Welcome to critiCALorie.com!

My ‘name’ is Cal and this site is dedicated to the singular purpose of educating consumers about diet pills. I specifically emphasize the online diet pill industry and the sometimes shady, underhanded marketing techniques that are employed to convince consumers to pull some hard-earned cash out of their wallet and hand it over to these diet pill companies.

Why do you remain anonymous?

The darker side of the diet pill industry reveals a libelous tendency that is so rampant it’s almost laughable (if it didn’t hurt so many reputations). The advent of the internet, where publishing is so easy, and removing said publications when called out is also easy, has only made these tendencies toward libel stronger. My choice in remaining anonymous is to protect mine and my family’s reputation from libel. If you think I’m being paranoid, think again. In my research of various claims that companies make about their competitors, I’ve come across some of the most degrading, racist, hateful comments being pinned on certain companies — only to discover that the whole thing was fabricated by their competitor to tarnish their image.

Where do you get your motivation?

I’ve seen people close to me, that couldn’t afford to, be ripped off. That was the impetus. This isn’t a charity or anything like that though. I provide an affiliate link for 98% ((98% is just a number I’ve thrown out there. I have no idea exactly how many products provide some type of commission. For an entire list of all products with which I’m affiliated, see the list of affiliations)) of the products mentioned on this site so that I am paid a small commission if a visitor decides to purchase through that link. Also, advertising provides an income source as well. While the income definitely isn’t something that would motivate your average Joe to take on the online diet pill industry, it does help justify the time I spend researching and writing.

Do the affiliate commissions make you a biased researcher?

The difference in commission from one product to the other is not enough to risk the trust that visitors place in me to deliver high-quality, unbiased reviews. The nice thing about the commissions is the fact that I can justify ((”Justify” is an interesting term here. It’s all relative. I also get a huge amount of satisfaction from exposing some of the scam companies for what they are: scams)) the hundreds of hours I spend here.

Do you personally use the diet pills that you review?

I’d be one messed up person if I used every product I also reviewed. I take a hard look at several factors (see below) when evaluating diet pills, none of which are their efficacy for me personally. While a compilation of reviews from many users of a diet pill can be a good indicator of effectiveness, basing an entire website on how a diet pill affected only me would make for a pretty ineffective website.

What criteria do you use when evaluating a diet pill?

• Ingredients : This is most important because if the ingredients aren’t there, the results won’t be there either. I back up my research with studies about the specific ingredients so that you can go to the source of my evaluation if you so choose.
• The Company’s History : If the company that’s marketing/distributing the diet pill has a checkered past, I become worried. Even in spite of heavy fines levied by the FTC, these companies will just start another company, make a new product, and roll the dice again.
• Potency : By potency, I don’t mean the quality of the ingredient. I’m speaking here to the amount of the ingredient in the diet pill. If a diet pill claims to have Hoodia, then I’ll look and 1) make sure Hoodia is there and also 2) make sure the amount of Hoodia is at a level that has proven to be effective in studies.
• Marketing : I take a hard look at a company’s strategy in marketing their diet pills. If they use underhanded, black-hat tactics then I’ll make note of that. Does the marketing directly have an effect on the efficacy of a diet pill? Maybe not. But I would submit that a company that cuts corners in their marketing ((This includes, but is not limited to fake testimonials, outrageous claims, copyright violation, etc.)) will also cut corners with their product, which cuts corners on your potential results.
• Value : I compare what a diet pill costs to its comparables’ costs. If the comparables are significantly cheaper, and no justification can be made for the higher price (by looking at ingredients and potency), I’ll make a note of it.

Are all diet pills scams?

Heck no. There are some very effective diet pills out there. They’re just overshadowed by the mountains of less-effective diet pills that are shoved in front of your face every day. This disparity was one of the reasons I started this site to begin with.