"For women, clothing matters. How she is dressed when she walks into an interview affects her self-esteem, confidence and her power as a woman," said Joi Gordon, CEO for Dress for Success Worldwide (DFS), a global non-profit organization that provides work attire and career support to disadvantaged women. 

For this reason, we are encouraging those who lost weight to give their professional attire to the local DFS as they lose weight. So far, approximately 35,000 units of clothing have been donated through this campaign. 

Experts say keeping pre-weight loss clothes isn't good for your new healthy lifestyle, so why not donate them to a great cause? And, as part of the support, alli has also donated $75,000 to Dress for Success Worldwide to support its clients.

Visit allimillions.com to get more info on how you can donate your clothes or volunteer with DFS in your local community.

A few weeks ago, Joe wrote about the Make This Year Different event that was held from January 4-7 of this year.  The event was a free, four-day program that gave people the opportunity to engage with health care professionals who could help with weight loss questions.

People asked registered dietitians and pharmacists hundreds of questions.  Here are three of the top questions and answers.

1. How do you fit exercise into a busy schedule?  For example, when you work full-time, have kids, etc.  You don’t have to hit the gym or hire a personal trainer to make a real difference in your health. Studies show that moderate exercise—such as walking for 30 minutes every day—can reduce your risk for disease.
The great thing about exercise is its cumulative effect—you don’t have to do it all at once. You can add it to your activities throughout the day by sneaking in a little extra walking into the things you already do.

What's important is including activity regularly in your routine.  Start small and work your way up. Consistency is your goal.  Go to myalli.com for additional information.

2. Do high fiber foods help in weight loss?  Yes.  Adding lean protein and fiber to a diet, especially a low-fat diet, increase satiety.  Many times, high fiber foods are also lower calorie and are a good source of other nutrients.

3. Does alli work for men?  Yes, alli is for overweight women and men.  In fact, there is a message board forum dedicated to the guys on alli.

Even though the chat room and phone line have closed, videos from weight loss experts are still online through the end of January.  You can also continue to get advice from your local pharmacist.  You may not know this, but many pharmacists have earned certification as weight control counselors as part of their continuing education. 

Losing weight tops almost everyone's New Year's resolution list. And this year, for the first time, an FDA-approved weight loss product is available to help.

The alli team thought very carefully about how to structure a theme for this time of year while being consistent with the alli approach. To help guide our thinking, we commissioned a survey that asked 2,000 people their opinions about weight loss options and their past New Year's resolutions.

We found that three quarters (73 percent) of adults who plan to make a serious attempt to lose weight in 2008 agreed that receiving outside help from a dietitian, pharmacist or other healthcare professional would help them achieve their weight-loss goals. However, only a fraction (17 percent) of these adults said they would actually seek this level of support.

This was the foundation for our idea: a free, four-day program to give people the opportunity to engage with health care professionals who can help with weight loss.

Mark your calendar for Jan. 4 - 7, 2008 between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern daily

You may hear about Make This Year Different in our TV ads. Visit the site to find out more on how you can engage with a healthcare professional, even if you are not taking alli.

Here's what you can do as part of the event:

• Chat live with a registered dietitian or pharmacist January 4th - 7th from 10am-6pm


• Watch videos by weight loss experts


• Call 1-866-551-DIFFERENT for tips from weight loss experts


• Learn about GSK's partnerships with the American Dietetic Association and the American Pharmacists Association


• Lastly, learn how alli can help you lose more weight

Hope you'll tune in if you are overweight.  This can be your opportunity to make this year different and to seek expert advice from a registered dietitian or pharmacist.

Note: you do have to register for the chat sessions but it only takes a minute.

Colleen Laing, a blogger writing for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes that she picked up a copy of are you losing it? while waiting in line for a prescription.

Her biggest takeaway came from a quote on page 10 by Gary Foster, Ph.D., director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University. "Weight loss is about self care. It is about taking time for self care. It is about changing your attitude, your behavior and your lifestyle," says Dr. Foster. 

And, he weighs in on how to accomplish this: "Don't make time for yourself - take it! ... you are worth taking care of." As Colleen puts it:

Remember in the airplane when the flight attendant says "put your oxygen mask on first, then your child's." That's the idea here -- if you're not taking care of yourself, how can you take care of others? Burnout is on the horizon, temporarily staved-off by a few donuts, a couple frappuchinos [sic], a brownie here, a cookie there.

- Colleen Laing for the Seattle Post Intelligencer

As the book says, the big question isn't whether a weight loss program can change your life, but can YOU?

Welcome! alli is the only FDA-approved OTC (over the counter) weight loss product available for overweight adults. You've probably seen our advertising (check out our TV ads on YouTube). The goal of this blog is to have a two-way conversation about weight loss issues. We are going to challenge many people's notions about weight loss. And, we want you to challenge us in return. I encourage you to leave a comment below or on any other entry.

My oops experience...

I hope you'll stick with me - and our other contributing authors - and give us time to find our stride in the blogosphere.

alliFirst Team member Caryn Eyring (left) told People Magazine she's lost 21 pounds since she started taking alli in April, along with "cutting fat [and] doing yoga."

She's quoted in the July 9, 2007 issue of People (page 77) with a post-jail Paris Hilton on the cover. Caryn had one  "alli-oops" episode after eating a chicken with crispy noodles appetizer, according to People. alli, she says in the article, "is forcing me to eat healthier."

Yup, alli will punish cheaters if you don't stick to a low-fat diet. But isn't that the whole point... to encourage a healthier way of eating? As another alliFirst member, Paula Miguel, told People: "If I stopped taking alli today, I would still keep those new habits."

Oh and just a reminder that coverage of the alli program by People Magazine is not an endorsement. 

Arlene Weintraub of Business Week says that "lifestyle drugs are defined loosely as products used to treat conditions that are not life-threatening." She puts alli in that category. I disagree and here's why...

First, obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the U.S. Some claim it's the second leading cause of death, after smoking. Second, 65% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.

Given those rather surprising facts, here are two points to consider:

1. Even modest weight loss has been shown to result in meaningful improvements in health.

2. Weight loss programs like alli have been proven to make diet and exercise more effective.

One more point that we want to clarify: alli is intended for adults who are overweight and who need added help to reach their weight loss goals. They must also be comfortable with trying a gradual and healthy weight loss program.

It's not for people who are *not* overweight, and in fact, we have some controls in place that discourage underweight people from using the product. In addition, no one was underweight in our pre-launch study - which was open to any adult.

While it's still early in the launch of this new product, our latest research shows that it's being used by the people who need it most.

In fact, among over 46,000 alli buyers registering to date for the myalliplan, no one was underweight. 93% were either overweight or obese, with an average BMI of 32.

The remaining 7% were in the normal BMI range (18.5 to under 25). Reassuringly, they had weight loss goals that would keep them at a healthy weight. 

Despite news stories suggesting "skinny" people are buying alli, we see no evidence that they are.  But it is something we're on the look-out for, just in case - because skinny people don't need alli.

To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I've been working on the creation of alli, the first OTC, FDA-approved weight loss product, for over three years.

As of today you can find it on the shelf at your neighborhood pharmacy. Look for alli at participating grocery, pharmacy, and mass retailers and on-line websites. And expect to pay about $55 for the 90 count supply in the educational starter pack.

It's a clear plastic box which contains a month's worth of the capsules (60 mg orlistat capsules) as well as 7 pocket sized booklets and a funny looking blue carrying case we call the alli Shuttle. It holds a day's supply of alli and I like the way it feels. I can't stop rolling it around in my hand.

Some people say the curvy contour feels like a handshake. Fitting for a brand that's about partnership. 

You also get access to the online (free) individualized action plan at myalliplan. There you create your own micro-site to track your results and receive lessons and advice tailored to your situation, based on what you choose to share with us.

Note: The comments on this blog from the alliFirst Team are uniformly - unnervingly - passionate and positive about using the product. See here and here and here. Yup, I was a bit suspicious as you might be too. But the folks at GSK assure me the alliFirst members have not been coached on what to say. 

They're getting a good deal: a six-month supply of alli (worth about $300) as well as access to private online support communities.

Along with the chance to get up close and personal with the alli brand team. For anyone trying to lose weight, who wouldn't want to join the alliFirst Team?

I was curious how GSK chose the lucky 411 who got to try alli before it became available to the public this week. (You should be able to find alli on shelves tomorrow.)

The inside story on the alliFirst Team

Here's what I found out:

GSK asked Communispace, which runs private online communities (discussion groups), to send out email invitations to become an alliFirst member. A total of about 2000 email invites were sent out.   

463 people qualified to be alliFirst members (i.e. they were at least 15 pounds overweight and willing to commit to a low-fat diet and to an exercise program).

411 of those were selected to join the alliFirst team.

The pool of email invite recipients came from three sources:

- those who had visited QuestionEverything.com and indicated they were interested in learning more about alli

- those who answered the "are you ready?" questions affirmatively on myalli.com

- past members of Partners in Weight Loss (a GSK community for overweight women) who also said they were interested in trying alli when it became available

Typical profile of an alliFirst Team member

A typical member, the GSK folks tell me, is a white woman ages 30 - 39 who wants to lose 16 to 50 pounds. She has attended two to four years of college and her household income is between $50,000 and $100,000.

She has tried other weight loss programs in the past, is highly motivated and has agreed to the alli readiness questions.

Namely, she is willing to do the "hard work" to lose weight gradually, is committed to following a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet with an average of 15 grams of fat per meal AND...

understands that if she takes alli with a meal containing too much fat she may get treatment effects (that's GSK term for side effects) such as gas with oily spotting, loose stools and more frequent stools that may be hard to control.

Yup, these 411 alliFirst members appear to be a hardy group as well as super enthusiastic. Seems like a great marketing move on GSK's part.

You may be hearing from a select group of people who started using alli in April. We're calling them the alliFirst Team. They are 400 overweight adults - men and women - whom we recruited as eager volunteers to try the alli program.

Hundreds of clinical studies have been done on Orlistat, the active ingredient in alli - but we wanted to get some early feedback based on "the real world."  You may have seen comments about alli on other sites.  alliFirst members have set up their own online communities (on SparkPeople, for example) to share ideas and help each other. 

The alliFirst members have received many of the same educational tools that will be available this coming Friday when alli hits store shelves.  They've also received a six months supply of alli to compensate them for their advice - but their opinions are their own.

Read on for the invitation letter we sent to the alliFirst Team to come check out this blog.

Letter sent to alliFirst Team members

Dear alli First Team:

We would like to invite you to be among the first to visit our blog at alliConnect.com.  The alliConnect blog is a place to talk about weight loss with the alli brand team.  You are welcome to leave a comment, but you don't have to.

You should keep in mind that if your comment is published, it will appear on a public web page and will be seen by others.  So you should be careful about revealing too much personal information. 

However, we would like you to identify yourself as someone who is part of the alli First Team - a special group of consumers who are already using the alli weight control capsules and program.  And as always:

- express only your own opinion

- share only your own experiences; do not write about others on the team

- comment on what you know from personal experience; do not speculate or fabricate

- disclose that you have received product at no cost but that you are otherwise not compensated by GSK, the makers of alli

- be respectful and thoughtful; your comments will be read by many

We continue to value your insights, opinions, suggestions and appreciate your dedication to the alliFirst team.

Sincerely,

Karen L. Hill, Associate Brand Manager, Weight Control
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare