Fat, be gone!
The fat blocker
Orlistat, a.k.a. Xenical, came onto the Canadian market in 1999 and is still the No. 1 prescribed weight-loss drug. It works by preventing the body from absorbing fat in the intestine, and as long as you follow a low-fat diet, it can eliminate about 150 calories from fat from the food you eat each day. Small potatoes, really, considering you need to cut back 500 calories a day, or roughly 3,500 calories a week, to lose two pounds.
Also, Orlistat comes with more severe potential side-effects, including oily stool, anal leakage, gas and bloating, and is widely criticized, including by Rosie Schwartz, a registered dietician from Toronto, and by Padwal. They believe the drug causes malabsorption of important fat-soluble vitamins.
Orlistat is also the most expensive prescription drug, at $80 to $100 per month plus a dispensing fee. Your doctor is the best person to decide whether this drug is good for you. A lower-dose version of Orlistat has received conditional approval for over-the-counter sale in the U.S., so it's just a matter of time before it's available here.
Energy burners
Watch out for supplements claiming to boost your metabolism or help you burn more calories, such as bitter orange. Stimulants, which work on the central nervous system to speed up your metabolism, can be addictive, and often come with dangerous side-effects. Plus, cautions Lau, it is important to remember that any weight you lose on a supplement is mainly water, not fat.
You may recall some buzz about ephedra, an alkaloid plant compound that, combined with caffeine in weight-loss products, was banned in Canada in 2002 after 60 adverse events, including strokes and seizures, were reported (although it is still available in decongestants). The drug caused almost 20 deaths in the U.S. in the late 1990s.
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