Week 10

Dear Brooke,

Are you still trying to lose weight? If you are, I would highly advise that you avoid any type of advertised diet at all costs—a lot of those diets are mere fads and are not FDA or government approved. You see, many weight loss brand promoters don't really care if you get ripped off. They will do whatever they can to sell their product to you, and they do this mostly through propaganda. Often times, weight loss products you see on TV will leave you with either no results, weight gain, or even an instigation of health problems. Being that some are not approved, any of these will likely be your end product. Fad diets have become exceedingly popular lately. They may restrict you from sugar, carbohydrate, or any other nutrient intake—in case you haven't realized it yet, nutrient deprivation is BAD for you! This is exactly why many weight loss programs are not government approved. The government is not about to support a program that endangers your health and inhibits you from a healthy nutritional intake. That would be absurd.

Also, don't ever fall for a company's menacing attempt to sell you supposedly alternative medications. I have seen magazine advertisements for green tea, which is supposed to cure some sort of medical condition. Although green tea may in deed alleviate pain or reduce severity, it is NOT FDA approved. What I mean by this is, since it is being broadcasted throughout the media as unapproved medication, there is a likely chance the medication is flawed or prone to putting you at risk for an even greater problem. Much like with weight loss advertising, some companies who are wishing to promote strange medications will completely disregard your safety to sell you their product. Many will reinforce this idea by creating an all-sales-final policy. Even if you found the medication to be flawed, there would be no way to retrieve your money. As sad as that may be, this concept is immersing itself throughout society little by little.

Lastly, online pharmacies are a major red flag, as well. These websites, obviously not government approved, may sell you phony or ineffective prescriptions. One helpful hint in determining whether one of these sites is legitimate or not is to look for a government approved label. But even then, it may be difficult to decipher whether a site is fake or real. My hopes are that you are cautious when looking into these types of medical advertisements. I know that online pharmacies and alternative medications won't be an issue for you, but be careful when you are choosing a weight loss program. There are several that may be harmful to your health or that will rip you off. Hopefully you will take my advice on this, and always make sure the advertisements you are looking at are government approved. Good luck!

- Brittany