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Getting Past What Holds You Back with Baby Boomer Weight Loss Expert Scott 'Q' Marcus

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You are here: Home / Archives for phony claims

Busted! Hooray!

January 15, 2014 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

writing-care-on-window

My first wife was employed by a non-profit organization that took care of developmentally disabled adults.

Although affiliated with a nationally known organization, her particular office was managed more like a franchise. They got use of the brand but seemed to run independently — and with callous disregard for what was right and appropriate.

She would rant about the conditions in which she served, most notably about the unrealistic budgetary constraints provided to feed the residents. One example that stood out was that she was instructed to feed six residents with one can of tuna.

That was the tip of the iceberg. There were so many that the parent organization forced them to amend their name by adding “…of (our city)” to it. (Why they didn’t just make them drop it altogether I do not know.)

Eventually, after my wife complained loudly and forcefully enough, they took action: firing her.

Anyone who has ever been axed harbors revenge fantasies. Usually however, time paints them over and, despite a residual dislike for ex-employers, we move on, hoping for karma to do its thing.

Most of the time, we never know. Once in awhile, we get to see it in action.

Months after her dismissal, the national TV news magazine, 20/20, aired a report on fraud in non-profits, which, joy of joys, was focused where she formerly worked. We watched with smug satisfaction as Geraldo Rivera, microphone in hand, chased her ex-boss across the parking lot, trying to get him to “answer a few questions.”

Like I said, once in awhile, justice prevails.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Newspaper Column, Weight Loss Tagged With: advertising, diet, FTC, phony claims, rant, shams

Got My Goat – Diet Falacies and Pet Peeves

March 27, 2013 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I am “goat-less.”

That’s most likely because I let too many things get my goat. Whether it’s an age-related thing or I’m just a grumpy guy, I know not – but I find myself quickly irritated of late.

My biggest goat-getter is tailgaters; drivers who follow too closely, especially on the freeway. My uncle used to slam on his brakes and scare the bejesus out them, watching in his rearview mirror as a look of terror flashed across their faces when they saw his brake lights blast, eventually causing them to back off assuming they were following a maniac (which might have been accurate). I’m not that foolish but I’ll own up to giving that action serious consideration.

Oh yes, another peeve… people in supermarkets who scrutinize their receipt while still in line.  Sure, be positive you’re not overpaying; I’m down with that. But would you mind inspecting the receipt AFTER you let the other shoppers move forward? And have you noticed that those folks are the same ones who argue over a one-cent discrepancy? Here’s your penny. Move on, pal; some of us have lives.

But my ultimate irritation stems from misleading weight loss ads;

…the ones that promise to reveal, “The secret the diet industry doesn’t want you to know,” or falsely boast, “Lose weight without changing a thing.”

sham-diet

Recently, I had to strap duct tape around my noggin to prevent it from exploding when I heard an ad about a diet discovery you mix with water and — voila! (yes, they really said “Voila!”) — you drop 10 pounds in a week!

Class, pull out your calculators; it’s math time.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Newspaper Column, Rant, Weight Loss Tagged With: advertising, diet fads, diet industry, fad diets, phony claims, weight loss ads

Of Dietary Supplements and Flying Unicorns

February 22, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Why is the diet industry replete with so many phony claims?

Recently, I was exposed to yet another “miracle diet product” that got my hackles up — and rest assured you don’t want to be around when I have elevated hackles.

The radio ad began something like:

“We are looking for a select few people in this listening area that want to be involved in a new weight loss study who want to lose no more than two pounds a day.”

Firstly, announcements referencing “this listening area,” are not from “this listening area;” they’re part of a national or regional campaign pretending to sound local. Should they be homegrown, they would say something such as, “We need people in Northern California…” Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with national advertising; however, the fact that it’s disingenuous raises the first in a series of red flags.

Speaking of such, let’s wave some more.

Indeed, there are countless people “in this listening area” who would easily want to shed the required poundage at approximately two pounds every 24 hours. It ain’t gonna happen. Granted, they reference “no more” than two pounds a day. I mean, who would be upset if all they shed was a pound a half a day?

In one month, I have the perfect body. How cool is that?

An important admonition: One cannot lose weight — and sustain it (and that’s essential) — that rapidly without sacrificing one’s health. Therefore, the set up is not only promoting unrealistic and unhealthy expectations, but it’s setting up “participants” to feel like failures should they lose the more realistic one to two pounds per week.

Being your dedicated diet detective, I ventured to the website to suss out the details. What I discovered was that we could purchase a new miracle supplement “electromagnetically encoded to copy the effects of homeopathic formulas.” To get the aforementioned results, one consumed a few drops regularly and followed a “VCLD” (very low calorie diet) of approximately 500 calories per day.

Let’s put that in perspective.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Change, Diet, Exercise, Health, Newspaper Column, Rant Tagged With: calories, change, diet industry, diet product, homeopathic formulas, low calorie diet, miracle diet, miracle supplement, northern california, perfect body, phony claims, rant, weight loss

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