FAQs

If you commit a healthy lifestyle and follow a reduced calorie, lower-fat diet, alli can reward your hard work with 50% more weight loss. So, for every 2 lb you lose by your own efforts, alli can help you lose 1 lb more. They work in your digestive system to prevent some of the fat in your meals from being digested and absorbed. The unabsorbed fat passes naturally out of your body in your stools.

alli is an effective weight loss aid but it’s not for everyone. It can be taken by overweight adults aged 18 or more with a BMI of 28 or over who are willing to adopt a reduced calorie, lower-fat diet and to make the necessary adjustments to their lifestyle to succeed with alli.

There are some people who must not take alli or who need to check with their doctor first. Do not use alli:

• if you are under 18.
• if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
• if you are taking ciclosporin (used after organ transplants, for severe rheumatoid arthritis and some severe skin conditions).
• if you are taking warfarin or any other medicines used to thin the blood.
• if you are allergic to orlistat or any of the ingredients.
• if you have cholestasis (condition where the flow of bile from the liver is blocked).
• if you have problems absorbing food (chronic malabsorption syndrome).

Talk to your doctor before taking alli:

• if you are taking amiodarone for heart rhythm problems.
• if you are taking a medicine for diabetes.
• if you are taking a medicine for epilepsy.
• if you have kidney disease.
• if you are taking a thyroid medicine (levothyroxine).

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist when taking alli:

• if you are taking a medicine for high blood pressure.
• if you are taking a medicine for high cholesterol.

The oral contraceptive pill may be less effective if you get severe diarrhoea, so use an extra method of contraception if this happens.

It is important to read the label before taking alli.

Treatment should not exceed six months. If you do not lose weight after taking the capsules for 12 weeks, see your pharmacist or doctor for advice. You may need to stop taking the capsules. You should maintain your healthy eating and lifestyle changes after you stop taking the capsules.

The dose is a maximum of 3 capsules a day.

Take a capsule just before or during a meal, or up to one hour after the meal. If you are eating a meal that does not contain fat, do not take a capsule.

No. You should never take more than the recommended dose of a medicine. Take one alli capsule at mealtimes, three times a day. This usually means one capsule at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Make every effort to avoid high-fat meals while on the alli programme. Taking the capsule with a meal containing more fat than your recommended target, may increase the chances of diet-related treatment effects.

No. You should never take more than the recommended dose of a medicine. Take one alli capsule at mealtimes, three times a day. This usually means one capsule at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

No. You should swallow the capsule whole with water. You should not break the capsule open.

If you have a special occasion and know you are going to be eating a high-fat meal, do not take a capsule with that meal. Taking the capsule with a meal containing more fat than your recommended target, may increase the chances of diet-related treatment effects.

However, it’s important you make every effort to avoid high-fat meals or snacks while on the alli weight loss programme.

If you forget to take the capsule and more than an hour has passed since your meal, do not take a capsule. Just wait until your next meal and take a capsule then. Never take two capsules at the same time.

No, take no more than 3 capsules a day. Just choose three meals that contain fat and take your capsule with those meals.

If you are eating more than 3 meals a day, you may need to check you are not exceeding your daily calorie target.

As you eat fewer calories on a reduced calorie, lower-fat diet — and use alli to prevent absorption of some of the fat you eat — your body will automatically tap into its fat stores and use them for the energy it needs. This leads to weight loss as your body burns its fat.

Nothing, because there’s no fat for alli to work on. Don’t take a capsule if you’re going to eat a meal that doesn’t contain fat.

Since the time it takes people to digest food varies, the active ingredient in alli can remain in your body for up to 48 to 72 hours, mainly because the time taken for food to pass through the digestive system varies from person to person. However, it only affects the fat absorption of meals that are eaten within a short time of taking a capsule.

Only a very small amount of orlistat is absorbed into the bloodstream.

You should take a multivitamin every day because alli can lower the levels of some fat-soluble vitamins absorbed by your body. The multivitamins should contain vitamins A, D, E and K. You should take the multivitamin at bedtime, when you will not be taking alli, to help ensure that the vitamins are absorbed.

If you take the multivitamin with a meal, at the same time that you take the capsule, then the capsule could cause some of those vitamins to be lost. So it’s best to take the multivitamin at a time when you won’t be taking an alli capsule, such as bedtime.

alli is only available in pharmacies - either on the high street, in a supermarket, or online. You will find alli behind the pharmacy counter, so you should ask your pharmacist for alli.

alli is available in packs of 84 capsules (1 month’s supply) and 42 capsules (2 week’s supply).