BEWARE OF FITNESS SCAMS THIS JANUARY
By Noelle Walker at New Fitness Personal Training
It’s January and it’s the time of year when people are ready to embark on their New Years resolutions. It’s also the time of year when promises of quick fast and phenomenal results are prevalent everywhere. There are personal trainers, gyms and supplement companies ready to tell you that you can lose 10 pounds in 10 days. Just sign up here, they say. And of course there is always a time limit. You better hurry or the offer will be gone. The fear of missing out is at an all time high in January.
Unfortunately most of these, if not all are complete scams. They are not there to help you, they are there to take your money and run. The big takeaway here is if it sounds too good be true, it is in most cases.
FITNESS CHALLENGES
Wow ok these are everywhere. 30 day challenges, 60 day challenges, 7 day challenges. Sound familiar? That’s because everyone and their dog has a new challenge for you to try. These fitness and nutrition challenges target you because it’s January and it’s New Years resolution time. They give you empty promises like you will lose a certain amount of weight in that time or you will learn how to eat healthier. It’s designed to either try and get as many people through the door so they can sign you up for a higher priced package or get as much money as possible that will never result in you getting anything tangible.
I know, it sounds really good right oh and really easy. Making major life changes is never easy and it’s never quick. Like I said before if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES
The before and after pictures is another major fitness scam. Most of these before and afters are completely fake. They are usually bought from someone on Fivrr or a company that sells fitness before and after pictures to fitness companies. Do not rely on before and after pictures when making your decision on what gym or fitness facility or personal trainer to help you achieve your own fitness goals. Do your own research on the company. Talk to previous or existing clients and get the lowdown that way. A picture is not going to tell you the whole story.
WEIGHT LOSS TEAS AND SUPPLEMENTS
Supplement companies love to convince you that you need to take fat burners, appetite suppressants and pre workout drinks filled with ingredients that you don’t need such as Ephedrine, excessive caffeine and Chromium. They will try and convince you that in order to get results in the gym or otherwise, you need all of these supplements. The reality is you don’t need ANY supplements at all. There is no fat burner on the market that will help you shed fat faster. You certainly don’t need more Chromium(this is the supplement to suppress appetite). We produce enough of it ourselves naturally and it’s actually dangerous for you to consume more of it. I could write an entire book on supplement scams but you get the idea. Pre-workout drinks are usually just filled with a lot of artificial sugars and caffeine. You are better off having a cup of coffee or just relying on your own innate energy. If you feel tired before working out, trust me you won’t feel that way for long. Exercise gives us energy naturally.
Weight loss teas should be banned. Period. They don’t work AND they are dangerous. You will lose weight but not the way you want. The reason you drop pounds is because you are severely dehydrated and you are excreting large amounts of poop and bile. I know, sounds pretty disgusting. Not only is it disgusting but it does not work for fat loss. All of those pounds you lost will be quickly regained after you drink some water or have some food. You might as well starve yourself because it’s the same thing. I don’t want that for you, so please stay away from weight loss teas.
HUGE GYM DISCOUNTS
Ah the gym and their discounts. This is something I would call a semi scam. It’s not like they are telling you that you will get a discount and then not give you one. So they don’t out and out lie to you but their system is set up to get as many people as humanly possible through the door, collect their money(all the while putting you into long contracts) and hope you never show up. Not only do they not care if you show up to the gym but they are hoping most of you won’t. They simply don’t have the capacity for all of the people that they offered their steep discounts to. Most gyms do operate that way so keep this in mind when accepting a huge discount from a gym. If you love the gym, go for it but if you think the gym sales staff care about you and are going to help you reach your fitness goals, think again.
These are just a few of the common scams we see every year in January targeting New Years fitness resolutioners. Don’t be fooled. Do your research and take your time in making a decision on how you’re going to go about attaining your fitness goals. Don’t give into pressure tactics and fake time limits. If you take the time and do it right, you won’t get fooled AND you will have a much higher chance of reaching your fitness goals. I hope this blog post helped you. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me with any fitness related questions
