To ask if you have lost a significant amount of weight successfully with help from medication?

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I have been on every diet you can think of. I am hugely over weight and need to lose it now once and for all. I have been on diets such as WW and slimming world since I was 16 ( neatly 15 years now).

I asked my GP for weight loss surgery as I honestly don't know what else to do. He referred me to q service whom you have to be under for at least 6 months before you can be referred for weight loss surgery. They have recommended using orlastat medication to help alongside exercise and a balanced diet.
Has anyone used this medication successfully?

I'm just looking for tips and advice on the medication I don't need posters telling me about eat less exercise more, believe me I have tried, I'm struggling and trying to make changes.
Thankyou

The thing is, it gives you diarrhoea when you eat anything with a certain % of fat in it. My mum was on it but not much success so came of it.

Low fat diets are a bit outdated tbh, I know you say you’ve tried every diet, but have you looked into blood sugar diet, I’ve tried lots of diets but it’s the only one I can stick to without feeling deprived, the high fats help keep you feeling fuller for longer.

I've used Orlistat. It will give you really unpleasant side effects if you eat a lot of fat, so effectively acts as a deterrent to doing so. I don't know if it helped or not as I stuck to a low fat diet and exercised.

What has gone wrong on your previous diets? Weight loss surgery is not a solution if you've not addressed any underlying issues.

The diarrhoea is not nice either, let’s say you don’t want to be far from a loo at any given time as you won’t have time to go any distance for one!

I know how to lose weight and I know what I need to do. I have lost weight before then have always put it on again. There's lots of reasons I'm in the position I'm in and I know I only have myself to blame but now I need an op that I'm too over weight to have so I need to lose weight and I'm really struggling.

I was referred to the same service as you for WLS. During the 12 months I've been in the service I've lost approximately 20kg by reducing portion sizes considerably, introducing light exercise, reading labels, avoiding alcohol, making healthy choices, etc. Through the service I had an assessment with a psychologist who discharged me and I am now on the waiting list for a gastric bypass next year. It is a long and difficult process, and you will not learn anything you don't already know, but if you want surgery and you qualify for it, you need to make the changes before you have it. It's a tool, not a cure. You need to use it appropriately. As for orlistat, again it's a tool but you need to commit to it, it's easy to skip tablets if you fancy a Sunday roast, but that defeats the object doesn't it. The side effects are horrid.

Keto. Keto. Keto. Keto. Keto & gluten free. I found out my weight issues stemmed from gluten. Replaced normal foods with gluten with like for like gluten free alternatives and it started dropping off at a steady half a lb-1lb a week with no effort.

I know people who have regained their weight and more after the op. The thing is you need to address the pyschological reasons for your overeating first for anything to work long term. And if you are morbidly obese then this may be a permanent thing you always have to do do. That means permanent counselling / CBT / speaking to a dietician / doing slimming world permanently.

I am currently taking Orlistat. The reason being I have gained 6st due to medication. I've not had any side effects but the food I eat is healthy including some fat but in small quantities. Whether it has helped I don't know. I am also on metformin and careful with what I eat. But in the last 9 months I've been on it I've stopped gaining weight (I was gaining half a stone per month) and I've lost half a stone. So very slow progress but positive none the less. But of course I'm still taking the medication that makes me gain weight so it's always going to be difficult to lose the weight.

I have done alot of research into bariatric surgery and I do understand it's not just a quick fix, I am making changes to my lifestyle and also talking with psychological services too. I'm determined this time to make it work and make it last wether I get surgery or not. I'm just interested to know if the medication has been positive for anyone.

I was dieting from age 14 to 40. I'd lose weight then put it back on. It was a never ending cycle. Then I discovered 16/8 and my life changed! It's so easy, so simple. I eat what I want during the 8 hours - I don't stuff my face with deep fried Mars bars all day and I do naturally like eating lots of veg and healthy food but I genuinely eat what I want. Yesterday I had 2 chocolate digestives, 2 pieces of cake, a mountain of cheese - along with my normal meals. I spent decades craving non-diet foods and being consumed by self hatred if I ate the wrong foods, I was constantly denying myself food I wanted and feeling hungry yet fat. Now I find I can eat what I want. If I want some chocolate cake I eat it. I am usually very full but do get hungry at bedtime and in the morning before I break my fast around 10am - but its fine to be hungry. I know that now and it's completely manageable. OK I'm really hungry at 9am but I know at 10am I can eat whatever the hell I like - fried egg sandwich with cheese and butter, cheese toasty, whatever and then I'll be full for hours. In the past if I wanted to lose weight it'd be a miserable 30 g of cereal with skimmed milk and I'd be starving until lunchtime when I'd have another tiny unsatisfying meal. Awful! My weight comes off easily doing 16/8 and my appetite has reduced so I no longer want to eat the quantities I used to. If you haven't tried this way of eating do so before you try the drugs and surgery.

I haven't used this medication but another one. So I can't offer advice on this particular drug but just in trying weight loss medication in general, which many people say you shouldn't.

My view is that if they are offering it, you may as well try it. If it doesn't suit you, just don't take it anymore - the effects will be out of your system within hours so it isn't a big commitment. You could stop after one tablet if you don't like it. On the other hand, it could give you the boost you need to get started.

Orlistat is awful for side effects, if you eat too much fat you will literally have orange oiley diarrhoea, try it but just keep your fat intake very low and keep a change of knickers and pants with you in case you get caught short

Thankyou for that advice, I will I'm picking up my prescription tonight.

People like to quote that weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise, and maybe that's true on a physiological level.

But weight loss is not just about losing body fat.

It's about changing your behaviours on a daily level, so that your habits are more active, that your psychological issues around food are dealt with, that you become more self-confident, and that other elements of your physical health improve also.

I've lost 6st over the course of 18m (2st to go), and I firmly attribute that to my exercise more than my diet, because I have:

• learned new skills and knowledge about my body
• achieved non-weight goals - running faster, lifting certain amounts
• enjoyed exercise
• learned a 'toolkit' to handle a bad day, and destress with exercise
• learned different ways to exercise and eat according to mood
• had a brilliant PT, who encouraged me, and supported me with dietary advice
• incorporated diet and exercise into my life in a long-term, meaningful way, not a short-term approach just to lose weight

All my friends who have followed the 80:20 rule have lost weight quickly, and they all told me I'd put it back on after the wedding - but the wedding was never the goal. A healthy lifestyle was.

There's no shortcut IMO - you have to learn the slow way to let the good habits settle in.

Oh, and also I benefit from:

• improved heart function - resting BPM of 55
• improved aerobic capacity
• increased metabolism and reduced blood pressure

That's fab! Well done you!
If taken when eating a good diet does the orlastat boot weight loss? I'm assuming that's the idea.