About this Blog

Welcome! Thanks for checking out On Food Stamps.

I created this blog in 2009 when I began working at the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. My work at this organization opened my eyes to food justice issues in America, and I had a strong desire to better understand the difficulties many people face when trying to access healthy food on a limited budget. So, I embarked on my own Food Stamp Challenge, living on $31/week as a vegan. I used this blog to chronicle my experience.

While my Food Stamp Challenge project has come to an end, you can see what I learned from it by reading the Greatest Hits posts linked to the right side of the page. Please excuse any out-of-date links, as I am no longer updating this blog on a regular basis.

Stay Hungry,

Julie

Monday, August 24, 2009

The Path to Good Nutrition


Looks like the good people of Herbalife were kind enough to pay my little car a visit today while I was at work. Thanks, guys. I was looking for a path to Good Nutrition. I bet your overly priced vitamin supplements are just what I have been looking for.

Before I got home and started Googling, my biggest problem with Herbalife was that it was a product that advertised itself as being a "natural" miracle weight loss solution. I know that getting healthy and losing weight is hard, and I am suspicious of anything that promises incredible results with no effort or sustainable lifestyle changes.

These types of products really play into our collective denial about health in America. We want our food to be fast, cheap, and easy, and that system makes us fat. Once we are fat, we want our health solutions to be fast and easy at least. Herbalife is exactly the type of product that perpetuates the dangerous denial we are in - most of us can't seem to admit that sustainable health solutions require us to commit to healthy lifestyle changes and maintain them.

That was how I felt about Herbalife before I started Googling.

I soon realized that in addition to perpetuating unhealthy shortcuts, Herbalife seems to be quite a scam. A child of the web 2.0 generation, I have no problem judging things based on the words that my Google search query associates with them. So, when I typed in "Herbalife" and found that Google offered me secondary words like "scam" and "complaints" I became even less of a fan of Herbalife. While some people on message boards swear by it, it sounds like a house of cards to me. A really unhealthy house of cards.

8 comments:

  1. as always you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, if you try the products maybe you'll change your obstructive opinion.

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  2. I don't know anything about any products you've tried, but I do know that I tried many things to lose weight, including changing how I eat and getting more exercise, and none of it worked. I was over 280 pounds through all of it. When I started using Herbalife, I noticed that I had more energy, and saved money by using it versus buying the healthy food I was trying before. Now I have a shake twice a day, and a healthy meal for dinner. I spend less on my nutrition and in the first 3 weeks I've lost 15 pounds and 12" of fat. Now I am under 250 for the first time in 15 years, feeling 10 years younger, and still losing weight.
    Maybe before the next time you decide to blog negative about something, you will do some research and talk to people who actually use the product. Or better yet, try it for yourself.

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  3. i live eat and breath herbalife! I have newer felt better in my entire life!! it is not just for weight loss it is for weight management and in some cases weight gain. and this so called "scam" is known as the pyramid scheme. the pyramid scheme for herbalife is set up so independent distributors can rise up in the company if the wish to. I started out as a distributor and within a month or so I became a supervisor. Herbalife was not the child of web 2.0. it was started by Mark Hughes in 1980. I really encourage you to take a second look. you cant believe everything you read on the internet. being apart of herbalife I know it is different than any other program out there. sold in over 90 countries, herbalife is not just about dieting, it is about living well through nutrition.

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  4. Herbalife IS a lifestyle change! You go to the store and you CHOOSE your brands... whether to pay cheaply for unhealthy foods which will cost you in quality of life and medications later on in life, or you pay high prices for high quality nutrition which give you excellent health and freedom from doctors for decades to come. Herbalife is it's own brand, just like Kraft or Campbells... but it's on the high end, and YES it works! But most people cannot sustain it, BECAUSE it's a LIFESTYLE change. It's the best nutrition science can offer us, and anyone in the nutrition/wellness industry will tell you that 80% of fat loss comes from nutrition, while the other mere 20% is from exercise. I have been consuming the products for almost 15 years, because I don't like making time for a big exercise routine, and I'm not interested in becoming a nutrition guru. Yet everyone who meets me is absolutely amazed at how young I look and healthy and in shape I am. Knock it all you want, but it's your own loss. Don't deny the possibility of good quality of life to other people by acting like a know-it-all!

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  5. You know I'm gonna be completely honest also and say that I didn't think Herbalife would help me one bit. However, I gave it a try and now I'm a distributor with Herbalife and I couldn't be more happier with how amazing the products are. They actually work, and on top of that I have kept off all the weight I have lost and gained 8 lbs of muscle! :)

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  6. You think negative, you get negative, you look for negative, you'll find it! You think positive, you'll get positive, you look for positive you'll find it! (It is the Internet ya know! Please tell me your not one of those that believe every picture with a quote next to it? Try it yourself then make a decision) lookup Garrian Jones ask him if it's a scam!? Herbalife is great not only has it changed my lifestyle in both health and wealth ! But if I never would have gotten started cause of my previous negative mindset I would be in a totally differnt place right now! Thanks god for the people he placed in my life at the times I was skeptical! Herbalife has touched and changed every aspect of my life and you don't know what your missing! God bless! If you change your mind and want me to coach you contact me. You'll be happy you did. Roberson_charlie@yahoo.com

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  7. I too am a faithful user of Herbalife products. I was pushing almost 300 lbs. I have no lost close to 100 and still have a bit more to go. I love the crutch of two shakes while I learned how to cook meals slower that are better choices. I thank God every single day for this company. Their Seed to feed ensure proper nutrition and healthy meal replacement shake. I do not worry about whats in my shake because I know what every single ingredient is. Besides their customer service is amazing if I don't know something I know I can call in and they will help me. This author really should do some more research before bashing a company that has helped save lives. ***People who use Herbalife Formula 1® twice per day with a healthy lifestyle can generally expect to lose half a pound to 1 pound per week.***

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  8. I too am a faithful user of Herbalife products. I was pushing almost 300 lbs. I have no lost close to 100 and still have a bit more to go. I love the crutch of two shakes while I learned how to cook meals slower that are better choices. I thank God every single day for this company. Their Seed to feed ensure proper nutrition and healthy meal replacement shake. I do not worry about whats in my shake because I know what every single ingredient is. Besides their customer service is amazing if I don't know something I know I can call in and they will help me. This author really should do some more research before bashing a company that has helped save lives. ***People who use Herbalife Formula 1® twice per day with a healthy lifestyle can generally expect to lose half a pound to 1 pound per week.***

    ReplyDelete