Oftentimes people who are desperate to lose weight fall victim to one or more of the hundreds of weight loss books, videos, diets and subpar exercise programs on the mainstream market. Nowadays many of these products are marketed as “challenges” and aggressively pushed by independent agents. I'm sure you've either seen or participated in at least one of these and I’m not talking about those harmless “Biggest Loser” weight loss challenges at work. The type of “challenge” I’m referencing is one whose primary objective is to make money for its sponsor.

The latest weight loss challenge trend involves substantial financial investments on the part of participants who are promised that they’ll be “getting paid to lose weight” or, at the very least, “making money” from their weight loss attempts. However, in order to make money and recoup their initial investment participants are required to bring in subsequent investors. Sound familiar? Seriously? Getting paid to lose weight? Should making money really play a role in one’s quest to lose weight? Are these actually real weight loss challenges or simply pyramid schemes? Chances are you’ve received an invitation from a friend or anonymously by email or phone to attend a meeting where you can learn about an “excellent opportunity” to make money while losing weight. Why do you have to go to a meeting in order to find out why this is such a good thing?

While some weight loss challenges offer useful strategies, advice and tips, unfortunately, most make empty promises. Many of these bogus challenges claim to be based on some “scientific breakthrough” or “backed by science”. The more popular challenges require you to purchase and consume “all natural” cleansing supplements, shakes, formula drinks, pills, prepackaged meals and food bars or advocate calorie restriction without a sufficient amount of exercise, unbalanced nutrition (i.e. high-carbohydrate, low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat, etc.), or simply encourage impractical dietary and/or exercise behaviors that cannot be continued for a lifetime.

In addition, what bothers me most as an Exercise Scientist is the amount of weight loss these challenges promote. Many tout examples where people rapidly drop 5 to 10 pounds (or more) in a single week. As I’ve stated before in my blog, “Why You Should Not Attempt to Lose More Than 2 Pounds A Week”, dropping large amounts of weight in a short period of time will have drastic consequences in the long run. The irony here is that many of the people pushing these programs have not even experienced the LONG-TERM weight loss success they themselves believed would come when they started “getting paid to lose weight”.

I often try to ignore the presence of these weight loss challenge opportunities in spite of the fact that they are everywhere, but now it is at a point where they are starting to trickle into the lives (and pockets) of my family, friends, and others for whom I care about. This is something that I just will not stand for. There is a reason why I’ve branded myself as “The Health & Wellness Expert You Can Trust”.

So now that I’ve given you my expert opinion/rant about these so-called weight loss challenges, click here to learn how to achieve successful weight loss for free.

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Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a physician for advice.

Before starting an exercise training program you should first make sure that exercise is safe for you.  If you are under the age of 55 years and generally in good health, it is probably safe for you to exercise.  However, if you are over 55 years of age and/or have any health problems, be sure to consult with your physician before starting an exercise training program.