How to choose a genuine diet and avoid fake weight loss photos

When you are looking for a diet to follow it is easy to get led by the brand’s marketing campaign. Whether that be that you can eat as much as you like or that you will lose a stone a month, whatever it is, they designed this campaign to reel people in.

I wanted to share with you the industry of fake weight loss photos and how cheap they are for brands to buy, so read on to find out more!

Whether you choose a plan like Slim Fast which is well known or one that you find on Facebook, read on to check everything you need to consider.

Why do these weight loss brands exist?

According to the British heart foundation, the diet industry is worth £2 billion a year in the UK alone. I have no idea if that is true but it certainly seems possible.

On that basis, you can completely understand why newcomers to the industry want to get your attention and secure a piece of this huge spend.

Mind Over Money Matters really made me think about how much Slimming World and other clubs cost!

With most people searching online for diets or trying weight loss plans they have seen whilst scrolling social media these brands know where to get your attention, sometimes with fake weight loss photos.

Not all new weight loss brands are fake, some may be genuine but use underhand tactics to get your attention. Others are genuine and do everything above the book. Here I hope to give you the tools to tell these brands apart.

What do you look for in a diet?

I usually look for a diet that fits into family life and doesn’t involve too small portions, I like my food! Are you like me or do you look for other things when searching for the perfect diet?

I asked some fellow bloggers for their thoughts and wanted to share those with you. Melanie doesn’t follow specific diets and just watches what she eats in a more general way.

Samantha is a fan of a low-carb diet so if she sees a new diet which is low carb it piques her interest. On the other hand, Sophie focuses on the scientific claims of the diet and whether she thinks these are legitimate.

Do you have a lifestyle the diet has to fit into? Victoria likes Slimming World particularly because it fits with cooking for the family. Jo agrees and says that a plan fitting in with her family life means she is much more likely to stick to it in the long term.

Erica likes to be following a plan for the meals she has on her own, breakfast and lunch, but eat with her family for the evening meal. I do like that idea and I think that is why I reviewed it I found Optifast a concept I could get on with.

Do the experiences of others help?

Do you trust pictures and stories of diets online or in print? Clare said she has tried other diets but always goes back to one diet she gets on well with that she initially discovered after finding a group nearby and a magazine in print with lovely recipes in.

Recipes definitely help me see if a diet is restrictive and would be something I could stick to. Rebecca and Sarah both agreed and like to see success when looking for a diet but questioned how trustworthy pictures are on social media.

There is no doubt that seeing others have succeeded in a diet motivates us to try it. Does it matter whether it is friends or strangers online? Laura says she likes to see others have done well on a diet with her own eyes. I must agree but, like anyone, I am easily drawn to a before and after picture.

Hayley made a good point in saying that seeing more than before and after pictures do help. It is more impactful to witness or hear about someone’s successes and failures, wouldn’t you agree?

Have you thought about fake weight loss pictures?

Many of us recognize that companies may adjust images to make people look more attractive or less attractive. It’s not surprising, then, to learn that diet brands might do the same to their “after” pictures to make them look even more impressive. Although this could be seen as a form of deception, it’s not as deceptive as completely fabricating photos. Now you know that this is a possibility!

Some brands, especially new, unknown brands, use photography tricks to make one photo look better than another taken on the same day. Others actually use before and after photos which are stock photos they have bought.

Whilst I use stock photos such as the one below, on my website but I would never pretend a stock photo is mine. The idea of brands using photos to pretend someone lost weight with a product/service they didn’t is disgusting in my opinion. Do you agree? Do let me know in the comments below.

Fake weight loss photos for less than a fiver!

Whilst looking at the sale of these photos, I discovered you can buy them on Fiverr. If you haven’t heard of Fiverr it is basically a website for people to sell online services and buy online services. Examples are logo design, animations, article writing etc. Prices start at a fiver (in US dollars).

I found 1700 before and after weight loss photos for £8.03 or for the same price from another seller you could get 2200 images. For those wanting to spend less, you can get 500 for £4.02.

Are you thinking that you would never fall for these as they are generic and there is no product in the photo? I found one individual selling pictures of himself with your product for £24.10.

Now that would be easier to trust, wouldn’t it? Maybe he needs the money or perhaps he has no morals I don’t know but that really opened my eyes to this industry I was not aware of.

Six tips to spot the weight loss brands to avoid

Search online for success stories or reviews from places other than their website; if none exist, this is a big red flag.

Check the brand’s social media and the images they share. Do before and after pictures tag the person who is in them? Does their profile match what the brand is saying?

Does the diet seem too good to be true? If it is tablets, shakes etc look at the ingredients of these, do they seem reasonable? A google search should help with this.

Check where the brand is registered, are their address and contact details obvious on their website? If they are based in the UK, you can get some basic information from Companies house, which may help.

Weight loss brands should always be very open and honest about the prices. If they aren’t, that would definitely cause alarm bells for me, but maybe you disagree.

Do a reverse image search to see if the images you have seen can be found elsewhere.

What are your thoughts about diets? Were you surprised about how cheap before and after pictures are available and how easy a brand can have their product in one? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!