The positives of these shakes
In a round about way, there are some good points to these things.
1) they make people more aware of what 'type' of things they should be having - even if it is slightly misguided.
2) there is a community feeling to most of it, as there are so many people taking/selling it, you get to know each other and enter into their own little 'cult' (almost like this page, hehe!)
3) some of them offer exercise classes as part of it - wow, great, but, are they qualified, most of time, no. BUT if it gets you out and moving, who's to complain? maybe when these people are a bit fitter, they'll understand the importance of a REAL exercise class.
4) i'm running out of steam quickly here... They em... do produce results, there's no denying that, you see the pictures you hear the success stories. What you don't see is the masses of people who do not get results, only the FEW who do, go on, have a look...
5) it builds confidence, you're getting healthier, fitter and making more friends, whats not to love?
As you can see, clutching at straws on those last few!
that's really all I can think of on that...
In summary, everything they do, every other reputable gym/fitness institution does, but people would rather pay £30-40 per week on a shake than £30 a month on a gym membership and get results the real way.
