1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Being Pressured into a Weight Loss Pyramid Scheme

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by thepandaboss, Apr 21, 2016.

  1. thepandaboss

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2015
    Messages:
    2,436
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Oregon
    Hey.

    I'm just really pissed off right now and I don't really have anyone I can openly talk with right now.

    So I decided to visit my family down in Florida for a couple weeks. Since I freelance, up and leaving for a while isn't really a big deal. And since I was finally patching up my relationship with my mom, I was pretty excited to go off and hang with them.

    I feel like I made a huge mistake. I haven't even been here 3 days and already my mom's trying to talk me into joining her "multi-level marketing" company.

    It's a diet/weight loss thing where basically, you drink diet shakes for two meals a day, then take some kind of detox pill (and have one day a week where you just fast).

    She swears by it, has lost a ton of weight. To humor her, I've been doing it since I landed and I feel like shit. Pounding headaches, really fatigued, even after the jet lag should've worn off. I projectile vomited on my second day after taking these stupid detox pills (which I promptly stopped taking and now feel a little better).

    I'm already counting down the days until I get to leave and go home and eat real food without being pressured. And I'm a fucking 21-year-old man. Yet I'm kind of a push over. Go figure.

    She's now trying to pressure me into buying a month's supply of the stuff...which costs $300... I really don't have that kind of money right now. Even just getting to Florida was a major expense. I'm waiting on a bunch of invoices, I still have bills to pay when I get home. I can't afford to spend that kind of money. I tried emphasizing that, only to get "well, you're staying here and it's how much you'd spend on groceries anyway and it's good nutrition".

    And I can't just put it off. Told her I could wait until I got home "no, you need to start the shakes now."

    Part of me just wishes I had cut the visit short. I don't think I'll ever go for a multi-week visit ever again and it sucks because otherwise I'd never get to see my younger sisters.
     
  2. Carpe noctem 16

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2016
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Orlando, Fl
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    Sounds similar to Herbalife. I took that for almost three months. All i ate was lunch really. I took the shake for breakfast and for dinner. I combined that with working out and i lost weight. Unfortunately, those programs are not sustainable. Once i stopped i gain all the weight back plus a liitle more.

    I would just be polite and tell your mom your not interested. Some of the people i met while involved with Herbalife were very persistent, i quickly put them in their place.
     
  3. thepandaboss

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2015
    Messages:
    2,436
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Oregon
    It's basically the same thing as Herbalife except slightly more cult like. My brother was actually in the same boat. He did it for a while, lost a shit ton of weight, and then when he started having money issues, he stopped. (and believe me, I've heard a lot of that- oh your brother was doing so good before he quit, yada yada).

    I remember when I was about 17, I basically starved myself for about six months. Ate under 1k calories a year, lost a shit ton of weight, but then got super depressed when my curves came out (this was kind of around the time I figured out I was trans). I gained all the weight I lost back, still haven't lost it, plus I gained a shit ton extra after my sexual assault. And I'm already trying to lose it again on my own. And I was doing pretty good- just making sustainable lifestyle changes. But it's like because I'm not losing forty pounds in two weeks, that's not good enough, even though 20 pounds in about a month is a good thing.

    I've tried to hint that I'm not interested for years and I don't want to be rude because I've only just gotten to the point in my life where my mom's accepting of me being trans. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. She's pretty pushy. Good at guilting. And I don't really have another place to stay if I stay here.
     
    #3 thepandaboss, Apr 21, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
  4. Really

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    2,579
    Likes Received:
    753
    Location:
    BC
    Look the system up on the internet. Find the reports which say it is a scam, unhealthy, dangerous, whatever. Show it to her and say you will not be abusing your body with this nonsense. You are old enough to handle your own money and you won't be spending it on this.
     
  5. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2008
    Messages:
    16,551
    Likes Received:
    4,750
    Location:
    northern CA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I wouldn't suggest Really's advice. People who are into these MLM scams have total blinders on and no amount of factual information will dissuade them, so usually all that will do is create an enormous argument.

    The delicate thing here is this: You are 21, this is your body, your life, your choices. And it sounds like perhaps you've never set clear boundaries with your mom, so this may be challenging. What I'd recommend is to simply, gently, and firmly say "Mom, I appreciate your concerns, and I would like to take responsibility for my own health and well-being. I know you want the best for me, and I appreciate that, I'm just choosing not to pursue this route. I really, really need you to respect my choices, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring this up again."

    For what it's worth, most of the time, those MLM weight loss products are (1) grossly overpriced; (2) developed with shoddy, forged, or nonexistent science; (3) sometimes actually dangerous to one's health. (This in spite of whatever doubletalk she's spewing from whatever physician has sold his soul and rented his credentials to this program). I wouldn't suggest telling her that, but just make it clear that this is your choice, not hers, and you're choosing not to do this.