The Worst Diet Scams

More than 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese, and it is estimated that we spend more than $40 billion a year on weight loss, much of it on pills, gadgets, and creams that don't live up to their claims. When you're desperate to change your life, it's hard to know what's truth and what's hype. Everything sounds like the secret to losing weight, finding happiness, and becoming your best you! Late-night infomercials boast major fat burning with stunning before-and-after photos. Magazine ads claim that a pricey cream is key to flat abs. Celebrities tout shoes that promise a tighter, more toned posterior just by walking! Sounds too good to be true, right? That's because it usually is. When it comes to weight loss, the #1 rule is: If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

Rip-Off #1: Toning shoes and clothes - These products are marketed as if they are able to help women tone their legs and butt, but we know that losing weight from a specific area of the body or spot training is NOT possible. Advertisements for these shoes and clothes were very misleading to consumers, and they were never proven either safe or effective.

Rip-off #2: Slim-down creams and lotions - Creams, treatments, massage techniques, and other cellulite therapies do NOT get rid of cellulite. While some products may help diminish the appearance of it through hydration or firming of the outer layers of the skin, these results are temporary won't result in actual fat loss.

Rip-off #3: Body wraps - Lose inches overnight--no exercise needed! Slim down by the weekend, without lifting a finger! Body wraps sound more like a spa treatment than a part of a healthy weight-loss plan. Made of natural or synthetic cloths that are applied to various body areas for hours (or even days), these body wraps claim to reduce the size of the body parts to which they are applied. Remember you can't 'spot-tone' one particular body part.

Rip-off #4: Acai berry, hoodia and other exotic supplements or food additives - Lose 20 pounds in 2 days with hoodia! Açaí flush is the secret to weight loss. "Ginseng helped me shed unwanted pounds and keep my energy up!" Every year, there is a new exotic ingredient on the market that's being touted as the next best weight-loss supplement. Hoodia and acai are still popping up all over the internet searches for "diet supplements." While manufacturers would like you to believe that these plants are harmless and will spur massive weight loss, there is no one food or supplement that is the key to losing pounds and keeping them off.

Rip-off #5: Protein-pushing pros - Let's start by saying that your body needs protein, which has the unique ability to build, repair, and maintain body cells and tissues like your skin, muscles, organs, blood, and even bones; form enzymes and hormones that enable your body to function normally; control your body’s acid-base balance; as antibodies, protect you from disease-carrying bacteria and viruses; maintain your fluid balance; and control your body’s acid-base balance. Protein helps you stay fuller longer and gives your meals and snacks staying power. "The big scam comes in when trainers and others try to sell these products to consumers--with no knowledge of their eating habits.

Rip-Off #6: HCG injections – HCG involves eating a strict diet of no more than 500 calories a day, plus injections - a couple of years ago. Yet now, just as then, hCG is a hot diet trend, heavily marketed in print and radio ads. It's so widely used that you probably even know someone who has tried it. If you're changing your diet and eating a third of the calories you should be eating to stay healthy, it's hard to know what's really causing weight loss: the diet, the hCG injection/pill or both. Research shows that the restrictive diet is responsible—that hCG injections aren't really doing anything to promote weight loss. What's more, the FDA has never approved hCG as a weight loss aid.