7 years. Wow. My husband came home from a trip having been gone for a week and when he hugged me he said I felt like there was only half of me. (Truly, that is not true. I still need to lose 77 lbs to be close to a normal weight.) At least it is very motivating to have all the positive comments from others. I'm either plateauing or just slowing down my weight loss this week. I am not exercising at all and I know that would help but I just don't have the time to do that and keep up with the kids and the house. I'll continue to keep down my path even though it is slow going. I bought 2 new pair of jeans and went down 4 sizes, 24 down to 20's. It feels good to wear something without an elastic waistband. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

 Hello!  Your journey sounds wonderful so far!  Congrats on ur success!  I'm a 27 year old mom of two/housewife/and pre-service teacher, lol.  I am so busy it seems I can't find time to think for myself lately.  I tried Alli in the past, but never STUCK wtih my goals.  It's past time now.  I have been overweight for ten years going on eleven.  This August I will start my student teaching and I would prefer to be at a comfortable weight where I'm not worried about what I am wearing.  I am at 250lbs now on a 5'7" frame.  I re-started Alli today.  I am hoping that by August I will be down to 200 lbs.  Then I will just keep pushing to get past that 200 mark!

Good luck to you!

Roxanna

Please do keep checking in, I would love to see your successes.

THAT'S  SO GOOD KEEP IT UP I JUST STARTED THE ALLI IVE LOST 4 POUNDS BUT IT 'S THE MOTIVATION I GET FROM READING GOOD SUCESS STORIES LIKE YOURS GOOD LUCK AND KEEP IT UP 

 Hi I read your story and I just started taking the capsules on Saturday the 21st.  I am following the diet and I haven't noticed any treatment effects.  How do you know it's working if you don't have any effects?  I have 40 lbs to lose and I tried everything in the past and heard this was the way to go.  Any advice would be great !  Thanks, Overtherainbow

I'm checking in with everyone on my progress. Thanks so much for your posts. I am down 29 lbs now. Tonight I am babysitting for a friend with my children. She said she'd have pizza and a bottle of white wine waiting for me. I informed her how sweet that was but that I would not be eating the pizza or drinking the wine because my goal is to hit that 30 lb goal on Monday when I weigh myself. I used to not want to make people feel bad so I ate their food and drank their drink but it was truly not in my best interests. I have put myself back on  my list of important things to take care of. The longer I do this the stronger and more resolved I am to make it all the way doing so on a straight path. Not one with starts and stops and detours. I hope I would move forward if I made a bad choice or lapse but I'm so scared to go off of my plan for fear I'd turn back into what I was. Everyone at work is really noticing. I still have so much more weight to lose. 71 pounds. I guess that's better than the 100 lbs I needed to lose back in January. In 7 more months I can either be 70 pounds lighter or just 7 months older. The 7 months will pass by one way or the other. I'm really feeling better. I am fitting into lots of clothes that have been hanging in my closet for 10 years. Who keeps clothes that long?????????? I guess I kept them hoping that someday ..................  Well someday is here! Today! I'll keep you guys updated in a few more weeks.

I am so excited for you.  I am a 46 year old mother of 3 children --a 15 year old girl, a 13 year old boy and an 11 year old boy.  I also teach full time and have 75-100 pounds to lose.  My doctor would be happy with an 85 pound weight loss.  I recently had to videotape a lesson (I am renewing my National board certification) and I was shocked!!!  I knew what the scale said, but to see it live---whew.  I teach high school chemistry and physics so moving around the materials and stations seemed ok, but I looked like a bull in a china shop.  I do not know how you do it, cheating only twice (and not terribly) in 3+ months!!  I also have a big house (we added on this fall) and I am exhausted just from cleaning 2 of the 5 bathrooms.  The floors need done, the laundry and paper grading never ends.  I do have a great family.  All of our children are athletic--my daughter and son are in track season and the youngest just finished wrestling.  There is 4-H, Grange, church, scouts, dance, Destination imagination, in-the-know,FFA etc, so we are always on the go  My husband is i the same predicament.  He gained 30 pounds after quitting smoking last may.  Please share your secrets!!!

 I started on Feb 1 and have lost 16 pounds so far! I am so proud of myself and I can totally feel how proud you are of yourself as well. Keep up the great work!!

 Jwisen- It's been cool reading your posts and how you are gaining so much confidence and regaining control of what is best for you!  It does take alot to let people know what is best and NOT best for us.  I'm so proud of you for telling your friend, thanks but No Thanks!  Good job!  Congrats on the weight-loss!  Look fwd to following your progress.  Thanks for sharing!

Hi everyone! I am now down 38 pounds. I am down from size 24 to size 18 jeans. All the clothes I hadn't worn in my closet for 7 years because they wouldn't fit are now too big. I look like a baggy lady at work. I hate to go buy new clothes though because I know I'm not going to be able to wear them for more than 6 weeks before they are too big. I haven't thrown out any of my huge clothes yet. I'll probably get to it this summer while I'm on vacation. I feel really good. My face looks so much thinner that the cashier who looked at my driver's license had to keep looking at me and at my picture on my ID to make sure I was the same person. Since I just got my motorcycle license I had the DMV take a new picture for my new license. I am continuing to stick to my same food plan. Oatmeal and orange for breakfast, can of Progresso Light Soup and apple for lunch, and big salad (with fat free dressing, a little cheese, a little bacon bits, and fat free croutons)  3 - 4 oz. meat, and 1 cup rice or a big baked potato with fat free sr. cream for supper. I also always have a cup of tea before going to bed. My quiet private time without kids. And of course Alli with every meal. Last night I had 1 glass of wine and boy did it hit me on an empty stomach. I was great through Easter. I had all the relatives to my house so I could control the food. Salad bar, baked ham and turkey, baked potatos. I ate no candy, no dessert. The end result was that I lost 3.8 pounds last week.  I still am not exercising or drinking water. I just don't have time. Focusing on just controlling the food is working for me so far. I am making my goal of losing 10 pounds per month. It always comes down to the wire though. That last weigh in of the month I'm sweating bullets to make my goal. Now that spring/summer is finally here in Minnesota I'll try to get some walking in. There are times when the routine is boring. A couple of times for supper I'll have the salad and a Lean Cuisine dinner for variety and to control the calories I eat. I'm almost down 40 pounds and that means I've got 60 more to go to goal. It still seems like so much. It does really help to focus on my 1 month goal as opposed to the whole 100 pounds I need to lose. And now having lost close to 40 pounds that I swear I'll never lose again continues to motivate me. I really don't like some of the changes that I'm seeing in my body. Loose skin everywhere. It hangs under my neck and on my thighs. I'm a little frightened and concerned about what I'm going to look like naked when I've lost all the weight. In clothes I'll look fine except for my face and neck. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Good luck to you all. I'll update my post again in a few weeks.

Janice

 That is so great!!  Congratulations on your weight loss.....  you're sure helping me to motivate again!  I started Jan 5 -09 and lost 17 lbs pretty fast.  Then I started my thesis paper and I hit a stand still. My weigh in today was a total of 2 lbs gained.  But your story is helping to motivate and put my mindset back where it belongs!  Thank you for sharing yoru story!!!

Chris