Recently I’ve seen these two products advertised; Adios and Alli (Warning, this has sound, so if you don’t want to hear some sales crap, turn the speakers off!)
Not only have I seen TV ads for them, but Alli was also in my local supermarket (Tesco, and FYI I live in the UK, it might be more common to them in the US, I dunno)
Anyways, my point is, I’ve never seen a weight loss supplement advertised this way before. They’re normally either in health shops, or online. I find it odd to see them in advertised in more common place areas. Does tis mean they’re more reputable than any other brands?
What do they have that’s different to say something like this: Leanburn? Which is the kind of thing you normally see in health shops or online.
I’ve noticed the marketing of the former two brands is more at regular people, whilst the latter is marketed towards athletes, body builders etc.
And the ultimate question, do they work? Anybody have any knowledge or a cite that indicates they work for weight loss without a calorie controlled diet or additional excercise.
Alli is US Food and Drug Administration approved for aiding with weight loss, unlike those vitamin/herbal supplements that make vague claims and haven’t been evaluated. I’m not familiar with the other drug/supplement you listed. Anyway, the actual double-blind, US FDA-evaluated clinical trials done on Alli are probably one reason why you perceive a difference in how it’s being marketed. If you check online medical journal sources there should be some articles that’ll come up for that one.
Alli is the only OTC FDA approved weight loss medication. So it actually does do exactly what they claim it does. Alli is the OTC brand for Orlistat, the RX brand is Xenical.
Orlistat is a lipase enzyme inhibitor an what it dose is block the absorption of fat from the intestines into the blood stream. It blocks about 25% of all the fat that you ingest. Now, the problem is that any fat not absorbed is eliminated with your feeces causing adverse effects if too much fat is blocked. Adverse effects such as explosive diarrhea, oily flatulence, bloating, and abdominal cramping.
So, Orlistat does what it is suppose to do, but to get the best effects (and avoid the adverse effects) you need to use it with a low fat diet.
A recent BBC show demonstrated that a weight loss supplement (in conjunction with healthy eating and moderate exercise) helped 80% of participants lose weight.
The supplement was a placebo.
As Hirka T’Bawa noted, Alli is a low-dose OTC weight loss medication that does really work (for some values of work) when used as directed. Here in the UK, you have to have a pharmacist consult to get it, and have a BMI of over 28.
Some suppliments use things like chromium picolinate as weight loss. The weight loss claims are unproven at best. Most will throw in a bunch of herbal stuff that supposedly is good for weight loss but with nothing to back it up. In many of these products the main ingredient is caffeine(often called gurana extract). Being hopped up on caffeine may supress your appetite but it isn’t too good for you.
Is there a reason you suggest Aspirin? I’m not aware of anything about aspirin that would help someone loose weight, and 81mg once daily wouldn’t be an effective pain reliever for muscle soreness from walking.
Heh.
I know a few people who are currently taking Phentermine, and it is helping them. What it does for them is help them to not obsess about food, and not focus on their next meal before the current one is even over, basically. They are able to stick to a reasonable weight loss diet.
With any pill, you have to stick to a diet plan that reduces calories, though. Even something like Alli won’t work if just eat whatever you want. As I understand it, Alli does boost weight loss a bit, vs. only following a diet without the pill.
Nearly all drugs used for weight loss are appetite suppressants; orlistat is the only exception (that I’ve heard of). Nearly all over-the-counter preparations marketed for weight loss are “nutritional supplements” containing naturally occurring substances that have similar effects. And all appetite suppressants (that I’ve heard of) are stimulants. In addition, many drugs with stimulant side effects have been used as appetite suppressants by people who find them easier to get. (I’m thinking of phenylpropanolamine, a decongestant. It was removed from the US OTC market after the FDA found an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in young women taking the drug; at the time, reports included a disproportionate number of these cases were after use of PPA for weight loss. Of course, its use as an amphetamine precursor probably made that an easy decision.)
It’s a joke. 81 mg aspirin is often recommended for heart attack prevention so most people who want to lose weight might want to consider it anyway, and the walking is the part that causes the weight loss.
