By Judi Curry
“Weight loss” has been the buzz phrase for years. Seldom are people happy with what they weigh; what they look like; how tall or short they are; their cup size; etc. And, thanks to Dr. Oz and his programs, many women – and men, too – have tried a variety of weight loss remedies that are “guaranteed” – well, sort of – to take the weight off whether you exercise or not. He has touted Raspberry Keytones, Green Coffee, and the latest – a Pure Garcinia Cambogia.
As an overweight, older woman who wants to look better to attract a younger man, I have tried all three of the above. After all, if it worked for Oprah, it should work for me.
The Garcinia Cambogia rage came out after the keytones and coffee “miracles.” Since I had no success with the first two, I decided to try the latest because so many public personalities came out in favor of this plant and said how successful they had been. You want to know what happened when I took it? Doesn’t matter – I’ll tell you anyway! I gained 8 pounds in three months!
The bizarre thing is that I do not eat a lot; as a border-line diabetic I seldom eat candy, although I have been known to frequent See’s Candy on occasion and somehow the free sample never leaves the store. I ordered my supply of Garcinia Cambogia online, so I now receive emails touting Dr. Oz’s “specials.” I received one Friday.
Well, I thought to myself, maybe I didn’t use it correctly. Maybe I should try another three month supply – pay for two months and get the third month free. So I hit the button and was taken to the same page I originally ordered the product from. The same video was playing – Dr. Oz extolling the virtues of Garcinia, and a disclaimer – very difficult to read – stating something to the effect that he does not promote any particular kind of Cambogia.
I decided to see how much the product was now and if I could get one of their specials – “Buy two bottles and have the third one free!” The bottles would be $34.99 each. OK – not really being a whiz at math but able to add two and two, that came to $69.98. And the third bottle was free. Shipping was also free. So maybe I would have to pay a tax, but it wouldn’t be horribly expensive.
I filled in all the information I was asked for, and when I was given a copy of the statement the amount the total came to $109.96. I was charged $4.99 for “shipping protection.” What the hell? Not charged for “shipping,” per se, but shipping protection? So I called the number on the bill and told the customer service representative that the special listed two bottles of Cambogia for $34.99 each, plus $4.99 for protection – how did they get to $109.96? The answer blew me away.
See, she told me, each bottle costs $49.03. So, three bottles would cost you $132.09. But because this is a special, we are only charging you for two bottles at the regular price – $98.06 plus “protection” of $4.99. The difference is tax, which, by the way, does not show up on the bill. This gives you the third bottle free.
Why do I feel like I just bought a bridge on the other side of the United States? This entire conversation didn’t make sense, and I told her so. I also told her to cancel my order. She did, but not before offering me other “specials.” Like instead of $109 I could have the 3 bottles for $99. I told her I thought I had ordered the product for $69.98; why would I pay $99?
Needless to say, I’m not going to lose the weight any time soon. And as I said in my article about being scammed by a “lover” – if it is too good to be true, it is!
Judi Curry
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Most diet plans that you have to pay money for are hoaxes. The simple truth is that you have to exercise more and eat less.
I know that John, but the ads were so convincing!
They led you in circles so much, the question about “shipping protection” was never answered! It’s exercise just to muddle through all that nonsense.
I have another friend who’s quite heavy and she barely eats anything, carrots and stuff like that. The notion of an ideal body has been hijacked. You have an idea body, Judi!
I know, I’ve squeezed it!
You and I will need to talk when you come back from China!
I also bought into this…never again. I can’t believe Dr. Oz is so into this…he must be getting a kick-back. I also thought that I was paying for just shipping and handling…well my bill was for a lot more than expected.