Did i use it wrong?

[*icandothis*]

Hi there! I was put on xenical about 4 weeks ago, i have already stopped using it as it did absolutely nothing for me. Having had a little browse on here i have seen several large and speedy weight losses using xenical. Can anybody explain the way that they use it? x

 

[Alex_1978]

Hello there
I'm going to dig out a post I wrote for another new member a week or so ago, maybe that'll help you understand how to use Xenical.
Really there's no magic solution though, it's a matter of eating a balanced, healthy, and most importantly low-fat diet. More of that in a minute though, when I find that other post...

 

[Alex_1978]

Here it is:

The main rule to remember is that you should eat foods that contain no more than 5g of fat per 100g of food, and no more than 15g of fat in each meal.
Each time you eat a meal (assuming you've taken your Xenical) a third of the fat in that meal will pass through your body and out in your stools, rather than being absorbed and used by your body in the normal way.
So say if you ate a meal with 9g of fat in it, 3g would go straight through and 6g would be absorbed normally. You wouldn't get side effects because 3g is a small amount of fat to 'pass' amongst other bodily waste.
So...say if you were naughty and ate a meal with 60g of fat in it, 20g would pass straight through (which is quite a lot) and this means that you'd be more likely to get the 'tango' effect (which can be anything from normal stools that are just a bit orange or oily, to the full Tango experience - sorry if that's too much information!!)
Don't be worried by the horror stories though, as long as you stick to the rules, or as near to them as you can, you'll be fine.

You're right in thinking that if you ate a meal without any fat in it (say a fruit salad) then there isn't any point taking the tablet as it has no fat to work on. Having said that, some people like to take their tablets regardless because it stops them from being tempted to snack on fatty foods between meals.

 

[Alex_1978]

And here's another post about the kind of food I tend to eat:

So, onto food. We all do different healthy eating plans here. I count calories myself, others do Weight Watchers and Slimming World, and some people just watch the fat content in their food.
With Xenical you must eat foods that are less than 5% fat (5g of fat per 100g of food - it's usually listed on the packet) and you must ALSO not eat more than 15g of fat per meal. If you stick to that rule, you shouldn't be troubled with the side effects.
I find that I need to do more than just watch my fat intake to lose weight, so I count calories too. It's second nature to me, so I don't calculate rigidly, but if I didn't do that, I might find that I was eating too many sugary/carby foods that may not cause problems on the Xenical, but would still slow the weight loss down.

For breakfast, I always have porridge so can't really help much with ideas there! I find it's the only thing that fills me up for longer than an hour or so!
I have soup most days at lunch time,but sometimes I have beans on toast, a small ready-meal, or a jacket potato. You could also have salads, pitta bread/wrap or a sandwchich with lean meat and loads of salad to fill you up.
In the evening I sometimes have ready meals (weight watchers lasagne and that kind of thing) but I bulk them up with extra veg, as they don't fill me up on their own.
I also bulk cook things like mushroom risotto, vegetable chilli, or spaghetti bolognese, and freeze them in portions, so there's always something to grab. Stir frys are another quick and low fat option if you use the Blue Dragon sachet sauces, and the straight to wok noodles.

For snacks I have fruit, low calorie/fat cereal bars like Alpen Light, and occasionally SnackaJacks. I also have mini milk lollies, sugar free jelly and WW deserts after my main meal in the evening.

Well that's all I can think of at the moment, but I hope it helps.

One last tip for you....drink LOADS of water - like 2-3 litres a day if you can manage it. Xenical can make you a little bit constipated in the beginning, and drinking water will keep that at bay. It will also help you stay fuller for longer. I have mine with sugar free sqash, and I keep a big bottle with me at work or home, and drink it throughout the day.

Sorry to be lazy with the copying and pasting, but it would take me ages to type all that out again!
If there's anything else you're not sure about then please ask...there are loads of people on here who can give you some really good help and advice

 

[Mummoth]

That's very interesting. I was prescribed Xenical last year & never got the Tango effect, so didn't think it was doing anything for me. I'd heard some real horror stories (someone told me to buy orange undies ....... ) but never had any side effects, so stopped using it. This bit you say: "You wouldn't get side effects because 3g is a small amount of fat to 'pass' amongst other bodily waste." makes sense now. I wasn't eating food with high fat content, so I must not have noticed it doing its stuff!

Might dig the old packet out & finish off the tablets I have left.

 

[*icandothis*]

That is really great, thank you so much, i might started using it again. Wonder if you an use it whilst on slim fast diet!! x

 

[Kes]

hi there,
i have been doing slim fast while on the tablets and i had no problems (just watch waht you have as thier snacks are higher than allowed)
i think it also says that the powders are more than allowed too but i never had a problem...
i am no longer doing slim fast (did it for 6 months and lost 2 stone 8lbs) so if you have any questions please feel free to ask...
(might be a little slow to respond, but i will get back to you.

 

[*icandothis*]

Thanks kes! I may try tomorrow, combining the two. Your starting weight is actually similar to mine. You have lost a lot, how have you found it? x

 

[Alex_1978]

That's very interesting. I was prescribed Xenical last year & never got the Tango effect, so didn't think it was doing anything for me.

Glad I could help The only time you should see any side effects is when you're actually eating too much fat, so the fact that you didn't have any problems meant that you were doing it right.
Xenical is a silent helper really (proving you stick to the rules). It does its thing in the background, and the only way you actually know it's working is when you jump on the scales and see the results.

I'd heard some real horror stories (someone told me to buy orange undies ....... )

I think we've all heard stories like this from one source or another, but I can honestly say that in all the time I've been on Xenical, I've never some close to 'soiling myself' or anything like that (and I was on it for a year back in 2008).

 

[RainbowRose]

Great replies Alex, makes everything so clear to me too..thankyou!

..and explains why I haven't had the tango effect, I'm scrutinising EVERYTHING I eat for fat content before I pop it in my mouth!

 

[Kes]

Thanks kes! I may try tomorrow, combining the two. Your starting weight is actually similar to mine. You have lost a lot, how have you found it? x

i wouldnt consider what ive lost to be a lot... but thinking about it it is.. i went through some photos of mine last night and boy i dont look right!!!

i found it fine, i loved the premade shakes, so i had them all the time.. in fact ive got LOADS left of them so if you want them PM me and im sure we can work something out...

it is hard. and i wouldnt have been able to do it without exercise. so get out there and do some!!! thats the best advice i can give you..

 

[Baybeii.Lacey]

heyyaa! ive been using xenical for about a week && i don't understand whaat it is supposed to do! i don't reckon its been doin much if im totally honest :/ x

 

[KittyBling]

heyyaa! ive been using xenical for about a week && i don't understand whaat it is supposed to do! i don't reckon its been doin much if im totally honest :/ x

Read through the posts in this forum and you'll get loads of information on how Xenical works. Basically it gets rid of about a third of all the fat you eat, even if your diet is low fat. If you eat a high fat diet you will get very unpleasant side-effects! Have a good read here and you'll get loads of good advice and ideas.

http://www.minimins.com/xenical/98543-xenical-info-new-starters.html