Worst woo you ever heard advertised regarding losing weight

murph155
Posts: 116 Member
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:
Sounds reputable to me.
What ridiculously insane things have you heard?
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
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It changes weekly/monthly to whatever nonsense any of the rags at the checkout stand with Dr. Oz on the cover say.17
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[*] 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??
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That's hilarious and a good example of why you ALWAYS read the contract or TOS.6
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Those vibrating machines you just stand on and burn more calories than <insert actual exercise>19
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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 product7
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I frequent a not quite so typical womens forum of a very typical womens' magazine. It's a bit untypical because it's full of highly educated women who don't read the *kitten* magazine but just hang around because other well educated women are there. It's got it's downsides, like the diet section, but many people pop in there every now and then to say a diet plan is rubbish, and why.
Anyway, quite a while ago the magazine ran a summer belly diet programme with 4 women working for that magazine, and for some reason it was posted in the sports forum. Moderator tried to get it out there but without success. Well those four women were classed based on their belly shape and were given a sports and diet programme for a couple of weeks and they reported back regularly. The sports programmes for some of them involved light walking and playing with a little pink weight as she'd otherwise get too muscular. The diet programmes included a complete crash diet, a crash diet with some odd homeopathic injections, a diet with little carbs but lots of fresh fruits and veggies and other oddities. Forum regulars kept on debunking all the *kitten* posted there, but the four ladies remained positive and kept on posting their progress. I guess they had to as this was all some odd sponsored content. A few weeks after the end of that programme the promised 'long-term' update was not posted. Not surprisingly. It was complete rubbish!11 -
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!5 -
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.2
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[*] 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.0 -
[*] 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.5 -
I'd almost be willing to bet that those disclaimers wouldn't stand up in court - especially that one and the "NutriMost does not assume responsibility for any errors."7
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nutmegoreo 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.1 -
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.0 -
nutmegoreo 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.
I also presumed some type of threshold. Unbelievable. Maybe I should start putting a disclaimer in my posts that if anyone flags it as "woo," I'm suing for $100. $100 because I'm not overly unreasonable :laugh:18 -
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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
Goop comes to mind
Stephen Colbert's segment on Goop was hilarious.
Anything GP sells is complete BS.5 -
[*] 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??
I wonder how enforceable that would be...1 -
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.4 -
There is a local weight loss clinic run by a holistic doctor of some kind and an RD (facepalm), and in the TV commercials they say that if you join their program you can lose "up to" a lb of fat per day. Firstly, I know that's pretty much physically impossible, and secondly ZERO is included in "up to" 1 lb, duh. My SIL said a woman she knows went there and they gave her pH balancing water and put her on a VLCD to lose 20 lbs.
I'm also hating on the current Nutrisystem commercial running here where Marie Osmond says there are "no fads, no gimmicks" and then the voiceover tells you they are giving new members a free supply of their Turbo Shakes which "blast away fat". Then Marie says something like "Kiss that stubborn belly fat bye-bye!". <sigh>6 -
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
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