In my day I have tried thousands of dollars of weight-loss products, spent countless time organizing and throwing them out, and plenty of time performing self-imposed trials upon myself to see if they actually did perform as promised by their manufacturers. What does all about this prove besides the fact that I've wasted a lot of time and money trying to lose the same ten pounds over the past ten years? It has given me a real good sense of what is promised, why it is promised, and perhaps, what insecurities drive us to buy them. In this article I will share with you a few simple tips of things to think about before you purchase that next weight loss promise.

Number one. Never, ever purchase a product because it promises you something that sounds too good to be true. How many products have promised consumers to "guarantee weight loss?" And how many of these products have, in long-term and credible studies, have provided the user with firm evidence in support of their claims? Very few. And many contain what I like to call "along with" additions to such claims. Let me explain. Many diet pills, for example, promise that you will lose weight three times as fast as one would without their supplement. Their "along with" claims are usually something like this - our product, along with diet and exercise. But weight, I mean wait, that's why we starting taking this product, correct? Because we were unable to inspire ourselves to "diet and exercise" in the first place! Post Bran Flakes(r), for instance, promises that a person will lose 10 pounds in their "Eat 2, Lose 10" marketing campaign. However, ask yourself how likely is it that a person will really be willing, or likely, to swap out two of their daily meals in favor of a bowl of Grape Nuts(r)? I mean, I like Grape Nuts and everything, but Suzi-Q's still hold more appeal to me.

Number two. For about 90 percent of people, weight loss is a mental health issue as well as a physical issue. In other words, my belief is that if a physical condition is not present which either leads to weight gain or prevents weight loss, mental health is certainly part of the overweight picture. After all, our mind does play a large role in controlling our appetite. In fact, I personally believe that people actually have two appetites, one physical and the other mental. For instance, you're driving down the road and you are suddenly overcome with feelings of light-headedness and hunger pangs. Okay, that's physical. That's your body trying to tell you that you need food, and now! But what about those times that one feels "hungry" although they are having no physical symptoms? These are the times that you being feeling for example bored or depressed, after which your mind translate these mental thoughts and needs into "I'm physically hungry." I believe that for many of us this "appetite confusion" is set firmly in our subconscious by the time we in our teens. I guess the bottom line here is this: when purchasing a weight loss product remember that though this product may be promising to suppress hunger physically, there is probably little that it can do to suppress your "mental appetite."

Number three. You can't cheat the system. I think down deep, we all really want to believe that this statement is not true. For instance, I continue to struggle with those same ten pounds that I have been struggling with since the day I graduated from high school. Why? Not because I do not know what to eat, what is healthy, and how important exercise is but simply because, in short, I hate to exercise and I love sweets. I think, okay I know, that in the back of my mind I've always believed that somehow I could cheat the system- that if I just ate only pineapple, didn't eat after 5:00 p.m., or cut out carbohydrates completely, I'd finally achieve the physique of Elle MacPherson. Well, Elle's job looks secure with me as her replacement because Elle probably doesn't cheat.

Of course, the purpose of this entire article is to say just this: if you are not born with the body of a supermodel, you probably will never be one unless you are willing to put an enormous amount of time in the gym, very little time in the kitchen, and the rest of your time at the plastic surgeon's office. If you are not however, one of the few willing to make these sacrifices and all of them with a beautiful and brilliant smile on your face, my advice to you would be this- don't quit your day job, learn to accept the fact that we cannot all fit into society's perception of beauty, and enjoy who you are- enjoy every minute of it. And for goodness sake, don't look to an empty promise or you may just end up with an empty wallet.