Scary Alli

New Year's resolutions are in full swing, and judging from the uptick in sweaty bodies I see at the gym, a popular one seems to be the common, yet ambiguous, resolution: "Lose Weight." Knowing this, fitness clubs, ab-ercizers, and diet pills are throwing plenty of cash at television media this month.

One commercial I'm seeing over and over again is for Alli, the new weight loss supplement. There was a frenzy about this pill when it was released last year, the hook for it being that it is the first FDA approved weight-loss pill, and the over-the-counter version of the prescription drug, Xenical. It works by blocking 25% of the fat that you eat, and promises to help with a moderate level of weight loss.

The downside however, is being discussed fervently on Alli online forums. This MSNBC article details the explosive repercussions of not obeying the rule of ingesting less than 42 grams of fat a day while on the drug. In short, make sure you have a change of pants ready. One poster who didn't know how to obey the drug or the 'TMI' rule typed, “I’ve pooped my pants 3 times today, and sorry to get descriptive but it even leaked onto the couch at one point!” Thanks for sharing, friendo!

Thinking about it more, however, I'm not sure if this is the worst side effect in the world. If I knew that eating that double-chocolate oreo brownie was going to cause me to leave a snail trail to my cubicle, I sure as hell would be anal about what I ate (rimshot!) (Forgive the double pun.)

I'm sure there's a segment of the population that would not be deterred from cheating. I've heard of people who undergo gastric bypass surgery, only to grind up cheeseburgers into shakes and drink them down. For those hardcore eaters, alittle brown derby in the shorts isn't going to stop their Big Mac attacks.

Check out the full Alli side effects article here.