Weight loss programs: Do they really work? Only about 20% of those on such programs seem to maintain that weight loss for a full year. If you don’t believe this, listen to what Oprah has to say from personal experience.

When rating agencies fail to rate investment vehicles objectively or when the most trustworthy person (Bernard Lawrence Madoff) as seen by the most prudent community fails it, I have reasons to be skeptical about many things in life.

When I see an attractive looking lady holding a pair of oversized jeans in her hands, or shapely figure doing her workouts in the latest fitness equipment or an hour glass figure with an inch tape wrapped around her attractive waist, I turn on my suspect meter.

Is it really possible?

I zoom on the picture to get a measure shown on the inch tape: is it 30″, 28″ or 26″?

You may say.”Who is looking at the tape?”

To convert skeptics into believers, doctors are shown endorsing the programs/products. We presume they are doctors. How do we know them otherwise? They wear a white coat and we see the much familiar stethoscope in their hand or around their neck.

When I see celebrities ‘in shape’ endorsing this product or that, am I convinced? Sometimes I see the same celebrities bloating in their swim suits i.e. if I can trust the cover photos on tabloids taken using telephoto lens.

Even a chance mention of some wonder plant or drug (e.g. Hoodia) that claims to melt away unwanted fat in some popular magazine (Oprah’s O) is taken advantage of by unscrupulous marketers. What do you do then? Thanks to this article that attempts to set the record straight. But what good is an addendum once the damage is done? Or when people want to hear only what they want to hear?

While I suspect even the original products, fakes continue to thrive on the market separating the gullible from their cash if not their fat.

When I see an advertisement for ‘plus’ size corset, what do I make of it? Is it a promise, cure or consolation?

Those who are large or oversize see it with hope (can this work for me?).

And those who are in shape either gloss over it or write a post (like I do now) suspecting the claims. While I don’t have weight loss concerns, I am curious to watch the trends around me.

 

Today the discussion is about which diet program you subscribe to or which fitness club you attend instead of which faith you follow or which church you attend.

My faith is: “It’s good to be a skeptic these days”. Other than that I cannot show you any more pointers.

By the way what is the norm for an ideal waist size? I remember Scarlet O’Hara in the movie “Gone with the wind” with a waist size 18″. Can it be true?