Did anyone else watch Good Morning America this morning (2/19)? They did an expose report on LA Weightloss Center. You know how we see the ads on TV claiming it's $7 a week, $1 a day? Evidently that's not true. The price is pretty close, but you have to pay up front for 52 weeks and then you are forced to purchase over $800 worth of nutritional bars. They claim you cannot lose weight without them.

Evidently the Attornery General of New York State sued the company for false advertising and won. The state obtained a letter from the company saying it was not necessary to purchase these bars. But that is only in New York. GMA went undercover in New Jersey and they were forced to purchase $862 worth of bars--after the $364 for the $7 a week plan. Who the heck has $1200 lying around to lose a couple pounds?!

I was just wondering if anyone else saw this report and what everyone's opinion was. I never considered joining one of these places (why spend money to do something you can do at home--or better yet post to DT!). My sister-in-law worked for Nutra-System in college and she often "hinted" at the fact that the whole thing was a money making scheme. Sure, many people lost weight but at a great financial loss.

It's ridiculous--overweight people are looking for help and support.....and they're taken for suckers. I guess that's the age old scheme. I'm sure Ben Franklin had a saying for this :)

:hop: Julie :hop:

Just to clarify, Good Morning America said nothing regarding the actual weight loss plan. Their main concern was in the faulty advertising and they presented it as a consumer alert.

I don't mean to offend anyone if they are members of LA Weight Loss--in fact it would be good to hear from them to see if the GMA report was factual.

:hop: Julie :hop:

I didn't see it. Sounds interesting. If true, thats a shame. but then again... all those "miracle cures" people buy are the same thing.

That's why you should always read the fine print on the bottom of the screen.. They think by telling people about these fabulous offers they wouldn't notice but that's the first thing I look for.. and most cases say Does NOT include the price of foods.....

Hello All,

Note, this is not a defense of LAWL, just a perspective.

As you've probably seen from my sig, I'm on LA Weight Loss. I can tell you what happened when I joined, but I can't speak for any other center. Keep in mind that LAWL is primarily a franchise operation, so the various centers might differ, depending on the their individual business practices.

When I joined, the counselors were upfront about the fact that they required payment for the whole program up front. I paid $362 for the program, which included 34 weeks of weight loss and 6 weeks of stabilization (a period where they add foods back to determine your maintenance level). My contract also includes one year of free maintenance.

The other wrinkle in my contract is that, if I follow the rules/regs (and they are legion), I will get a 25% rebate of that fee after successfully completing 6 months of maintenance and another 25% rebate if I successfully complete one year.

I did not think that the fee was excessive; it's less than I would pay by the week at Weight Watchers. Of course, the disadvantage is that I lose it if I stop. That's actually one of the things that helps me; the thought of throwing away that cash keeps me on the straight and narrow!

The bars are a whole separate issue. They are required as part of the weight loss program, two per day. I actually like them a lot. They are high protein, low fat bars in a variety of flavors. For me, they take the place of dessert and also serve as a good snack.

At my center, I had the choice of buying them at retail prices, when I needed them, or buying them in bulk at greatly reduced prices. Retail price is $14/box, or $2/bar. I bought 40 weeks' worth (80 boxes) and paid $678, and yes, I used my credit card. They keep track of what I've used, so I don't have to store them and risk them going stale. The flavors are varied and all of them are good.

Friends who joined with me bought 20 weeks worth or 10 weeks worth. We were not required to buy in bulk.

Any commercial weight loss system, be it LAWL, Weight Watchers, Nutri-System, Jenny Craig, or whatever, is first and foremost a business that is there to make money. Knowing that, I chose to join this program because I need the structure of a defined eating program and the discipline of weighing in at a center. It's certainly working for me; I've lost almost 25 pounds since the day after Thanksgiving.

The program itself is nutritionally sound. I've done tons of research on eating healthily and on diet/nutrition and I can that with confidence. There are different "plans" that change portions/serving/exchanges and choices depending on how much you weigh and how much weight you want to lose. As you lose weight, you change plans.

The daily plan I'm on comprises: three fruit servings, two protein servings (a "serving" of chicken is 7 ounces raw), four vegetable servings, two starch servings, one dairy serving, and 8-10 glasses of water. It tends to be high protein, high complex carb (all those veggies!), low simple carb (only two starch!).

What bugs me about the plan is that they tend to push nutritional supplements that I think are bogus, particularly a metabolism booster and a fat blocker. But these are totally optional and I made it clear that I would not be buying them.

I apologize for the long post; I hope it helps!

Cheers,
Mary