7 Ways to Spot a Weight Loss Scam

Where can I buy Lo Mar Fat reducing soap?

I disagree with internet as a dodgy sales medium. There are plenty of good products sold on the net although I agree in that it's wise to be cautious and buy through trusted sites or trusted 3rd parties like clickbank for e-books.

Cheers
~Mike.

The Internet is without a doubt the wild, wild west of marketing and sales; anybody can attempt to sell anything to anybody out here, and there isn't very much anybody can do about it. The flood of male enhancement emails that continues unabated is a prime example.

Your point on only buying from trusted sites is rock solid, but claiming the internet is not the great playground of the scam artist is a bit naive.

I feel sorry for people who buy into scams.

My mom was a nurse for twenty years, she's now a teacher, she has her master's degree for goodness sake! She's no dummy. Yet she's got a "medically proven" cream in the bathroom that promises to..."remove hunger and fat" by rubbing it on your very-anatomically-correct-sounding "tummy". She's too smart for that crap, but there ya go.

Alchemyguy said:
Your point on only buying from trusted sites is rock solid, but claiming the internet is not the great playground of the scam artist is a bit naive.[...]

I assume you're talking to me :-) Well not naive, just not very clear. We agree for sure... loads of dodgy scams on the net for sure but also genuinely good products. I love the convenience and efficiency of buying on the net. Also, quality ebooks are fantastic for research because of the search tool in adobe reader.

Cheers
~Mike

Alot of scams out there, but theres some good guides out there like fat loss 4 idiots etc.

Guys do not starve yourself, your only setting yourself up to gain more weight back when you start eating again. Your body thinks your starving and builds extra fat to prepare for the next time this happens.

You need to eat many small meals per day to lose weight, theres actually a new guide that has helped alot of people if you wanna check it out. Its at http://www.fatlosshelpplan.blogspot.com

Hope this helps, later

Thanks for the tips. I'm in the midst of a weight loss bet so I'm looking for any pointers. 20lbs in 2 months. http://stockfield.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/the-bet-weight-loss-versus-weight-gain/

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I feel bad for people that buy into those gimmicky products to lose weight. I was working out early in the morning on my elliptical machine the other day and of course, the only shows on were infomercials. I saw one for a diet shake that claimed that you would lose "a pound a day!" if you bought this stuff. They had a woman on there that claimed that she lost a pound a day on it and went from a weight of 324 lbs to 160. However, at the very bottom of the screen, there was the following fine print: "Patient lost weight by combining the shake with gastric bypass surgery". So there you go, she had bariatric surgery...I'm pretty sure THAT was what was making her lose a pound a day and not the shakes. It's pretty crazy what companies sell and how they can get away with it.

I think Brittany has a point though. A lot of very intelligent people buy weight loss products that are just plain ridiculous. It just goes to show how desperate a lot of us are to lose weight ASAP, even though the methods are sketchy.

Skepticism and critical thinking are soooo important in all aspects of life. The internet can be a great tool, but if you don't have the critical thinking skills it's difficult to filter the good information from the bad.
Even highly intelligent people can make mistakes if they lack the ability to think critically and realise they too can be fooled. It can be especially difficult for people who are well educated to realise this. Their brain goes, "This sounds great, I want to believe this." Then it jumps through all kinds of hoops, rationalising the choice to believe in it because, since they are not a stupid person, it must be a smart choice.

Passion for Health said:
I assume you're talking to me :-) Well not naive, just not very clear. We agree for sure... loads of dodgy scams on the net for sure but also genuinely good products. I love the convenience and efficiency of buying on the net. Also, quality ebooks are fantastic for research because of the search tool in adobe reader.[...]

I suppose naive was a bit strong...

I do fantastic amounts of shopping on the internet, and use it for most of my diet/fitness related research. The trick is to be the guy that questions everything; never believe anybody without sources or that you can't independently verify.

Alchemyguy said:
The trick is to be the guy that questions everything[...]

Totally... I used to drive my parents nuts with questions as a kid! ahahah

Alchemyguy said:
never believe anybody without sources or that you can't independently verify.[...]

We use clickbank to sell our ebook and the buyer gets loads of protection from that. For products I always go with the trusted big names like amazon.

Another thought--don't credit cards give you a lot of protection anyway as a consumer? I've never asked for money back from the credit card company but I think you can get money back from them if things go pear shaped.

Cheers
Mike.

I joined LA weight loss almost 4 weeks ago. I travel 25 miles one-way. I'm a senior citizen and money is very scarce, but they got me on Care Credit and I pay every month. They helped me with 2-days meal planning and I have asked them to help me with the rest of my meal planning so I could lose my 30 pounds for health reasons. I have complanned to them that I need help, but all I get is what kind of la lite do you want and they weight me and that's it. I don't know what to do after 10 weeks of the lites what do I eat in place of them. I don't think I will be going back to them, I paid them to do a job and I was the one that is doing it.

I went on bean diet and lost 30 pounds. I love beans and I eat a lot them. Can anyone tell me why my wife won't sleep in the same room?

What? What? I am waiting for my free sample of Hoodia as we speak. You mean it doesn't work?
Hmmmph imagine that!

Does anyone know of (first hand experience only please) a weight loss regime or product that really works? Let me know if you do please.

The most intelligent book I've ever seen on this subject is called "Fit For Life" by Diamond.

The first half of the book describes what causes your body to stay fat and sick and just plain unhealthy, then explains how you can correct it.

Then the second half gives you recipes to help you follow their plan.

I tried it for a while, and it really works! No supplements or "special" products to buy - you just shop at your local grocery, and make more reasonable purchases.

Check it out if you're serious about getting physically fit for the rest of your life.