There is certainly no shortage of diet pills or wonder machines available on the market today.  It's tough to ever flip through the channels without seeing a commercial or infomercial for a home gym or weight loss pill.   The ads are filled with pictures of people who are in great shape or have lost a significant amount of weight, apparently due to the company's product.  Problem is, most do not give the entire truth!  Yeah sorry, pills and machines alone are not going to get you that magazine cover body.  Hell, they may not even help you lose that spare Goodyear tire you’re carrying around your waste. 

So here's the skinny:  diet pills alone will not get you in shape and can often do more harm than good.  Next time you see one of the ads on television....TiVo that sucker and go back and look at the fine print.  Here are a few important things to remember when considering diet pills:

1. Results Not Typical.  Companies are obligated by law to bare the cold hard truth that most of the time your not going to see drastic results.  Those few-and-far between cases are the ones that make it up on the commercials.  I encourage you to go to the main websites of these diet pill sites.  Look closely at the fine print and you'll see "results not typical" more times than you might imagine. 

2. Combine with diet and exercise.  Even the success stories that make it to the cover pages and commercials did not achieve their results by pills alone.  They had to follow a strict diet and exercise program along with taking the pills. Unfortunately diet pills are not a get out of jail free card. 

3. Before and After pictures.  It is not uncommon for companies to use the after pictures as the before pictures and visa versa.  For example, the companies will pay people who are in great shape to actually gain weight and switch the before and after pictures.  It sounds pretty sad, but it is true. 

4. Side Effects of diet pills can be detrimental to the human body.  Common side effects include: increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, headaches, dizziness, nose bleeds, and acne.  Make sure to check out the warning label on the bottle before you ever consider taking any diet pill, especially if you have any type of medical condition or take prescription drugs.

Ab balls, rocking machines, and resistance rods are but a few of the common training aids available today to consumers.  Each can be effective if used properly if combined with a good diet.  Rocking on an ab ball every day is not going to get you those abs you are looking to uncover.  The truth is that abs are build in the kitchen first and foremost.  If you put junk in your body...your body is going to look like junk. 

Home gym's are useful tools for people who have a busy life and are not able to get out and spend an hour at the gym a few time per week.  I mean heck, it's right there in the living room...easy enough right?  Well, that's great but even if you do utilize the machine effectively, that is only one component of health.  You have to eat properly or it's all for not. 

Bowflex® recently had a recall on their gym equipment in December 2007, and another one in March 2006.  Apparently those trusty resistance rods were snapping loose!  Don't believe me?  Check out their website: http://www.bowflexshop.com/bhg_microsite/customerservice/safetynotices.jsp?lid=Safety+Notices+-+SafetyNotices#  This is an example of the quality and safety issue that comes into play when you purchase home gyms  Not to mention most home gym units cost over $2,000 a piece.  Not cheap!