Whether you are trimming down to impress or searching for a health solution by losing weight the choices that face you in choosing a method, product or program are many. Skilled advertisers pull out all the stops to convince you that their company is the one for you.

An excellent example of a projected perception through advertising are Medically Supervised Weight Loss programs.

To be clear, this is not a discussion about your family physician or specialist who may be supervising your weight loss. This is about offices or clinics who's sole purpose is weight loss.

These weight loss programs that involve "medical supervision". These are simply more sophisticated versions of the appetite suppressant/stimulant method such as diet pills. Many people turn to these because of the comfort level offered by going to a doctor's office (or something that looks like a doctor's office-medically supervised rarely means a doctor) for "treatment". Most popular among these are the HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) programs.

Again, to stress, these programs only address the reduction of calories and are generally promoted as a "jump start" to get you progressing toward your goal. In the case of HCG programs, credible dietitians recommend a minimum of 1200 calories a day for women and 1500 calories a day for men and the HCG program suggests less than half of that.

The appeal for many is that they seem to work so fast and since most people focus only on weight and inches lost, they deliver as promised. They are not a long term, healthy nutritional solution.

Drawbacks include:

• Time traveling to a clinic or office

• Expense

• Possible side effects from the injections or drugs administered

• No re-education for long term behavioral change

A credible weight loss program will offer nutritional coaching and a plan to help you make the transition from the intensely supervised process to a more natural program you can integrate into your life.