Worst woo you ever heard advertised regarding losing weight

murph155
murph155 Posts: 116 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
There is the company NutriMost that was advertising on the radio station I listen to. It really used to annoy me because they made all these ridiculous claims - you could lose 40lbs. in 40 days with no special diet or exercise (yeah, right); they could help you keep the weight off by 'resetting your hypothalamus' to your goal weight, like you're body is a bloody thermostat!

Anyway, my brother send me this article regarding the snake-oil salesman that started the company, all the FDA and FTC violations they have, etc.

https://www.chirobase.org/06DD/nutrimost/overview.html

At the end of the article they list all the disclaimers this company would put in their contracts:

  • NutriMost does not provide any medical advice, medical treatment, or diagnosis.
  • The health information and materials given to the customer are provided with no warranty that they are fit to use.
  • NutriMost does not assume responsibility for any errors.
  • The information provided is "not necessarily based on scientific or reliable tests or studies."
  • No product offered or recommended by NutriMost is intended to treat any medical condition.
  • NutriMost will not be liable for any type of damages the customer many incur by using the information, advice, services or products provided.
  • The customer agrees not to post any statements criticizing NutriMost through any online medium and agrees that any violation of this provision would make the customer liable for $35,990 in liquidated damages.
  • The customer agrees to waive any rights under any law that would limit the waiver of any such rights.

Sounds reputable to me. :(

What ridiculously insane things have you heard?
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Replies

  • Wrongleverkronk
    Wrongleverkronk Posts: 22 Member
    I cant remember what it was called but there was a seasoning awhile back that had a sweet side and a salty side and was guaranteed to make you lose like 30 lbs in 30 days.
  • murph155
    murph155 Posts: 116 Member
    mskimee wrote: »
    murph155 wrote: »
    [*] The customer agrees not to post any statements criticizing NutriMost through any online medium and agrees that any violation of this provision would make the customer liable for $35,990 in liquidated damages.

    So does this mean you couldn't put on Facebook/Twitter "This stuff is *kitten* and doesn't work" or you get sued??

    Apparently. Not sure if anyone every was, though.
  • murph155
    murph155 Posts: 116 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    mskimee wrote: »
    murph155 wrote: »
    [*] The customer agrees not to post any statements criticizing NutriMost through any online medium and agrees that any violation of this provision would make the customer liable for $35,990 in liquidated damages.

    So does this mean you couldn't put on Facebook/Twitter "This stuff is *kitten* and doesn't work" or you get sued??

    It's a cool idea. If they aren't making money on selling their woo, they can make it by suing people who speak out against their woo. Either way, they are making money. Curious as to how they came up with this number though. It seems rather specific.

    I was thinking the same thing. There must be some sort of threshold at $ 36K. Like the banks having to report cash deposits over $ 10K, so $ 9,999 doesn't get reported.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    Brimstone1973 wrote: »
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    There was one talking about all the old sludge we have in our intestines and how if we use their product you can lose tons of weight and get a flat stomach. Sorry I haven't wwheard it in a while and forget the name of the product

    I think I've heard this one on the radio in the mornings! The guy tries to scare you into thinking you have "TOXIC SLUDGE" in your intestines and that's why you can't lose weight!

    TEN POUNDS OF IT!! I remember that one because when I was googling some "cleanse" or other for debunking purposes in a thread last year this came up first, accompanied by some horrifying pictures.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    murph155 wrote: »
    [*] The customer agrees not to post any statements criticizing NutriMost through any online medium and agrees that any violation of this provision would make the customer liable for $35,990 in liquidated damages.
    mskimee wrote: »
    So does this mean you couldn't put on Facebook/Twitter "This stuff is *kitten* and doesn't work" or you get sued??

    I wonder how enforceable that would be...
  • MsChucktowski
    MsChucktowski Posts: 121 Member
    Last night on A Current Affair (Australia), there was a story on some 7 day diet. It was your typical rubbish; only fruit on day 1, but no bananas, you can eat butter and oil on day two, but still no bananas, etc.

    What horrified me was that they had an accredited dietician claiming that it could make you lose 7 kg in 7 days.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    Radio commercials here for something called The Health Dare, change your body at the cellular level. Lose 80 pounds in 90 days the easy way, with no exercise, and only eliminate a few foods. LOLZ

    http://www.thehealthdare.com/media.php
  • mkimble2858
    mkimble2858 Posts: 1 Member
    I've never seen The Health Dare promise 80 pounds in 90 days nor does it claim "no exercise". In fact, it demands an hour of exercise 6 days a week.
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    I find that the people that latch onto these products are engaging in "wishing it were true". So people come up with these products to make illogical claims because there are people out there that are either dumb enough or desperate enough to believe them. Like when they say "money back guarantee" but if you tried, you would find that they are either long gone or saying you didn't use the product correctly. Its shameful what these people do.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    The absolute worst weight loss advice I've ever heard: Eating less than 750 Cal/day for 30 days (only raw veggies)

    The crap, but at least it's not dangerous: "the breathing diet" ie - lose fat through "proper breathing".

    The weirdest: Upside down diet - eat food while inverted. Don't even know why??? But yeah, no.
  • Candyspun
    Candyspun Posts: 370 Member
    It Works! Wraps. I had an overweight friend selling them. If it doesn’t work, you didn’t apply the wrap properly. If you don’t lose weight, they will say, ‘but of course you need to be exercising and eating healthily.’ You don’t say?

    I knew it was terrible and would never use it, but because she was flogging it so aggressively, I became well versed in the whole thing. I ended up researching reviews. It sounds as though there’s some sort of sign up involving your credit card that is extremely difficult to get out of.

    I had to remove that high school friend from my fb, because nothing else would come up in my feed except all her posts about financial freedom and wouldn’t you like to... blah blah blah...

    I watched her go through this for a few years and apparently she still sells it. When I removed her from fb, she’d been doing it for at least 2-3 years and was twice the size of when she started. It annoys me, because you can’t point that out unless you’re a heartless person who thinks it’s ok to fat shame people (but it was acceptable for her to harass all of us about our weight to make money). And her new customers wouldn’t have a clue that it’s not working for her either.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    Brimstone1973 wrote: »
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    There was one talking about all the old sludge we have in our intestines and how if we use their product you can lose tons of weight and get a flat stomach. Sorry I haven't wwheard it in a while and forget the name of the product

    I think I've heard this one on the radio in the mornings! The guy tries to scare you into thinking you have "TOXIC SLUDGE" in your intestines and that's why you can't lose weight!

    "toxic sludge, like spackle" is the version I used to hear constantly.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Wendyanneroberts wrote: »
    The worst diet advice I was given, although it wasn't a company advertising, was here by a member on MFP. Advice was:

    To do "Keto" as this was the fastest and healthiest way to lose weight quickly. By following Keto
    I didn't need to eat above 700 to 800 calories a day, as I would feel full on this amount. That it was easy to eat even fewer calories over time, as my body adjusted and no longer needed carbs. To include fasting days, to help speed up my weight loss. Once comfortable with fasting, I should then aim for a "30 day fast" during which time I could/should only drink water and consume nothing else.

    I tried pointing out the dangers, of VLCD & including (for me), my cardiologist advice to limit my fat to 40g a day. Was then accused of "keto bashing", being part of the hate group here on mfp.
    That it was impossible to lose muscle or have any other kind of health problems.

    Just glad I wasn't new to MFP and didn't get tangled in this mess, myself!

    Wow! Where'd you find this kitten? (Every word I thought of wasn't very polite. I figured the kitten would allow for reader's choice.) Obviously found them here on MFP, just wondering if this conversation happened through PM or on the boards. Some people shouldn't be allowed to internet.
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