Oct
6
I’ve been getting more and more emails lately asking for my opinion on fitness and health plans. The questions range from specific diet regimens like weight watchers or Atkins to exercise machines like the abdominizer or bowflex. I try to answer each of these questions but I’d also like to make a general statement.
There is A LOT of crap out there when it comes to health and fitness plans.
Yes, that’s my statement and yes, I absolutely mean it. There are so many plans and ideas out there and the vast majority of them are absolute crap meant to cheat you out of your hard earned money. So without further ado, here are some quick tips on how to spot these scams.
Focus On Weight Loss
Everyone say it with me “fitness and weightloss are NOT the same thing”. I could lose 20lbs right now and actually be in worse health. That’s because the majority of my body weight is not fat, it’s muscle, bones and other vital organs. You can be thin and out of shape and you can be slightly overweight and in great shape. Of the two, slightly overweight but in good shape is the healthier condition to be in. So if your program focuses just on weight loss and has no other fitness or health goals, you’re doing something wrong.
Unrealistic Weight Loss
Along the same lines, if your fitness program promises more than 2lbs per week of weightloss, it’s probably a scam. Realistically, you’re not going to lose more than 1 to 2lbs per week. More than that is unrealistic and unhealthy. Sure, you can starve yourself and lose a lot of weight in a couple of weeks, but is that really what you’re going for?
Focus On Just One Exercise
All those late night informecials talking about the perfect lunge or the newest ab machine? They’re the health equivalent of a used car salesman trying to rip you off. No fitness program focuses on just one part of your body. A good program focuses on your entire body and combines resistance exercises with cardio workouts.
Focus On Just One Food
I don’t care if Acai berries are the newest superfood or if Kefir yogurt is supposed to make your heart stronger. If your diet focuses on just one food, you’re doing something wrong. One food is not enough for your body to get all the nutrients it requires. By all means, keep eating those berries, the yogurt and even that cabbage soup, but combine them with other dishes to get a more balanced eating plan.
Relies On Supplements
Unless you’re some kind of high end athlete, are trying to lead a very unique diet or have a serious health issue, you do NOT need supplements. Your body, in combination with a healthy and varied diet, makes or gets all the nutrients you need. You don’t need to pop 10 pills every morning, you don’t need to add a ton of protein powder to every fruit smoothie and you really don’t need those meal replacement shakes. Also, if your fitness plan includes injecting anything, you should probably see a doctor.
Temporary Program
Fitness is not temporary. It’s not something you get from a two week plan and then can retain for the rest of your life. It’s something you work on and keep working on FOREVER. Sounds bad? It’s really not and it can be a lot of fun. However, any program that tells you it can shape you up in a temporary amount of time and then you can go back to whatever it was you were doing before is lying to you. If you go back to what you were doing before then you will go back to the same condition you were at before. I’ve been fit and healthy for four years now and if I stopped now I would go back to that same out of shape, out of breath and overweight person I was before.
Starvation Level Eating
Any program that tells you to starve yourself through fasting, cleansing or some kind of ultra low calorie diet is a sham. Besides lying to you, these kinds of programs are actually bad for you. You do NOT need to starve yourself to lose weight. You just need to eat healthy, in moderation and combine this diet with a good exercise program.
###
There’s no magic bullet, there’s no easy solution. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and again and again and again), being healthy is easy.
- Eat healthy foods - That means more veggies and less processed crap.
- Eat in moderation - Yes, I’m looking at you Mr. average American consumer
- Exercise
That’s it. It really is that simple. Everything else is just a commercial for services you shouldn’t be paying for.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Comments
5 Responses to “7 Ways To Spot A Fitness / Health / Weightloss Scam”
Leave a Reply
Very good info Gal, best one in weeks. Am going to pass this along to many! Keep up the good work!
Wish I had done this research before letting myself be gulled into parting with a large amount of money and receiving a ton of supplements. However the supplements only contain in one case enough capsules for one week so the hand is expected back in the pocket after only 7 days. It’s a case of let the buyer beware of course so I have had an expensive lesson but at least will not be a cash cow in future. Beware anything that offers both “free” consultations and supplements.
Spot on Gal - apply these rules and you actually eliminate 90% of the rubbish out there!
This is a solid point you bring up about them pointing out that weight loss is the main point of what tends to be a poor fitness center plan. It is easy to play on a person’s desire to go straight to which is noticed first, their weight, and not add in the important portion about the other factors of health.
I get those kinds of emails as well…GREAT POST.