Weight Loss Scams: 7 Biggest Clues for All You Suckers
All those obnoxious ads for acai berry weight loss supplements that seemed to be everywhere online may soon disappear. Good riddance, scammers!
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit to try to shut down the massive Internet scam that cheated people out of up to $100 million as they scrambled for pills and potions made from the dark blue berries from Central and South America.
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The acai berry ads lured people with claims of quick weight loss and fake endorsements from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray. If you signed up for the online "free" trials, you would keep getting shipments of acai berry pills along with charges of $45 to $65 a month even if you tried to cancel. How frustrating and flat-out wrong!
Don't let something like this happen to you. Watch out for these seven red flags that the FTC says almost always mean bogus weight loss claims:
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Lose two pounds or more a week without dieting or exercising
Eat what you want, no matter how much, and still lose weight
Weight loss will be permanent, even after you stop using the product
Block the absorption of fat or calories so that you lose a lot of weight
Safely lose more than three pounds per week for more than four weeks
The product causes substantial weight loss for all users
Diet patches, creams, wrap, earrings ... cause significant weight loss
Another way to look at it:
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Dramatic, effortless weight loss without diet or exercise = BAD.
Losing weight by eating a healthy diet and exercising = GOOD.
As much as we'd all like one, there are no magic bullets out there, people! So don't waste your money and time or risk your health trying to find one.
Image via Breno Peck/Flickr
Written by Saher Aker for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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