Throughout my life, my weight has gone up and down. When I was younger, I was teased for being overweight although I really didn’t think I was that much overweight. But people were critical and it definitely affected my self esteem. So I became obsessed with being thin due to criticism. I lost a lot of weight and then people started asking me if I was anorexic. You can’t win. Eventually I gained the weight back and started over.
I’ve tried various diets. But usually when I’ve lost the most weight during my life it’s because I personally had a strong motivation to do so. However, I certainly have been to a lot of weight loss centers including recently. So, I want to share my experiences. But my main question is: why does losing weight cost money? Maybe a little, but why a lot?
Here are the things I have tried: I went to an acupuncturist who put lots of needles throughout my body for weight loss and gave me herbal supplements. It was very expensive. The result? I became very ill from the supplements and my doctor told me to stop the supplements right away. He asked me to bring them to his office and he said they were damaging my health.
My daughter and I went to a doctor who “specializes in weight loss.” She gave me phentermine pills for weight loss and lots of shots to “curb my appetite.” She had my daughter talk to a nutritionist. Then she sold us two boxes of a disgusting tasting milkshake that we were supposed to take in lieu of meals. It was so awful that I tried it for one day and stopped. But the worst part was that I read the directions and it is not meant for kids. So she sold me two expensive boxes of shakes for no reason except she was moving her offices and the shakes were expiring.
I can go on and on. But basically weight loss is big money for many companies. I’ve been to group programs too and I understand the camaraderie. I would just say that I wish companies and certain doctors would stop ripping off people who feel insecure about their weight. It compounds the problem and it is not ethical.
I agree totally. I’ve been scammed with weight loss programs and pills myself. A girl in my office kept telling me about a weight loss program and begged me to join. At the time I couldn’t afford it so I said I would wait. She had a weird, strict regimen. She did lose weight. But then I didn’t see her for a while and she came back to the office heavier than she had originally been.