The Truth Behind Before/After Photos Much of what entices you to buy a weight loss product is that you see another everyday person - not a celebrity, but someone like YOU! - who lost 180 lbs using this supplement. And the proof is right there! Before photo of them posing at the park, so you know its genuine, or maybe its on a backdrop and they look pale and unhappy. Your eyes wander to the right and you see a tanned, smiling, smaller version of the same person. That's what you want. But is it a lie? This post by Andrew Dixon at the Huffington Post gives an example of how companies can produce a series shot on the same person, in the same day, that looks like weight loss over months. From slouching to pushing the stomach out to sucking in, spray tans, and flexing, the same man (or woman) can look completely different. Check out one of his "transformation photos" below. In fact, according to an expose done by the TODAY show, fake before-and-after photos make up some of the most frequent fraud cases reported to the Federal Trade Commission. They interview one woman, who posted personal photos of her 68 lb weight loss on her blog after a year of dieting and exercise, about how a weight loss tea company falsified quotes from her and used her photos without contacting her. Or they use stock photos for sale and then use Photoshop for "weight loss" (much like they do in almost every celebrity photo shoot). Consequences of Weight Loss Supplements Weight loss supplements fall into 3 categories. They either:
So what? Well, stimulants raise your blood pressure and heart rate, increasing your risk of a heart attack. The FDA has received reports of death from cardiac arrest due to use of dietary stimulants. Appetite suppressants may target your stomach or your brain to curb your hunger. Many stimulants are combined with appetite suppressant properties. Fat inhibitors target your gut to prevent your body from absorbing fat from your food. Unfortunately, this means your fat enters your large intestine and stool, and it's not really supposed to be there. The results are foul smelling flatus and stool, as well as cramping and abdominal pain. It also inhibits the absorption of vitamins that are important for eye and skin health as well as vitamin D, which we have all heard of. These vitamins require fat to help get across your gut cells and into your blood. Weight loss ads tempt even the best of us, as we are constantly bombarded by photoshopped images of near-perfect celebrities and models, telling us we are not pretty enough, thin enough, or ripped enough. And that's what they are designed to do, because then they will make a profit.
They are not in the business of taking care of you! -Bailey
4 Comments
9/18/2014 12:19:42 am
Hi bailey, I have been following your blog for a while and I truly enjoy reading each and every post. I have recently checked my calorie intake. For the most part, I do a job. But I struggle with the meals where there are a lot of different ingredients included or the meals I get at a restaurant. When I do not know exactly what is in the meal or if the recipe is super complicated, I typically do not update my food diary. How did you deal with consistently keeping track of your food intake? And bailey I used to eat this weight loss supplement named: Maqui Berry Select can you suggest me bailey Is it worth eating or not?, but somewhere I feel the change in me. I have mentioned the link as well.
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9/29/2015 11:27:34 am
I really enjoyed this post. You describe this topic very well. I really enjoy reading your blog and I will definitely bookmark it! Keep up the interesting posts!
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6/15/2020 03:44:31 am
Thank you for sharing this info with us, we look forward to see more info from you.
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