Friday, August 24, 2012

Why the weight loss industry has not worked for so many


A majority of adults in the United States are overweight or obese and millions of Americans are trying to lose weight. Did you ever think about why the weight loss industry has not worked for so many dieters?
We would all love a shortcut to weight loss, so we seize on one when it is offered to us and we spend lots of money each year on weight loss products and services. The diet and weight-loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry.

There are people who stand to make a lot of money by confusing us about weight loss. They know that we are eager and desperate to lose weight. Their hopes of getting us to buy their diet foods and pills rest on convincing us that we will need experts and special help to achieve weight loss.
They are not interested in the delivery of permanent results. If they showed us how to lose weight and keep it off, we wouldn’t have to keep purchasing their products, attend their meetings, and buying their special foods. The industry is predominantly driven by profit and it is built on repeat business.

They thrive on our failure. They need us to keep coming back to them for business, keep spending money on their products, services and advertised “solutions."  It would be a very short-lived business if we all succeeded the first time. Their whole business model depends on our failure.

18 comments:

  1. Hi, what a gret info. Today people wants all very easy and buy strange products. They wanna be healthy and skinny but they wanna keep eating hamburgers every day. So they buy thos productos but they not want to excersice.

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  2. Exactly. Have you noticed that so many diet plans push food at you? Wildly over stated calories. It is a win for them. If you eat all the food that they recommend and lose slowly they say "oh if you lose slow you won't gain it back". So you consume way more than you should to lose weight, you purchase their food and then, you don't lose it all the way... keeping you on their food pretty much forever. Have you noticed there are very very few diet plans that don't all have exactly the same calories / way of losing. And of course, they insist you exercise (perhaps keeping their gym businesses in business). Instead of just doing the absolutely logical -- cut calories until you lose -- the convince us we will die if we cut too far and make us jump through hoops -- record keeping -- gym work outs -- support meetings --so we are distracted from the main goal.

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  3. Fantastic post. It is time that we seriously think about weight loss and decide why it has developed as an industry. It is us and our desire to lose weight fast that has fueled the industry. The diet food companies thrive on our weakness.

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  4. We want results, that too fast without any hard work. that is our problem. We are not ready to exercise, to give up high calorie junk food and yet we want to lose weight. We have to realize that taking pills or some specially prepared shakes cannot provide permanent solution.

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  5. My desire to lose weight led to adopt diets but I ended up being confused. Each diet comes with its own claims and assumptions and most of the times they are contradictory. Some diets suggest giving up carbohydrates, some suggest only protein-rich diet and some go to the extreme to want us to live on only fruits! Is it possible to be healthy after following these weird diets? I doubt.

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  6. Fad diets do not work in the long run. Don’t go for them. Even don’t go for diet foods and pills. They are not for permanent solutions. The marketers have popularized these products and made good money from them.

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  7. the weight loss industry doesn't work well for many people because it's a trap. They want you to keep buying a product. Sort of like curing AIDS or cancer... you want it to happen, but the money made off these diseases is so lucrative. It's hard for a business like this to think about the PEOPLE. What a shame!

    -Anna

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  8. Really good points brought up here. I feel determination of the people wanting to lose weight is typically very strong but the companies still want you to purchase the food.

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  9. Shortcuts to weight loss don't work for long time. Most of us have probably tried at least one thing from that list in an effort to lose that stubborn fat. But what happens when you follow a shortcut? You lose weight, go off the diet or start eating again and end up gaining even more weight. So, while shortcuts aren't always bad or dangerous, if you keep trying them again and again you might actually end up worse off than you started.

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  10. I've been burned by commercial weight loss... I wasn't looking for a quick fix or a magic cure, I just wanted something to help. Now I know better. Hard work is all you need – nothing else!

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  11. I don't support the weight loss industry. They're literally just trying to make money off of the insecurities and hopes of people looking for a way to manage their weight. Totally disrespectful!

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  12. This is so true! All of us keep thinking of a quick weight loss solution but the solutions are always short lived. I have been trying to educate people around and this post speaks my thoughts. Keep up the good work!!!

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  13. I always follow those diets they put up online and wonder why they never worked. Now I have the answer. Keep giving these small tips to help us get into shape. Thanks.

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  14. The weight loss blogging space is really heavy on purely promotional sites, deceptive sales messages, or even scams desired solely to earn some quick money.

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  15. Trust is the rarest commodity in weight loss blogging.

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  16. This article is spot on! These are multi-million dollar business' that are 'helping' you loose the weight. If it were to actually work then they would be out of business as you wouldn't need them anymore. I advocate a positive change in diet and lifestyle, for the long term.

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  17. I think you are doing a great job raising that point and sharing your observations. Mine are very similar and by now I realize that cutting down weight lies only in my hands and is my own responsibility. Weight-loss industry is interested only in our bucks and in keeping us tied to their golden products and weight-loss methods. Our weight and health is secondary to them....

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  18. Creating a perfect diet on paper is not difficult, but in reality the advice can be a disaster. Many programs are devised specifically to sell you “special” weight-loss products or supplements.

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