What a cheesy, deceptive, misleading scam these folks have going. And they're smart enough to make sure that there is no way you can get your money back.
I need to lose 50 pounds. I went to a "Weight Loss Hypnosis Seminar" I saw advertised in the local newspaper. Only $49.95 and guaranteed money back if you didn't lose weight. One-time payment also would entitle you to attend any "refresher" seminars for the rest of your life. What could I lose!!??
What a crock! It was nothing more than a front to sell overpriced, non-FDA approved weight loss supplements.
And what an amazingly polished, cheesy, and way too predictable, sales pitch!'
My problem with this scam seminar is that IT IS MISLEADING. If you're trying to sell supplements, then say that's what you are doing. Don't get people there under the false pretense of being hypnotised just so you can trap them in a room, make them feel bad about themselves, scare them about health concerns, and then give them a high-pressure sales pitch to buy ground up oyster shells and unapproved herbs!
If you want to know the specifics, read on...
We had to sign a contract on the way in saying we understood the guarantee, and would only get money back if we followed everything the seminar taught for a certain length of time.
The seminar started with the instructor telling us not to be embarrassed — he knows this is our "last resort" for weight loss. Lots of "I don't want to hurt your feelings..." and "I know how depressing it is to be overweight." The guy was a good comedian and got a chuckle or two out of us. But he did point out that we were more glum than most of his audiences — we must really be desperate!!!
Then of course, after we all felt like crap about our looks, we got the warnings about how we are going to die early if we don't change. Ok - no problem with that. Heard it before. Then came a bunch of information about how to eat a well-balanced diet and exercise. Ok. Again — heard it all before - it was all very accurate, but I didn't need to pay $50 to hear that again for the 100th time! Get to the hypnosis part already!
Then came the part that made me realize what an idiot I had been to come to this thing. Along with all these common-sense tips about losing weight, the instructor had some "secrets" that the food industry doesn't want people to know. These were in the form of a list of 12 "amazing" supplements that would, among other things, suck the fat out of food before it got into your system, reduce your cravings, and actually make you not be able to tolerate sweets, etc. These were all listed in our seminar workbook. And, he had us write a "shopping list" on the cover of our books with all these things, as well as miracle items like FRUIT, WATER and LOW FAT FOODS!
But it is really the supplements that will make the difference —AND WHAT A COINCIDENCE — you can buy some of these items, or similar ones, at your local store — but they're UNFORTUNATELY not the right formulas. All of these 10-12 supplements have to be mixed together just right. The whole balance of how much to take and when is REALLY complicated. But hey — they just happen to make a couple all-in-one supplements that have EXACTLY the right combination of everything the instructor was teaching us about. But OH NO — those aren't available in any store. But we were so lucky - the instructor happened to know where you could get these things. One place was a website. The other was - WOW - right there in the room. Weren't we lucky that we wouldn't have to go running all over town to find this stuff. And better yet —it was all HALF PRICE.
It got laughable at that point. HE told us UPS had messed up and his shipment of these miracle cures hadn't arrived today like they were supposed to - but what luck — he still had just a few bottles left from last night's seminar (by the way, I checked — there was no seminar the night before.) But this was a really limited supply and we'd have to be first paid, first served.
And DARN that wacky shipping department. Wouldn't you know they had sent him TOO MANY of the optional CD sets of the seminar that are usually $49 each. He just couldnt' bear the thought of toting them back home in his suitcase — so he wouldn't let us buy one — he would throw one CD set in FREE with each bottle of supplements purchased. Oh yeah, and depending on how much weight we needed to lose, the cost would be anywhere from $60 - $300 for these miracle drugs. Oh, and they have protein bars and carb control shakes too... But how can you afford this? STOP buying all that expensive fast food of course!
Ok, by this time I had been sitting in a chair in this seminar for 1 hour and 45 minutes, and there had been no hypnosis. Just 1/2 hour of common sense eating and exercise tips. And 75 minutes of SALES PITCH.
THE TRUTH IS - if you eat less and exercise more, you will lose weight. Duh! You don't need to take the supplements. It may not hurt you if you do take them, since they are mostly herbal. But they are not "secrets." And I refuse to believe that there is any thing I can swallow that will suck the fat out of the cheesecake I just ate before it goes to my thighs.
The hypnosis was just a jazzy and very creative come-on to get us in the room to hear the sales pitch for snake oil supplements. There was just enough bona fide info and mention of everyday products to make it seem real (for example, they suggested Propel water and Carb Control Shakes available at Wal-Mart.)
I can't get my money back. I signed the stupid contract on my way in. And I won't be doing what they suggested in the seminar, because I am not spending $60 or $300 on bogus concoctions that will suck the fat out of food. The only thing I can do is warn other people not to get "hypnotized" by this scam that only lightens your wallet.
Here are the products and trade names of the "special" formulas the company sells:
1) Liposan and Lipsan Ultra (not Chitosan that you can buy in a store — that's "bad")
2) Chromium Dinicotinate Glycinate (again, not Chromium Picolinate that is readily available which again, is not good.)
3) Gluco-Trim
4) Isotrim
5) Lipo-C
6) Carb-Out
All of these are marketed by "Vita Nutritional Products, " which the instructor failed to point out is a partner of Gorayeb Seminars.
There is also a list of other common items like Vitamin C, Clary Sage and Ginseng, but the instructor emphasized that these will nto work without the other substances only available from this company.
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