Are you ready to lose weight but don’t know which weight loss pill to try? Unlike other weight-loss drugs that act to suppress appetite or to speed up metabolism, Xenical’s active ingredient, orlistat, works on the digestive system to block fat in the food you eat from being digested by the digestive enzyme called lipase. When you take it with meals, Xenical attaches to lipase and blocks it from breaking down fat you have eaten; the undigested fat is then eliminated in the stools. When used correctly, Xenical blocks about a third of the fat in the foods you eat from being absorbed by your body, helping you to lose weight. Xenical acts by blocking some of the fat that you eat from being absorbed by your body. Used together with a reduced-calorie diet, it is an effective tool for weight maintenance and treating people with risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol or triglycerides. It is also indicated to reduce the risk for weight regain after prior weight loss.
The recommended dose of orlistat is one 120-mg capsule, 3 times a day with each meal containing fat (during or up to 1 hour after the meal). Remember, Orlistat does block your body’s uptake of some fat-soluble vitamins and beta carotene so when you use orlistat you should take a supplement of vitamins A, E, K, and beta-carotene, once a day, 2 hours before or 2 hours after taking orlistat or bedtime.
Primary side effects of orlistat are GI or gastro-related, and include loose, oily stools because of dietary fat which is blocked from being absorbed is excreted unchanged in the feces (oily stools and flatulence can be controlled by reducing the dietary fat content to somewhere in the region of 15 grams per meal). Fecal incontinence, frequent or urgent bowel movements, and gas are also common. To minimize these effects, foods with high fat content should be avoided and consumers should follow a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet.
