While the media and many bloggers have focused much of their attention on alli's potential treatment effects, consumers who are actually using the product take a different view.

They say that treatment effects act as a deterrent or a reminder NOT to eat fatty foods. We know this anecdotally from alliFirst Team members as well as from a new study presented at the recent annual meeting of NAASO (aka The Obesity Society). Download PDF of study poster.

The study found that fewer than five percent of users stopped taking alli because of treatment effects and that, in fact, potential side effects were viewed by many as a positive feedback tool.

Caryn Eyring, the alliFirst member featured in People Magazine (after losing 21 pounds), attended The Obesity Society Annual meeting in New Orleans. She said in an interview:

“I had a treatment effect once when I ate too much fat at a meal. I just got right back on the diet. There is no way that a little treatment effect was going to stop me from doing what’s working for me. alli is like a little reminder, sitting on my shoulder, telling me to stick to the plan.”

- Quote from Caryn Eyring, an alliFirst Team member from New York who has now lost 30 pounds.

In the interest of full disclosure (you knew we'd say this)... Caryn's weight loss results and experiences may not be typical of all users.

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. 

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.

In a two-minute video segment on CNBC, pharmaceuticals reporter Mike Huckman throws the fat - literally - on the table. I.e. one of those lumps of plastic fat.

He talks about alli's educational approach to marketing and tells listeners about our new are you losing it? book on sale now.  (You'll find it in retailers like CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, etc.).

Of course, after interviewing me, he just can't help making fun of how alli works. Oops...