Updated: 20 July 2017

Do you recall infomercials and advertisements where exercise gadgets and weight loss supplements, etc., promised great weight loss or muscle building results?

Remember the abs flex, thigh buster and trampoline equipment and plethora of herbal supplement and dietary programs that guaranteed fat would melt away like butter. Or the latest DVD or fitness class promoting High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT], or dance, boot camp, spinning class, or circuit-like exercise promised to be your ticket to Atlas or body beautiful status.

If your familiar with these things, you’ve also noticed a celebrity, athlete or other recognized talent, or regular Joe in magazine photo or infomercial to sell the product or program. They also appear to be the picture of perfect health. Or their before and after shots were impressive and had your attention.

They proclaim these products and services worked for them, so they’ll work for you… right? But are all of them being truthful on how they really lost 30lbs of weight, or gained 10lbs of muscle in 4 weeks. How about the photos that woo you into buying their goods. Did you know most body shots are taken at opportune times – some after severe diet restriction and/or exercise regiment using high risk substance application. Many of these pics are also doctored up through air brushing…

Have you noticed the before and after shots of the models who appear in those infomercials, magazines and Internet adds? Most of them appear to be between 18-35 years of age. It is true, human metabolism before the age of 35 is pretty responsive to significant diet and exercise change. Especially if the body has been sedentary and unconditioned for some time. When this is the case young metabolisms respond fairly well to daily exercise and/or calorie intake reduction. Often resulting in significant appearance change in a short period of time. But these quick results are short lived… especially when old habits resume.

If you’ve invested money and time into an exercise or diet fad or product gimmick and it didn’t work for you, you’ve likely been consumer bilked by a fitness pitch half-truth.

To understand this concept and meaning simply inventory how many unused exercise items, supplements, DVD videos and diet books and mag’s you have lying dormant in your home.

After you’ve done the inventory I have two questions for you. Why do they lay dormant? And if they didn’t work, why didn’t you at least use the satisfaction guarantee to get your money back?

If you didn’t receive the results as expected, was it because you didn’t apply enough effort or follow the exact instruction as required? Regardless of instruction, effort or results did the program or product meet your expectations? If it didn’t… again why does it lay dormant in your home? In any case, you didn’t return the product. In-part, I understand why the consumer continues to be bilked by these industries and acquire an ever growing collection of fitness antiques and conversation pieces.

I’ve worked within and studied the marketplace, business models, human behavior, fitness, health and nutrition industries for years. I know many of those self-proclaimed fitness guru’s, celebrity stars, athletes and body building experts have been telling false and half-truth narratives for a long time. While taking advantage of those desperate to turn the hands of time back, lose weight, get fit and even increase athletic and sexual performance.

The reason the diet, supplements and exercise gimmicks and fads continue to rake in big bucks… “most consumers are not educated in the science of exercise, health, nutrition, marketing, sports psychology and behavioral profiling.” Yes, Exercise Science [or Physiology] and sports psychology are real undergraduate degrees offered at many universities who incorporate various disciplines of study relative to exercise training, sports performance, healthy lifestyle, diet and fitness goals.”

The marketers and celebrities are street smart. They know how to slant a sales pitch and hook consumers into buying the latest fitness fad, craze and product hype. Then Re-brand, advertise and promote the same program, product or service under a different name and start the marketing feeding frenzy process all over again.

This practice is similar to marketing pharmaceutical drugs. That is,“re-labeling” a drug like-fitness product or service and using it to treat a different illness or disease than originally approved by the FDA (Federal Drug Admin).

Marketers are very familiar with this relabeling and re-branding tactic using a revamped marketing plan for a chosen demographic – making old fads new and relative again for the next generation.

Regardless of age, if you don’t enjoy the lifestyle change experience for whatever reason, then the new exercise routine or diet-change is not compatible for you. If it’s not compatible with your lifestyle for whatever reason, then the odds of sticking with it is not a good fit.

For instance, if your sold on High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] classes and DVD home workouts, do you have the will power to train intensely and consistently for the next 4-6 weeks? What about breaking through the sore muscle, or hungry stomach barrier? Have you acquired the right type of instruction, information, education, motivation and will power to continue the course and avoid overeating after exercise? After all it is scientifically proven intense exercise will make you hungrier. How will you hedge against hunger to achieve your fitness goal?

Do you have the will power and desire to work through healthy habit changes that will initially cause discomfort by changing your daily routine? Hunger and soreness are deal breakers for many looking to lose weight and improve physical appearance.

The fitness marketer or celebrity expert is not going to tell you these things. Like an Ab crunch contraption “cannot spot reduce” fat away in one area. Instead tones the muscles. It doesn’t bust belly fat. Without a combination of other lifestyle changes the weight loss and muscle building results may or may not occur, let alone last long term.

What do marketers and opportunists know about consumer needs and wants most people don’t think about?

They know how to target and lure an audience based on past shopping habits and behavior.  Also how to embellish a sales pitch and sell hype. Many of the claims made are not based in scientific fact, truth, or FDA approved research and findings. In order for these claims to hold any water, they must be scientifically proven through credible lab research and performed by a renowned organization or institution.

I don’t mean to say, “all innovative exercise gadgets and weight loss fads don’t work.”

In fact we know many do when individuals set realistic diet, exercise training goals relative to fitness, health and lifestyle change goals.

Exercise science proves daily exercise and reasonable-balanced diet can provide the fitness results you seek including sustainable weight loss. And can also lower health risk factors for many types of disease including: cardiovascular and circulatory problems, diabetes and cancer… and other illness and diseas.

Experts in exercise physiology prove balanced diet and exercise sustains body tone and improves strength, flexibility and muscular and cardiovascular-endurance for any age. Including healthy longevity, increased energy levels and libido.

I assure you marketers understand a number of prospects won’t be knowledgeable of such things, meaning an endless supply of consumers who will buy the hype and not return products for a number of reasons including,”hope the product will eventually work. By the time most figure these things out, the warranty overlaps. The interesting aspect if of it all, many consumers fall for a similar fitness fad or gimmick the next time around under a different brand name and similar/different application. The cycle continues…

Customers have been conditioned to believe exercise and/or diet is necessary to lose weight. And these things are mostly true. But if daily exercise and diet is not integrated and programmed with daily habit and behavioral change modifications – long-term lifestyle change and fitness goals will be short lived. For instance, weight loss through exercise alone is easier said than done for most who struggle with excessive body weight … this is where fitness trainers and consultants with a nutrition background can help.

“In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University, a prominent exercise researcher. Although exercise does burn calories, it also makes us hungrier.

“Exercise, in other words, isn’t necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.”  A famous Time’s Magazine article “Why Exercise Won’t Make you Thin,” by John Cloud… who also performed a controlled study that coined the term “compensation effect.” 

Basically the more you exercise the more you want to eat. For a significant portion of a population – the wrong type of exercise causes weight gain. This provides opportunity for the same marketers to plan and sell the next weight loss hype.  See how this works… They make money on both ends of the exercise and diet spectrum.

The major reason consumers continue to purchase weight loss fads, exercise and fitness gimmicks is because reputable organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association guidelines in 2007 state “to lose weight,” 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary. That recommendation covers most days of the week. I know this statement is mostly true.

But the marketers distort these daily exercise requirements by adding other facts to sell more products and services not related to individual fitness needs. In other words, the goods and services are not compatible to work for all demographic and health, and genetic factors, etc., or compatible with current medical profile.

Again the marketplace won’t voluntarily tell you these things because they’d likely lose repeat sales purchases. Why would they change their behavior to change yours if they knew it would reduce their profits?

This is how the diet, fitness and anti-aging industries continue to bilk the consumer and enrich themselves. Often at the expense of consumer health and well-being and pocket book.

My recommendation: Before you buy into the next fitness or weight loss product or program hype it would do your body and pocketbook good to do your own due diligence. Here at MirrorAthlete we expose the lies, half-truths and truths – we don’t sugar coat anything.

If you want to know more about consumer safety, marketplace truths, customized fitness and healthy lifestyle programming, ill-health prevention, etc., consider purchasing Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More” book by author Marc Woodard. Thanks in advance for your support.

Good Health to You and Your Family.

Author: Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, USA Medical Services Officer, CPT, RET.  2017 Copyright, All rights reserved. MirrorAthlete Corp @ www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your free eNewsletter.