Just been prescribed xenical

Sharon1970

Full Member
Hi all

I have just been prescribed xenical by my GP but I am at a loss regarding my food really.

I have tried all sorts of diets including Cambridge with varying levels of success

I am dreading the side effects of these pills and want to know how to avoid them.

Should I just be sticking to three meals a day? Would you say that if I cut out all crisps, cakes, biscuits, chocolates I would be on the right track or can I have the occaisonal treat?

Thanks and hoping to get lots of support

Sharon
 
Hi and welcome Sharon,
i think most of us are completly bemused when we first start!!
ive been on the tablets for 2 months and ive not had any side efffect (touch wood)
things to avoid are anything with more than 5% fat.. (so per 100g if its got more than 5g of fat in it you should avoid it)
things that i like (that have replaced a sweet tooth i have) are the snack a jack caramel. i must admit ive been having (occasionally) the other snack a jacks, which are a little more than 5% and ive been fine.

i have also been having 1 advent calender chocolate a day which too i have been fine.
i mean i would allow yourself a treat (of what ever it be) but i would make sure its extra small...
i wouldnt be going eating a mars bar or something like that...
try and eat 3 meals (below 15g per total meal) and have things like fruit, muller light (love them) ww puddings (some are more than the allowance should be so watch out for them) pretzels (you can get some that are higher in fat than others so watch out for them also)
they are things i snack on....
im sure others will be able toc ome up with many more!!!
 
Thank you for your input Kes.

I am doing WW and have a points allowance however up until now I have managed to have a KFC on a Friday night by saving points. I am guessing that will have to stop now because although a KFC can be pointed I guess its too high in fat?
 
oooohhhhh yes, i would avoid the KFC!!!! that would be a no no!!!

anything cooked or having oil in it i would also avoid.....
you get used to it, trust me... my head felt like it was going to explode when i first started but im getting there...
 
Is there an online resource where I can find out the fat content of food? Like if I want to know how many grams per 100gm in parmesan?
 
hi and welcome, im pretty new here too and know exactly how ur feeling, its tough but they do work if u stick to it and u really wont hav any effects if u do stick to it, i have tried the sneaky thing of going over and trust me ITS NOT WORTH IT !

let me tell u, if u go over then ur likely to have effects, and honestly ur better off stayin in the whole of the next day because they come out of nowhere and r not pretty !

i havent had chocolates or things like that but i went over on one of my meals and i wish i hadnt,

i hav snacked on tesco cheapo jaffa cakes as they r quite a yum yum and not too high in fat , if u need a chocolate fix go for those, i wouldnt dare eat an actual chocolate bar tho,

i hope u get on well, u will start loosing weight hun if u stick to it
 
Hi

Like everyone else has said its pretty confusing when you first start but you'll get used to it pretty quickly.

I allow myself a treat every day and at the moment my fav is Ben and Jerry's frozen yoghurt (cherry garcia). The best thing I've learned from this is that when I have a bad day to forget it and move on, its real life and sometimes we're gonna want something we shouldn't have. But please don't go for KFC not tried it but can imagine it and it aint pretty!!!!

Good luck, you're very brave starting at this time of year.

xx
 
thanks for all the pointers guys I appreciate it. I think all I am mostly worrying about is the not so obvious stuff. Like its pretty obvious a chocolate bar is bad its my main meals I am a little concerned about. I cook from scratch, do not have anything processed so I am not sure how my meals stack up on fat content and because I have been doing WW I know what they are in point values but that doesn't necessarily mean they are low in fat.
 
Hi

I haven't been following WW strictly but use their recipe books when I made dinner at night so the whole family is eating the same . I've not had any problems except in the very early days when I didn't realise that the tabs don't know the difference between good and bad fat and had some salmon.

I think with WW you should be ok. Its healthy and by the sounds of things you are already doing all the right things.

Mhairi x
 
i too often have the same problem with working out the fat in foods as i also cook from scratch and its really difficult to get my head around it, still cant figure it out properly but i just cook loads of veg and hav a tiny bit of meat on side, if any at all.

pasta but not as much as i used to (its my fav) and tomatoes tinned in with that, tiny bit of cheese if any, i havent eaten much bread but then again i dont usually anyway, im not too sure on bread

but there r things u can think up but its not always the most fun meal i know but i guess its all part of the task.

kfc definatley a no no but i could murder some right now lol
 
lol sorry for mentioning that chicken place now....hope I haven't made too many people drool
 
ahhh im sure its fine.. we can all dream about things like that..

try my fitness pal (and there are a couple more that i will get the link for the thread in a min!!) they will help you do the working out on your fat content.

as long as you dont use oil or butter in your cooking, then you should be ok (as long as you check packets with the individual ingredients) you should be ok...
i have gotten loads of low fat cook books (mind you all of those recipies use oil or butter so i just cut them out) from the library...
(i think ive taken the whole stock of low fat cook books)
 
Welcome Sharon! :)

You know I never was one for eating in fast food restuarants? I could go a year without setting foot in one

Now sweets (candies) were a whole other matter :eek:

Stuff to avoid - mayo! Although if I am getting a sandwich from the nice sandwich place across the road at work (my friday treat) I will avoid the ones with a lot of mayo (eg egg or tuna). Now I like to pick something different each week from their menu board. So if it does have mayo on it, I'll ask them to only put a little bit. Seems to work okay.

Sausages can be pretty bad too....and eggs

and I think it's posted somewhere that because the pill doesn't recognise good fat from bad fat some fish can give you problems.

Now I'll be honest. I have had the side effects and a couple of (thankfully in private) accidents but that was mainly because I'd had too much fat and didn't go to the loo :p (because you think it's just wind and it's not).

So if you do slip up, and eat too much fat, just be preparted to nip to the loo if you're feeling a bit windy.

I have read in other places about people having real trouble with the side effects but as far as I can tell they just aren't adjusting their diet.
 
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