Expanding your family with a new baby is usually a joyous time. For alli user Laura Lee Mills, something was different with baby number three. At 27 years-old, Laura Lee felt like the fat friend at a party and started alli the next day.

"I didn't have any treatment effects. It's really as hard as you make it. If you stick to the diet you'll be fine," she said to me over an alli-friendly lunch. Laura has lost 48 pounds with alli, and has traded her size 15 pants for a size five. She says life has gotten easier.

"I can play with my kids now, and I feel good about it," she said. 

Laura Lee's story is included in the digital version of the free we lost it book or on the new allicircles community. If you haven't been to the allicircles, it has many new features including a tool to create your own circle of friends within the community. 

Oh, and the lawyer reminded me to add that Laura Lee's weight loss results and experiences may not be typical of all users.

A usual trip to the pharmacy goes a little like this. Walk in, go to the counter, and hand in the prescription. Wait 10, maybe 15 minutes. Pay for your script, grab the bag.  Next, out the door and start thinking about dinner. Pretty typical, right?

Surprisingly, yes. The 2008 Parata Prescription Survey of the nation's 225 million prescription-takers found 80% of people spend less than two minutes talking to their pharmacist when they pick up their prescriptions and 45 percent don't talk to pharmacists at all.

Your pharmacist can be a great source of information.  They can:

• Determine if you are taking your medicine correctly.
• Counsel on potential drug interactions, preventing overdose and unwanted side effects.
• Provide prescription and nonprescription medicine information.  For example, when we launched alli, many pharmacists received resources that included information relevant to the alli program.

So the next time you go to the pharmacist, ask questions. Remember a pharmacist is the most accessible health care professional in America.

As the book says, "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus." This is no different for weight loss.  Generally speaking, men and women approach weight loss differently and have different favorite foods. 

But, can men eat hearty and still eat healthy?  Yes. In fact, this is one of the questions included in the American Dietetic Association's Men's Health: Fact vs. Fiction guide.  You can eat healthy and still have some steak, potatoes and eggs. 

Pat Baird, RD and moderator for the alli message board adds, "Whether it's steak or chocolate there IS a place for all foods in a healthy diet. Choose foods wisely, enjoy them in moderation, and include foods from ALL the food groups. Then smaller portions are realistic."

And for those interested, the picture above is from the Healthy Eating Guide, a book in the alli starter pack. You can find it in the 1600 calorie Heartland menu. 

As part of National Nutrition Month, the American Dietetic Association provides lots of information on their site, including an interactive quiz and games.  I also wanted to share some tips provided by Lisa Jones, MA, RD, LDN. She's a dietician with the American Dietetic Association, with 14 years of experience.  She recommends:

• If portions are confusing, try drawing them. Sketch an 8-inch plate, cut it in half, and then cut the left side in half again. The right side should be veggies, and the left side should be a protein serving the size of your palm with a starch like rice or pasta.
• Stop staring at food labels, just check the ingredient list. "If it's not in the first five ingredients there's probably not enough of it to make a difference." The healthy stuff, that is.
• For help understanding how to personalize the food pyramid, visit MyPyramid.gov and use the Menu Planner tool.

How much thought do you really put into your food before putting it on your plate? These resources are available to support your efforts during National Nutrition Month & beyond. 

Just to introduce myself, I'm Cynthia Levy, the newest writer to the blog.  One of my first tasks for the site was to sit down and talk about health issues with Dr. Valentine Burroughs, of Saint Francis Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. 

It's a fact that nearly 70 percent of African American adults are either overweight or obese and 13 percent have diabetes. So, the statistics are laid out, but how can they be changed?

While there is no magic bullet to weight loss, Dr. Burroughs has a few ideas on how African Americans can begin to address some of the habits that lead to unhealthy living.

1. Because African Americans tend to perceive weight loss differently, Dr. Burroughs said it's best to measure yourself using BMI (body mass index), which takes into account height and build. Doctors prefer this method, and it can be used by everyone.
2. Common myths about dieting in the African American community are it can't be achieved and is difficult to do. Instead, Dr. Burroughs believes dieting is negotiable. By keeping food diaries and exercising, dieting can prove flexible.
3. "Learn how to say no for yourself," Dr. Burroughs said. Rather than looking to cultural norms or celebrities to define a healthy lifestyle, he said African Americans need to look inside. "Give up the remote, go outside and walk, take a realistic look at you."

He also emphasized portion control-yes, even when enjoying soul food. During our conversation, Dr. Burroughs and I talked a lot about the effect cultural norms have on healthy living.  Personally, in my family curvy women are admired-even when you're too curvy.  And because of this I've never felt pressure to be a size two. 

So the question is how do we keep positive cultural norms in place, while encouraging healthy living?

 Dr. Burroughs is a paid consultant on behalf of GSK, but his opinions are his own.

It's no big story that many African Americans struggle with health issues.  Hypertension, stroke, heart disease, in many cases these problems are linked to obesity in our community.

Here are some other cultural issues that impact us:

• Our culture has its own perceptions of body weight
• Our diet and activity habits cause disproportionate rates of diabetes
• While soul food is great, it tends to be fattening even when it doesn't have to be

So, these are the issues. But there's good news.

During Black History Month, we will focus on some of these issues. We'll be posting some tips from a leading health expert and sharing the experience of an African American taking on the weight loss challenge.

And feel free to post your own stories, questions or comments.

Today is Valentine's Day, and, if you didn't know it, February is American Heart Month.  Two great reasons to think about your heart, and the hearts of those closest to you.

As the alli calendar from Vogue Magazine (download it here) states: "do something good for your heart and for the one closest to it.  Take a long walk with your valentine."

It may not be practical for everyone to take a walk with your valentine mid-February, but you get the idea.  How can you make your February more heart healthy?

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.

I had a great time at the alli booth at Team Prevention Walk it! Philadelphia with Pat Baird, RD, one of the myalli.com experts. Pat was representing alli as a sponsor of the event. She was providing healthy eating and weight loss tips, as well as education about alli, to those who stopped by. I wanted to share a story from the event:

An alli user approached Pat at the alli booth. She said she had lost 38 pounds thus far which gave her the confidence to complete her first race, an 8K, that weekend. She told Pat she was excited about approaching Thanksgiving and the holidays with a new outlook, as she now knows she can cook and eat healthy, watch portions and not cheat.

As she put it: "Let's face it, the first two mouthfuls are the best anyway, and who needs more after that?"

Holidays, food and eating are a part of all of our lives as the year ends. I can point you to holiday tips on the alli Web site where it guides you to eat until you're satisfied, not full. But I also wanted to share this weight loss journey story and the "two bites" tip with you. Whether it's chocolate chip cookies or stuffing, I think it's one that really resonates.

And again, in the interest of full disclosure, this user's weight loss results and experiences may not be typical of all alli users.

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?