As we embark on this journey of building superhuman power, you’ll need to be aware of the traps or pitfalls, which either forces you to give up shortly on your superpower training. Many have tried but a lot failed in pursuing their journey after starting. This wasted valuable time, money, and energy. Here are several traps that you need to be aware of and this will give you insight on how I increase my testosterone naturally.
IG (Instant Gratification)
If you’re looking at that IG and thinking “Instagram,” you’re not far off. In fact, Instagram has built an empire on instant gratification, so much so, that we could call it “instant gratification” rather than Instagram. More often than not, we look at a picture or a 10 second video on Instagram and we want what they have and… we want it as quick as possible.
As previously mentioned, with trillions of dollars up for grabs, the health and wellness market has become a breeding ground for scammers who have played (indiscriminately) on our desires for instant gratification by selling us products and services with little regard for our health and safety.
If you’re at all short on examples consider one small case from 2014 when the US Federal Trade Commissions cracked down on four multimillion-dollar companies Sensa Products, L’Occitane, HCG Diet Direct and LeanSpa for making “unfounded promises.”
In a market of people experiencing epidemic proportions of obesity, the lure of instant weight loss without any effort has become a sort of plague. At its height, the weight loss industry in the US experienced a massive push to sell shady products by making outlandish advertising claims like:
- “Get a gym body without going to the gym” by sprinkling a powder on your food.
- “Significantly slim your thighs and buttocks” using an almond-scented cream.
- “Lose up to one pound a day with just two drops under the tongue.”
Such claims were deceptive, according to the Federal Trade Commission, who ordered the four companies to collectively pay $34 million in refunds to consumers.
Of course, this is just one example of thousands of scams and rip-offs that have left consumers wondering who to trust.
Solution to Instant Gratification
If there is no work involved in creating something amazing I can pretty much guarantee it’s a scam. As such, you’ll need to remember this one:
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is!
And
No effort = No reward!
The Guru Trap
While there are clearly unscrupulous people in the health and wellness world making millions of dollars selling stuff that isn’t really helping you, there are legitimate experts who have good intentions but fall into another trap I like to call “The Guru Trap.”
This happens when a really smart expert in a particular field finds a method or substance that provides a great benefit to both themselves and to their clients and as a result gains notoriety and fame.
While notoriety and fame are not inherently bad, if you start believing everything someone says simply because they are famous or educated with a doctoral degree there is a great risk for falling for the Guru Trap and being deceived.
Most of us have heard of cult gurus like L Ron Hubbard, Charles Manson and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh but gurus from the health industry can have cult like status as well.
Bikram Choudhury was famous for popularizing hot yoga in America. Yet, despite the amazing benefits of the practice, people began worshipping him as a godhead figure and allowed themselves to be taken advantage of. He was eventually tried and convicted of sexual misconduct, raping and sexually assaulting several of his students and has since fled the country where he remains a fugitive.
Or take Dr. Atkins for instance. Atkins was famous for the Atkins diet, which allowed people to eat mostly protein and fat while restricting carbohydrates.
Unfortunately, the diet is marketed with questionable claims that carbohydrate restriction is critical to weight loss.[i] While I and other experts agree with this to a certain extent, studies also show that too much protein can lead to weight gain.[ii]
In summary, there is no good evidence of the diet’s effectiveness in achieving long-term weight loss[iii]and it may in fact, increase the risk of heart disease.[iv]
Nevertheless, since the Guru (Dr. Atkins) was a famous doctor, and people got short-term weight loss benefits, people jumped on the bandwagon despite the risks.
But even more disturbing is the fact that people still follow the diet today despite their guru himself being grossly overweight and purportedly dying of a heart attack.
What’s even more interesting is the fact that Dr. Atkins had a long history of heart attacks and congestive heart failure and when he died his wife cremated his body before an autopsy could be completed.
Question: Would you jump off a 3,000-foot cliff just because a famous doctor told you it would be ok? Of course, you wouldn’t. I’d imagine you’d probably do a little research to see if the claims the guru made were legitimate and make an educated decision. So why would you follow the advice of a doctor just because he paid for a $50,000 education.
Solution To The Guru Trap
When starting a new diet or exercise program, it’s absolutely critical to make sure the program is backed not only by long-term scientific studies (which may not be available) but other experts who are trustworthy.
Fortunately, Fired Up is backed by multiple experts and long-term studies, which prove its undeniable power.
I’ll be discussing more of the traps you can encounter in the new articles I’ll be posting. But if you want more information on how to get fired up, check out the video course here: https://chadscottcoaching.com/fired-up
[i] Katz DL (2003). “Pandemic obesity and the contagion of nutritional nonsense”. Public Health Rev. 31 (1): 33–44. PMID 14656042.
[ii] Hernández-Alonso P, et al. (2016). High dietary protein intake is associated with an increased body weight and total death risk. DOI:10.1016/j.clnu.2015.03.016
[iii] Gudzune, KA; Doshi, RS; Mehta, AK; Chaudhry, ZW; Jacobs, DK; Vakil, RM; Lee, CJ; Bleich, SN; Clark, JM (7 April 2015). “Efficacy of commercial weight-loss programs: an updated systematic review”. Annals of Internal Medicine. 162 (7): 501–12. doi: 10.7326/M14-2238. PMC 4446719. PMID 25844997. Atkins resulted in 0.1% to 2.9% greater weight loss at 12 months than counseling.
[iv] Alters S, Schiff W (22 February 2012). Chapter 10: Body Weight and Its Management. Essential Concepts for Healthy Living (Sixth ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 327. ISBN 978-1-4496-3062-1.
