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Gullible Naive Society or Just down right Lazy?
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JDMac82
Posts: 3,192 Member
**DISCLAIMER**
This post is not meant to make any one feel singled out our having a finger pointed at them!
Why do people fall for the Drink Me Skinny Tea, ABC/XYZ Cleanse, WRAPS, Detox Pills/Powders, Neoprene Belts (Sweet Sweat) Squeeze Me Skinny (Corsets) and all the other ETC waste your money?
I dont intend to be mean but come on people THINK, USE YOUR BRAIN.
You CAN NOT target burn fat off your thighs, triceps, stomach, elbow, pinky toe, etc.
Proper Nutrition and Exercise are the ONLY PROVEN (outside a Medically Diagnosed Condition) methods.
Maybe its just me but all this waste of money stuff now a days................. have we really fallen that far off the Intellectual Bus?
Curious to see if I am the only one who thinks this.
Thanks for the read and comments
This post is not meant to make any one feel singled out our having a finger pointed at them!
Why do people fall for the Drink Me Skinny Tea, ABC/XYZ Cleanse, WRAPS, Detox Pills/Powders, Neoprene Belts (Sweet Sweat) Squeeze Me Skinny (Corsets) and all the other ETC waste your money?
I dont intend to be mean but come on people THINK, USE YOUR BRAIN.
You CAN NOT target burn fat off your thighs, triceps, stomach, elbow, pinky toe, etc.
Proper Nutrition and Exercise are the ONLY PROVEN (outside a Medically Diagnosed Condition) methods.
Maybe its just me but all this waste of money stuff now a days................. have we really fallen that far off the Intellectual Bus?
Curious to see if I am the only one who thinks this.
Thanks for the read and comments
13
Replies
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Lazy, no doubt. I know how to be successful; I've just chosen not to for far too long.
Food marketing certainly adds a high degree of confusion: low fat, fat free, gluten free, low carb, high fiber, whole grain, etc. etc.8 -
because those who don't workout don't know the benefits of it outside being physically fit or working toward it.
and in this great country of ours it isn't just with weight loss. they look for ANYTHING that makes life easier. don't wanna get off your *kitten* and go grocery shopping? just pull up we will shop and load your car for you. don't want to go to the store for clothes/school supplies/ electronics.....???? just jump online and we will ship it to you? Don't want to go to work every day? work from home in your PJs. Don't wanna go to school ?? attend online in your PJs. there are down sides to all of these shortcuts. stuff then has be repackaged and returned (lucky you!! you can do that from home also!!)
the fact is that this is a much larger issues and has sadly become part of our culture.. people don't know what it's like to have accomplished something, made something (to include sculpting their own bodies). That feeling of accomplishment is overshadowed by laziness.10 -
In our nature, humans are insecure, gullible (including naively trusting anyone we regard as authority), impatient, superstitious, vain and greedy. Then for the last decades, our society has taught us to expect to have anything we want, whenever we want it, helplessness, to blame others instead of taking personal responsibility, encouraged us to learn from others who are just as clueless as us, and not think critically and apply common sense. Who in their right mind will not try to take advantage of this?
Now it's just to lean back and let evolution run its course.16 -
**DISCLAIMER**
This post is not meant to make any one feel singled out our having a finger pointed at them!
Why do people fall for the Drink Me Skinny Tea, ABC/XYZ Cleanse, WRAPS, Detox Pills/Powders, Neoprene Belts (Sweet Sweat) Squeeze Me Skinny (Corsets) and all the other ETC waste your money?
I dont intend to be mean but come on people THINK, USE YOUR BRAIN.
You CAN NOT target burn fat off your thighs, triceps, stomach, elbow, pinky toe, etc.
Proper Nutrition and Exercise are the ONLY PROVEN (outside a Medically Diagnosed Condition) methods.
Maybe its just me but all this waste of money stuff now a days................. have we really fallen that far off the Intellectual Bus?
Curious to see if I am the only one who thinks this.
Thanks for the read and comments
Actually - depending on your goals - the bolded doesn't have that much to do with the reasons people are utilizing those quick fix scams. If the goal is to lose weight - a calorie deficit is what matters. Proper nutrition and exercise are important factors for overall health, but they don't guarantee the calorie deficit or the weight loss.
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Screw this noise. I just have my bank details to a Nigerian prince who's gonna give me millions for helping him smuggle his family fortune out of the country. I'm gonna retire, buy an island, and pay people to diet and exercise for me.42
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**DISCLAIMER**
This post is not meant to make any one feel singled out our having a finger pointed at them!
Why do people fall for the Drink Me Skinny Tea, ABC/XYZ Cleanse, WRAPS, Detox Pills/Powders, Neoprene Belts (Sweet Sweat) Squeeze Me Skinny (Corsets) and all the other ETC waste your money?
I dont intend to be mean but come on people THINK, USE YOUR BRAIN.
You CAN NOT target burn fat off your thighs, triceps, stomach, elbow, pinky toe, etc.
Proper Nutrition and Exercise are the ONLY PROVEN (outside a Medically Diagnosed Condition) methods.
Maybe its just me but all this waste of money stuff now a days................. have we really fallen that far off the Intellectual Bus?
Curious to see if I am the only one who thinks this.
Thanks for the read and comments
I think a good deal of the problem is that a lot of people have been raised to expect instant results and have not been trained in self-discipline and patience. I mean, if Google can give 10 million results in less than a second, why shouldn't real-life follow the same pattern?
We also live in a society where personal responsibility is not taught, no one is responsible for their own results and it's always some one else's fault for our lot in life.9 -
Actually - depending on your goals - the bolded doesn't have that much to do with the reasons people are utilizing those quick fix scams. If the goal is to lose weight - a calorie deficit is what matters. Proper nutrition and exercise are important factors for overall health, but they don't guarantee the calorie deficit or the weight loss.
[/quote]
I agree with you about Deficit for weight loss, thats what I was saying is that Proper Nutrition (Deficit to lose / Overage to Gain) and exercise are the only ways to get to said Goals.
Not utilizing some quick fix.
My fault if that was clear enough.3 -
Actually - depending on your goals - the bolded doesn't have that much to do with the reasons people are utilizing those quick fix scams. If the goal is to lose weight - a calorie deficit is what matters. Proper nutrition and exercise are important factors for overall health, but they don't guarantee the calorie deficit or the weight loss.
I agree with you about Deficit for weight loss, thats what I was saying is that Proper Nutrition (Deficit to lose / Overage to Gain) and exercise are the only ways to get to said Goals.
Not utilizing some quick fix.
My fault if that was clear enough.[/quote]
Sorry, I'm still going to be a bit of a stickler here... Proper Nutrition suggests eating a nutrient dense (both macro and micro) diet and exercise can be beneficial for physical fitness but again - neither inherently drives the calorie deficit (or surplus).
You can eat a very nutrient dense diet and gain weight - many people think all they have to do is "eat clean" whatever that means to them, and can't figure out why they aren't losing weight. They say "but I'm eating healthy!" and it turns out they aren't tracking calories at all.
Calories for Weight Management
Macros for Satiety
Micros for Nutrution
Exercise for Physical Fitness
All of the above, in my opinion, yields the best all around result but if the goal is weight loss, then calories are ultimately all that matter.13 -
Because too many people, when they were in school, thought science was boring, and didn't learn any. Or math.
When you have no science or math, the whole world is a magical mystery, and anything could be as true as anything else, so you might as well go with the magic that sounds easy.25 -
Because as a society, we're eternally hopeful that we won't have to work for what we want.11
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There's a lot of misinformation out there, a fair bit of it from seemingly reliable sources, which makes it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. It would be helpful if folks like David Avocado Wolf weren't out there muddying the waters. That guy deserves to be devoured by a pack of wolves for all the garbage he spreads across the internet.10
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nutmegoreo wrote: »
You've got it all wrong. If you don't want fat toes it's not your pinky you should be lifting - it's your toes, obviously!
I'm certain your mom was not a liar. Did she maybe leave out the part about marrying an elderly childless billionaire in ailing health?10 -
Because too many people, when they were in school, thought science was boring, and didn't learn any. Or math.
When you have no science or math, the whole world is a magical mystery, and anything could be as true as anything else, so you might as well go with the magic that sounds easy.
This sums up my thoughts pretty well (and nicer than I would have said it).
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nutmegoreo wrote: »
You've got it all wrong. If you don't want fat toes it's not your pinky you should be lifting - it's your toes, obviously!
I'm certain your mom was not a liar. Did she maybe leave out the part about marrying an elderly childless billionaire in ailing health?
But those toe barbells are so expensive. You may have a point about my mom. She gets distracted and doesn't finish her stories so maybe missed that last bit. And I just can't get her to stay in the ACV, so mine is always without the mother.
OP, there is so much misinformation out there and we are being bombarded by it all the time. At the end of the day it comes down to a few things. First, some people really don't know any better, they lack understanding or critical thinking. Second, they want to deny that it is within their control (usually subconsciously), so the quick fix that doesn't require effort and intention seems like the answer. I fell into the second category for a long time. It can be daunting (and a bit scary) to accept that you can make the change, if you chose. Partly because then there is guilt and shame for being a dumb*kitten* for all those years with your head in the sand.5 -
Since we as a society are lazy we become gullible in order to find a quick fix.4
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My friend is an RD. I asked her opinion as to why/how did it happen that obesity became a problem (in a relatively short period of time). My grandparents never struggled with their weight, but my parents always did...and obesity continues to be a problem.
She believes that marketing has hijacked the American diet. People want to believe that there is a magic pill for everything (it's the "easy" way); corporations are more than happy to exploit this for financial gain with pills and diets and gimmicks. People are so inundated with deliberate misinformation that a lot of people are unable to tell fact from fiction (this is not limited to diet).
People also seek out information to confirm their pre-existing bias. The internet has made it so much easier to find "information" that supports your personal beliefs/stupidity.6 -
People fall for those scams for two reasons:
1) Inherent laziness/wanting a "quick fix"/not wanting to take any initiative to actually learn anything about how the body works.
2) Because the diet/fitness industry is very, very good at understanding the psyche of their target audiences, and is very, very good at marketing their BS in a manner that makes it very appealing to said audiences. They understand 1) above, and prey on it.
The industry also understands that the 'appeal to authority' seems to hold a lot of water with people - hence you have Doctor Oz, Doctor Fung, Doctor Mercola, Doctor Lustig, etc. - and gullible people think "Well, he's a doctor, so he must know what he's talking about". They don't realize that these "doctors" are just snake oil salesmen who are using their titles to sell products. They won't do a half hour of research to vet their sources.
But somebody still has to explain to me why anybody listens to Taubes. He has no education or training in medicine, health or nutrition. He's a freaking journalist. You might as well take nutritional advice from the guy who changes your oil at the local Speedy Lube. Taubes is as credible/reliable a source as Freelee the Banana Girl or David 'Avocado' Wolfe.9 -
**DISCLAIMER**
This post is not meant to make any one feel singled out our having a finger pointed at them!
Why do people fall for the Drink Me Skinny Tea, ABC/XYZ Cleanse, WRAPS, Detox Pills/Powders, Neoprene Belts (Sweet Sweat) Squeeze Me Skinny (Corsets) and all the other ETC waste your money?
I dont intend to be mean but come on people THINK, USE YOUR BRAIN.
You CAN NOT target burn fat off your thighs, triceps, stomach, elbow, pinky toe, etc.
Proper Nutrition and Exercise are the ONLY PROVEN (outside a Medically Diagnosed Condition) methods.
Maybe its just me but all this waste of money stuff now a days................. have we really fallen that far off the Intellectual Bus?
Curious to see if I am the only one who thinks this.
Thanks for the read and comments
I have lost a lot of weight, and go to the gym nearly every day, for years and I lift heavy. This is my 2 cents on the topic:
I think for many people they are both habituated and addicted to certain foods. When you consider 1) food scientists were tasked by governments with making calorie dense foods to solve malnutrition and 2) by companies to find the combination that pushes past the satiation point, what they call hyperpalatability, you understand that people are going to have a hard time dieting. Because habits are hard to break and addictions are hard to break and so you have both the power of habit and the power of addiction to break all at once. Combine that with cold turkey not being an option, it means you have to live close to and be surrounded by the source of that addiction. You have to live to eat, so the amount of self-regulation required is really big.
There is a ginormous amount of new habits and skill sets one has to learn and practice consistently to be able to successfully lose weight. Going to the gym? What are you going to do with your hair afterward? You are going to eat more vegetables? How do you even cook them? Speaking of cooking, when are you going to find time for that? Most people don't consider what is for dinner until they want to eat it. Healthy eating requires preplanning and organization around food that most Americans don't do, because Americans are not big on cooking.
Then they have to alter their palate, which takes time. Rice cakes and green tea? How gross when going from Doritos and Coke.
It's hard. If it wasn't, more people would be slim.
People are looking for whatever they can grasp to help.
Most of the items you listed are being hawked by fitspiration Instagram people who LOOK like they know what they are talking about, even those who have lost major weight often hawk teas and cleanses.
As for sweat belts, I see many very slim women and even trainers use them, but they are just using them for bloating, not weight loss. People new on their journey are looking for any kind of loss, even if it's just water weight.
Corsets do work in terms of inches, but it doesn't make people lose fat - the fat (and organs) just get pushed and squished to the lower belly area. Gross.
Whatever these things are, it is a step in the process. Just as babies don't just get up and start walking, and most addicts try stopping a few times before being successful, so too are people who look to weight loss fads and diets. If they don't give up, they'll get there eventually.
My2cents.
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People fall for those scams for two reasons:
1) Inherent laziness/wanting a "quick fix"/not wanting to take any initiative to actually learn anything about how the body works.
2) Because the diet/fitness industry is very, very good at understanding the psyche of their target audiences, and is very, very good at marketing their BS in a manner that makes it very appealing to said audiences. They understand 1) above, and prey on it.
The industry also understands that the 'appeal to authority' seems to hold a lot of water with people - hence you have Doctor Oz, Doctor Fung, Doctor Mercola, Doctor Lustig, etc. - and gullible people think "Well, he's a doctor, so he must know what he's talking about". They don't realize that these "doctors" are just snake oil salesmen who are using their titles to sell products. They won't do a half hour of research to vet their sources.
But somebody still has to explain to me why anybody listens to Taubes. He has no education or training in medicine, health or nutrition. He's a freaking journalist. You might as well take nutritional advice from the guy who changes your oil at the local Speedy Lube. Taubes is as credible/reliable a source as Freelee the Banana Girl or David 'Avocado' Wolfe.
I actually had the counter guy at the place where I got my last oil change try to sell me on some quack "health" supplement that he said would help my dad's dementia. It took a lot for me to not smack the crap out of him, considering my dad was in the hospital and very sick at the time.11
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