Yes ladies it's me again!!!

I was working out on the treadmill and I had the t.v. on and this commercial comes on I don't know how many of you have seen it but it's promoting a diet pill and this women is on there and she says that she lost 35 pounds in 9 weeks and she goes from a size 16 to a size 3 atleast and it just makes me crazy to see that we all know how hard it is to lose weight and to have these people that aren't really overweight on t.v. isn't right I would love to see someone who is really eating healthy and working out and to see them lose weight the real way like I've seen on this site all these wonderful remarkable hard working women that have lossed all that weight with work and effort and not these plastic models!!!

I'm sorry I'm rambling and venting. I hope all of you are having a wonderful day

A tv producer told me recently that those commercials are fake because they film the "after" part at the beginning, then pay the actresses/models to gain weight quickly so they can shoot the "before" part. This may not be the case in every diet pill advertisement, but it apparently is a very common tactic. What a scam!

Wait. A 16.. to a 3... and only 35lbs lost? I'd have to be dead 6 months to ever be a size 3 in the first place, but that's a jump of 6 sizes in just over two months and they'd have to lose 3.8lbs per week to achieve that. That just sounds very difficult to do without damaging your body and losing muscle tissue. And the 6 sizes with only 35bs lost sounds unreal to me too. (Again, I've never been that small, but I know 35lbs is only about 2 sizes difference on my body).

Those commericals always scream "SCAM!" to me anyway.

I hate commercials. You're always too fat, too poor, too old, too [insert whatever common insecurity they can exploit here]. I'm glad I killed the satellite dish.

I used to just ignore all the various weight-loss scams (or think wishfully about them), but now that I've been working to lose weight for the past year and know from my own experience just how truly fake they are, they really drive me nuts. Especially the ones that show the women in bathing suits. I do not understand how false advertising like that is legal. Every time I see one I go on a rant; my SO just sighs patiently, rolls his eyes , and waits for me to finish.

- Barbara

They drive me nuts, too.

Why on EARTH would a diet pill that -really- worked be sold on the TV? Why not in a docs office (especially if they're promising 3.5 lbs a week - an UNHEALTHY level that would need to be supervised by a doctor). Why wouldn't it be on every news program? Why wouldn't we all be getting prescriptions for the miracle drugs?

I rant too. If they love us, Barbara, they will just learn to deal with it as one of our cuter quirks.

I never heard that about shooting the after part first and then paying them to gain weight and shoot the before part!! Interesting, but makes sense. It is sad that people get pulled into them when we all know they can't possibly be true!

geez, i hate that kind of stuff...now this might offend people, but really TV IS ALL CRAP!!! yes, all of it, especially those commercials, i'm combating by not watching it. Seriously, i don't need the brainwashing... (sorry, off on my own soapbox )

Boy, You'd have to pay me some MAJOR $$$ to GAIN weight. lol

I went from a 16 to a 6 (in 70 lbs and 1 year!)

I had wondered about that !

And have you noticed, in the men's mags, they show guys with big ol bellys in the before pics,but if you look closely, you'll see their trapz, and big bicepts and even pecs. If you ask me, they are just body builders that are off season. Sure, the pills might help them burn the fat faster, but it is still a misreprsentation for guys who aren't bodybuilders.

I have also wondered if they use airbrushing techniques and shadowing to make them appear bigger in the "before" pictures.

I just read an article about diet pills in Women's Health mag and many of them can be harmful because they have not been as closely examined by FDA and these companies have gotten away with misrepresenting as well as mis-labeling some of these "miracle" pills.

It makes me sick that they are making millions by feeding off the insecurities of everyone struggling to lose weight.

Ooh, thankfully I have TIVO, commercials be gone!!!!!! I also watch movies or DVD's while exercising to avoid that. It's such a downer when you see it and then look down at yourself who is working hard and sweating!!!

Pills don't work, when will people figure that out?

Another trick they use: Find athletes who are either just coming off an injury or pregnancy or whatever who temp. Gained some weight. These people although have a wee bit of fluff on them, are still in great shape so it's quite easy for them to lose the weight quickly and looks like a goddess... The Muscle structure was already there!