Thursday, April 15, 2010

Did the HCG Diet Destroy Joe Vitale's Brain?

It's been a while, and unfortunately I don't have much exciting news to report as a result of my extended absence. It's just that this is not even a hobby blog, so when life, hobbies, or even a party comes along, making fun of fireboy's self-indulgent rantings in pursuit of the almighty dollar takes a distant last in my priority list.

But these recent developments are rather egregious, so I'm thrust back into Snarkville whether or not I like it or not. Thanks a million, Joe. No, really. You think I LIKE having to point out your stupidity? Not at all. I'd rather ignore you. I'd keep my lunch down a lot easier if I did.

And since I actually know how to modulate my meals, my lunch for the last month has been more than a little lettuce leaf like you and fathead O'Bryan's meals. Are you back to the Caligula-styled feasts with your boytoys now that HCG is done - again?

How about this wondrous promise of the super-secret drug delivery mechanism HCG diet that Fireboy, his girlfriend, and Pat O'Bryan have been on? Lovely, this diet. It's based on a program that Kevin Trudeau wrote about in his "they" series of tomes. The secret HCG diet purportedly promises to reset your metabolism and your "set point weight" so that you never gain the weight back.

At least that's what Joe Vitale said when he started the HCG diet in early 2009. He would never have to diet again! Good thing he was able to do the diet AGAIN this year. You know, especially since he said in 2009 that he would never have to do it again.

Brilliant!

My bet is that the super-secret delivery mechanism is thus...

1. stick some sublingual HCG tablets in your super-secret Siberian Hoshun wish dolly.
2. Close up hoshun and give thanks that he doesn't have any eyes.
3. Say the magic word. (sshhhh, it's a super secret word)
4. Shove the unwitting hoshun wish dolly up your fat ass.

Voila! Not only have you conned unwitting hype-no-tized followers into buying your wish doll JPG printout, you're going to eradicate the evidence of your self-indulgent excesses from your hips, thighs, and ever-expanding ASS!

Like I said, BRILLIANT!

I think that the HCG diet has destroyed Joe Vitale's brain... last year after he did it, this is when he started his completely insane rampage of illustrious internet marketing. And this year... well, let's see.

Mr. Fire is seeking free labor in the form of interns so that he can document his efforts to end homelessness for a supposed "CNN reality show." Good job, Joe! Keep the free labor coming in... nevermind that actually PAYING someone for work done would contribute to the success that Joe Vitale so often spouts off about wanting for people.

I'm sure he wants others to be successful.

But never at his expense... he expects others to give to him for free. Of course, they get the grand payment of being in his HCG-whittled presence. I suppose that's payment enough.

Oh, but according to his latest blog post, you should DEMAND money.

Just not from him. No, he should get a free pass and free labor.

And for those of you who have purchased any of "his work," his lack of investment in a quality project is apparent.

When was the last time Joe Vitale had a quality product? Maybe when he took all of Dr. Hew Len's information, repackaged it, and tried to shine the light of spirituality on him. Now that Hew Len has taken his road-show elsewhere leaving Zero Limits behind, Vitale is stuck trying to justify how he's going to end homelessness in one day.

If you haven't done it by now, Joey, you aren't going to. You're just a Kevin Trudeau wannabe... you'll have to invent a "they" for people to run away from in order to have some faux credibility.

Later, I'll address the issue of Fireboy's latest illogical blog post in which he states he's found the scientific proof that the Law of Attraction is actually a scientifically verifiable fact. Oh, but wait, he's not really saying that. Didn't you read his blog post? Are you learning impaired? You're not supposed to actually read the HEADLINE, you're supposed to dig through the excrement of his writing for the REAL meaning. He quotes from a book written by an actual SCIENTIST (ooh) who also writes science fiction. (Guess which genre this book falls into?)

Then Fireboy says:
Also according to Taylor, the Law of Attraction is not a law. He declares that the “law” is more an adage; a philosophical or psychological maxim. He doesn’t dismiss it; he simply says it’s not a law by strict scientific proof. There’s no empirical evidence for it.
Wait, what was that headline again, fireboy?
Scientific Evidence for The Secret’s Law of Attraction
Hmm. That oughta get your critical thinking faculties started. He's contradictory and illogical and trying to confuse you... so he can hype-no-tize you.

And Joe, remember, just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true. The emperor still isn't wearing any clothes... and the HCG diet hasn't made that vision any more appealing.

3 comments:

  1. Hey, BBF, good to see you back, in rare form at that. :-) Regarding Joe's blog post about scientific 'evidence' for LOA, the meta-tag title that shows up on the upper bar of the browser is even more revealing. That one says, "Science Proves The Secret's Law of Attraction." I'm guessing somebody deliberately put that title in so the search engines would pick it out.

    Regarding the hCG diet: Out of curiosity & because of another blog post I'm working on, I've been doing more research on this diet. I have no doubt of its short-term efficacy but it appears to me that there's nothing "permanent" about it. You can't just coast along once your period of deprivation is over. If you have a serious weight problem, eternal vigilance is the price of svelte-ness. Not only has Joe been on the hCG diet before, but he's also been on other weight-loss plans over the years, and has touted several of them as being THE permanent solution. Not so, alas.

    As I’ve said many times before, I have no problem with people taking their health into their own hands, and I would never make fun of anyone for being obese (I realize you're not doing that either, but I just wanted to clarify my own position). Having done extensive research on the subject some years back for a ghostwriting project Ron and I did, I have profound sympathy for people who struggle with their weight. I do, however, have a big problem with people who, having a commercial stake in some weight-loss plan or another, tout it as a "permanent" solution. That's just plain deceptive marketing.

    I don't know if hCG itself has any permanent ill effect on the brain or the rest of the body. It is not an anabolic steroid but is a peptide hormone, though it is used by some bodybuilders. (Apparently it was part of James Ray's anti-aging/longevity/fitness regimen.) But hCG was designed by nature for a very specific purpose: support of the developing embryo and fetus in early pregnancy. I do think that a combination of severe caloric deprivation and "yo-yo dieting" can have long-term health consequences, whether or not hCG is part of the equation.

    Even so, as long as Joe and friends are under the care of a medical doctor we can assume they're doing what they can to keep health risks at a minimum. To my knowledge Pat O. hasn't revealed the doc's name yet, but I'd be willing to bet it's Joe's friend and business partner Dr. Marc Gitterle, the guy who introduced Joe to "yagyas," those expensive Hindu prayer rituals that Dr. Marc refers to as "karmic surgery." Maybe Dr. Marc has a karmic weight-loss plan too.

    There are numerous possibilities for the hCG delivery plan. The only accepted ways I know of right now are injections and sublingual drops. (My friend Walter Terry of the Gutless in Seattle site uses the sublingual form and has lost 157 pounds. But he works diligently to keep it off.) Other than that...who knows? Could hCG be delivered via some type of pill, capsule or gelcap, via patch, powder, nasal spray, topical creme or ointment, suppository? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Is the suspense killing you yet?

    Regarding the CNN/intern ad for the Op-Y.E.S. "reality show," Joe says he's not responsible for those ads; CNN is. He says it's apparently the industry norm to use interns for these things. But I wouldn't be surprised to learn he's investing in the show & that it's not really a major project of CNN, which probably utilizes professional paid staff for such things. As far as I know he's been dealing with a Houston radio station which is a CNN affiliate (I'm guessing KIKK), but maybe that's not quite the same thing as having the major powers at CNN backing your project.

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  2. Why would a radio station produce a documentary movie? As usual, something doesn't smell right from the winds of Wimber-lie.

    Isn't Joe'ponopono about taking full responsibility for everything that happens in your life? How does Fireboy get off on passing your challenge off as CNN's fault/responsibility? If he really wanted to ensure that everyone gets paid their full worth, then he would take responsibility as the person with the idea to ensure that it happens.

    Oh, but it's common in the industry, he says. Maybe so, but homelessness is also common, and if he wants to be the man he purports to be, then he shouldn't do things just because it's an industry standard.

    I bet he lied about that anyway.

    As far as his inability to control his weight, I know many people who have this as an issue. I am not making fun of him for having it, but I do have a problem with people who are not 100% responsible and transparent in their communication.

    This diet, and Joe and Pat's promise that their SECRET (I dislike that word) delivery mechanism will eventually come out, reeks of more hoshun-laden broken promises. I hate to see people taken in by that kind of crap, and I can smell it coming.

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  3. Good points, BBF, about how, in the name of abundance thinking and practice, Mr. Fire could have chosen to do something outside the industry norm. Maybe his CNN radio host buddy should recruit homeless people to work on the film, and pay them. Anyway, I have a feeling that the radio host who interviewed Joe is the other mastermind (besides Joe) behind this "reality show" or "documentary movie" or whatever it is. I'm sure this person is trying to pitch it to CNN bosses, but that’s no guarantee it will get off the ground.

    I also found it interesting that one of Pat's students/followers made this comment on Joe's "demand money" blog post: "You know what you are worth. Put it out there! (and double the first number you came up with!)"

    I politely challenged that comment as well. After all, there are often those pesky little details called industry standards, market prices, etc., which are also real factors in determining what one's goods or services are "worth." Trying to gouge customers is not the way to get repeat or even first-time business. Even people with lots of money to burn don’t like being overcharged.

    What I didn't mention in my comment on Joe's blog is that over the years I have observed many times that some of the folks who are quickest to advise that people should charge what they’re worth are also the quickest ones to get sticker shock when they actually get charged what someone or something is worth. Funny how that works.

    I agree with you about the lack of transparency with that whole the "secret" hCG diet plan.

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