Weight Loss On Your New Years Agenda? Prepare For The Top Weight Loss Scams Of 2006! PART 4

Okay, so far Parts 1 through 3 do not sound so much like scams but in all reality anything that is sold purely to generate profit even if it is only slightly “misleading” is in some way shape or form scamming the consumer.

Here goes Part 4 of the Top Weight Loss Scams of 2006.

4. The Supplement Labels That Say “Proprietary Blend.”

The supplement companies get you to believe their product is superior by using fancy marketing hooks that sound medical in nature like for instance, “clinically proven” or “doctor recommended.” In addition they might say “scientifically formulated” and of course “research has proven” but the one that is really misleading is the term that sits on the ingredient label and that is “Proprietary Blend.” The term “proprietary blend” not only occurs with weight loss supplements but supplements in general and they might say something like “myometaprohydroxyburnthefat” or something like that.

Now why do companies do this? For one, so they can prevent the competition from knowing exactly what specific amounts of ingredients they are putting in the “proprietary blend.” This prevents “knock offs.” If you notice on the Supplement facts label it will say proprietary whatever and then beside it the TOTAL amount of the proprietary blend in either mg or grams. Underneath that is all of the ingredients in that blend but to the side of them there is only an asterisk; not a specific amount in mg or grams. A company with a valuable and legitimate product will do this as a means to prevent knock offs of these products which is smart.

The second reason companies (the not so legitimate ones) do this is so they can hide the fact that more times than not there is very little of each of the active ingredients in that “proprietary blend” to actually do anything substantial. Believe it or not, this happens quite often

Does this mean that “proprietary blends” are scamming the consumer? Not always but truth be told there’s really no way to know how much of “what” is really in the blend unless a lab assay of the product is done. Sorry, but I don’t even have the answers and some of the top guys in the nutrition and supplementation field don’t even have the answers.

One way you could “guess” if the “proprietary blend” contains at least enough “stuff” to have an impact is to look at the total amount (in mg or grams) of the blend and then see how many ingredients are in the blend. The math is simple if you divide the total number of grams by the number of ingredients but that can be misleading because that will only provide you with an average amount of each of the ingredients. If a blend has a minimal total number of grams i.e. 500 mg and a whole slew of ingredients then you can make a halfway “decent” guess as to whether the “proprietary blend” has value or not. Many ingredients will have a minimal effect if any in small doses. Either way, it’s still hard to decipher.

This is probably one of the trickiest “scams” out there and the reason that word is in quotes is because no, it’s not always a scam but being that the supplement industry is so loosely regulated it’s darn near impossible to really know what you’re getting.

Here’s what you should take away from this whole segment of articles. Don’t blame yourself if you fail while using any of the diets, pills, powders or devices that promised “great results” because if you do choose to use them; fine, just understand that they are flawed approaches that have left millions of Americans frustrated in their fitness and weight loss pursuits. But if you had the solution to losing weight, getting into the body you’ve always, looking and feeling your best and became empowered to change the way you look and feel forever then making another New Years weight loss resolution would be a thing of the past. Wouldn’t that be nice! Best of luck in your New Years fitness and weight loss endeavors!

© David Otto *All Rights Reserved

David Otto is a Personal Trainer in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. To receive David Otto’s e-newsletter “The Otto Report: Getting Real With Fitness,” simply send an email to [email protected] and request your copy.

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