And you thought political ads were the worst?

January ushers in a completely different-- but equally irritating ad campaign—dieting and weight loss commercials.

Bariatric dietitian Elizabeth Anderson caught some TV this weekend --cheering on her New England Patriots (!!) and checked out the latest promotions for a skinnier 2017.

You've got pills, powders, exercise gadgets and diet programs, all new and improved for the fastest, easiest weight loss EVER.

Now before I launch into my diet rant, let’s clear the air about some of the exercise plan promises.

Any exercise expert worth their salt will tell you those lean bodies you see—the glistening, tanned ones, are not made by any exercise alone.

They’re realized with very strict diets and exercise.

Exercise alone just cannot yield these results.

But what I want to really vent about today is the popular diet ads.

One popular diet program I saw advertised extensively this past week boasted,

“Lose 14 pounds in two weeks!”

I can see how well-intentioned folks are attracted to this message.

It’s a no-brainer plan:

· delicious looking food (brownies! Pancakes! Pizza!)

· super-fast and significant results

· comes with the endorsement of a well-known and liked

celebrity

What I’ll ask you to consider before digging out your credit card though, is all that tiny fine print at the bottom of nearly every screen of the ad.

“Typical weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week.”

That’s quite a discrepancy people.

Would you feel disappointed if you spent money on two months of prepackaged diet food and lost the ‘typical’ amount of weight—4 pounds?

I would be, since I can’t even diet for half an hour.

‘Knowledge is power’ sounds like a Power Rangers slogan but if you realize these ads are preying on your trigger points, you are going to be a lot more cautious in your purchase decisions.

I don’t want to be discouraging here. It’s natural and healthy to want to improve your health at the start of a new year.

I simply want you to do that as a savvy consumer.

One who resists ‘too good to be true’ or exaggerated promises and invests in sustainable strategies for long-term, permanent weight loss.

Any exercise expert worth their salt will tell you those lean bodies you see—the glistening, tanned ones, are not made by any exercise alone.

They’re realized with very strict diets and exercise.

And with photoshop.

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When I read the thread title I thought this would be about WLS. Sometimes I think there should be a similar article about WLS. "BMI below 25 -> not a typical result".

Thank you for this article.

Any exercise expert worth their salt will tell you those lean bodies you see—the glistening, tanned ones, are not made by any exercise alone.

They’re realized with very strict diets and exercise.

And with photoshop.

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When I read the thread title I thought this would be about WLS. Sometimes I think there should be a similar article about WLS. "BMI below 25 -> not a typical result".

I agree!!