Last Updated Jul 2011
According to Encarta, Flogging can be:
“To hit a person or animal very hard using something such as a whip, strap, or stick.”
“Press to publicize or advertise something aggressively.”
Now you may be wondering why I am asking you if you have been “flogged”, since this is a diet column, and I will be all too pleased to explain.
A Flog on the internet is a fake blog i.e. “flog”. And yes, I believe both definitions firmly state what is happening to the average American on the net. You are getting flogged financially, and they are advertising something in a predatory, aggressive way.
Take for instance any popular diet product, something such as Acai berry or African mango. Mention it on a popular syndicated TV talk show and then place a few strategically placed pop up ads—like “Miracle Weight Loss From African Fruit”. If you hit the link, it will take you to a well designed news type blog site. Oh, it looks official, with a logo at the top, index of stories, ads to the right, and an article, you guessed it…on this miracle fruit and the glorious scientific findings. Upon investigation and some timely tips from a savvy internet marketer, I found out that this is a classic “Flog”, a fake blog intending you to believe it’s a news blog, when in reality it’s just a sales pitch to get you to purchase the miracle diet product with a gratuitous link-to-buy ad on the right.
Okay, clever marketing at best, ethical scientific data—no. Some of these blogs do in fact have the scientific study or journal mentioned in the ad—ah…err…article I mean, so if you copy and paste it in your browser, you come up with some interesting stuff. And yes, I did find the scientific data, and yes the test subjects lost weight - a whopping three pounds or so over sixteen weeks. If you read closely the tortured data, you find that this “miracle fruit” is mostly fiber, and it’s the fiber causing this “miracle” weight loss. Duh! So like, this is something new? Fiber helps you lose weight, yeah, we know that, and it won’t cost you $49.95, plus shipping and handling for a 28 day supply. Try $7.99/pound at your local health food store.
It’s cheap, extremely beneficial to your digestive system, absorbs toxins, helps you lose weight, eat less, 100% natural, no fillers, wood chips, or artificial chemicals or sweeteners and it will make you as regular as an atomic clock, and our bodies need it every day, plus know exactly what to do with it.
Protects against colon cancers, absorbs excess toxins, bad estrogens, gives you a sense of fullness, lowers blood sugar, aids exponentially in weight loss, cleans your intestines like a scrub brush - gets ‘em squeaky clean so they can better absorb nutrients - and builds a strong immune system. We didn’t need a study; we have umpteen thousands of years of empirical data stating that our bodies function better when given adequate fiber.
Miracle African fruit…a real flogging to your wallet and your personal self-respect. The diet industry has become so greedy and unconscionable, manipulating people with strong emotions, empty promises and thicker waistlines, while taking your hard earned dollar and expecting you to come back looking for the next miracle in a jar.
To learn more about the Science of Fat Loss Simplified—a completely different approach to permanent weight management visit www.eliminatefatnow.com and www.myhelpmeloseweight.com.
Click here for more information on Connie Huff.