The exercise and nutrition industry is booming!
This probably isn’t a surprise to anyone; it’s everywhere! More people than ever are taking an interest in looking after their body and that’s awesome.
However, I read something the other day that surprised me.
The ‘weight loss industry’ is worth 20 billion annually.
As far as I can work out this includes diet books, diet supplements and weight loss surgeries.
The reason this shocked me so much is that it’s a 20 billion industry that doesn’t need to exist.
An argument can be made for other aspects of the industry being necessary but these simply aren’t.
The kicker for me with that ‘weight loss industry’ stat is that none of those three things are needed to lose weight and the majority don’t actually work.
You might as well buy magic beans.
Firstly, diet books.
I’ll save you some money here.
What causes us as humans to gain or lose weight is calories in vs calories out.
This is a proven fact.
Whilst there are other aspects that come into play such as psychology and lifestyle the vast majority of ‘diet’ books simply try to come up with some revolutionary bullshit to make you think there’s a secret.
There isn’t! They just want your money.
Secondly, dietary supplements.
There is no ‘supplement’ in existence (that I’m aware of) that has been proven by credible scientific research to cause weight loss.
Even products sold as ‘fat burners’ don’t actually cause you to burn fat.
They are essentially just stimulants designed to increase your BMR (basil metabolic rate) or in simpler terms the calories your body burns by functioning.
They increase your heart rate to often dangerous levels which means your body is working at a heightened state and thus burning more calories than it normally would throughout the day, this effects energy balance and you can lose weight without dropping calories.
As I’m sure you’ve worked out this isn’t health and can be dangerous. Please don’t buy these products.
Most of the products sold legally in the U.K. Aren’t powerful enough to get the desired effect anyway and those that are powerful enough aren’t legal.
You might as well just get some cocaine like your favourite celebrity fitness inspiration, it’ll do the same job.
Thirdly, weight loss surgeries.
I think the less said here the better.
However unless we’re talking the very very rare cases that may be unavoidable then in my opinion this should be avoided and instead treated with lifestyle changes.
Especially if it’s through the national health service where the money could be used for other illnesses and procedures that can’t be treated for free at home.
Increasing activity and eating less ain’t going to cure a child’s cancer however the money saved from unnecessary procedures might.
Save the funding for those who need it.
The point is stop wasting money on expensive and unnecessary bullshit in search for a quick fix.
There isn’t one; accept it and make a start on making some long term progress.
If you do the simple things right you won’t need any of the above.
I’ve spoke to people who are willing to spend a fortune on scammy detoxes and juice diets that don’t work yet they aren’t willing to drink the correct amount of water per a day which is free and will do them a lot more good. Priorities!
Dan
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