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Hi! Does anyone know anything about the LA Weightloss Center diet plan? I have seen the commercials lately and it looks like they get great results. They say you eat regular food etc. and there are different plans like Red Plan, Purple Plan etc. If anyone can give me any info I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
There is an entire group on ladies on this plan....the thread name is LAWL and it is under general diet plans. They can give you all the info you need! : )
I joined LA Weight Loss in July 2004. By October I had lost over 30 lbs. You do eat regular foods, however, the drawback is that they pressure you continually to buy more of their products in bulk at over $600 or every two weeks at a cost of $119 (mind you these are snacks only or LA Lites). They have settled out of court regarding this matter in the past but some areas are still pressuring the clients into this. I also found that the one I went to and the others I checked out do not have licensed counselors as they say they do. They do hire some part time medical people....Nurses or people from Labs. But it is rare you see them there. Cost is down from $7 a week to an advertised price of $3. Depending on the weight you want to lose and how long you want to take to lose it will determine how much you pay. You have to pay up front plus your first two weeks of products they say you have to use to make it work (this does not include their supplements, vitamins, etc) at over 200.00. You do have to go 3 times a week for a weigh in. There is no privacy in the few I have been in so if you don't want others to hear what advice you get then there will be no problem. So I paid $900.00 + to join and over $1000.00 for snacks (in less than 3 months). You can buy your snacks cheaper else where that have the same ingredients in them. Now I am on hold with them as I decide what I want to do. Would I advise anyone to join....only if you have a lot of money to spend and keep spending or if you are lucky and find one close to you that does not pressure you into buying the extra products. They make a commission on all they sell. The diets are good it is the access baggage from LA Weight Loss that makes some fail on this plan.
OH MY GOSH!!! I have no idea what center you went to...but you got SERIOUSLY ripped off!!! I have been to three different centers (in 3 different states) and NEVER saw prices like that!!
That is what everyone keeps telling me. I met those on it from Missouri, South Carolina and Texas. Our area seems to be running on the "commission" part. They are high pressure sales tactics that made me stop for a while. Matter of fact when I would go in my blood pressure would go up. They had a group in from Houston that I enjoyed and they did not pressure you at all to buy the products. But the manager at the main clinic I go to pressures you constantly and tells the clients that is the only way you can lose weight is by buying their products. Also, I was told by two doctors not to take the supplements (due to some health problems I have). Eveyone of the counselors still continued to pressure me into buying their supplements. I stocked up on the LA Lites (which are very good) and even after stocking up they continued to tell me I had to buy more. Guess they found a sucker in me. Then I read on the web that LA had to settle out of court for this same practice. I may not have had luck with the centers I tried but I wish all those who try it the best as it is a good plan. My doctor was impressed with the weight loss....but one doctor from Dallas and my main Doctor in Ennis, Texas was not impressed with the ingredients in the supplements. Said for some they could be very dangerous down the road. The lady in SC I know said her doctors won't let her take them either.
Anyway, the diet part is good. I will continue the diet (red now) and then follow the others. I was given the weight I would need to attain to start each color.
The accountibility is good...the pressure from the clinics in this area is not.
I joined L.A. Weight Loss back in July 2004 and ended up canceling it. The woman who worked at the clinic were very nice trying to sell their plan to me - but after I signed up - they were rude, and very unsupportive. Not just with me - but with other people too. (I am not saying that all of the L.A. centers are like this though.)
I did get a lot of pressure to buy the L.A. Lites and other snacks. They were costing me around $300 a month! I could not keep up with this.
Then they wanted to charge me for the rest of the program (which would have meant taking $350 out of my account!) So I e-mailed the company with my complaint, and they said that I would still have to pay the "start up fee" and that they would take that out of my account. Well - to this day they have never tried to get the money - and I'm glad they didn't. I think they knew how unhappy I was with their service.
Of course - this is just my opinion. Everyone has different experiences. I just figure now, that I can do the exact same thing on my own without the high cost.
We included LAWL in our diet survey, along with South Beach, Weight Watchers, Atkins, and a few others. The former LAWL members had the most negative things to say about their diet, than any other diet plan we surveyed. Some felt very hostile! Very few people had anything good to say about LAWL. Those that did like it felt that it was balanced and they were successful with their plans. Those that didnt' like it, which were most of the LAWL respondents, felt they had been ripped off, had poor counselors, and hated the high pressure sales.
Personally, it's the 'three times a week' weigh in that I don't care for. Weighing more than once a week at MOST is NOT a good idea - back in 1978 I was a member of Diet Center which had me come in EVERY DAY except Sunday. Needless to say, Saturday night through Sunday morning was a bingefest for me, and the rest of the week I pretty much starved myself to try and get the scale to drop daily (this is also the time I started using laxatives to try and purge myself of any excess calories...ended up fainting in the back of a movie memorbilia store as a result - the ONLY time in my life I have fainted!).
WHY they insist on 3x a week weigh-in...is beyond me. It's definitely NOT healthy, either physically or mentally, to weigh in so often.
I always get a chuckle out of the name and logo (which implies Los Angeles, sunny California, bikinis and all that) - because LAWL has NOTHING to do with California, and until very recently, had no franchises in California.
Incidentally, you might want to try eBay for those LA Lites...I just checked and there are a lot of boxes of 14 bars starting at 99 cents per box...a lot of ebay sellers are also selling photocopies of the LAWL plans as well...for around $1.50 - $5.00...
All that $$ they want upfront - to me, if you wanna spend all that dough you'd be better off joining a good gym and getting a competent personal trainer to assist you with a sensible diet and exercise program...but that's IMO of course
I pay $3 a week for "membership" and buy my LA Lites online (or replace them with Luna or Balance Bars from Target or Ebay). If they are having good deals on the lites I buy them at the center....but never more than $1 or so each. I also weigh in once a week at the center...more than that is NUTTY!
BUT...as we have found on our LAWL thread....EVERY office is VERY different. If you get a good center with a good counselor you are lucky and will probably enjoy the program...otherwise....well...we see those reports!
I would never pay a thousand or more dollars up front...YIKES!
I too found the clinic I went to was run rudely by the manager. In front of another two clients she said "Won't you be glad when you don't have to wear mumu's anymore and have to hide all that fat". She laughed and I thought that was awfully rude. You go to a place like that for help. I did talk to customer service today and they have offered (I say offer loosely) to refund me $425-$500 back on the program. Seems they had the notes in file regarding the remark the manager made...however, the manager had made a note she wrote someone else up for it. That was the day I started hating seeing the LA Weight Loss Centers sign. But I can't blame the whole LA Weight Loss Program for one clinic. Just happened to go to clinic that had a lousy, rude manager!
To put it mildly, I was pressured the day I walked in. I said I wanted a few days to think about it and the cost and the next thing I know I am signed up and money is coming out of my wallet faster than I can blink. To go visit the clinic for me (when not at work) is over 100 miles round trip. When they started saying I had to come in on Saturdays too I asked them if they were going to pay for my gas. The reply was "Are you going to buy your two week supply of LA Lites?" So.......$$$$ was more important at that clinic.
So effective today I quit LAWL. To be honest they do have a good plan....but if you look at a diabetic plan or heart patient plan you could come up with the same one.
I am happy for those that have found good clinics, but if you decide to join one do make sure you have checked the clinic and how it is run first. Make sure they do not do the "high pressure" sales for commissions instead of making sure they are truly there to help you.
I will check out ebay for the products I like. Thank you for mentioning that. Thank all of you for listening. I feel so much better now that I made the decision to steer away from LAWLC.
I too found the clinic I went to was run rudely by the manager. In front of another two clients she said "Won't you be glad when you don't have to wear mumu's anymore and have to hide all that fat". She laughed and I thought that was awfully rude. You go to a place like that for help.
O...M...Freakin...G...! Are you SERIOUS????
I don't consider myself an especially outspoken person...but I would have been out of there like a SHOT, after a few choice words. Not to mention demanding a 100% refund!!!
I mean, like you said...there's no magic about the diet itself - you can easily devise your own by doing a bit of research on the 'net or your local library - or spend less than $5.00 and get photocopies of all the plans on eBay. (but check this out - according to Anne Fletcher's book Thin for Life, most maintainers (people who have managed to keep off at least 20 lbs for a minimum of 3 years) devised their OWN, personal eating plan.
What you're paying for at LAWL - basically - is the accountability factor. Having to come in three times a week - even if it's not ALL the centers, it's still way to much to ask, especially if you're being weighed each time. That's the reason I did Diet Center - in 1978 I was only 15, so what did I know anyway - because I felt (and apparently my mom felt too, since they had to sign a permission slip for me as a minor to do the program) that I needed a policeman...I don't remember the hard sell especially, just the fasting and binging during that entire 8 weeks I was going there. Paid accountability.
I think it's when we're accountable to OURSELVES...that's when the really great stuff happens...as far as losing weight goes. From personal experience!
Spam 421 - what a horrible story! I am so sorry you had to go through that I do hope you find a plan that works for you.
The thing I found when I looked at LAWL menus that my friend had and her tracking diary was that it looked suspiciously a lot like the Weight Watcher's format except with WW you make up your own menus. I had made up my own weekly menus for myself and the LAWL ones were almost the same format minus the WW points - maybe I should be selling mine!
I guess LAWL is good for people who need more accountability and need to be told what they can eat and need more one on one with a "counselor".
Also I have never felt pressure to buy any of WW's products or services. They just display them on a table at the meeting and if you want them - then buy em, if not then don't.
I have seen a few diet programs that flog "supplements" and wondered why? Are you not getting enough nutrition on this diet (LAWL, Dr. Bernstein, etc.) that you need the supplements?
I do WW, eat healthy, still am able to dine out with friends and all I take is a regular drugstore brand multivitamin and a vitamin C tablet everyday.
Thank you both so much for the support. I should have said something earlier but I think deep down it bothered me more than if it had come from a total stranger. That I could have accepted a lot better. You live you learn. But I will admit now that the "kid gloves' have come off. I am on my way to becoming leaner on my own with a diet buddy. And the last few days have been great! I am so glad I came back to 3FC.
I totally agree that you should get the plan off of Ebay. Any bar or shake with 150-180 calories and at least 10 grams of protein can be a replacement for an LA Lite bar...who needs their high pressure sales tactics.
If you want the accountability factor-have your husband keep the scale away from you-or a close friend-and have them drag it out once a week for you to weigh in-let them watch and record it FOR you...it's FREE!
Man...I SO want to go into a local LAWL group as a "decoy" and see how I am treated-like a hidden camera show...
LA Weight Loss?
Thanks!
LA Weight Loss
The lady in SC I know said her doctors won't let her take them either. 
But I can't blame the whole LA Weight Loss Program for one clinic. Just happened to go to clinic that had a lousy, rude manager!
I do hope you find a plan that works for you.
