Orlistat: How Much Weight Loss To Expect in a Week

How does it work?

Prescribed under the brand name Xenical and sold under the brand name Alli, orlistat works by blocking the absorption of around a third of dietary fats. This means that a portion of the fat you consume passes through the digestive system undigested. Whilst this sounds promising, it’s important to keep in mind that weight loss medications are just one piece of the weight loss puzzle and lifestyle changes need to be made for the treatment to have its full effect.

What do the studies show?

A study conducted in 2011 saw 80 patients enrolled into two groups of 40 with one group taking orlistat and the other taking a placebo. Here’s a breakdown of the collective weight loss for the group taking orlistat across 6 months:

• Starting Weight: 

  • The average weight of people in the orlistat group at the beginning of the study was around 94 kg, with some variation between participants (around 13.45 kg). This translates roughly to 207 lbs.

• Weight Loss Over Time:

  • After 8 weeks, the average weight in the orlistat group dropped to around 93 kg, with again some variation (around 8.71 kg). This translates roughly to 205 lbs.

  • By week 16, the average weight further decreased to around 89 kg with some variation (around 7.39 kg). This translates roughly to 196 lbs.

  • The average weight remained stable at around 89 kg with some variation (around 7.39kg) by week 24.

Overall the study indicated that orlistat did influence the weight loss, with an average decrease of around 5 kg (11 lbs) over 24 weeks. In comparison, the group taking the placebo saw an average weight loss of 2 kg (4.4 lbs) over the 6 months.

Interestingly, the study suggests that orlistat may have influenced weight loss by encouraging participants to focus on making lifestyle changes, such as adopting healthier eating habits, rather than solely relying on medication.

Setting realistic goals

Crash diets and unrealistic expectations can lead to disappointment. Whilst taking orlistat, you should be aiming for a gradual weight reduction of around 0.5-1 kg (1-2 lbs) per week. This is considered a safe and sustainable approach. Whilst this may seem slow, it allows you to develop healthy habits to cultivate a lifestyle that harbours long-term success.

Factors affecting weight loss with orlistat

Your weight loss journey with orlistat will be dependent on a few factors, and your lifestyle habits. These include:

• Diet: weight loss drugs don’t magically melt away fat. You need to follow a healthy, calorie-controlled diet for optimal results. 

• Exercise: regular physical exercise is at the heart of any healthy lifestyle. Aim for around 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week.

• Starting weight: Generally, people with a higher starting weight tend to experience more significant weight loss with orlistat.

Individual metabolism: your body’s unique metabolic rate plays a role in how efficiently you burn calories.

How does orlistat perform compared to other treatments?

Orlistat is just one active ingredient in a sea of weight loss treatments. Several prescriptions are now available for prescription in the UK which have shown promising results in aiding weight management. However, each medication has its own mechanism of action, side effects, and considerations. Let’s take a look at them side by side: