Monthly Archives: July 2010

Apparently making supplements that SELL is more important than making those that can actually work.

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I had a tough day today. I met with the CEO of a major retailer of dietary supplements and our conversation reminded me of why we became involved in the formulations, manufacture and recommendation of dietary supplements in the first place. After all, we were and always will be a fitness R&D and programming company for evidence-based nutrition, weight control and exercise solutions — NOT a supplement company or manufacturer.

Back in the day, we knew that most people can benefit from the proper use of dietary supplements. So that told us that dietary supplements needed to be part of a sound nutrition program. But we had NO desire to get involved in producing supplements until we started uncovering the problems associated with how supplements were developed and sold. Almost every popular brand we looked at broke at least one of the four laws that we used to scrutinize each product.

Our Four Laws
1) It must work as stated based on research
2) It must be safe as directed
3) Purity levels must be as stated (no contaminants)
4) There must be truth in labeling (the ingredients on the label must be in the bottle in the proper amount)

And all of this must be proved before it can be sold or recommended.

The 4th law is a product of the 1st, which brings me back to my conversation with the CEO. We started talking about all the different products on the market, which ones sell the best and why. I explained that unfortunately best sellers are popular for all the wrong reasons: exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims and/or the price is acceptable to the average consumer.
“Does it matter to you whether the products you carry actually work?” I asked the CEO. To his credit, he said “Yes, and there are studies to back up the claims of the products we carry.” I then asked if his staff takes the time to match the ingredient dosages and forms used in the studies that show a POTENTIAL benefit to the dosages/forms in his products. Of course he said no but that he trusts the formulators since the studies were cited. And that said it all.

Here’s why. It’s too expensive to do it right. If you ask a formulator to design a supplement to compete with another popular supplement, they can’t give you a product where the dosages of ALL the active ingredients match dosages used in studies without going way out of a competitive price range. Almost no other company puts in the amounts of ingredients that have been shown to be effective, so your competitor’s product – even though it might be completely ineffective – is cheaper for consumers. And most consumers don’t know the difference. They just see the price tag.

This is the method used to keep the price down and therefore competitive. Does a supplement contain the proper ingredients?  Yes. Does it contain proper amounts or dosage recommendations? No. So most popular dietary supplements violate both law 1 (it must work as stated) and 4 (truth in labeling). It can’t work as stated or implied based on the ingredient amounts, dosage or forms, and therefore the claims are unsubstantiated. In the end, more often than not, the very studies a supplement company cites to support their products actually prove that the product can’t work as claimed. How’s that for irony?

At some point, an extremely obese guy came in the room. He was the leader of this company’s sports nutrition group and wanted to know how we were different from a proprietary formula standpoint. That was an easy answer. I said, “Our formulas’ ingredients are in the right forms and dosages to make the difference we claim. And as I just told your CEO, other companies put in unsubstantiated ingredients or improper amounts of substantiated ingredients that make the product less or completely ineffective in order to keep the price down”. This guy had no idea what the right forms or dosages should be, so there was no point in discussing it further. He only knew the names of the ingredients that are hot in the media and told me that he was always on the lookout for products with a new component or combination of components that had a great story so it would sell fast.

Back to the supplement sales discussion. I began telling both of the guys in the room about how the four laws that govern our line of supplements automatically puts us in a difficult position to compete with popular brands.  Our business model is to license fitness facilities to carry our products, and we educate the employees (fitness professional) at those facilities about the science behind our products. We know that unless we have one of our certified fitness professionals explain the difference between our dietary supplements and lower-priced popular brands, we can’t compete.

For example, the fitness professional can give her client examples of the above dosage discussion that clearly explain how some supplements live up to their claims and some don’t. We outsell popular brands 10-1 in our outlets because of the elements of education and scientific proof in our business model. Each dotFIT product sale is a professional recommendation based on medical screening, ingredient or product compatibility, individual statistics and goals, NOT a sales clerk ringing up a sale driven by advertisement or a conversation where no one has a clue about the true science behind the product. Furthermore, if an ingredient is known to cause problems for certain types of people, we say so up front. We list all known ingredient contraindications or potential adverse events, which NO one else does in the supplement industry. They don’t have to, plus it might hurt a sale.

At this point in the meeting people began looking at me funny, like is this guy for real? Once they snapped out of it, they asked how they could get a professional supplement recommendation for themselves and their families. I told them to go to one of our over 700 health club outlets, call or e-mail one of our certified phone coaches, or visit our website and use the free Supplement Screener (which takes about 3 minutes). I then left the building.

I guess my day was tough because I had to face the cold hard truth that retailers don’t care enough about delivering the right message or substantiating claims because they are forced to focus on what might sell. I totally get that. I just can’t do it. I mean, why would I advise someone to waste their hard-earned dollars or to take something that’s not supported by experts who know what they’re talking about?

I believe that if you can’t prove it works and you don’t feel comfortable giving it to your immediate family, you can’t sell it. But maybe that’s just me.

-Neal

Exercising to lose weight? Here’s why it may not be the BEST strategy.

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In a classic study on weight loss, researchers discovered after six months:

  1. People who exercised 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week and did NOT change their diet lost two pounds. fit woman running
  2. People who reduced calories below their daily burn lost nearly 20 pounds.
  3. People who exercised AND reduced calories lost 23 pounds.

Why is that the case? Basic human physiology. To lose weight, your body must be forced to use its stored energy (meaning fat). This ONLY happens if you burn more calories than you consume. At my weight, 30 minutes of brisk walking burns about 150 calories. (The more you weigh, the more you burn.) If I do this 5 days a week without changing the number of calories I eat, it will take approximately 23 days to lose one pound. Here’s the math:

  • 3,500 calories are contained in one pound of body fat.  (Approximately 10% of fat tissue is water)
  • 3,500 calories per pound divided by 150 calories per day = 23.3 days.

If you’ve been gaining weight slowly over time, you may not lose anything but you may stop that creeping waistline. To lose one pound a week by just exercising, you’d have to walk for 2 hours, 7 days a week. (Yeah, you have time for that, right?) Compare this to shaving 500 calories from your diet each day. Do this and you’ll lose a pound every week. Add exercise and you’ll lose more, feel better, and get a myriad of other benefits. Bottom line, it’s time consuming to burn a considerable amount of calories through exercise.

If you don’t know how many calories your body burns, how do you know how much to eat? It turns out that most people don’t know. Surveys have shown that fewer than 2 out of 10 people don’t know how many calories they should eat to maintain their weight. And if we judge by results, most people are mismanaging their weight. (Seven out of 10 Americans are overweight or obese.) For the modern lifestyle of sedentary jobs and plentiful food, managing your weight is just like your balancing checkbook. You have to know what’s going in and out in order to avoid overdrafts and bounced checks. If you track your spending and deposit more than you spend, you save money. In the human body, when you put more in compared to what’s going out, you save calories, which turns into fat yet no one intends to become fat. For most people, it happens gradually over time. So to lose those extra pounds, reduce the calories you’re taking in, add exercise to speed up the process and to keep the weight off once you reach your goal. To find out how many calories you burn, take the Free Fitness Profile here www.dotfit.com. Tune in for next week’s blog where I share practical tips for reducing calories WITHOUT feeling hungry or deprived. Yes, it IS possible to lose weight without suffering.  YAY!

– Kat

Everyone needs resistance training, even when, or especially when, your goal is weight loss.

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It never ceases to amaze me that folks trying to lose weight or get in shape will avoid resistance training. Old myths and stereotypes still exist: I’m afraid to get big or bulkWoman lifting weights for her health up. I don’t want to be muscle bound. I just want to lose weight, not get big.

I’ll say it straight: you want to lose fat and look good? It will NEVER happen as quickly, easily or with a better result if you do not include some type of resistance training. The world is filled with young men and women struggling to add considerable muscle. I spent ten years devoting every minute to that end and it still came slowly. The likelihood that you will bulk up and look like a linebacker after a few months of hitting the weights is highly unlikely. Even if that’s what you wanted! Proper training like what you’ll find we recommend at dotFIT will enhance your health, strength, stability, athleticism and looks.

Tune in to our Webinar on Wednesday, 7/14,  to learn more on how to maximize your results and get the most from your workouts.

Sign up at www.dotFIT.com/webinars.

Want to lose weight? STOP DIETING!!!

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As a Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer, I absolutely HATE diets. I hate when people go on them and I hate it EVEN MORE when people go off of them and gain the weight back (and more in many cases).  I’ve seen it happen so many times and we’ve got to find a way to stop the madness for the betterment of all humankind. Diets equal deprivation; diets mean giving up food I love (like salt & vinegar chips); diets equal hunger. So why do people do them? I believe it’s because we’re sold on the fantasy that losing weight can be quick and simple if only we do one thing – cut carbs, drink a magic potion, do a cleanse, cut sugar.  NOT! The reason they don’t work in the long run is because people can’t stick to them so they go back to old habits. It’s kind of like paying off all your credit card debt only to run it up again because you haven’t changed your spending habits.

So what does it take to lose weight and keep it off? Simple adjustments that you can live with. Adjustments that don’t leave you feeling deprived. Adjustments you can build into your daily routine just like brushing your teeth. Burn 100 more calories a day by taking 2,000 extra steps and lose 10 lbs in a year. Cut out a regular soda and lose another 10. (All this assuming you don’t eat more.) Make better food choices. Have an apple for your PM snack instead of those chips. Yes, it’s true. An apple a day can keep the doctor away. You’ll get more fiber and you’ll feel better. How do people get overweight in the first place? Poor choices repeated over time. So to lose the weight, reverse the process.

Start by waking up – you can’t change something you’re not aware of.  Get conscious of what and how much you’re putting into your mouth by tracking what you eat. Research shows you’ll lose weight by doing that alone. Once you’re conscious of your food choices, make better choices and repeat them over time. Find out how many calories your body burns so you know how much to eat. With our sedentary jobs, huge portions and great tasting food available whenever we want it, we have no choice but to pay attention and get educated about our body, food and calories. Is it a fast and sexy way to lose weight? NOPE. Not even close. If you want quick and easy weight loss, then go on the latest and greatest diet and you’ll have to live with the weight rebound that inevitably follows. If you want to finally be rid of diets for the rest of your life, pay attention, make better choices and repeat. Again and again and again. Slow and steady wins the race, and I want YOU to win.

-Kat