Think of how many weight loss products there are on the market. There must be hundreds, if not thousands. How do you distinguish between them and tell which of them can work for you and which are simply a waste of money?

As someone who is serious about wanting to lose weight you will seek to avoid the quick-fixes, the magic pills or one- food diets that promise fast results for minimal effort. But what about other, more substantial weight loss programs that don't make such dramatic promises? How do you go about assessing them? Here are a few tips.

The first thing is to see what other people who have used the product have to say about it. Look to see if there are testimonials. Read them and see what kind of people have had success with the program. How much weight have they lost and over what period? Were they excessively overweight, or did they just want to lose a few pounds? How does that compare to your own situation?

What kind of people are they? Do they sound genuine? Is there any way you can contact any of them to verify what they say? Did they do anything else that might have given them a much better chance of success with the product? Something that's not covered by the product itself, such as participating in a weight loss exercise program? If so, that might have had more effect than the product itself.

If there is a sales page you are looking at, e.g. a web site, then examine it carefully. Does it repeatedly ask for the sale? Does it make extravagant claims? What is the style of writing? Does it convey a feeling of confidence in the writer? If the product is a diet plan, what exactly is the main ingredient? Does it explain exactly how the diet will help you lose weight?

Perhaps most important of all, does the promoter acknowledge that you are going to have to put in some effort yourself? Or does he assert that you don't have to do a thing other than take the particular foods that constitute the product? If he's offering a plan that requires no effort or sacrifice on your part then it's probably a scam.

It's a fact that whatever plan or program you decide to follow, if you are to meet with success over the long term you are going to have to show determination, persistence and the willingness to change your lifestyle by giving up the things and actions that have made you overweight.

Finally, check out the qualifications of the person or persons who originated the particular program you are considering. Are they medically qualified, perhaps as health practitioners? If they have no obvious background in health or medicine then be careful. You don't want to simply be another paying customer of someone who is using the weight loss industry to get rich.

You will probably know when you have come across the program that is right for you. To help you decide, there is an independent review of three of the leading weight loss programs on our home page.

Copyright © 2009 Philip Gegan