Starting Orlistat today

[MrsMonzo]

Finally had a GP appointment to discuss my weight loss (or lack of!) and I've been prescribed Orlistat.

Has anyone taken Orlistat before and can share some do's and don'ts? I've been trying to lose weight for 18 months now, counting every calorie, going to the gym and I'm a stone heavier than when I started, so I'm really hoping this helps 🤞

Marking place as I'll be starting soon too!

Hi Mrs Monzo,
I just started taking it, a week ago today, and I've lost 6lbs!
really pleased with the result. I've been going to the gym on average 4 times a week for the past year and am heavier than when I started.
I'm going all in though - gym every morning, not eating till 1pm, and then it's lean chicken, vegetables and cous cous. Normal evening meal but trying to avoid too much fat.
Good luck!

Starting weight 13st 6
Current weight 13st !!
Goal weight 9 st 7

Mine says to eat 15g of fat per meal on the leaflet. Presumably it's to get the satiating benefits of the fat without having enough to get the shits!

@LionAndEmperor13 that's an amazing result! You sound like me, trying everything and getting no results, I'm a stone heavier than when I started trying despite having lost a lot of weight in the past by doing the same thing. Had my bloods taken today so they can test my thyroid.

@SquirrelSoShiny when are you planning to start? I've been reading some old threads to get some tips, hopefully I won't have too much trouble with side effects as I already eat a fairly low fat diet.

May I join? I ordered them online as my gp is useless and they arrive tomorrow. I think I will start taking them saturday, I'm really worried about oily accidents and I am worrying about my diet. I have to change so much to lose about 6 stone! I'm worrying I won't be able to curb my appetite aswell. So anxious but determined.

Always happy for some company @Seven7seven 😁 I have a similar amount to lose, I must admit I'm also worried about the potential side affects, however I eat a pretty low fat diet so I'm hoping I won't experience anything too bad!

So far, I've felt a bit bloated and definitely haven't eaten as much today. Chicken salad with a homemade wrap with a sweetcorn and kidney bean salad.

Apple mid-afternoon.

Dinner was a portion of Bolognese (no spaghetti because I'm not overly bothered about pasta)

Evening snack was a banana with a spoonful of peanut butter (so bloody delicious!)

I never eat breakfast so I'm taking 2 pills per day, and trying my hardest to drink more water!

Welcome!!
So I was also worried about the dreaded side effects.
In the last week I've had pizza, and fish and chips (just the fish though, pressed with kitchen roll on it to get rid of most of the fat). I have had oily orange stools but not diarrhoea and not 'urgency' (sorry if TMI), but definitely a bit of orange spotting when on the loo, but that does mean it's working and taking away a third of the fat that I've eaten.
When I've been good and not eaten excessively fatty foods, there have been no issues at all.
In relation to curbing your appetite, I don't think it does really. It's more a case of it scares you into not eating too much fat as you know what the consequences will be! (apparently!) and also you see the amount of fat you're eating as it comes out (in a third!) so it's a commitment.
Try to think positive 😀

One tip... never ever ever trust a fart, it will not end well!

Yep! Dis that once and it was a streak of orange oil!

Oh God the Orlishits are what put me off taking it! We have holidays planned so I'll probably wait till after.

Had my results back from my blood tests, apparently no issues with my thyroid. I'm feeling a bit deflated as I had wanted some reason why I wasn't losing weight despite counting every bloody calorie I ate, going to the gym and walking loads. I'm over 17 stone, with the amount I'm eating the weight should be dropping off but for the past 18 months I've just gotten bigger.

Not motivated by food at all, had a mexican chicken salad for lunch with a homemade wrap and some bean salad. Apple and a random skinny mint crisp bar I found lingering in the bottom of the biscuit tub.

I made sourdough for the first time today so decided to have 2 slices with a smidgeon of butter and some beans because I had no motivation to make anything more complex. Need to top my water bottle up and get drinking!

Can I join as well please?
I started taking it a week ago. No major changes in my weight so far.
I did have the oily discharge in the first few days but after that it's stopped.
Does anyone know if that's a good thing or a bad thing please?
I thought the oily discharge meant it's working.

I'm on day 3 now, and there are no real side effects for me so far, but I'm terrified of eating. My stomach churns a lot after I've taken them, though. I do find that keeping a log of everything I eat and drink on nutracheck helps me. I'm not sure whether it's accurate, though, but we will see.

Hi @AgileMadness welcome! How are you getting on? Sorry I can't answer your question, I'm not experienced enough just yet 😁 no real side effects either except (sorry TMI) slightly looser poos 😶 my weigh in day is Friday so we'll see how I get on.

My body's recent pattern (despite sticking religiously to calorie counting) is lose a few lbs, gain them back the next week, gain more or stay the same the week after that, drop the same few lbs lost in the first week. So I'm never actually losing anything.

Pretty much stayed the same from my last weigh in so if I drop ANYTHING I'll be happy.

@Seven7seven totalling with you on being afraid to eat, it's really stopped any temptation to schnaffle chocolate and cookies in it's track because I'm terrified of the consequences. I'm considering making an omelette for dinner tonight but wary of the fat contents in the eggs and cheese. Would normally measure 30g of cheese but i think that might be too much. I would normally use 4 eggs in my omelette as well (I know this is greedy) so still quite a lot of fat despite it not being unhealthy fat.

I'm feeling very unmotivated at the thought of making anything!

I've noticed needing to wee a lot more. I have bladder issues already, so I'm hoping it isn't a side effect. Today, I've just had a chicken Kiev and baby potatoes with a load of salad. I still feel really hungry, though. I'm trying to stick to 1400 calories a day, and when I think about how much I was eating before and the amount of calories in that, I'm horrified, to be honest. Im also wondering if I'll ever feel full again? I would eat until i felt full, and now my plate looks full, but it's not filling. My weigh-in day is Friday also, and I'm praying week 1 is a success because this is hard to get used to. I will not give up, though.

@Seven7seven I can't say I've noticed an increase in peeing, are you drinking more water than usual?

I'm finding the hunger ok at the moment, MFP has my calories set up at 1,770 but I'm eating around about 1,400 to 1,500 per day. The most exciting thing I have eaten in the past few days is rich tea biscuits!

How much are you hoping to lose overall? Or are you just going for smaller chunks? I think I'd like to get back to 12st12lbs, I looked and felt good at that weight and for my height my BMI is just above healthy. Tried to get below that and only did it by starving myself and setting off a whole starve/binge cycle which wasn't healthy, so I feel I need to be more realistic. Still a 4 stone + loss though 😐

@MrsMonzo No I'm not drinking more which is why I thought it may be a side effect, I have a very overactive bladder anyway, some days I'm fine and others I'm constantly needing the loo. I think I'd be happy with a 4 stone loss. I've set a target of 1 stone by the end of August any more than that will be a bonus. This is the 1st time I've dieted properly and counted the calories.

I weighed myself early because I needed to see if all my efforts were having an impact

Sw 17st 0.03lb
Cw 16st 8.06lb

I've lost 5lb 4oz and couldn't be happier, no side effects as such I've really limited the amount of fat in each meal and my calorie intake is a bit less than 1400 a day. I hope to never see 17st on the scales again . I'm definitely motivated in getting to 15st now and getting to my target weight 1lb at a time.

That's an amazing result @Seven7seven well done!! 😁 We are nigh on the same weight, my weigh in day is tomorrow so I'd be buzzing with the same result (although knowing my body I'll probably have gained 3lb for no bloody reason!)

No side effects either for me, however I haven't touched anything remotely high in fat, the most exciting thing I've been eating is rich tea biscuits and I have a strict 3 per serving limit. I really could sit and eat the whole pack with a cup of tea so I have to take 3 then seal the pack and put them away!!

I really need to get motivated to go back to the gym as well, think I will go tomorrow as it's my day off.

Weighed in this morning with a sense of dread because even though I know I have been tracking and eating well below my calorie allowance, I'm e just come to expect the scales to either not move or go up!

3lb loss this week so I'm really pleased with that, although I have had to stick to a lower calorie limit and been quite hungry at times. 8lbs gone in a month though, which feels like a miracle considering over the past 18 months I've been trying to lose weight and ended up nearly a stone heavier.

I'm not going to stay too optimistic though because knowing me next week I'll have gained 5lbs

That's brilliant. I'm so happy for you. Stay positive for next week. You've got this! I weighed again this morning because I wanted my tracker to be accurate at the same time every week. I think the majority of my loss is water weight, so next week will be a lot less, which is already disappointing me 😅.

Hi everyone.
This is my 3rd week on orlistat.
I weighed myself today and in the last 2 weeks I've lost 5lbs 2oz.
I'm happy with that.
The side effects have sort of settled down and I am trying to be sensible with my diet and fat content.
My weakness right now is wasabi peas! I am slowing trying to wean myself off snacking on them.

I also meant to say, I'm on the 60mg dose.
Are most people on 60mg or 120mg?

I just started the 60mg dose today so I’m glad to hear it’s working for you.

Hi can I join your chat x