Fake before and after pictures, and real ones.

What's sad to me is that companies in the weight loss industry have the money to pay people to turn their bodies into crap.

Having taken quite a few courses in college that required me to learn an awful lot about Adobe Photoshop, I've never been a big believer in before & after pictures for weight loss products. Using the liquify tool, I can make anyone appear to lose 30lbs in literally seconds.

Ooooh Mgravy liquify me make me skinny please!!!!!!

Pfffft! You don't need liquifying! You are beautiful!

WOW! How sick is that! That makes me wonder just how many companies do that! WOW!:mad:

If you have ever opened up any muscle building, or fitness magazine you have seen this. And if you thought it was true then you are their target audience. The guys in the supplement ads are on some many different steroids it wouldn't matter if they drank a supplement or ate chocolate chip cookies after their workout, they would still have more muscle than the average guy that has worked out all his life. The health industry is a multi Billion dollar a year industry designed to take your money not help you achieve anything. Guys like Joe Weider, who by the way doesn't even use the equipment he designed, have admitted that it's all a sham designed to take your money.

"In 1972, Weider and his brother Ben found themselves a target of an investigation led by U.S. Postal Inspectors. The investigation involved the claims regarding their nutritional supplement Weider Formula No. 7. The product was a weight-gainer that featured a young Arnold Schwarzenegger on the label. The actual claim centered on consumers being able to "gain a pound per day" in mass. Following an appeal wherein Schwarzenegger testified, Weider was forced to alter his marketing and claims.[6][7]

Weider was ordered to offer a refund to 100,000 customers of a "five-minute body shaper" that was claimed to offer significant weight loss after just minutes a day of use. The claims, along with misleading "before and after" photographs, were deemed false advertising by a Superior Court Judge in 1976.[8]

In the 1980s, Weider found himself answering charges levied by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 1984, the FTC charged that ads for Weider's Anabolic Mega-Pak (containing amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and herbs) and Dynamic Life Essence (an amino acid product) had been misleading. The FTC complaint was settled in 1985 when Weider and his company agreed not to falsely claim that the products could help build muscles or be effective substitutes for anabolic steroids. They also agreed to pay a minimum of $400,000 in refunds or, if refunds did not reach this figure, to fund research on the relationship of nutrition to muscle development.[9]

In 2000, Weider Nutritional International settled another FTC complaint involving false claims made for alleged weight loss products. The settlement agreement called for $400,000 to be paid to the FTC and for a ban on making any unsubstantiated claims for any food, drug, dietary supplement, or program."

This kind of thing has been going on since the 70's. Come on people wake up!

Sad, but not surprised. They prey on those that are desperate!! I used to be one of those people seeking out a pill or plan that would somehow (I didn't care how) cause the fat to melt away without the work. Something that would cause the weight to fall off while I could continue to ignore what I was putting in my mouth and hang out on the couch while it works it's magic. They make you think it exists and just a phone call away it could be mine!! But that's not all! I could receive a fantastic gift to keep!!! LOL In my old age I have finally realized it's ONLY eating right and clean, drinking water, and living an active life that will work.

Guess I'm the only one here who has a success story from one of these big weight loss companies? Nutrisystem worked for me. I'm not touting them, just saying I know for a fact their before and after photos to be the real deal. I lost 67 pounds on their food plan in 2007, THEN sent in my before and after shots on a whim and was invited to Philly for a photo shoot weekend. There were about 100 of us if I remember correctly, in all stages of weight loss, with a great variety of stories about how/why we were overweight and all with our before pics in hand. I, along with the rest of the group, was featured on their website for a year or so. Yes, we were paid $500 for going to Philly, flights and food paid as well but none of us were faked or photoshopped!
What I learned from Nutrisystem, as I've kept off about 40 pounds, was portion size. What I didn't learn was proper nutrition combinations because the food is done for you. But, it was still a great kick start to my lifestyle change, one that has continued in my life.
I'm new to MFP, and enjoying it thoroughly!, and so I haven't figured out how yet or I'd happily upload my own before and after pics!
Good luck to all.:happy:

I dont think we are talking about Nutisystem or Jenny Craig type companies. The companies that do this are pill related, or supplement related.

I would NEVER doubt Marie Osmond!!:laugh: