Can Xenical help you lose weight?

Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough as I'm just starting my third day of Xenical to help with weight loss. A drug with an "anal leakage" side effect wasn't quite what I had in my mind when I spoke to the doctor about weight loss, but that - alone - is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow for now.

I'm not a newcomer to Xenical. When I took it previously, it was alongside a Weight Watchers diet (pre-Pro Points) which meant that I was taking in far too much fat - exposing me to some of Xenical's side effects. 

This time around, I'm taking Xenical, which is also known as Orlistat, on prescription, three times a day with meals. Thankfully I've learned a thing or two about nutrition and fat content since then. 

Well, 'learned' might be a stretch. Let's just say I'm making a concerted effort to check labels with the aim of keeping each meal's fat content below 15g. 

And so far, so good.  

Food-wise, I'm only restricted at the moment when it comes to fat - but I am trying to be sensible with this. (Marshmallows, I've discovered have only trace fat... Yummy for a snack, but NOT a staple.)

Typical breakfasts include: bagel with light spread and banana, 2 pieces wholemeal toast with 2 soft-boiled eggs and porridge. 

For lunch, I've been having ready-made salads (quinoa, orzo pasta, etc) that are low fat, alongside salad leaves. 

Dinners are kept light, too. Last night was BBQ beans on toast, and the evening before was twice-baked sweet potato with low-fat fromage frais, a very little bit of chorizo and spring onion.

To be honest, I'm following much of what I'd be eating if I was following the Slimming World eating plan. The only difference is that I'm not going for big syn treats and I'm relaxing my thinking on bread and milk. Within reason, of course.

Weigh in isn't until 29th April, so I'm going to have the keep clear of the scales. To stay on Xenical my doctor's said that I'll need to have lost 5% of my body weight within the first three months. At my last doctor's appointment, I weighed in at 19 stone 7lbs - so I'll need to show a loss of 14 lbs.

Alongside all of this, I'm going to get some more counselling to handle the issues which lead me to this point. This doesn't start until the 26th, so a bit of wait to find out how that this helps support weight loss.

More to follow...