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You're right , I should have been more assertive. I'm the one who went in there and I'm the one who joined. That was my fault and I took full blame there. But I was douped no two ways about it. They left out alot when they were selling me their plan. And like I said before, desperate people do desperate things. I was vulnerable and wanted to believe in someone. Their so called quick loss juice is none other than the Hollywood juice. (Something they were fast to point out that it wasn't) When I didn't lose what "they" thought I should they pushed supplements on me like you wouldn't believe. They said I had to have them to lose the weight. By this time, you're already in alot of money. Now before I started they said I didn't need them. These supplements made me sick, literally. (at least the combination of them) I tried to rell them that but they kept pushing more on me. When I finally refused, their attitude changed very suddenly. NO longer were they friendly and helpful. They kept accusing me of cheating on my diet and so on. To make it worse, one would tell me one thing to do and i would go back in and someone else would tell me that no that was wrong and that I should be doing something else. Yes I lost some weight but as little as I was eating , anyone would have. No, I won't go back to them, I'm doing just fine on my own and I feel alot better. I left them, got myself educated about foods and exercise, something I should have done in the first place and I'm doing just fine on my own. I'm sorry but LAWL does belong in this forum. I'm glad it works for a percentage of people, at least not everyone is getting ripped off but people need to know their tactics. Not everyone is strong enough and assertive enough to make a good judgement call on it. And I know tht not all centers are ran the same, I know that by reading the forums on here. I got ahold of a really bad one. My eyes were opened in a very bad way. And I'm happy for everyone who does lose weight thru them. All I'm saying is, get yourself educated on food and exercise, especially if you are thinking about going into ANY weight loss venter. If I was told everything up front, I wouldn't joined.That's what I'm trying to say. Mine is only one experiance but I know I"m not alone.
xTYx..
No they DON'T tell you all this before you sign. They don't tell you the plan, they don't tell you you have to pay again with in your year if you EVER "cheat", even by accident.... and that is the whole point. If your "saleperson" (not a counselor) told you all of that before you signed, she isn't following the program. They are not supposed to tell you..... that is how they get you in there.
Barbs, the issue is that they certainly DO tell you that you are losing weight in a finite period of time. They also tell you that if you do not complete your weightloss in this amount of time, you must pay for additional weeks. Please read my post
For some of us, having a deadline helps out a lot. Having someone on our backs 3x a week can also help, too. I still refuse to classify a hard sell with all the other ridiculous products on this forum. It's working a whole lot better for me than an ab belt would. LoL
Pat-I am so sorry that you feel that you got duped by LAWL. I am glad you are doing fine on your own, and welcome you to join in on the general diet plans boards-there are plenty of very wonderful and helpful ladies out there that will root you on and help you towards your goals.
I hope anyone who feels that htey have been duped by LAWL doesn't blame themselves or feel bad about it. They are taking advantage-plain and simple.
xYTx-I do not feel that LAWL is the same "type" of gimmick as an ab belt or a lose weight while you sleep miracle drink-but I DO feel that it belongs in the buyer beware section. It is not only the hard selling- I have repeated over and over until I am blue in the face to people that these so called counselors do not know what they are talking about. They downright LIE about their products-when they are the same vitamins and 48 hour juice you can get for 1/3 of the price in Wal-Mart-but they tell you that they are different, or superior, or what have you-and it is the same!
They tell you it is a healthy plan-it is not-it is potentially harmful, it is so low in calories-and they are completely making stuff up as far as the no bananas, salmon only once a week, etc. Any professional nutritionist would tell them they are crazy. If it were just the hard selling tactics I wouldn't beat them down so badly-but it is the hard selling with the lies, potentially harmful dieting tactics, and totally bogus information they are telling people.
I am glad that it is working for you, and that you are really sticking it to them-but I recommend that you eat over the 1200 calorie mark-and totally ignore the bunk about bananas, grapes, salmon...but really make yourself a pain in the rear end to those ladies!
I have lost 17 pounds in the past few months with exercise and a proper diet of OVER 1200 calories a day-usually around 1500-1600-and the loss has been averaging 1-2 pounds per week. And I feel great-and my diet includes bananas and whatever color of grapes I want... Boy, those ladies would fall over if I visited their center...
I am also on LA Weightloss and post on the same board as xYtx. It is frustrating at time with the people at the center, but you have to tell them no. The sheets that they show you in the initial meeting tell you the bars are optional (even if they don't say it aloud you see it and it isn't fine print). I normally don't say things such as this, but maybe some of us (myself included on nights like this) need to spend less time complaining about weightloss programs while sitting idly in front of a computer and get off our butts and get healthy. Just an observation. Don't mean to come across rude.
No offense taken. I've been up since 5 am, stuck, to a healthy diet, walked 3 miles, did ab exercises for 15 and got on the Gazelle for 30 minutes. The time I spend on my computer is my down time, the time I take just for myself. LAWL is working for you guys and I'm truly happy for you so there isn't anything anyone can say on here to sway your minds. I never tried to do that or I would have posted on the LAWL board. I just passed on what happened to me and I can see that I wasn't alone. When they sat down and told me about the program (in the beginning)they said the bars were optional (along with the supplements)but when I went back in after the accceleration period, they told me something completely different. Yes I should have really questioned that but like I said, I was in a very vulnerable state. My fault. I didn't mean to step on any toes in here . Their program can work and it does for a percentage of people but their hard sell tactics ruin it. I did learn some things from the program and I use them today but I don't agree with a number of other things. I took resonsibilty for my lack of better judgement but LAWL has a whole lot more they should take respnsibilty for.
The plan MAY have changed since they conned me, but when I joined a couple years ago NONE of that was told to you before you signed (maybe all the lawsuits helped). And xTYx.... perhaps you don't understand what I am complaining about..... I PAID for 52 weeks.... at week 25 they wanted me to buy more weeks cause I wasn't at goal. HEY.... except for a few accidents and once licking Cheeto dust off my fingers (which I got yelled at for... my daughter was eating them), they couldn't tell me WHY I wasn't loosing while following the program. Know why? Cause they aren't nutritionists...they are SALESPEOPLE! Do you understand? I PAID for 52 weeks, if I wasn't at goal by week 24, in my mind I still had 28 weeks coming to me....NOOOOOOO.... I had to "buy more weeks" because the plan wasn't working. You do know that don't you? How many weeks did YOU pay for? AND how many weeks did they give you to get to goal? DO you plan to pay more after your goal date? I sure didn't.
The other "big lie" is that the bars etc are optional.... unless it's changed, SURE you don't have to eat them, but if you don't you are in "violation of your contract." THAT is where that buying more weeks within your year kicks in. Do you think because you paid for a year you can go for a year? HA... so did I.
So...they give you a finite time to loose...what if it doesn't happen? I sat in there crying... literally crying week after week and all they could do was ask me when my last BM was. They had NO IDEA why I wasn't loosing the perscribed 2 pounds a week.
The BIG clue was when my "counselor" (heheheheh), who wore a nurses uniform and had a "nurses are special" pin on told me she wasn't a nurse... it was part of her "COSTUME"!!!! That sinced the con for me.
OK, you know what? There is no reason to get rude, sarcastic, or to start "yelling" via caps. I'm sorry we have a difference of opinion. LAWL was sued earlier this year, and yes... some policies had changed before I joined. I'm sorry you feel you were scammed. I hope whatever plan you decide on takes you to your intended goal.
BUT I'm not sorry I joined the center. It's worked for me so far, as well as the rest of the members of the LAWL thread. Some of them couldn't lose on WW or Jenny Craig, and all of us exercise routinely. We're all adults here, and I can tell you that I use fitday.com, and I very seldom consume unhealthy (under 1200 cal) amounts of food. I'm not a nutrition neophyte I'm a med. student. I just thought I'd give a dissenting opinion on LAWL, that's all. Just like the ladies who posted in defense of WW.
And no one buys into the fact that the counselors pretend to be nurses, Barbs. That's like believing in Santa Claus. They couldn't tell me what the bloodwork they wanted to do was for, so I refused. It's all pretty funny. :-)
I can't speak for the other ladies, I know I don't mean to come across rude or sarcastic. I'm just really still upset about my experiance with LAWL. I never said the program didn't work for a percentage of people. It was working for me to a certain extent. It's just like any other program out there be it WW or whatever. But the center flat out lied to me about alot of things and I feel, no, I know I was scammed and would have continued to be if I wouldn't have finally said ENOUGH. I was told that the women I dealt with were "trained counselors and food experts". They were not, just somewhat trained salespeople. There's a big difference. And if I would have went in and someone was in a nurses uniform, I would have assumed she was a nurse. Call me stupid. No one is ever going to agree or disagree on any given subject and everyone is intitled to their opinion. I've said mine and I feel better in doing so. I found out that I am not alone and that I am human (still) I think the bottom line is that if you find something that works for you then that's great. Do it. I think there's a saying "Can't we all get along"? We are all on here for the same reason - to lose weight and have support in the process. Thanks ladies, you have all made this thread interesting.
I don't think that anyone here is purposely trying to sound sarcastic or rude, and I believe noone here is intentionally trying to step on toes or hurt any feelings.
I think we can all agree to disagree-as there are meny elements that are making everyone's situation a bit different.
xYTx-in your case you are a med student, and are having good luck with your LAWL center. I am glad that you are doing well and know enough about nutrition to be eating more than 1200 calories a day and refusing to do their semi-fast plans and such. You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders, and know enough to refuse the bloodwork, etc. that they are pushing-but not everyone is as educated on nutrition or dieting as you and the others on this site.
But there are also other women in Pat's situation-maybe not knowing enough about calories, etc. and assuming that these women care about her well being and listening to them-because she thought she was getting advice from someone more knowledgable than her on the subject.
There are also many of us that associate a uniform with a profession as well-I used to be mistaken for a nurse or nurses aid when I worked in a salon that required us to wear an all white uniform-I was never mistaken in a hospital, of course-but on my way home from work if I stopped at the store or at a gas station with it still on-so there are a lot of people who wouldn't question what you do if you were dressed the part. There are many trusting, honest people who think that others intentions are always as good as their own-and those are the ones who get fooled or hurt.
As far as Weight Watchers goes-it was mentioned that some are having success on LAWL that did not on WW...I have talked to a lot of ladies, even some of those who post on my regular threads, and I find that some members of WW can slide/cheat a bit on the points system, and maybe use all of their points on high carbohydrate foods and meat or junk food-and pretty much leave out fruits and vegetables or dairy products. I have told one woman on a particular occasion after reading over a food journal I had her keep for a few days that she was using points pretty much every day on candy bars, flavored coffee creamers,breads, etc. and wasn't eating near enough produce-but she was eating under her allowed points. Weight Watchers has a lot of freedom with the points system, but just beacause you are calorie or point counting, I still stress to my regular ladies that you still need to making healthier food choices in your diet. You shouldn't have a Snickers bar for breakfast every morning just because you are still under your calories or points for the day...I find that if you really refine your diet and eat foods that fuel your body-clean foods that aren't overly processed, such as fresh produce and lean meats-your weight will come off easier and you will feel much better in general. I think that this is where some LAWL members are having the weight loss compared to being on WW-when you HAVE to eat so many fruits or veggies a day, you do...but if you know you don't have to...some of us don't.
Aphil
Just what I was going to say, Aphil - about the nurses' uniforms I mean - it's a matter of PERCEPTION.
To have someone dressed in a nurses' uniform and wearing a "Nurses are Special" pin...to the average person (i.e. not a med student) they would automatically assume that is a nurse - especially when they are requiring/strongly suggesting that bloodwork be done. And not everyone is assertive enough to dare question 'why this or that'. In fact, many overweight/obese women are pretty UNassertive and (from personal experience here) when they walk into a place like LAWL, or Jenny Craig for that matter, are so desparate to lose weight - that usually they have pretty much made up their mind that they WILL be joining...and if someone in a white coat (a little 'perception ploy' that Jenny Craig uses in their centers as well) is telling them that for success they MUST buy the supplements and products, well, they will do it for the most part. Remember that LAWL and similar businesses have spent a great deal of money on market research. They KNOW what to say to get the average person to whip out their credit card...to sign a binding contract...to seal the deal...and they doubtlessly train their staff accordingly. (I'd be willing to bet that most of the so-called "counselors" work on commission as well - so they have an added incentive to 'sell' the products.)
Like Aphil, I'm not wanting to be sarcastic or rude at all...but I do get extremely angry and upset to see people being taken for a ride the way Barbs and Pat (and most likely a host of others) have been. I don't blame them in the least for being angry...I know I would be!
Sorry, I didn't mean to come off yelling or sarcastic at all... I was merely ephasizing certain words. I've been over reading the support board and I've noticed that all of the LAWL gals have already broken their contracts (ie cheated) so I was just trying to make it perfectly clear that you will be expected to pay more money after your goal date.... not at the end of your paid up period.
I don't "feel" scammed.... I definitely was scammed. If you can loose on their plan and not feel taken advantage of more power to you. It's not so much their plan I have a problem with except the food they sell is totally unecessary for weight loss. It their totally "deceptive business practices" that really burns me up.
Boy, those ladies would fall over if I visited their center...
I'm a med. student. I just thought I'd give a dissenting opinion on LAWL, that's all. Just like the ladies who posted in defense of WW. 
The Nurses Uniform Thing
