Want to Loose Weight? Bring an Extra Pair of Pants to Work. (Rated PG)

Some of you may have heard that a new OTC diet drug called Alli hit the shelves today and is selling like hotcakes.

I had heard something about it on the Today Show the other morning and couldn’t quite believe that people would be lining up to buy a product that produces some of the side effects this one does.

Let me quote directly off the manufacturer’s website (http://myalli.com/howdoesitwork/treatmenteffects.aspx):

“alli™ works by preventing the absorption of some of the fat you eat. The fat passes out of your body, so you may have bowel changes, known as treatment effects. You may get:

* gas with oily spotting
* loose stools
* more frequent stools that may be hard to control”

“The excess fat that passes out of your body is not harmful. In fact, you may recognize it as something that looks like the oil on top of a pizza.”

“You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work”

Sounds delightful.

Then, the other thing that shocked me was a news article that quoted a worker at a Rite Aid in LA as saying that the women who are buying this stuff out of stock “are not fat”. I mean, if you look like this

I can understand that having oil leak out of your ass is probably the least of your worries, but if you’ve only got 15 pounds to loose, really…. is it worth it!?

The manufacturer’s website goes on to give tips on how to “manage treatment effects”.

“You can use a food journal to recognize what foods can lead to treatment effects. For example, writing down what you eat may help you learn that marinara sauce is a better option than Alfredo sauce”

“While no one likes experiencing treatment effects, they might help you think twice about eating questionable fat content.”

Sounds like they’re saying that eating a low-fat diet is a good idea. Hmmm…. Where have I heard that before? Why is it that people have to have pizza oil leak out of their ass to get that eating a low-fat diet is a good idea?

… and we’re supposedly the most intelligent beings in the universe? Frightening.