frequently asked questions

The capsules work on preventing fat absorption, and because of this, you can enjoy the benefits of having more options when you make food choices. Taking the capsules without having much fat in your diet would have little effect.

Fat is an essential part of a balanced diet. The right amount of fat helps the body absorb vitamins and perform other essential functions. You just need to limit your intake to around 15g of fat per meal^*.

* based on a diet of 1400 calories a day

alli prevents the absorption of some of the fat in the meals you eat but does not discriminate between types of fat. Eating too much fat, whether it's "good" or "bad" fat, can contribute to weight gain and may cause diet-related treatment effects, so try to stay within your daily fat targets. Dietary fat is the most concentrated source of food energy but has more than twice the calories per gram of carbohydrates or proteins. Dietary fats are made mainly of triglycerides, such as the fat in meats, milk products, and vegetable oils. Saturated fats, found in dairy and animal products are proven to be less healthy for the body than monounsaturated (olive oil for example) or polyunsaturated fats (corn oil for example). However, all fat types have the same number of calories and are affected by alli in the same way.

The alli program gives clear advice on how to read food labels and check the fat content in your meals. It also includes a guide to the fat content in a range of foods. Before you begin taking the capsules, you’ll need to set your fat and calorie targets according to your current weight and activity levels. It’s important to stay within your recommended fat and calorie targets per meal. Go to our calculator tool for more information.

In many cases, yes. The capsules work well with diets that emphasize balanced meals containing moderate amounts of fat. Distribute your fat allowance evenly across your meals for the day. Do not ‘save up’ fat and calorie allowances and then splurge on a high-fat meal or dessert.

You would not need the capsules with a very low-fat diet because they would have little effect. Many people find very low-fat diets difficult to sustain because of severe restrictions on the foods they can eat. They’re also likely to feel far hungrier when there is little fat in the diet. The alli program allows you to choose from a wider variety of foods, and to eat enough fat to feel fuller.

At the other end of the spectrum, low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets tend to be very high in fat. Don’t use the capsule with these diets. Not adapting to a lower-fat diet can increase the chances of diet-related treatment effect.

Alcohol adds calories to your diet. A 175 ml glass of white wine contains 130 calories and a 300 ml bottle of premium lager has 177 calories. So you can have a drink with your meal, but be sure to allow for the calories.

Some of the recipes are written for 2 or more, and are adaptations of family favorites. We can all benefit from eating a reduce calorie, lower-fat diet, so your family will enjoy many of the recipes.

Children need energy from foods to grow healthily and be active. When eating as a family on the alli program, children should enjoy meals and healthy snacks which are proportionate to their age and activity levels, (which may be larger, smaller or the same as the adult portions.)