These three words seem to sum up the entire multi-million dollar diet industry. There are thousands of diet plans to choose from ... and the only thing any of them have in common is their disclaimer ... "results not typical."
Some of the larger diet plans are getting savvy ... instead of using the old stand-by disclaimer "results not typical," they lead with a story about how Janie lost 35 pounds in 8 weeks on (insert diet plan name here).* Follow the asterisk to the bottom of the page and you will find something along the lines of "most users who follow (insert diet plan name here) can expect to lose 1-2 lbs per week after the first week." Aha ... do the math. 35 pounds in 8 weeks is much more than the "typical" 1-2 pounds you can expect to lose. Some diet plans go as far as using the following disclaimer as well ... "promotional discounts were received." Do you know what that means? It means that Janie was PAID to lose weight for (insert diet plan name here) and she earned that paycheck by making sure she lost more weight than is "typical" to that of the average program follower. Did Janie starve herself? Exercise 16 hours a day? Have liposuction?
If you go to one of the popular fitness fad sites you can find a similar type of disclaimer. After visiting one particular site that says "results in 30 days guaranteed" ... it sports the following disclaimer (on a different page as the "guaranteed" statement by the way): "The time it takes to see results depends on several factors, including your current fitness level, consistency, diet and genetics." Hmmmmm....interesting. And yet they continue to "guarantee" amazing results.
So, your homework assignment of the day is to define "typical." I will give you an easy answer. Me. I believe that I am "typical." I believe that my abusive boyfriend WW should take a picture of my fat ass and put it on his website and say something to this effect "The Divine Mrs. M lost and gained over 100 pounds while following the WW plan.*" Follow the asterisk and you will find the following statement ... "RESULTS TYPICAL."
That's right. I'm typical. You may not want to see my full-figured body gracing the cover of the workout DVD that promises that you will lose 10 inches in your waistline in 10 days ... or the cover of a health and fitness magazine ... or on a diet and fitness website as a "success" story. But I am a "success" story as far as the diet and fitness industry is concerned. Why? Because diet and fitness plans have one goal in mind ... to be the company that wins the honor of taking your hard-earned money. Neither industry could care less if you ever lose a pound or tighten up your abs. As a matter of fact, they are banking on the fact that you won't. If the diet plan really worked and the fitness DVD managed to give you washboard abs ... you wouldn't become a loyal and (here's the key) REPEAT customer.
I am an excellent example of the customer that they want and need. And yet, I will never land an endorsement deal, write a blog for their website or articles for their magazines. No. I am not the inspiration that will encourage their customers to spend $40 a month for the humiliation of weighing in on their scales or $130 per week on their pre-packaged meals or $100 a month on their gym membership or $600 for their ultimate fitness DVD, hand weights and supplement kits. No, I'm not an inspiration ... but I am "typical." I am the rule ... girls like Janie are the exception.
I probably could have paid off the mortgage to my home by now if I had reallocated all of the money I have earmarked for "losing weight" and put it toward that instead. My 20 years of dedication to my abusive boyfriend WW has left me financially and emotionally bankrupt. And yet, I continue to spend, spend, spend ... and continue to fail, fail, fail.
One of my favorite speakers/authors is Joyce Myers. My sister-in-law and I have an unhealthy obsession with every word that comes out of her mouth. We read her books, listen to her CDs, attend her conferences and watch her daily TV program. Joyce speaks the truth and she speaks in a language we understand ... "woman." Recently at a Joyce Myers conference my sister-in-law and I attended, I picked up her book and CD about losing weight. My sister-in-law and I listened to that CD on the way home and laughed the whole way. Joyce is not a humorist ... she's a woman of God and she's a "realist." She tells it like it is. In the CD and in her book she laid it all on the line. Joyce had about 30 pounds to lose ... she was experiencing back problems and struggling with fatigue. She chalked her symptoms up to the aging process but ended up having to see a specialist for her back problems. Joyce didn't need surgery ... she needed to lose some of her excess weight and start exercising to strengthen her core.
Joyce is a millionaire ... a hundred times over. She has all the money in the world to spend on whichever weight loss plan she chooses. She chose none. Instead, she visited a nutritionist (which is covered by most health care plans by the way) and started adding some cardio and light strength training to her daily routine. She lost that 30 pounds ... and it took her THREE YEARS. That's right. THREE YEARS. To lose 30 pounds. That's 10 pounds per year for those of you who are mathematically challenged. She never subscribed to a weight-loss plan although she did break down and hire a personal trainer to help her rev up her exercise routine when what she was doing was no longer getting her results. She lost 30 pounds in three years ... and has managed to keep it off. It's gone ...
Interesting ... how many of us would pay to join a weight-loss plan that promises that you will lose 10 pounds per year? Raise your hand please. Anyone? That's what I thought. Of course you're not going to do that ... you're going to shell out the big bucks to lose 10 pounds in 10 days ... and you may do that. But will you keep it off?
That being said, all of you know that I subscribe to a diet meal delivery plan that I refer to as "Meals on Wheels." I have managed to lose weight. I have enjoyed being able to lose weight as this is a new development for me. However, I have been struggling with the fact that I'm not really learning anything. "Meals on Wheels" is expensive. I don't always care for all of the selections they send me. And I don't care for the fact that I have to provide a separate meal for my family while I eat my portion-controlled meal in a cardboard box.
I mentioned in one of my previous blogs that I know all of the right ingredients for weight loss ... I just don't know how to put them together to make them work consistently. So, readers, what are your suggestions? Do I continue with "Meals on Wheels" until at my target weight ... spending a boat load of money ... or do I break down and do the research ... experiment with different combinations of food and exercise until I learn the right formula that works for me? Is it more important to lose weight quickly ... like the diet and exercise programs promise or to lose like Joyce ... slow, slow, slow but keeping it off for good?
Opinions please ... my weight hangs in the balance :)
© 2010-2011 Melanie L. Miller All Rights Reserved
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