Is "Alli" The Holy Grail For Dieters?

(CBS)  It's only half as powerful as its prescription-strength predecessor, but the new fat-blocking drug Alli (pronounced "ally") is creating a serious buzz among dieters.

The first over-the-counter weight-loss pill approved by the FDA, Alli works by blocking about one-fourth of consumed fat. The drug's makers don't claim that it's a miracle drug — a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet and regular exercise are necessary companions for it to be effective — but dieters are eager to reap its potential rewards.

In Southern California, where constant dieting is a way of life for many, it hasn't taken long for Alli to catch on. When the drug hit the shelves at a Santa Monica pharmacy on Thursday, all but one box was sold within four hours, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"I have never in my life experienced anything like this," store manager Roe Love, a pharmacist for 20 years, told the paper.

Most of the buyers so far have been women drawn by the promise that Alli will help them lose 50 percent more weight for the same effort than traditional diet and exercise plans.

Alli users must contend with some less-than-glamorous side effects — gas, oily discharge and an inability to control bowel movements — and skeptics of the pill's enduring benefits point out that those aren't the only reasons to think twice before taking the drug.

"There are demonstrable short-term risks and no possibility of long-term benefit," Sidney Wolfe, MD, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington, told WebMD. "You need to make a mild change in how much you eat and a mild change on how much you exercise. If you walk 2 miles more and eat 300 calories less per day, you will lose a pound a week or one-half a pound a week. It's slow but it works and has no risks."

But that advice isn't likely to dissuade serial dieters who are looking for a less grueling way to lose more weight.

"You have to be careless to use Alli incorrectly, but some people are careless," Arthur Frank, M.D., the medical director of the George Washington University Weight Management Program in Washington, told Web MD. "If you are reasonably careful, it should be reasonably effective."

[erasmus6]

When I was talking about putting 2 inches of jam on toast, I obviously was EXAGGERATING! What I was saying is that some people, like my husband, insist on GOBBING things like mayo, jam, etc. on bread. When he goes on a diet, he is constantly whining about having to do without. But I always say you don't have to go without things completely, just cut back on the amount that you eat. Why would someone cut out all the things they like when all you have to do is cut back a little. If you are eating LESS of it you will loose weight, it may take a little longer but if you are feeling deprived, you will just end up giving up.

[fllopez32]

First of all saying this drug killed your sister is a lie. The only thing this drug does is bind fat so that it is not able to be absorbed in the digestive system and then you *** it out this is why your *** is oily, secondly the over the counter version is what is new, the drug itself has been on the market for almost 10 years, the prescription version is known as Xenical. When you use it it can be rather uncomfortable at first, in the begining you need to make sure you know where the closest bathroom is because when your body says I gotta go, there is no arguing.

[cookiemunsta]

Lol at the jam comment. Reminds me of how my super healthy mother would only let me scrape margarine on my toast such that it'd be super super thin and I could barely scrape it out into a 4 in diameter circle. I could barely taste the butter. UGH. It's like why even use butter/margarine if you can't even taste it. Lol who puts 2 inches of jam on toast!? Assuming a piece of toast is 5in square, that's 50 cubic inches of jam! That's nearly a liter!! Isn't that a whole jar? LOL.

FYI, just eating low fat doesn't make me lose weight. My mother keeps saying "low fat low fat", it's LOW CALORIE and low calorie density that matters.

[erasmus6]

rdpj1

You are very welcome! Now if you apply that to everything you eat, you can lose that extra 350lbs.

[rdpj1]

"Take jam for instance, some people gob the jam on like 2 inches thick. Instead of putting it on 2 inches thick, try a 1/2 inch thick.:) It's not like you have to do without, just cut back."

Thanks erasamus, know I know exactly how to lose that extra 350 lbs!!!

[reaper_usa]

"Okay, so if this drug just came out on thursday how can people say they have tried it and it doesn't work? How can numbnuts (markjessup) say it killed his sister?
Posted by erasmus6 at 07:10 PM : Jun 15, 2007"


This drug has been available in other countries for a number of years. Maybe that poster is from one of those countries? Maybe his sister was abusing the pills as well. Teen girls in America have died from over dosage of Ex-lax so it would not surprise me.

[mokemorgan]

Excellent Spelling, and grammar usage. What educational system did you attend? I want to make sure my children have the same advantage. I can only hope that someday they will be inspired to comment on subjects they obviously know absolutely nothing about.

[gomanny1]

There's a SUCKER born everyday!!!!
"What a Country! I love it!!!

[erasmus6]

I don't get it, if a person is willing to take a pill that is going to cause so much trouble like giving them the sh-ts and they still have to eat low fat and exercise, WHY take the pill? Why not just eat low fat food and exercise? You don't need the pill. DIETS don't work! Rather than go through all that, why not just cut back on the amount you eat? It isn't like you would have to totally do without certain foods. Take jam for instance, some people gob the jam on like 2 inches thick. Instead of putting it on 2 inches thick, try a 1/2 inch thick.:) It's not like you have to do without, just cut back.

[erasmus6]

Okay, so if this drug just came out on thursday how can people say they have tried it and it doesn't work? How can numbnuts (markjessup) say it killed his sister?