*This image has now been watermarked to protect from future misuse.
Well first let me put you straight. I actually lost 42kgs but who's counting ;)
You could call me "Anne" or "Mia" but I prefer my real name, Michelle. And yes, that picture above is of me, and I did lose a lot of weight. These pictures are not Photoshopped, and I didn't get a boob job! Yes, in the after picture I am tanned and have curled my hair! ;) I also don't have kids!
Did I really shed 24kgs in 90 days? Or how about 19kgs in 8 weeks? No way, not even close! It took me just over a year to lose 42kgs and it was a very very long journey!
The photo that you see above has been stolen by Facebook pages: Eat Well Live Well, Ultimate Women's Fitness NZ and Star-Tec (a hungarian page). Herbalife have also claimed it as theirs - if you google search the image it's not hard to find. I'm pretty sure that it's been used by others. I'm damn INFURIATED and FRUSTRATED that my photos have been stolen. These ridiculous stories have been made up to go along with the images, and this dodgy company making money by scamming people.
I haven't had much success trying to get these photos removed. The first one that was on Eat Well Live Well got so bombed by my followers, and after threatening legal action it was finally taken down - that's the power of social media. As for this one on the Ultimate Women's Fitness NZ page (which is just another affiliate of www.womensfitness-au.com) the picture hasn't been taken down...yet - I'm still working on this. Facebook don't want to know about it and keep telling me that it is not in violation of their rules, and I don't get any replies when I've tried to message these pages.
So it has left me with going public. I'm so fired up about this subject, it feels like a complete mockery of my hard earned weight loss. I am writing this blog post to bring awareness to what seems to also be happening to countless others, and to highlight just how dodgy these scamming websites and facebook pages really are.
Roni from Just Roni inspired me to share my story. She had a very similar thing happen where a site stole her photo and claimed she'd lost 70pounds in 30 days! Seriously this is just mind boggling! http://ronisweigh.com/2013/08/how-i-lost-70-pounds-in-30-days.html
It seems absurd to me that a company or facebook page or whoever is behind these ridiculous scams would steal peoples before and after photos, change the story and claim it was all from using their diet products.
Roni from Just Roni inspired me to share my story. She had a very similar thing happen where a site stole her photo and claimed she'd lost 70pounds in 30 days! Seriously this is just mind boggling! http://ronisweigh.com/2013/08/how-i-lost-70-pounds-in-30-days.html
It seems absurd to me that a company or facebook page or whoever is behind these ridiculous scams would steal peoples before and after photos, change the story and claim it was all from using their diet products.
Here you can see the pages that stole my images and the stories that were made up to fool people into following their company where they have a lot of dodgy websites and pseudo Facebook pages. They might seem legit, but trust me they aren't.
"This 90 Day Detox Diet Changed My Life" - Mia, Auckland. Read More Here:
--> www.womenfitness-nz.com
Mia is your everyday mum. She has three kids and a steady job but like many has struggled with obesity for her entire life. She reached out to us and we suggested she try a relatively new but clinically backed fat loss detox program to get the body she's always wanted. And boy did she! In 90 days she lost a mind-blowing 24kgs.
This is a screenshot from the Hungarian Facebook page Star-Tec who has also used my image without my permission.
A screenshot from Herbalife in the UK where apparently I'm a Herbalife distributor!
A lot of people seem really shocked that this would happen, but it's just not that uncommon. It seems to be happening all over the internet. How can you really trust any of these sites? The truth is you can't, and if any site is trying to sell you a product that seems too good to be true...it probably is. Even if they offer a "free sample" be warned that once they have your details and more importantly credit card details, they can take your hard earned money.
As you can see from these comments, people are getting scammed, wasting their hard earning money on products that don't work and in some instances they are just getting ripped off without even receiving the products.
I guess you can say I'm pretty passionate about this subject! I want to reach out to people so they can learn the truth, to help bring awareness to this huge problem that is all over the internet.
Please share this post on your Facebook. I need your help to spread the word and get them to take down their fake ads.
So do you want to know how I really lost all my weight?
I changed my diet. Imagine that!
Was it hard? Sure it was. I spent a year of my life watching what I ate. It wasn't easy but it was so worth it. At times I wanted to give up and just eat all my old faves and veg on the couch, but I didn't. I was focused as if my life depended on it.
You can read more about my Primal/Paleo experiences on my blog. I'm pretty candid about the ups and downs of this journey.
Thank you to all my faithful readers and followers for helping me out with this. I am truly thankful to all of you.
COPYRIGHT INFO:Copyrights exist by default. As soon as an amateur or professional photographer hits the shutter button, all the power of the copyright law is now associated with the photo. Therefore, a photographer does not have to specify on the photo or on his website that the photo is protected by copyright. Unless specified otherwise, consider a photo as copyrighted - See more at: http://www.francisvachon.com/blog/10-bogus-excuses-to-use-a-photo-you-found-on-the-internet/
Ann's Unusual But Super Effective Trick To Melt Stomach Fat Exposed Here:
--> www.womenfitness-au.com
Our fan Ann wrote in a week ago about her absolutely stunning 8 week transformation (pictured). Over that time, she lost an incredible 19 kg's. After several emails she agreed to come in and have a chat with us and revealed that the absolute key factor in her transformation were 2 relatively unknown but super effective fat melting supplements.
Our fan Ann wrote in a week ago about her absolutely stunning 8 week transformation (pictured). Over that time, she lost an incredible 19 kg's. After several emails she agreed to come in and have a chat with us and revealed that the absolute key factor in her transformation were 2 relatively unknown but super effective fat melting supplements.
"This 90 Day Detox Diet Changed My Life" - Mia, Auckland. Read More Here:
--> www.womenfitness-nz.com
Mia is your everyday mum. She has three kids and a steady job but like many has struggled with obesity for her entire life. She reached out to us and we suggested she try a relatively new but clinically backed fat loss detox program to get the body she's always wanted. And boy did she! In 90 days she lost a mind-blowing 24kgs.
This is a screenshot from the Hungarian Facebook page Star-Tec who has also used my image without my permission.
A screenshot from Herbalife in the UK where apparently I'm a Herbalife distributor!
There is no quick fix, no secret, no magic. If there were a pill that worked I believe Oprah would have invented it by now. So called "Detoxes" and "Fat Melting Supplements" don't work and there's nothing magical about them. If you want to lose 10kgs in a week either cut off a limb or get food poisoning, you'll lose a crap load of water and on the scale it will look like you've lost weight - while unhealthy as that is, these supplements are no doubt just as unhealthy!
While I can appreciate the silver lining in this situation; the people that have read the truth are now following my page and have been made aware of the scam, I'm thankful that a few hundred people didn't get sucked in by this. But unfortunately I would say there are countless people that have been, for example, check out the comments below from this particular Facebook advert where they are claiming my photo as Mia:
While I can appreciate the silver lining in this situation; the people that have read the truth are now following my page and have been made aware of the scam, I'm thankful that a few hundred people didn't get sucked in by this. But unfortunately I would say there are countless people that have been, for example, check out the comments below from this particular Facebook advert where they are claiming my photo as Mia:
Carolyn Quinlan Be careful everyone, I just ordered what I thought was 5 bottles for $34, but there is a tiny 'ea' after that and no option to check your order before confirming, so it came to over $170 for just the one product, I have emailed to try and cancel my entire order, hope they will do that
22 August at 16:07 · Like · 4
Rey Moorjani Hi ! I just placed my order for Garcinia Cambogia and SaferColon.. I got the confirmations for both from my credit card but didn't get a confirmatory email for SaferColon, I'm starting to get worried as it was quite expensive. Can someone help please?!
19 August at 22:56 · Like · 1
Shelly Lee you can't get free bottles and shipping like they state.... you have to buy it???? so why advertise to get a free bottle and shipping when you can't ???? Just wondering
19 August at 19:29 · Like · 11
Mel A Boo And the pills don't work. Diet and exercise are the only way. I tried the pills and they are worthless. $160 wasted
19 August at 19:31 via mobile · Like · 10
Michela Mike Beavon don't bother tried it and got scammed as you have to exercise and almost starve yourself
20 August at 22:21 via mobile · Unlike · 1
Megan Corby There are obviously no real examples of success stories from the snake oil you are peddling our you wouldn't need to steal images from someone who got there slowly through diet, hard work and self awareness.
18 August at 22:39 · Like · 28
As you can see from these comments, people are getting scammed, wasting their hard earning money on products that don't work and in some instances they are just getting ripped off without even receiving the products.
I guess you can say I'm pretty passionate about this subject! I want to reach out to people so they can learn the truth, to help bring awareness to this huge problem that is all over the internet.
Please share this post on your Facebook. I need your help to spread the word and get them to take down their fake ads.
So do you want to know how I really lost all my weight?
I changed my diet. Imagine that!
Was it hard? Sure it was. I spent a year of my life watching what I ate. It wasn't easy but it was so worth it. At times I wanted to give up and just eat all my old faves and veg on the couch, but I didn't. I was focused as if my life depended on it.
You can read more about my Primal/Paleo experiences on my blog. I'm pretty candid about the ups and downs of this journey.
Thank you to all my faithful readers and followers for helping me out with this. I am truly thankful to all of you.
COPYRIGHT INFO:Copyrights exist by default. As soon as an amateur or professional photographer hits the shutter button, all the power of the copyright law is now associated with the photo. Therefore, a photographer does not have to specify on the photo or on his website that the photo is protected by copyright. Unless specified otherwise, consider a photo as copyrighted - See more at: http://www.francisvachon.com/blog/10-bogus-excuses-to-use-a-photo-you-found-on-the-internet/
I am so sorry to hear this - you have had an amazing journey, and have every right to feel proud over this acheivement. Thank you for showing us your journey :-)
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