Why I Won't Join "ITWorks" Even IF 'It Works'

For the past while now my Facebook feed has been littered with pictures of many women holding up the number one on their hands with a giant smile and usually a hashtag Watch Me or Join Me. They are these women who are now distributors of the ItWorks products and apparently becoming very successful at it. They hold up checks of bonuses, to make sure everyone knows how much money they make so that it reels you in like a fish on a hook.

Even if they are making money and even if ItWorks really works, I won't participate.

You see, our world is already filled with a persona that if we are not skinny, tone, and tan we are not beautiful. We all have heard the complaints about the Victoria Secret models being too skinny and anorexic women being idolized for their slim figure. How does ItWorks help this? In my opinion it doesn't. I would rather teach women how to accept and love their body as it is instead of give them a "quick fix" continuing in their ideas that they need to be skinny and tone to be and feel beautiful. I would rather teach women how to correctly diet and exercise to have a healthy body, learn to love their body as it is--big or small-- and give them a LONG TERM fix.

Now to be fair I only have so much knowledge about all of their products. I have heard most about their "crazy wrap thing", which is what my focus will be in my post today.

I am not immune to market level management "schemes". I tried one myself, but wasn't very successful because I didn't do enough convincing people they needed my product. The media has done all of the convincing for ItWorks distributors and has already set up the clientel for these skinny wraps products. "You want to get rid of that cellulite (that everyone has told you is ugly), here you go, buy our product and feel so much better about yourself!" "Have you heard about that crazy wrap thing?" "Want that FLAT stomach (the media portrays as beautiful and that you think men won't think you're beautiful without)? Here! Place this on your problem area for *so long* and get those results!"

My favorite quote about the media portrayal of these women is from Jennifer Lawrence. This is the link to an article where she explains that she's considered a "fat actress" in Hollywood. Here are some pictures of this actress so we all understand what she looks like.

How she is considered a "fat" actress I will never understand...

I'm not trying to sit here and say I'm immune to feeling like crap about my body and therefore don't use products to enhance my beauty or change things about it. I could sit here and tell you a laundry list of attributes I don't like about myself. I'm not a stellar example of what to do or how to live. I'm just not good at sitting back while I feel this is being pushed and pushed without making a stand for why I won't buy or sell these products. For any of you who wonder what my personal background is, I will tell you I'm well on my way into a successful medical career. I understand science, which is one reason I felt this was something I wanted to talk about.

Looking up information about their product I went to their main website to see what they said about the results. In one question it asked how long their product worked for and how long the results stayed. With one wrap the results could last "2-6 months", but the results of their wrap can be reversed without daily diet and exercise. You can read up on what ItWorks claims here for each product. I'd just like to point out under the ultimate body applicator the questions "What is the scientific explanation behind how this works". Please, read up.

What bothers me the most about this company (and any MLM really) is some distributors do not totally understand their product. I have seen some claims that bothered me and I would like to address them now.

1- "When you wear the skinny wrap and drink water it flushes out your fat cells."

2- "ItWorks is taking the toxins out of my body. "

The only toxins that could be taken out of your body are the ones you put in it i.e. drugs or alcohol. "Detox" only has a meaning when cleansing the body of THESE toxins.

"The claim sounds good. But doctors say it's unsupported. "There's never been any real scientific evidence that body wraps pull out toxins or purify your body in any way," says Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, a Washington, D.C., dermatologist."

"As for slimming wraps, "any loss of inches is going to be temporary,'' Sandra Fryhofer, MD says. ''Wraps cannot take the place of a healthy diet and exercise."

To read the full article go here.

Looking up more articles I have found these. I'll link them and then give some of my favorite blurbs from them:

• Patent for a Body Wrap. Note: This article is publicized in 1988.
  "It is again important to note, that even though reduction of body dimension is being achieved, it is being achieved without significant actual weight loss."
• Topical Fat Reduction. Total scientific experiment. I'd like to point out the test groups really should be larger and it does mention what is going on inside the body should be looked at by CT or MRI, BUT I cannot deny this quote. "Topical lypolysis is almost certainly safer and does not carry with it the the attendant risk of surgical procedure with its scarring and risk of infection as well as the risk of anesthesia." Obviously these products have their place and time. 
• Patent for Andrenergic Blocking Agents. Publicized in 1986. Again this talks about the time and place for when these products should be used. This is when people exercise and fat deposits are in certain areas that they cannot get rid of termed "problem areas", but not everyone buying ItWorks products are proven to be exercising or trying to stay healthy.
• Weight Loss Treatment and Psychological Well-being. 2007. From abstract "Actual weight loss moderated treatment effects on self-esteem but not depression; only treatments that produced actual weight loss predicted increased self-esteem whereas improvements in depression were independent of weight loss." I just want to point out mental illnesses are not always directly affected by weight loss. Seeing a medical professional can help with depression.

I wasn't able to find as many research articles as I would have liked. I would encourage anyone who is interested to continue researching and sharing the information they've found. The ones I have found along with the patents which explain the products show and explain the science behind body wraps. I do not know what is in the ItWorks wraps especially. What we can see, though, is there are definitely time, place, and people that these types of wraps could benefit and I am not trying to downplay that. I do, personally feel, for other people these wraps can do more harm than good.

I do not want to be a contributor to making people believe they need to be tone and skinny to feel beautiful. Sure like I mentioned above some people have a different mindset about these products that are not all of destructive "I hate my body" thoughts, but there are people who DO, which is where I base my comments. I would rather pay to get the training to help them be happy with the body they have now.

Let's be real here, a woman's body will never stay skinny. Many women get pregnant and then gain extra weight from that or just naturally fluctuate in weight. I do not want to contribute to their emotions and tell them they are not beautiful anymore because of the weight. I want to teach them to accept their body and be happy with themselves even with some extra weight. I want them to love themselves enough to get healthy. I think if more people focused on teaching women to love themselves, they might get into a habit of healthy eating and get into a healthy weight if they are not already there.

Ultimately if someone wants to distribute a product like this that is totally their call. Heck, I even would like to make the kind of money they are making now instead of in my future career. The cosmetic industry has already made a living at this and good for them!

All I want to do is help others not only understand my point of view, but if people are still buying these products I want you all to understand what you're buying. Look it up on your own, their information is out there along with ALL the other types of wraps.

Realize some of these distributors have one goal, to get you to buy their product. Most are coming with a limited science background and will make crazy claims to which I hope you all understand can be outlandish. Look up their claims!

If you're reading this, I want you to know you're beautiful. Inside and out. You don't need to have a fit body to be happy and a likable person. Other people will always tell you you are fat. I know because I, too, have struggled with this. Get help. Mental diseases are REAL and if you feel you are depressed, have an eating disorder, a bad self esteem, etc. there are medical professionals who can HELP you LONG TERM.

Your body needs routine check ups and so does your mind. Go find help. One thing I've learned is going to a therapist doesn't mean you're crazy or any other stereotype you have heard. It means you realize there is a problem and that it needs to be fixed. Have the courage to take that first step for YOU. Fight back against what the media and other people are constantly screaming at you. Remember, you're beautiful!