Now - I can see that Orlistat is handy if you are eating out, or with family, or eating meat etc that contains fats anyway.
But for the other meals - would using orlistat work better or worse than just not including fats in the meal you eat?
Eg salad with fruit, with no added fats.
Or a tin of low-cal low-fat soup - or even homemade soup?
Does orlistat ONLY work by bliocking fats digestion?
Hi Issy
Have a read around this forum - you'll find that the last time you want to use orlistat is when you're going out for a meal.
It works by cutting out a percentage (roughly 1/3?) of the fat you consume, but that fat has to go somewhere. Imagine how far a teaspoon of oil will spread, then times it by however much fat you want to overeat.
But, I find that if I keep to the recommended 15g of fat per meal I don't have any side effects and I lose weight effectively. Also, if you're eating a meal with no fat - you don't have to take it! Not many of those though.
The other thing I find (and I think there's lots of us find this) is that taking it each time I eat a meal means I'm thinking about what I'm eating, rather than forgetting and eating whatever I want.
Hope all this helps - but it's certainly not a quick fix.
Hi does it have to be 15g per meal mine on average are 8g or 9g per meal. Plus I have ceral and milk at bed because I am diabetic and that keeps me going through the night.
I asked my doc about the effecrtiveness of orlistat with a low fat diet. She said it would still be effective if you ate lower fats but would be slower than for someone with a higher fat diet.
She also said that if you keep to a higher fat diet while on the tabs you will spend most of your life on the loo! Seeing as it feels a bit like that already i don't see me increasing.
I have added a little more fat into meals but I don't think I often get close to 15g. Being veggi I have a lot fo veg and pasta dishes with no added fat so have had to sprinkle some cheese on things in an attempt to keep the orlistat working.
Keep it up. The tabs do help when circumstances mean you can't be totally good!
Lelly xx