First steps
for effective weight loss

When do I start? How many calories should I cut? How much fat is OK? These tips will help you make a good start with your diet, so that you can finally lose weight.

Starting your diet: Choose a suitable time

There is probably never a perfect time for a diet. However, it is usually not a good time to start during the Christmas season or before an upcoming family celebration. Often, in such situations, it tends to lead to frustration rather than energy and well-being. The start date for a diet must therefore be chosen wisely. However, one thing is clear: Don’t wait too long for the “perfect” time – otherwise you might miss it. The following tips can help you avoid problems at the start.

Name a specific day for your “official” starting date. Involve your family and friends in your plans too. This creates commitment and motivation – because nothing is as frustrating as a half-hearted diet attempt that stops after a short period of time.

A weekend without appointments and responsibilities is best – so you can start your diet calmly and experience the effects of Orlistat HEXAL® 60 mg.

Start a calorie- and fat-reduced diet a few days before taking the first capsule. This way, you and your body can gradually get used to your new eating habits.

info

Tip: Record your food intake – either on an app or in paper form – and note each day what, how much and when you eat. If you also write down your drinks and snacks, you will find it easier to stay on top of things. In addition, the notes will help you to recognise bad habits and small dietary sins and how to address them.

You can find additional tips on monitoring motivation and success here.

Set your diet target

Set a specific goal for your weight loss. A weight loss of 5 to 10% of your starting weight is realistic. Try to reduce your weight gradually and continuously by approximately 1/2 kg per week – this is healthy and ambitious, but still realistically achievable.

Weight loss can fluctuate from week to week. So don’t despair, if the scales don’t show the desired weight – next week it could all look totally different. More on the topic of monitoring success

Reduce calorie intake

In order to achieve your diet target, you should decide beforehand how many calories to eat every day. A daily reduction in energy intake by 500 kilocalories (kcal) is often sufficient to achieve long-term weight loss success. This amount of calories is contained approximately in 1 chocolate bar, 150 grams of gummy bears or a large hamburger.

These foods contain approximately 500 kcal

150 g gummy bears

150 g gummy bears

1 chocolate bar

1 chocolate bar

100 g crisps

100 g crisps

2 Bavarian veal sausages

2 Bavarian veal sausages

1,1 litre cola

1,1 litre cola

1 large hamburger

1 large hamburger

1 sausage in a roll

1 sausage in a roll

100 g granola

100 g granola

100 g mayonnaise (50 % fat)

100 g mayonnaise (50 % fat)

info

Good to know: The abbreviation “kcal” stands for kilocalories. A kilocalorie equals 1,000 calories. The term calorie is generally used in common language and in many diet guides, even though it actually refers to kilocalories. Scientists use the internationally recognised unit joule (J) or kilojoule (Kj). Therefore 1 kcal corresponds to approximately 4.2 Kj.

Anyone consuming only 500 kcal less on a daily basis can achieve long-lasting success when losing weight.

The following table allows you to work out the maximum amount of calories you should ingest per day. The calorie amount is approximately 500 kcal below the amount at which you would maintain your current weight. Important: An intake of less than 1,200 kcal per day is not recommended.

Table: Calorie intake per day

Women

Low level of physical activityUnder 68.1 kg1,200 kcal
68.1 kg - 74.7 kg1,400 kcal
74.8 kg - 83.9 kg1,600 kcal
Over 84.0 kg1,800 kcal
Average level of physical activityUnder 61.2 kg1,400 kcal
61.3 kg - 65.7 kg1,600 kcal
Over 65.8 kg1,800 kcal

Men

Low level of physical activityUnder 65.7 kg1,400 kcal
65.8 kg - 70.2 kg1,600 kcal
Over 70.3 kg1,800 kcal
Average level of physical activityOver 59.01,800 kcal

Low physical activity: e.g. office work, simple housework.
Average physical activity: e.g. walking 3 km, running 2 km in 15 minutes or 30 to 45 minutes gardening.

Limiting fat intake

While taking Orlistat HEXAL® 60 mg, make sure you eat a low-fat diet. How much fat you should consume depends on the recommended calorie intake, which is derived from the following table. If you consume a total of 1,400 kcal daily distributed into three meals, the recommended fat intake is 15 g per main meal. Small snacks should not contain more than 3 g of fat altogether.

Table: Fat intake per meal

Recommended daily calorie intakeMaximum fat percentage per mealMaximum fat percentage in snacks per day
1,200 kcal12 g3 g
1,400 kcal15 g3 g
1,600 kcal17 g3 g
1,800 kcal19 g3 g

If you wish to skip a meal completely, this is still possible while taking Orlistat HEXAL® 60 mg – in this case, simply don’t take a capsule either.

How much fat is hidden here?

Sahnejoghurt

1 cup of Greek yoghurt:
15 g fat

Croissant

1 croissant:
17 g fat

Salami

30 g salami:
9 g fat

Chips

50 g crisps:
20 g fat

Spaghetti Carbonara

250 g spaghetti carbonara:
45 g fat

Pommes frites

200 g chips:
29 g fat

info

Good to know: When taking Orlistat HEXAL® 60 mg, dietary side effects (e.g. bloating, sudden urge to bowel movement) may occur. This is related to the mechanism of action of the capsules, which cause more fat than usual to be excreted from the body. If these side effects occur, this can be a sign that you have ingested more fat than you should.

Get more exercise

In order to lose those annoying extra pounds, you should not only change your diet, but also increase your exercise. If you are physically active, you will kill two birds with one stone: On the one hand, you consume calories by walking, climbing stairs, jogging or swimming – so you can compensate for one or more nutritional sins or even achieve an energy deficit (which means using more calories than you consume). In addition, targeted training also creates muscle mass. This supports losing weight because muscles have high levels of energy consumption – in fact, they even burn calories while you are resting. Thus, increase your activity level by ensuring more movement on a daily basis.

You might also be interested to know:

Lose weight more effectively with Orlistat HEXAL® 60 mg:
Lose up to 50% more weight than with a diet alone

Orlistat HEXAL® 60 mg

The medicine with the triple effect

  1. Reduces fat absorption from foods by approximately one quarter
  2. Decreases calorie intake
  3. Accelerates the diet effect

info Orlistat is the only active substance recommended as supporting treatment for obesity.1