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By Peter Reyes
I gained weight through seasonal depression and my mood is somehow affected by sunlight. I eat to distract myself from my buried pain. I became isolated, my concentration level plummeted and food became my best friend.
Extra pounds had been creeping up slowly under my thick woollies... In sheer desperation to lose weight fast for spring, I was lured by quick fix solutions. If that sounds like you, you really need to know how to tell a diet scam.
Thousands of diet advertisements are everywhere. Infomercials sell gullible consumers hope and diet plans promise quick and weight loss results without dieting and exercising.
Some weight loss companies even offer you a money-
One helpful tip is to type the product name followed by the word 'scam' on google search box. This will reflect any reports made by people about a product or service not working or being a scam.
You also want to avoid any product, service or company that:
1. Claims to be a "secret" formula and look out for terms like "miracle", "scientific breakthrough", "secret formula" and "miraculous breakthrough" to describe their product. Products bearing these fraudulent claims are scams.
2. Marketed outside normal distribution channels or sold by unqualified person or through dubious mail order. Be aware that Internet is also widely being used to promote frauds. You cannot determine how good or legitimate a product is by how professional the website presents itself to the world. Legitimate products and services will have a physical address and phone number. When in doubt, stay away.
3. Promise rapid weight loss with deceptive product advertising such as 'lose 10 kilos in 10 days' or 'lose weight while you sleep'. Weight loss that is too rapidly is not sustainable and unhealthy. The best approach to sensible weight loss is about 2 pounds per week.
4. Claims to spot reduce or 'melt' fat or cellulite in specific parts of the body. Body fat is lost overall, not in a spot, and advertisements that claim otherwise are frauds.
5. Hawking bogus supplements that have no proven scientific evidence that it is actually effective. "Miracles" such as crab shells (chitosan), fat absorbers, fat burners, magic mushrooms, wonder bark from Brazil, magic cellulite pills, pyruvate, creatine, Garcinia Cambogia, green goop, Spirulina algae, powdered formulas, Guarana and teas do not live up to their miraculous claims.
6. Recommends the exclusive use of any type of gadget. This is totally ridiculous, I have seen friends wearing inserts in their shoes and wearing acupressure earrings that claimed to reduce hunger or a '"chocolate patch' designed to reduce cravings for chocolate, appetite suppressing eyeglasses and right now in Europe, mesotherapy is very popular for melting body fats away.
I believe in the adage "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". The cold, hard truth is losing weight takes time and consistent effort. There is no short cuts to permanent weight loss.
You do not need to spend a lot of money to achieve your diet goal, what you need is to make positive lifestyle changes such as eating healthy and balanced meals.
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