Friday, February 24, 2006

Diet study

There is an interesting study going on right now, about weight loss. They think they have come up with a perfect weight loss program. It sounds interesting, you diet one day and eat what ever you want the next day. They have a vitamin crystal you take on the "Food Days", which is supposed to help with energy. On the "Diet Days" you eat only fruit and vegetables, drink water and eat these wafers which are made from a root and expands somewhat in your stomach. The only exercise you have to do is walk 30 to 40 minutes a day. At the end of the study they will pay all who have made it through the whole study $1000. The only problem I have is they want a $150 deposit, which you will get back eventually, to make sure "only those who are truly serious about loosing weight" get in. I'm probably more serious than anyone else in their study, but I don't have that right now. My credit card is maxed out right now, and ever penny we get we have to either save for the move or get things we need. So I'm not going to be able to do the study. But maybe there will be a second study with a smaller deposit, or maybe we will have money soon and I can still sign up. Oh, if you are interested or know someone who might be interested their web site is http://dietstudy.com Let me know if anyone does it and how it works out.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hate to say it, but it sounds like a complete rip off scam to me.

Walking 30 to 40 minutes a day without anything else would be a good healthy start without all the rest of the rubbish - and paying $1000 for the honour is obscene!

Besides, if it's a proper scientific study, they should be paying YOU to help them with it, not demanding money!

Avoid, avoid, avoid, this one has red alarm bells ALL over it!

Messed up Mama said...

Oh, they pay you $1000 after the study, you would have to pay them $150 that they will return to you in the end as well. But I agree that it's probably a scam, I'd have lots of questions for them.

Anonymous said...

Oh sorry - I misread that bit (I blame cold remedies addling the brain!!)

Even at $150 though ... it reeks a bit of that email scam where you pay upfront for costs so that millions of dollars can be placed in your bank account...

Maybe I'm just an overly suspicious person where money is concerned.

Messed up Mama said...

Actually, I think you are probably right. But when you need to loose half of your body weight, almost anything that MIGHT work sounds good. Once I get moved up to Oregon, and get settled in with my Mom and Dad, Mom and I are planning on walking and incouraging each other to eat better and take better care of ourselves. That will be a big start toward loosing all the weight I need to loose.

Thanks for the discussion. It helps to talk such things through with someone with a fresh view point.

Anonymous said...

That's okay - I feel a bit guilty from discouraging you now, lol!

There's *so* much money in the diet industry though, it really does make me cross.

Anonymous said...

- you can put any answer to any question on the dietstudy.com survey and the result is still "You're Approved!" - definate scam

Anonymous said...

i did the same i put that i had no interest in loosing wait i even put that i just was there for the money and i was approved for the study also i am not sure if anyone noticed but the confirmation # is the same evrey time. if you are tuely trying to loose wait here is some free advise. eat try just cutting things out like junk food, fast food, and soda. they two or three times a week walk for about 30 minutes(which is what they tell you to do in the study) this alone will make a big difference. Do not deprive yourself of anything. that is why most diets fail. if you really want something like a piece of cake then have it just only have a little piece and not the whole cake. if you say i can't have that i am on a diet you are just setting yourself up for failure. always remember little steps and the key is the exercise.

Messed up Mama said...

That sounds really easy, but it isn't. I hardly ever eat junk food, fast food and soda. I've reduced the size of my portions to less than half of what they used to be. The one thing I don't do is walk, partly because it's hard to do so around here. The weather is too hot, or too cold. I burn quickly in the hot weather, and I would rather not take my 3 year old out in the cold. I'm not in a location where I can walk inside; I don't have the money for a gym membership. I have NEVER eaten a whole cake; the piece of cake that I might eat is probably smaller than the one you might eat. It's a good idea to keep small treats in a diet, and walking or other exercise is definitely important. You sound like someone who never has had a weight problem, who has a picture of over weight people as eating too much, eating a lot of foods that is bad for them, and who don’t know that they should be moving and exercising more. I know that you have good intentions, I probably know you and care about you, but this comment came off kind of rude. I'm 46 and have been over weight all my life, I've heard it all, hundreds of times, and I know that everything you have said it true. Most of it however doesn't apply to me.

Messed up Mama said...

Thank you for stopping in Sandy. When I am actually able to walk for minutes or so a couple of times a week I do loose weight easier. I didn't check into this company, I probably should have before posting this entry, but I heard about it on the radio and thought it would be good if it worked. Too bad it isn't. I know that I need to continue to cut down the portion sizes I eat, and I need to walk more. Once I get started on that I'll start to loose weight, it will be slow but it will work. My Mom and I plan to encourage each other to walk more and to eat right. We both feel that we need the support.

Come back and comment any time, Sandy.