# Weight Loss Scams: The Battle of the Bulge



## SifuPhil (May 9, 2013)

There are hundreds of weight-loss plans and gizmos on today's market. Some of them are genuine in their promise of weight loss, as long as you put in the necessary hours of sweat and toil. Some, although sincere  in their promise, are flawed in their design - think of the more complicated machines that are often sold that break before the first pound is shed. 

Then there are others that are  blatantly, outright fake. 

Analysts predict that the cost to dieters desperate to lose weight  will reach $35 billion a year in the United States alone. While  the cost is rising, increasing numbers of people are becoming obese.  Hyperactive salespeople advertise their diet plans that claim huge weight loss in very  little time. Dieters who are obese and are desperate to lose weight  join these programs and try the products. 

Some lose weight, but almost all regain the weight they lost. Shows on  cable TV with over-zealous salespeople who promise that you can  lose all the weight you want while you eat everything you want are  outright lies and should not to be believed. 

Everyone wants a quick weight loss cure, but there is no easy path. It  doesn’t matter what they are trying to sell you, whether they are trying  to sell you fat absorbers, fat burners or cellulite pills; it’s all a  great scam that will have them collecting millions of dollars and leaving the  dieter with nothing.

Every year, new weight-loss books appear on the bookshelves, and magazines run thousands of articles on the subject. 

Millions of people have proven that it is easier to gain weight than to lose it. 

It has been proven time and time again that weight-loss attempts by  following weight-loss diet plans may succeed for a short time but  experts feel that dieter are setting themselves up for failure. There is  no such thing as rapid weight-loss diets. None of the weight-loss plans shown on television have had any proven long-term results. In  the end, experts believe that using common sense will result in a  healthier dieting experience. 

Weight-loss experts all agree that it is impossible to sustain weight-loss through such rapid methods: a well-balanced diet and exercise is essential. 

The medical community, food industry, dietitians, government health agencies and  diet businesses are all watching helplessly as Americans continue to  consume excessive amounts of food and become increasingly obese. Because  of this epidemic of obesity there has been an increase in heart disease,  diabetes, and several other weight-related health issues. 

It is widely known that there are weight-loss  plans and programs that will prey on the overweight and obese, knowing  what their insecurities are and taking advantage of them. 

Experts warn consumers who are considering a weight-loss program that they should  do research on the subject, speak to their physician or seek out  reputable companies and fitness centers that have knowledgeable staff  members who can answer any questions they may have, and not to simply fall prey to the diet-loss hucksters.


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## Ozarkgal (May 9, 2013)

Weight loss is not rocket science...a eat less, exercise, lose weight..willpower and bad habits are the all elusive deal busters though.  I am empathetic with overweight people who try one thing after another with little success. Now that we have about run the gamut of groups that we cannot discriminate against, overweight people are next on the list for haters.

I see where Governor Christie recently had a lap band operation.  I wish him luck with that.


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## SifuPhil (May 9, 2013)

I think these programs can also be an addiction in and of themselves. Like me with the Internet Marketing schemes - I can't resist checking out the latest ones, even though I KNOW they're all full of B.S.

I used to have a lot of people coming to my T'ai-Chi classes, asking if it would help them lose weight. These weren't just your average everyday American, toting around a few extra pounds on their belly / hips, either - these were morbidly obese folks. Now, maybe it's because they didn't know what T'ai-Chi was, or never saw a class going through its paces ... but until you get to the higher levels of practice, the typical class has less movement than a group of redwoods.

I would just smile and refer them to the Atkins group next door.


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## Ozarkgal (May 9, 2013)

I have had friend and many acquaintances who have tried all the different diet fads that worked wonderfully, for a short time.  All seem to end up with the weight back, plus some.  Yo-yo dieting is much harder on the body than being overweight, I've heard.


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## SifuPhil (May 9, 2013)

I think that's right, because the body doesn't get a chance to "settle into" one specific weight range. You were right about the ONLY way to lose weight AND keep it off - you have to change your eating habits and you have to burn more calories than you take in. It's simple, but it's difficult. That's why everyone wants to find a magic bullet ... they don't want to do the work.


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## That Guy (May 9, 2013)

Yep.  Although there are exceptions, healthy eating and exercise will have us all struttin' our stuff in string bikinis this summer . . . 

Then, again, I've seen miraculous weight lose success with meth, coke and heroin.


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## SifuPhil (May 9, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Yep.  Although there are exceptions, healthy eating and exercise will have us all struttin' our stuff in string bikinis this summer . . .



Wait - let me rephrase my last comment! 



> Then, again, I've seen miraculous weight lose success with meth, coke and heroin.



Very true!

... which is NOT something that _weed_ is any good at - any Twinkies within a half-mile are at risk ... 

But given a choice between the two? I'd rather be Mr. Jabba The Hut than Mr. Skinanbones.


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## That Guy (May 9, 2013)

The sight of those strung-out skeletons is beyond disturbing.

Remember way back when doctors were prescribing "pep pills" as weight loss supplements?  Great.  Just great...


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## Lyn (May 9, 2013)

Oh crap, you mean that stuff you shake on your food and eat just like always and never exercise is not going to work?  You guys are such skeptics.


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## SeaBreeze (May 9, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Yep.  Although there are exceptions, healthy eating and exercise will have us all struttin' our stuff in string bikinis this summer . . .



I always did picture you as a thong man, TG (and I'm not talkin' flip-flops)! :topsy_turvy:


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## SifuPhil (May 9, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> I always did picture you as a thong man, TG (and I'm not talkin' flip-flops)! :topsy_turvy:



Wow.

...

I'm going to go back to abusing the cat now ... 

Or as the clocks on the Brazilian beaches all go, "Thong ... Thong ... Thong ..."


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## That Guy (May 9, 2013)

Damn.  Saw that comin' and walked right into it anyway.  No thong for This Guy.  Looks really uncomfortable...


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## Anne (May 11, 2013)

Lyn said:


> Oh crap, you mean that stuff you shake on your food and eat just like always and never exercise is not going to work?  You guys are such skeptics.



Whaaa....??  Lyn, you mean that doesn't work???


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## SeaBreeze (May 11, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Damn. Saw that comin' and walked right into it anyway. No thong for This Guy. Looks really uncomfortable...



What HE said!


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## SifuPhil (May 11, 2013)

The latest scam I've seen going is on TV - Okinawa Life, a diet pill that claims to mimic the dietary values of one of the longest-lived and healthiest populations on Earth.

So yeah, okay - it's true that Okinawans live long and healthy lives. Statistically, that's true. Their diet consists largely of soy and legumes, sweet potatoes and very little rice or fish, as opposed to the majority of Japanese culture. 

Or, more precisely, their diet USED to consist of that type of food.

Since the mid- to late-sixties their diet has slowly assumed more of a Western flavor (pun intended) - their fat intake has risen from 10% to 27% on average, and they're eating much more rice and bread in lieu of sweet potatoes.

So that's half-truth #1.

#2 is the constituents of the pills themselves. Their version of soy products is soy isoflavone, usually naturally occurring in soy beans, but the origin of these isoflavones is in question, as is their effect on any but an Oriental population.

Zedoary is an herb that supposedly helps digestion, commonly known as White Tumeric. Although Okinawa Life claims the aid to digestion, no studies that I could find have indicated this property.

Lastly, Goya, a bitter melon and a chief component of Okinawan fare when mixed with tofu and meat. Okinawa Life calls it the "nutritional king" of Okinawan diets, but unless it is mixed with the tofu and meat its benefits are questionable.

Of course, you also have other "inert" ingredients -   rice syrup, sweet potato powder, corn starch, soybean fiber, tuna fish oil and milk(?). They're inert, all right - and make up probably the majority of each pill, since the Daily Recommended Amounts of the "active" ingredients haven't been established scientifically.

So once again you're buying a pig in a poke, a supposed nutritional supplement that will allow you to live to over 100 and do jumping jacks all the way. The reality is, I'm quite sure, very far from that. 

Price? After your first free 30-day trial bottle you'll be put on AutoPay for $34.95 a month for a bottle of 150 pills (5 per day). Not the MOST expensive snake-oil I've ever seen but not the cheapest, either. 

*Let The Buyer Beware! *


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