Obesity poses a risk of a lot of medical conditions, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and stroke. Thus, there is a need to lose weight and maintain a proper diet.
Orlistat is a commonly prescribed medication that is used to help people lose weight. It reduces the fat that is processed by the body, resulting in lesser fat adsorption. If you want to know more about this drug, read the article below.
What is Orlistat?
Orlistat is a medication used to treat obesity. Studies state that taking Orlistat and following a strict diet helps people lose more weight than dieting alone. People who are overweight or obese over the age of 18 can use this weight loss product. However, a reduced-calorie and low-fat diet should be followed while under this treatment.
How does Orlistat work?
Orlistat attaches itself to the digestive system’s enzymes and blocks them from breaking down fats from the food that you eat. When you take this medication, the digestive system will be blocked from breaking down about ⅓ of the fat in your food.
The undigested fat will not be absorbed and will be eliminated from your body through a bowel movement. Overall, Orlistat helps you avoid gaining calories from fat.
How to take Orlistat Tablets?
This medication is only available when prescribed by your doctor. It means that you need to follow the instructions as prescribed by your doctor to ensure you experience the maximum effects of this drug. However, it would be best if you also read the enclosed information leaflet to know more about the drug and its proper use.
This medication’s recommended dosage is one (1) 120mg tablet before, during, or after each meal, three (3) times a day. It comes in capsule form, which you should swallow whole with water. Therefore, you should take one tablet each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
As mentioned, you need to follow a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet while taking Orlistat to gain optimal benefits. Your meals should only have an average of 30% calories from calories, which means your diet should be rich in fruit and vegetables. You should distribute your fat, carbohydrate, and protein over three meals per day. It also means that you need to avoid fat-containing food, like biscuits, chocolate, and savoury snacks, between meals.
Also, this medication only works if there is fat in your diet. Therefore, if you missed a meal or if your meal does not contain any fat, you don’t need to take this pill. Advise your doctor if you have taken Orlistat as prescribed to avoid unnecessary changing of treatment. Moreover, your doctor may stop the use of this medication if you have not your weight loss does not reach at least 5% of your body weight after 12 weeks of treatment.
Weight loss & Orlistat treatment
If you take Orlistat as prescribed alongside the recommended diet, you can experience gradual weight loss of about one (1) to two (2) pounds every week. Clinical studies revealed that this drug, coupled with the right diet, helped people lose five (5) to ten (10) pounds in approximately six (6) months. Studies on this drug have been conducted on long-term treatments of up to four (4) years.
However, if no changes are seen or you don’t lose at least 5% of your current weight after 12 weeks of using this product, your doctor may prescribe another weight loss treatment.
As mentioned, long-term clinical studies have been conducted to test the effectiveness of this weight loss treatment. It revealed that weight loss is 50% more efficient when using this product compared to being on a diet only. Unlike other weight loss pills in the UK, Orlistat provides quick results, excreting fats within 24 to 48 hours after the intake of the drug.
People with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above or 28 kg/m2 with a risk for blood pressure, cholesterol, or diabetes are the most suitable people to take Orlistat.
Taking Orlistat helps people lose about 50% body fat, especially when partnered with a calorie-restricted, low-fat diet. This medicine helps block approximately 30% of dietary fat in a person’s daily diet. Every meal should be rich in fruit, vegetables, and protein, and carbohydrate intake should be distributed equally over three meals to make this medication more effective.