Xenical is the trade name that Orlistat is marketed under and it achieves its results by preventing the body from absorbing fat from whatever source. This results in reduced calorie intake and less fat, eventually leading to weight loss. When Orlistat is taken orally, three times a day before meals, it will prevent the retention of around 30% of fat that is taken in. All the bad fat passes safely through the digestive system.

The effectiveness of Xenical is questionable, since it reduces body mass by around 5%, but was only successful in around 50% of the people who volunteered for a year long clinical test. They were further disappointed when they subsequently regained the weight they lost when testing was completed and they stopped using the drug.

The common side effect associated with this weight loss drug is steatorrhea, a physical condition in which the subject suffers frequent, uncomfortable and loose bowel movements that are oily, with extra flatus. This is caused by the fat that has not been absorbed travelling through the large intestine. A long-term side effect of this drug was documented in an animal study carried out in 2006. It connected Orlistat to lesions that might lead to cancer being discovered in the colon.

There are still conflicting views on what is the best diet to go on. The Golden Rules that Paul McKenna teaches make absolute sense. The eating what you want, when you want but being aware of when you have had enough… but sometimes you are just too hungry to eat consciously. But that’s a failing of the diet plan you really have to learn your body’s messages.

Then there’s the whole community, Weight Watches approach which makes perfect sense to follow a diet plan, count points so that you can eat what you like, within reason and be part of a group where you are supported and encouraged.

The only diet that actually works for me is the Atkins Diet, so that’s what I’m back on. But it’s the weekends where I always struggle and then fact the Monday / Tuesday trying to get back into ketosis (the fat burning state). Anyway I have a goal for the next 10 days and that’s to fit back into my dinner suit for a black tie do.

I have for the past few weeks been back on the Atkins diet in a vain attempt to slim down a bit for when I go away at the weekend. I must say that I have tried to be strict with what I am eating but sometimes it’s hard to cope.

For instance what do you do if you are out visiting a stately home (like you do with your family on a weekend) and it gets to lunchtime. The only food available to eat in the cafe/restaurant is the typical snack food such as sandwiches, crisps, cakes etc. So the other weekend I slipped up. Yes, I should have taken some food with me but I’m not that organised. I have also been having the odd glass of white wine in the evening as it’s been so hot, which probably isn’t helping. I am though in ketosis so it must be working.
So anyway it was suggested to me that some of my excess weight may be caused by water retention. This does occur in the female side of my family, so maybe it happens to me as well. So yesterday I started taking water tablets, cautiously at first as I was slightly apprehensive. Anyway yesterday I needed to go to the toilet a few more times than normal and lost 4lbs. maybe then I do need to get rid of my excess water?

It was released yesterday that Britain was the first country in the EU to be granted a license for Acomplia. Acomplia is meant to be able to reduce body weight by up to 10% and targets the parts of the body that control appetite, weight and energy use. It works by suppressing the appetite and therefore you reduce what you eat.

They are expecting that the drug will cost around £55 per month for the treatment and this could cost the NHS billions. At the moment Acomplia will only be available privately at first. Acomplia is manufactured by Sanofi Aventis and they believe that the cost of providing Acomplia to the obese population is far less than the cost the governments already have to spend on obesity.

The trials of Acomplia / Rimonabant have been very successful and a quarter of those tested lost over 10% of their body weight, and half of them lost more than 5%.

I could do with some Acomplia, not only to lose weight but it is also meant to help you give up smoking. Can you imaging the UK in 10 years time, all these non smoking, slim beings….marvellous.

The trip to the gym on Friday may be a difficult one after the England vs Trinidad & Tobago, especially if we win. We are closing work early so that we can all go up to the pub to watch the match… Come on England!

But in the last few weeks I have been making an effort to eat more healthily, and having the hot weather helps as I am never very hungry when it’s sunny. I am trying to have a fruit salad for lunch at least three times a week and on an evening I am having just meat and salad. I am feeling much better for it too, and have much more energy.

Today I have started as well going to the gym. Hopefully this will be a regular 2 or 3 times a week thing for me and for motivation I am going to the gym with my local pub landlord who also wants to shed a few excess pounds. No doubt tomorrow after my work out in the gym today I will be suffering! The one thing that I have always had a problem with when I have dieted before is the exercise part of it, and I have been saying for years that I need to get myself to a gym regularly. It is definately much easier to say it than actually do it. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

On Monday I was 17 stone 8 pounds, and this morning I am 17 stone 2 pounds. So not bad to lose 6 pounds in 3 days. This is all down to just eating scrambled egg for breakfast, a salad for lunch and a low carb meal in the evening. I haven’t found either that I am hungry between meals which is good as that always gets me. I plan to stick to this for a few weeks now.

The lowest I have been this year is 17 stone 1 pound which was a few weeks ago. I was so close to getting below the 17 stone mark and being 16 stone something. My target weight is still 15 stone, and I started the year at being 18 stone. We are nearly 4 months into the year and I am happy with my achievements. I am not too happy about the yo-yo dieting that I have been doing but I am having to fit the dieting in with work, travelling around the world, socialising and family life.

Now I better explain that in the last month or so I have fallen off the diet wagon as it were. It probably started to go a bit wonky once I had been to New York on business and since then I haven’t really got back into the Paul McKenna diet. I did for a couple of weeks combine the Atkins with the Paul McKenna diet which worked well taking me down to 17 stone 1 pound. I was so determined to get below 17 stone but couldn’t quite make it. Anyway I am now at 17 stone 5 pounds and have been like this for a few weeks now.

Anyway, back to the dreaded Mcdonalds…. which to be quite honest I never really enjoy, but there is just something about them. So the Monopoly game… the guys who work for me started going to get Mcdonalds for lunch to collect the stickers to try to have a big win… £100,000, a car, a plasma tv, an iPod etc. One day I didn’t have time to go and get any lunch myself so ended up getting one of the lads to get me a Mcdonalds. So I now have my Mcdonalds and some of my own Monopoly stickers… so I have to try to win myself don’t I??

In the last 2 weeks I have probably had about 4 Mcdonalds… one time it was at a weekend with the kids so does that count? Hmmmm!! Anyway needless to say I haven’t won anything, none of us have. We all have nearly full boards… just missing one for each block such as Old Kent Road, Northumberland Avenue. Strand, Bond Street and of course Mayfair… just like everyone else who has bought into the scam! So Mcdonalds have a lot to answer for sucking me in to the whole big win scheme that tempts you to buy more Mcdonalds.

On Saturday I did have a blow out though when the company went on a night out to a local village. They were holding a horse racing night in support of the local cricket club. It was the sort of fun night where lots of beer is drunk and you bet on wooden horses who move across a board on the turn of a card. A bit difficult to explain but I did well out of the evening backing 6 winners out of the eight races and when the company bought a racehorse in the last race it romped home in first. The downside of the evening was that the Atkins diet was blown out of the window, with lots of beer drunk, crisps and the traditional pie and pea supper. (for those not familiar its a pork pie with mushy peas – delicious!)

So since I had slightly fallen off the wagon on Saturday and on Sunday I felt a little worse for wear, as the evening carried on into the early hours with an Xbox contest with the guys from work at my house, I decided to have a day off the Atkins diet. The highlights of the day were bread, mashed potato and chocolate pudding and custard…yum! Yesterday (Monday) was a day more in control of my food…normal breakfast, sensible lunch and no evening meal as I was doing my radio show and didn’t feel particularly hungry. I think because I have done the Paul McKenna diet for a while now, and I am used to the Atkins diet I am now sort of combining the two, which seems to be working, as when I got on the scales this morning I was down to 17 stone 1 pound. That last one pound is all important as I haven’t been below 17 stone for over a year now I think. I certainly haven’t been this weight for a long time and my favourite jeans that have been comfortable on me for ages and now starting to slip off me.

When I got back from New York I had only put on a pound from my previous loss so was back up to 17 stone 7 pounds. But I am guessing that last week I had put on a bit more, especially due to the amount of Hershey chocolates I was eating. I just felt really bloated again. So the good news is though that this morning I stepped onto my new scales and I am down to 17 stone 3 pounds. (and yes I did check my weight on both sets of scales so I that knew that it wasn’t just faulty new ones!)

This is so good…talk about motivating! In 3 days I have lost at least 4 pounds. I know that quite a lot of this initial fast weight loss tends to be fluid, but still I am heading to that 17 stone mark. Once I get below that there will be nothing stopping me reaching 16 stone and so on.

I am very pleased really with my overall progress since the start of the Paul McKenna experience back on the 9th January and so far have lost 11 pounds. I also know that if I really push hard at the diet I will be able to lose more over time. I think for me this boost on the Atkins diet is what I needed to get me going again…and who can say no to bacon and egg for breakfast each morning!