Back in my day it was Slim Fast and Metabolife. These things are still out there out on the shelves. I live just down the street from a Metabolife distributor. Along with many "diets", these were the two weight loss products I clung to.
Slim Fast offered a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, and a sensible dinner. I was starving my body, and when I could take it no more, I'd binge, gaining any loss back, plus more!
Metabolife was my next desperate attempt to lose weight. With the promise of "all natural vitamins and herbs" to raise my metabolism and help me lose weight. I didn't lose anything but my self respect, money, and my belief that I would ever be able to be healthy or "normal". On top of that, they made me moody, jittery, and at times confused and turned around. They completely wigged me out!
What was my turning point? I'd have to say a big one was when Dr. Phil began selling diet pills. He had a pill for "pear shaped" ladies, and a pill for "apple shapes". Wait!!! What???! Those 2 boxes with Dr. Phil's name on it jumped off the shelf and hit me over the head with an IDIOT stick!! Were we really that stupid!?? Um, Yes!! Talk about an epiphany!! That was the day I stopped watching Dr. Phil and stopped giving my money to the diet industry.
I changed my focus from weight loss to getting healthy . No products! No pills! No shakes! No meal replacement bars! No diet foods! No short cuts! No decisions made out of desperation! Instead, it had to be conducive to good health. Real nutrition, from real foods. Water. Adequate sleep. Activity. Exercise, Flexibility. Strength. Yoga. Taking care of myself for the first time ever. And, are you ready for this??....It's a new, unheard of concept that the diet industry doesn't make you commit to.....TIME! Yes! You read that right. Time. Time to change habits and behaviors. Time to learn what healthy really is. Time to incorporate these new healthy concepts into sustainable, everyday life. Time to fail and learn so you can succeed. Time to see real results, from real efforts. Time.
But, now we have our beloved and trusted, 'tell it like it is', Jillian Michaels (today's Dr. Phil of weight loss) out there selling a whole line of pills, cleansers, and diet products. We buy them, because we love and trust Jillian! And why not? She came into our homes every week for years, inspiring and showing us that we too can lose hundreds of pounds in just a matter of months.
We also have the brilliant money making scam of , 'It Works' diet pills, All natural shakes, and magic wraps, you can use and sell at parties like Tupperware in your own home. LOSE INCHES FAST! And, I hear it works.....while you are using it. But who can afford to give away their money and health for a life time? I mean, really, when you stop using them, the inches come back. Some would (and do) argue that 'this' product is different. This one feeds you healthy shakes and preaches healthy living. Well, of course it does! Any good distributor is going to create a strong belief system for their product. It's called great marketing!! After all, what weight loss product is going to tell you they just want your money.
It's no secret I have a BIG beef with the diet and weight loss industry. They prey on the desperation and emotions of over weight and unhealthy consumers. The biggest goal here is to keep us sick, over weight, unhealthy, and unhappy with ourselves so they can continue to rape our pocket books with the next, bright promise of tomorrow. And there will be a "next" to fall back on when the one you are currently using fails you. And it will have even bigger promises of health and weight loss.
At some point, we have to ask ourselves, who is driving this bus? Am I in control of my health, or am I leaving that job to the experts scam artists?
Food for thought......
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