Missing The Point... By A Country Mile!

I get a lot of visitor feedback on UltimateFatBurner.com -- the vast majority of it is hugely positive. Great feedback makes my day... I'm happy that I've been able to help so many people make informed purchasing decisions as well as unveiling some of the nefarious doings commonplace to much of the supplement industry today.

Occasionally though, I get a visitor or two who "just doesn't get it." Their e-mails usually go something like this...

Dear "expletive deleted,"

You're an "expletive deleted." What's the matter with you? Why must you bad mouth every product out there? Don't you realize that natural products are a healthy alternative to dangerous drugs? Do you have any real proof that all the products you bad mouth don't do what they say?

And so on, and so on, and so on.

Unfortunately, these few visitors are missing the point. First of all...

I do have positive things but only when circumstances merit. For instance, you'll find positive comments on my new fat burner chart. And I've always had good things to say about Isatori's Lean System 7 (reviewed here!), one of the few fat burners with real clinical evidence validating its claims. But unlike many of the other "review" sites out there, whose real mandate is to regurgitate marketing messages and to sell fat burners, UltimateFatBurner.com is supported by advertising, and its only mandate is balanced, unbiased product reviews.

Second, whether or not natural products are a safer alternative to prescription drugs (a debatable topic in any event) has nothing to do with why I say what I say. If a product has no evidence to support its claims, I could care less whether or not it comes from natural sources. A scam is a scam, regardless of its ingredient profile.

Third, it is the onus of the supplement manufacturers to prove their marketing claims. It is not up to me to set up double-blind, placebo controlled studies to prove or disprove their various claims. I point out that most retailers exaggerate or fabricate the claims made about their products. It is then up to the manufacturers to present evidence to the contrary. They can't do that. If they could, how many times do you think I'd be sued for slander by now?

The bottom line is that the majority of supplement retailers are not looking after your best interests. They're interested in packing their Cayman Islands tax havens to the rafters with cash. If a few of my visitors care to think otherwise, that's their prerogative. In the meantime, I'll keep on doing what I'm doing!

Visit UltimateFatBurner.com today!

The Value Of Visitor Feedback!

Most companies selling weight loss supplements are quick to use glowing testimonials
to sell their products. I'm sure you've seen zillions of them by now. They usually go
something like this...

"Wow! I can't believe this product. I've been stuck in a rut for years, and must have
tried a hundred different diets. Since I've tried (insert product name here!), the
weight has been dropping off like crazy. No doubt about it, this is the only product
I've ever used that has delivered on its promises." Chris H, Missouri

Or...

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've lost 20 lbs in three weeks with (insert product
name here!), and I feel great. My friends and family are all telling me how amazing I
look, and my husband has taken a new interest in me. Thanks for giving me my life
back." Wanda M, Washington

Sound familiar? Uh huh. That's what I thought. But here's something you should know...

1) Unverifiable testimonials are no better than no testimonials at all. Since you
can't ever confirm that these words actually came from a real individual, and not some
employee in the company's advertising department, you have you assume the worst. And
what's that, exactly? That these "glowing reports" are actually manufactured. Shocked?
Don't be. Deceptive advertising practices are used all the time. All you need to do is
to look into some of the actions taken by the US Federal Trade Commission against
the deceptive advertising practices of some supplement retailers, and you'll see what
I mean.

2) Even when feedback is genuine, it is highly anecdotal. For instance, most people
are not aware that it is your bodyfat percentage, and not your weight (usually
measured by the bathroom scales) that determines your diet success or failure. Since
muscle weighs more than fat, a diet program that includes resistance/weight training
could be successful even if that success is not reflected on the scales by a loss of
body weight. Other people continue to overconsume calories or do not implement a
healthy eating and exercise plan along with product supplementation, so their feedback
is not an accurate representation of a product's capabilites either.

Also, remember that unlike supplements, all regulated pharmaceuticals are rigorously
tested against a placebo (a sugar pill). For some people, the power of suggestion is
enough to elict a response on its own. In other words, an individual who genuinely
believes a product has worked miracles for him or her, may be completely incorrect. So
a positive review doesn't necessarily mean anything.

In a nutshell?

Using customer feedback to influence your purchasing decision is not always a wise
choice. But here's the rub...

Although all customer feedback should be approached with caution, I do post customer
comments and experiences on UltimateFatBurner.com (it's an extremely popular element
of the web site, and I use only comments from visitors willing to surrender their names and
e-mail addresses).

Why do I do so?

Well, for one it is a valuable way for visitors to warn others of bad purchasing
experiences, which is sometimes one of the biggest issues for anyone ordering online.
It's fairly common to be added to a recurring billing program without consent, for
example.

Next, I like visitors to be able to see what real testimonials "look" like.

They seldom look anything like the two examples I've included above. I also think it's
valuable to present a counterpoint to the other "review" web sites, which represent
their top fat burners as receiving a 95% approval or positive rating. I can tell you
from positive experience that no fat burner in the world receives such a positive
rating. It's simple really... almost all retailers grossly exaggerate the kind of results an individual will accomplish with their products. The effects are not in accordance with the laws of human physiology, and are therefore unattainable. Ergo, there's no way any product marketed in this manner will receive more than a tiny percentage of positive feedback.

Last, it provides a gitty, down-in-the-trenches element that visitors enjoy.

Bottom line?

Testimonials, provided they are real and can be verified, can enhance the visitor's experience, even if they are anecdotal. To see what I mean, check out some of the newest feedback posted on UltimateFatBurner.com for yourself...

Rev XP feedback!

Lipozene feedback!

Miracleburn feedback!

Propolene feedback!

New Fat Burner Reviews On UltimateFatBurner.com!

Well, it's that time again... time to announce the newest fat burner reviews on UltimateFatBurner.com. They are...

1) Lipitrex: this fat burner brought to you by Progressive Health, sports an "exclusive" formulation. According to the product advertising, Lipitrex supports four beneficial actions...

Appetite Control
Helps to Minimize the Storage of Fat
Increases Metabolic Rate
Enhances Energy Levels

Of course, just about every fat burner on the market today claims to offer similar benefits.
Read the full review here!

2) TwinLab's Ripped Fuel Extreme: TwinLab's Ripped Fuel has gone through many different formula changes over the last few years. Originally, Ripped Fuel contained a variation of the standard ephedrine stack. This was the version I experimented with and quite enjoyed. Since then, Ripped Fuel has had to evolve according to the changing U.S. laws regulating the use of ephedra.

Read the full review here!

Enjoy!

UltimateFatBurner.com Now Support 8 Major Languages

Considering the subject matter, it is not surprising that UltimateFatBurner.com appeals to a vast worldwide audience. Of course, only a small percentage of this audience is fluent in English -- my only language, and the main language in use on the Net. I've often considered having my site professionally translated in Spanish, and perhaps even French and Italian. However, the cost to do so -- to hire a professional -- was simply too prohibitive, so I have never persued this option further. Until recently that is...

Yup, I was lucky enough to introduced to a simple script which will translate the pages of UltimateFatBurner.com into 8 official languages...

German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Chinese (simplified)

Of course, this is only a script (a piece of software), so please don't expect it to be entirely perfect. For those of you for whom English is not your first language, you will find this translation service helps you get the best out of UltimateFatBurner.com... easier.

How do you translate the site into your language? Simply visit UltimateFatBurner.com, scroll to the very bottom of the page, and click on the flag which represents your language. The page will then reload in the selected language. Click the links to the pages of interest, and they too will be translated into your selected language.

Enjoy!

Kiwis lash Out Against Scummy Celluslim Retailers!

I thought I'd include this story here to illustrate that scummy behavior, especially in the weight loss supplement industry, knows no international bounds...

A New Zealand court recently ordered Dennis O'Neill and Martini Limited to pay NZ$256,000 in customer redress. These funds would cover fines and refunds in relation to the fraudulent marketing of their weight loss product, Celluslim. Apparently, Celluslim could melt away both fat and cellulite -- it would disappear in just three weeks -- without diet or exercise! Yeah, right!

And here's where it gets even better. O'Neill and Martini claimed that Celluslim had been tested by the emminent Doctor Malissi at the Saint Alto Research Centre, Switzerland. Guess what? There is no Doctor Malissi. There isn't even a Saint Alto Research Centre in Switzerland. Worst of all, this sort of thing happens all the time. Unethical companies often misrepresent
their spokespeople, and occassionally even their own staff, as medical authorities.

What's annoying about this is obvious. When we are being marketed to we expect the company doing so to play by the rules, and follow some sort of ethical code of conduct. In other words, if a company tells us their product has been successfully tested by some emminent doctor in a foreign country, we believe them. Our first inclination is NOT to think...

"Hmmm... I wonder of said doctor and said research facility exists."

However, the supplement industry has demonstrated to us time and time again that this is EXACTLY what we should think. Once again, it all boils down to this...

Weight loss is never quick and easy, as much as we'd like it to be. Any product that makes claims contrary to this does not have your best interests at heart, and should be approached with a hearty dose of skepticism. And if the product has "emminent" doctors proclaiming its miraculous virtues, be very concerned. After all, real doctors are well aware that weight loss is about hard work... and not some miracle pill.