What is orlistat?

The best time to take Prolistat or Xenical is at meal times. The simplest way to do it is to have your three doses with your main meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can take it just before food, with your meal or up to one hour afterwards.

To get the best results from orlistat, take it with food. The meal that you eat has to meet certain criteria for the medication to work. You’ll have to follow a low fat diet, but it’s important your meal does contain a little essential fat. If you’re eating a meal that has no fat in it at all, then it’s best not to take your tablet, as it won’t work.

If you follow the right diet, and take it as you’ve been prescribed to, you should find that Xenical and Prolistat start to work pretty fast - you could start to see results after two weeks.

How long you take orlistat for depends on your weight loss goals and how long it takes you to reach them. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t take orlistat for longer than three months, as if you haven’t achieved your weight-loss goals within this time, you should perhaps consider using alternative methods. You should also stop taking orlistat if you’ve reached a healthy weight.