The alli Diet Plan: Your Essential Guide to Success with alli

If you miss a meal, or your meal doesn’t contain fat, don’t take a capsule – alli doesn’t work unless there’s some fat in the meal.

Do not take more than 3 capsules a day.

Remember also to take a multivitamin tablet at bedtime (containing vitamins A, D, E and K). As alli removes some of the fat you eat from your body, some fat-soluble vitamins are removed with it. Taking a daily multivitamin ensures that you have an adequate supply of these vital nutrients.

Adjusting to Your New Lifestyle

There are a few simple but fundamental changes you will need to make in your life to succeed with the alli programme.

Here’s what you need to be willing to do to join the thousands who are succeeding with alli:

• adopt a reduced-calorie, lower-fat diet

• plan your meals

• manage your cravings and setbacks

• take guidance from the alli programme.

Achieving your goal with alli isn’t complicated; it just takes a little practice to get into the new habits. As well as sticking to a reduced-calorie, lower-fat diet, becoming more physically active is part and parcel of becoming healthier. Like most things in life, once you’re used to them, they simply become part of your daily routine.

Commit to a Reduced-calorie, Lower-fat Diet

Why Reduce Calories?

Calories are a measurement of the energy your body needs to function. When you eat more calories than your body needs, it stores the excess energy as fat.

Your calorie target is the maximum number of calories you should eat per day. This target varies, according to your weight, gender and activity levels. You can use the chart (below) to set your daily calorie targets.

Before you can set your calorie targets you’ll need to know your activity level. The more active you are, the higher your calorie limit. Choose which activity level most closely fits your daily routine. If you’re unsure which is your level, choose ‘low’.

• Low activity = you do little or no walking, stair-climbing, gardening or other physical activity on a daily basis

• Moderate activity = you burn around 150 calories a day in physical activity, for example, walking 2 miles (3 kilometres), gardening for 30–45 minutes, or running 1.25 miles (2 kilometres) in 15 minutes.

Calories for Women

Calories for Men

Lower Fat Is Key

You may be surprised to know that alli doesn’t require you to eliminate fat completely from your diet. Eating the right amount of fat helps the body absorb vitamins and perform other essential functions.

Your fat target is the maximum amount of fat each meal and snack should contain for you as an individual while on the alli programme. This is based on your daily calorie intake. When you follow the alli programme, you’ll be focusing on the total amount of fat, not whether it’s unsaturated or saturated.

Use the chart below to set your fat target for each meal and snack.

Reducing fat not only helps you to lose weight, it is also the way that you will be able to manage any diet-related treatment effects such as fatty or oily stools, sudden bowel motions and wind (flatulence). These effects are caused by the way the alli capsules work on the food you eat: because alli prevents the absorption of some of the fat in the food you eat, this unabsorbed fat passes naturally out of the body. Be reassured that most new alli users who experience these effects learn how to manage them by staying within their recommended fat targets.

Tastier, Healthier Food

alli is dedicated to helping you eat a tasty, nutritious and varied diet. Although it’s important to limit the foods that are high in fat and calories, there are lots of other delicious choices open to you.

Lower-fat doesn’t have to mean lower-taste; we have lots of easy, satisfying recipes and meal ideas to prove it. The advice in this book should enable you to eat satisfying, balanced meals without feeling bored or deprived.

Enjoy trying new things and varying your meals with alli.

Eating Together

With the alli programme you will be able to eat such a variety of delicious food that your whole family can enjoy the same meals as you. Some of the recipes are written for two, some for more, and many are adaptations of family favourites.

At the Table

Putting the right amount of the right foods on your plate is a simple but important part of achieving success.

Try downsizing your plate to downsize your portions. If you use a plate that’s 20cm (8 inches) across, it’ll look fuller so you won’t feel you’re missing out.

When you’re sure of your portion sizes at home, you’ll then find it easier to judge how much you should eat when you dine out (restaurants usually serve bigger portions than you need).

Planning Your Meals

Ideally, you will plan your meals while you’re on the alli programme so you can stay within your recommended fat target per meal. Knowing what you’re going to eat a few days in advance puts you in control and raises your chances of success. Planning ahead helps you avoid making last-minute choices which are too high in fat and calories. It also enables you to experiment with new recipes.

In reality, you probably won’t be able to plan every meal. However, as you learn more about the programme you should be able to assess what will and won’t work within the programme for you. This book will help.

Shopping

Try not to go shopping when you’re hungry. You could be tempted by fatty convenience foods and may start snacking on your way home.

Also, if you don’t already make shopping lists, start now and try to stick to them.

There are lots more tips on better (and smarter) shopping later in the book.

Move Your Body and Shift the Weight

The alli programme recommends you increase your physical activity levels to help you lose more weight.

When you consume fewer calories your body has to use its fat stores for energy and, as it does that, you lose pounds. When you exercise, you encourage your body to burn fat stores more often and, as a result, help increase your weight loss. Upping your activity levels should help you lose more weight.

Incorporating more physical activity into your everyday life is easier than you think. There are lots of fun and easy ways to exercise.

Exercising isn’t just good for your body, it’s a well-known fact that it’s good for your mood and relieves stress, too. It’s not just about joining a gym; there are lots of other ways to get moving and burn calories.

Whatever shape you’re in and however busy you are, it’s still possible to be active every day. Start gently and increase slowly. Begin with 10 minutes’ extra walking a day. If you’re already active, then build up the time or add in something else as well.

Remember to check with your doctor before you start any new exercise programme.

There’s a chapter on exercising as part of the alli programme later in the book, but here are some tips to get you thinking about how to include more activity in your daily life: