Alli is a recently popular over the counter weight loss medication. It is what is known as a lipase inhibitor. So it blocks the absorption of a significant amount of dietary fats. If you are planning on losing weight with Medifast, you might be wondering if adding Alli to your weight loss plan would make it even more effective. I have to say the answer to that is no. Let’s take a look at why.
First of all, Medifast is a low fat, carb and calorie restricted diet. Since it is already quite low in fat, Medifast themselves don’t recommend that you use Alli at the same time that you are using Medifast for weight reduction. While Alli does exactly what it is described to do, it blocks the absorption of fats, it really isn’t going to be too useful with a diet that is already low in fat.
Alli is an over the counter version of the medication called Orlistat or Xenical. The FDA approved it for use in weight control, but that is basically assuming you are eating a regular diet, not a diet as low in fat as Medifast. If you used Alli at the same time, you would block as much as 30% of your dietary fats absorption. The thing is, you actually need some fat in your diet. It is important for the absorption of certain vitamins & minerals. So you don’t want to go too low.
I think there are other good reasons for not using Alli however and they all come down to your GI tract. Side effects are quite common with both Orlistat and Alli. Diarrhea isn’t even the worst of it. How about some wet farts? Yes, not too pretty. Most of Alli’s side effects are related to the GI tract and the fact that if your body can’t absorb the fat you eat, there is only one place for it to go, out through your bowel movements.
Alli may also prevent the proper absorption of certain fat-soluble vitamins. Remember when I said you need some fat in your diet? Well, you definitely need it to absorb Vitamin D properly and many people are deficient in Vitamin D (especially in winter), so that’s not good either. The other important fat-soluble vitamins are A, E, and K.
If you do decide to try the Medifast program, I think you will find that you don’t really need the extra stuff that Alli does. Medifast can work pretty quickly if you follow the program on its own. So there’s really no need to use fat inhibitors or appetite suppressants along with it.
