Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Weight Loss Gimmicks and Gadgets Demolished

There have been a number of gimmicks, gadgets, and fads that have become popular in the so-called “health-craze” that has taken place in recent years. You know what I’m talking about, that health-craze that has led our society to deeper levels of poor health and obesity. Some craze that is!

We’ve seen hundreds of diets surfacing in the past few years with a few becoming very popular. These diets range from low-carb to high carb, from high protein to low fat, from calorie restricted to fasting and liquid diets, etc. Anyone who has had an idea for a diet and been able to present some kind of scientific study to support its claims has been able to profit by going after desperate consumers.

Is that what I’m doing with my program?

No, absolutely not. I am actually doing the exact opposite. I do not want to create a craze or a frenzy surrounding my program. What I’m looking to do is bring an end to all the fads and all the trials and tribulations. I want to bring about some stability to those looking to shed some pounds of bodyfat. I’m looking to transform lives and make it simple to do so. And when I say simple, I do not mean easy.

Diets that come and go are fads. They are fads for a reason. They simply do not stand the test of time. Either they are impossible to follow for a significant period of time or they produce short term weight loss due to losses in bodyfat, muscle, and water only to see the weight come back in bodyfat and water with a deficit in muscle. This is something that will be discussed in more detail later. The important thing to understand right now is that 99% of the diets on the market produce temporary results. The studies they cite are either loosely related, not reliable, short-term, or finagled a little to make the diet look good.

Enough about diets, though. There are millions of products on the market that are supposed to make losing weight easy. Some are exercise programs. Some are in the form of diet pills. Others are in the form of exercise products. Once again, approximately 99% of these are completely ineffective for your fat loss goals.

Seriously, how is an abdominal machine supposed to help you dramatically reduce your bodyfat? You’ve seen the commercials for those products with the machine that you can use while watching TV that is supposed to sculpt your abs like Michaelangelo did David’s. You are supposed to see that six-pack from working just minutes a day in the comfort of your own home. Then they present the before and after pictures of people who have used the machine. These people not only lost a tremendous amount of bodyfat, gained that six-pack, but they also built some nice muscle in their arms, chest, back, and legs.

All that with just minutes a day using a simple ab machine? Sign me up. I’m sold. But wait, that’s not really possible, is it?

No, my friend, I’m afraid it is not. Using an abdominal machine is not going to produce significant fat loss results. It is not going to give you a six-pack. And it certainly is not going to build muscle anywhere but your abdominals. It might tighten up your stomach’s appearance slightly, but no more than some other exercises would that are more effective overall.

This is why you must say no to those abdominal gadgets.

There are a few tools you can use in your workouts like stability balls, medicine balls and balance boards. These can work great if utilized properly.

Just avoid those gadgets that seem like their claims are too good to be true because they probably are.

A lot of people are out there to trick you. Be careful. Do not trust someone just because you saw them on TV. Unfortunately, a lot of people in the fitness industry do not know what they’re doing yet claim to be experts.

I’ve read articles in magazines that make me shake my head. I’ve read programs created by so-called expert trainers that make me cringe. I’ve heard of celebrity trainers whose workouts could’ve been created by someone with absolutely no experience. A lot of the advice out there is just dumb.

The reason for this is that the fitness industry is relatively new, especially when it comes to fat loss. Years ago, the world was not concerned much with fat loss. Most people were in pretty good shape. This was before the convenience age that I have discussed in other articles.

Nowadays, everyone is trying to cash in on the huge problems we are currently facing. In the United States, a third of the population is obese and two thirds are overweight.

There are thousands of people trying to put an end to this by offering ludicrous advice that took very little though and consideration. Thousands more are offering products that simply do not get at the heart of the problem.

The heart of the problem is that people are not willing to work hard. People are not willing to change, and until that are then our current problem is going to continue.

Do not be fooled by products and advice that claims to make fat loss easy. It is not going to be easy at all. Hopefully that point will be hammered down by now. Hopefully the world will realize this soon and those who made their half-hearted attempts to “solve the problem” just to cash in will be made broke. Then those who really want to help and really have the ability and knowledge to help can take center stage.

Healthy and effective fat loss really is simple when you break the process down, but it will NOT be easy.

No comments: