The 3 Week Diet
$47.00
Pros
- Relatively cheap
Cons
- Author does NOT exist
- Fake testimonials with stolen, stock photos
- Based on outdated, scientifically disproven information
- Recommends the use of dangerous drugs
- Threatened to take down Contra Health Scam over this review
Update 12.12.2016:
The scammer behind The 3 Week Diet is now threatening to sue Contra Health Scam for using screenshots from his website in this review, an action he calls ‘copyright infringement.’
Read my response to the threat here. For now, I have removed the ‘infringing’ images due to ongoing legal proceedings. They will be restored after two weeks.
Update 27.12.2016:
It’s exactly 15 days after filing my counter-response to the lawsuit threat, and as expected, the scammer hasn’t served me any legal papers. So I’ve restored the images … never to be taken down again.
‘The 3 Week Diet’ by the alleged Brian Flatt is nothing but a sophisticated scam designed to waste your time, deceive you and ultimately kill you! Read this honest review to the end to discover why I arrived at this conclusion and believe me when I say you will thank me later for this!
Flatt promises that his ‘manuals’ contain information about a ‘foolproof, science-based diet’ that is ‘100% guaranteed’ to help you lose as much as 23 pounds of body fat in just 21 days. But after going through the website, checking out the free preview book he provided and embarking on other fact-finding investigations, I have no doubt in my mind that this is yet another long running scam which has been given a lot of positive reviews online.
So lets begin. Why do I call The 3-Week Diet (link to website) a scam?
1. The Author is Unverifiable (Does NOT Exist!)
Go online to find information about this famous Flatt, and you’ll never find him on social media except on accounts promoting The 3 Week Diet. I found a couple of people named Brian Flatt on LinkedIn, but they are not even in the health and fitness field. At this day and age, it is expected that anyone who owns a website selling anything online should have at least one social media account. And considering that this website has been around since 2005 (according to the Who.is data), it baffles me that Brian Flatt still hasn’t heard of Facebook and Twitter.
Don’t be deceived by that voice in the video presentation claiming to be Brian Flatt. That is just a paid actor hired to read a script. If you don’t believe me, go to Fiverr.com and search for ‘voice actor.’
The closest I came to finding out Brian Flatt’s identity was when I tried to verify his claim that he is a graduate of San Diego University with a degree in Biology and a renowned fitness expert who owns REV Fitness in Southern California. I could not verify the San Diego University claim, but REV Fitness did exist in Los Angeles. However, from what I can infer from Google Street View, REV fitness opened in June 2014 and shut down operation in December of that same year.
Update:
More than a month after I published this review, the scammer behind The 3 Week Diet updated the website with a photo purported to be of Flatt. There is just one problem: The photo was bought from Shutterstock! Here is the link to the Shutterstock image.
This finding has just confirmed that Brian Flatt does NOT exist. Therefore, 3 Week diet is a scam!
2. How Did This Indian Doctor ‘Certify’ This Scam? (Identity Theft Alert)
Another weird thing I found about this scam is that it is being endorsed by an Indian-born, Boston-based general practitioner named Suneil Kumar. If Brian Flatt is really the owner of this website and product, then how did this doctor (who you can easily find on Elance and LinkedIn) get onto Flatt’s website and endorse it? More importantly, on what basis did the supposed ‘board of doctors’ at Doctor-Certified.com (the ‘consumer protection organization’ who did the assessment) give their seal of approval? If Kumar is really the owner of the product, then why didn’t he use his real name on the manuals instead of cooking up the fake Brian Flatt?
To answer these questions, I checked Kumar’s social profiles but couldn’t find anything suggesting that he knows about The 3-Week Diet. I’ve also emailed him for some answer, but no reply so far.
Update:
This site was taken down a few months after subsequent reviews by Contra Health Scam exposing it as a fraud prompted online retailers like Clickbank to investigate and finally instruct all their vendors to remove the badges from their websites.
3. The 3 Week Diet is Full of Outdated, Scientifically Disproven Information
Contrary to Flatt’s claim that his 3 Week Diet program is scientifically ‘foolproof,’ the opposite is actually the case! Dave at iFocusHealth.com covered this aspect in more details, but here I’m going to break down some of his claims as follows:
- Carbohydrates are NOT essential for the human body (Epic fail! Carbohydrates are the main sources of the energy the body uses for its metabolic activities and so they are essential. Even though fats provide a greater amount of energy when broken down, they are rarely used by the body for energy. It is true that carbohydrates can cause weight gain, but it is just one of the many, many factors.)
- He encourages you to fast from afternoon to afternoon for less than 24 hours – something no nutritional expert or doctor recommends.
- Having breakfast is NOT allowed (Another epic, dangerous fail. You actually need breakfast to lose and keep off lost weight. Without it, your body will never function properly and the chances of you regaining all lost weight increases tremendously.)
The only thing that makes sense in this 3-week diet plan is the workouts, but everyone knows that workouts are useless without proper diet. So judging from these fundamental failures above, you will not even have the strength to do the extremely stressful exercises he recommends in his manual.
4. Recommends the Use of Dangerous Drugs
The most disturbing thing about the 3 Week Diet is that drugs were recommended to help you lose weight in case the diet plan fails to work. But those ‘fat-burner’ drugs he recommended are extremely dangerous … and are not even officially used for weight-related issues.
Flatt says you can use Ephedrine – a drug used to treat bronchial asthma and other respiratory tract diseases – to help you lose weight. This particular drug is rarely used nowadays because it has a long list of serious side-effects, including heart problems, restlessness, insomnia, myocardial infarction, hypertension and even stroke. As an example, read this Daily Mail story about a woman who used the drug for weight loss and now has few years to live.
Psychostimulant Caffeine, the second drug Flatt recommended, is used mainly for physical alertness and performance. This drug widely abused, as it is found in almost every carbonated and energy drink in the market as well as being a natural constituent of coffee. Side effects are similar to Ephedrine.
Yohimbe, the third drug on Flatt’s list, is used to treat impotence in men and to improve libido. It has never been officially prescribed for weight loss even though research carried out on 20 obese women in 1991 proved that it can help shed a few grams of fat. But the side effects are also similar to the previous two drugs and so not worth it.
I hope that by now, you are convinced that the 3-Week Diet by the fictional Brian Flatt is a scam. Don’t get me wrong: You will definitely lose weight with this program, but of what use will that be if you lose your life?
5. Fake Testimonials.
It is so strange that a product with so many positive reviews online would have all fake testimonials on its website! Do a quick search online, and you’ll quickly discover that the featured people on the website testifying to the effectiveness of the 3 Week Diet are untraceable and basically non-existent. Also, the supposed ‘Our Recent Clients’ live widget is nothing but an unclickable, infinitely scrolling, HTML-coded image circulating a list of 72 names!
Update 18.03.2019:
The scammers behind this program has updated the testimonial section of their website with photos and shocker … they are stock photos!
- ‘Elisa G.’ is a stock photo you can buy from iStock;
- ‘Vanessa B.’ who supposedly list ‘1.5 kilos in her very first week’ is yet another stock photo from iStock.
So much for real testimonials.
Finally, when you attempt to leave the site, a pop-up prevents you from leaving and you are offered a $20 discount on a product that costs $47. Try again to leave, and yet another pop-up stops you and offers you the manuals for just $7. Then you are put under pressure to buy it.
Seriously, don’t waste your time on this product. It is complete crap as you can see here and the hawker knows it. That’s why he is offering you the product at a cut-throat price of $7 to lure you in, before recovering his money and more by offering you worthless upsells.
So that’s it, the complete, honest review of Brian Flatt’s 3-Week Diet. Final verdict: Scam. Please share this article to warn others.
Final Recommendation: DON’T BUY The 3 Week Diet. It is A SCAM!
Blacklisted Website: 3WeekDiet.com
Want to lose weight? Go to your doctor or a dietitian, who will examine you and recommend a diet plan and exercises for you. Then hit the gym, hire a personal trainer … and you’ll be on course to success!
If you have used the 3-Week Diet or are still using it, please share your progress with us in the comments section. Thank you!
If you believe consuming carbohydrates is a medical necessity then you have no business reviewing this diet!!! All the latest research is to the contrary. How it is explained in the 3 week diet is absolutely correct. As for the supplements? The ephedrine caffeine stack is a well documented fat burner within the bodybuilding/fitness world. As to its safety!?! That seems to change regularly as far as the experts are concerned. Another point is almost all documented deaths or serious health problems from caffeine and ephedrine stack are related to abusive consumption!
Note. I am not endorsing this diet just pointing out that the reviewer is sadly misinformed regarding ultra low carb diets/ketogenic diets and the use of caffeine and ephedrine!
Hey Dr David, Yes, I believe that consuming carbs is a medical necessity. This is because carbs are created for one purpose: To supply the energy the body needs for its metabolic activities. Sure, fats can provide energy for the body and so can proteins. But that is NOT its primary function. The main functions of fats are hormone production, nutrients transport, insulation and protection of organs, formation of protective cell membrane barriers as well as boosting brain health. They only get burned for energy in case of prolonged carb insufficiency. Yes, studies have shown that there is little evidence proving that withdrawal of carbohydrates from the diet has life-threatening effects on the body. But almost all of those studies agree that it is a BAD idea to completely eliminate carbs from the diet because doing so will lead to ketosis, a condition that can be life threatening if left… Read more »
You shouldn’t bash something you don’t agree with, doesn’t make it wrong just not your cup of tea. Some people choice to eat low carb, others vegan, other’s low fat, oh and how about obsessively counting calories. I am a recovered anorexic and although I am healthy at the moment I know I could always slip back to old behaviors, the point I’m trying to make is if this helps someone else lose weight who are you to say it’s a scam, let’s be what diet fad isn’t, they all use models with physiques that are near impossible to obtain to push their products. So I say it’s 3 weeks if it works for you amazing if not find what does fuck what anyone else has to say about how you chose to eat…….
I stopped reading this article after this paragraph: ” You actually need breakfast to lose and keep off lost weight. Without it, your body will never function properly and the chances of you regaining all lost weight increases tremendously.)”
Complete nonsense and instantly tells me the author has no clue about nutrition. Clearly hasn’t heard of intermittent fasting. I’ve been doing it for years along with thousands of other people with great success. 11% bodyfat and feel better than ever.
You are confusing ketoacidosis, a complication of diabetes, with ketosis, which is the metabolic state of burning fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. They are very different, and while ketoacidosis is indeed dangerous, it is not synonymous with ketosis. I would be happy to link you to relevant information and studies on the topic. In fact, following a ketotic diet, in which you switch to ketosis instead of glycolysis, can dramatically aid weight loss efforts. However, once normal carbohydrate intake is resumed, one often will regain that lost weight. Therefore, following a low-carb diet becomes a way of life and an actual permanent lifestyle change for many people. I recommend researching this topic much further. However, with all that said, despite the author’s misinformation on some of these issues, he is certainly correct that the three week diet is a scam. It is dangerous for many reasons. Keto is simply… Read more »
Exactly right!!! I have just been convinced that this diet is on-point from this review. Intermittent fasting is long proven to improve health and longevity. All the drugs are also natural and have a HEALTHY track record of people controlling their weight. The same people who reject these ‘drugs’ (herbs) are the ones who also endorse MacDonalds bleaching meat and allow puss and blood in milk. The person reviewing this diet (of which I haven’t done) has no fucking clue what he or her is talking about.
While the author is sadly misinformed on many aspects of his review, the dangers of ephedrine is not one of them. They were pulled from the market, and later returned with severe restrictions, for several serious health reasons. Firstly, many were tainted with even more dangerous chemicals, most notably sibutramine. This chemical was formerly marketed as Meridia as an appetite suppressant, but was pulled from the market in most developed countries because of a large number of reported adverse cardiovascular events, particularly heart attacks and strokes. Further, this was not the first time that sibutramine was discovered to contaminate ephedrine supplements, which is a frightening thing. These additives remain unlisted on the packaging, so no one taking the supplement knew they were getting sibutramine with it. Additionally, ephedrine itself carries a serious risk of cardiovascular events. It raises blood pressure, and people have died from strokes and heart attacks associated… Read more »
A LOT of dangerous drugs are natural – by no means does the fact that they’re natural mean they’re not unhealthy and dangerous…
fantastic blog . i love read this content.
Looks like a complete scam to me.
I’ve done the 3 week diet and have lost weight. I am currently doing it again with my sister, I have been as strict to it and have lost 5lbs in 6 days while my sister who has been strict on it has lost 10.5 lbs in 6 days. Not a scam, it works.
I don’t think anyone believes it doesn’t work. I’m sure it does. It just isn’t the best way to go about keto, some of the information is incorrect, and much of it is ill-advised. There are better ways to lose weight for most people (but not all, I’m sure), and often they are actually more effective, too.
Best of luck to you!
Totally agree with you.
Thank you for taking the time to research and publish your findings (along with the links which provide proof) on this obvious scam. This guy needs to be stopped. There are a lot of honest people looking for real weight-loss solutions that he is scamming and possibly harming while padding his bank account. Thank you for exposing him.
To be honest, I did this diet since May 2016 and as of now, repeating it twice I have lost a total of 9 kg and have not gained a single kilo since then. Whether it is a scam or not, I lost the weight and I felt good and healthy.
This review sounds like a bunch of sour grapes. Many authors use fictitious names or ghostwriters to publish books and articles. Plus, based on personal results – I have lost more than 15 pounds on it – and hundreds of others, the plan works. It also comes with a money-back guaranteed so how is it a scam? Scams don’t offer money back.. Perhaps you should try to write your own program instead of bashing others.
it really is
I actually just finished this diet 1/28/17, and i have done it 3 times now and have always lost at least 15-20lbs every time. I have never gained the weight back. Im not saying its a scam either, but after the diet i go back to eating just the way i did and i still don’t gain the weight back. I feel amazing as well. Regardless if it is a scam or not im glad i found it.
Can you help me with this diet? I bought the books but I don’t know how to incorporate all of those vegetables and protein into a basic meal plan. Thank you.
What’s ur email I’d or do u have any social account..?
Can you please share the diet plan. I am skeptical on doing a purchase
Low carb with intermittent fasting? Sounds like an effective, healthy way to lose weight. And no, consumption of carbohydrates is not essential for life. This is an undisputed medical fact. Glucose is required, but luckily the liver is capable of gluconeogenisis. Eating three meals a day is fairly modern and considering the average male has over 100,000 calories in stored fat, skipping one should be ok. Congratulations to those who have had success with this plan.
It is so confusing…do I do it? don’t I do it? I don’t want to waste money that I don’t need to, but I also do want to lose the weight. so many mixed opinions that it’s hard to decide!! Has anybody ever received their money back?
Hi Melissa,
Sorry for the confusion you’re experiencing. So let me say it simply.
3 Week Diet is a SCAM. All the evidence you need is stated clearly in my review, and the fact that the owner of this product tried – and failed – to take down Contra Health Scam over this review should tell you a lot about the kind of scam we’re dealing with!
Personally, I don’t believe any positive comment posted here about this product. This is because it is the practice of this particular scammer to flood review sites with positive comments … a fact I clearly stated in my review.
That said, you can always check out my Whitelist to find great weight loss programs that I can vouch for any day, anytime. Check it out here:
https://www.contrahealthscam.com/whitelist/
All the best!
I’d say that parts of your review are based in fallacy, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the product could be a scam. Carbohydrates are not necessary in the sense that if you’re consuming enough calories from fat and protein, theres no need to ingest carbohydrates. The human body, through a process called gluconeogenesis, will convert stored body fat and ingested protein to glucose in a caloric and carbohydrate defecit. You could argue that in a healthy human, one might never need to ingest carbohydrates and could still function quite well in ketosis given an adequate supply of protein and a range of healthy dietary fat. As for recommending this for a diet, it can’t be “gauranteed” to work for everyone because there are a range of metabolic responses in people. Where some might show dramatic weight loss, others might have minimal results, which is often the case for… Read more »
Hi Derek, Thanks for your contribution. But I disagree with your remark that parts of my review is based on fallacy. My review is based on scientific facts and makes physiologic sense. I still maintain that carbohydrates are essential for the human body. Gluconeogenesis can be likened to the ‘Plan B’ of the body in case it does not receive the adequate energy it needs. The ‘Plan A’ of the body is to use carbs for energy. That alone should tell you how important they are. Again, the energy supplied by fats and proteins CANNOT be used by the body for intense exercises. They’re like the emergency fuel the body uses to power vital organs and keep them functioning. With carbs in the picture, fats and proteins will be free to do their normal jobs (body building, hormone production, etc.). Bottom line: Only carbs can supply the energy needed for… Read more »
Did you end up purchasing the product? I would like to know as I am quite interested and confused! Thanks.
I am sure you are correct. This guy does not exist! I ordered the product and they billed me twice and I never got the download. There is no customer service, so I called the billing company and they got rid of the charges. This company is a total fake!
I haven’t followed the 3 week diet but I do follow a very low carb diet with intermittent fasting, and I am the healthiest I’ve ever been. Let me also say I am vegetarian and this is why I follow a low carb -plant based diet, unfortunately a lot of vegetarians are carbatarians and most tend to be overweight. From my own personal experiences I find carbs really aren’t neccaserry in large amounts or on a daily basis. Also there’s a big difference between scarfing down a giant bowl of pasta and garlic bread and eating I don’t an apple which yes does contain carbs.
sure?
Okay man idk .. but i tried it 3 times already .. from 170 lb to 148 … idk but it works everytime n i dont even feel like im tired at all .. well i lost 20 lb everytime i do it tho ..
What’s ur email I’d or do u have any social account.!?
Will it be possible for you to share the diet plan
I paid for them but they did not send me the book. it is a lie or what ? how to get my money back
call the billing company
I have used the 3 week diet and had success with it(Yippeeee). Told a friend and she found this review and said told me it was a scam. A little bemused I decided to have a look for myself. Found some info you have highlighted a joke to be fair. Specially your take on carbs. thought someone in the diet industry would know better. Then checked your whitelist, followed your links and found they are Clickbank products just like the 3 week diet. So you are obviously peddling your own commission orientated diet programs and slagging off another one that you are not promoting. Shame on you. Still I am so glad I aint gullible.
Bruh., what’s ur email I’d n do u have any social account??
By the way, your email telling me that I have subscribed to your site has gone straight to my junk folder. Doesn’t avoid spam filters means your site is blacklisted also. hahahahaha
Pot calling the kettle black me thinks
Thank you for doing the research on this. It sounded to me like it just might be another rendition of the Atkins Diet, which I know works because I’ve done it. Unfortunately I am a carb addict…so, like an alcoholic, or drug addict (sugar IS a drug) even with a degree that includes nutrition, I’m a slave to the cookie jar! It’s a shame that people prey on others for their own greed. Maybe when someone gets really ill or dies and sues the pants of this person, he’ll stop. That is, if they can find out who it really is. Sad.
Its a Total scam…open your eyes people,
great research
This might help. No scam get started by clicking on the link website below
I applied for this 2 week programme by brian flatt. But being the desperate to lose weight girl I am I foolishly bought it. The programme was to be downloaded but no matter how often I tried it would not let me open it and that’s when I knew it must have been a scam.
Watching the promotional video for this diet, I couldn’t help but laugh at the over hyped ridiculousness of it. The line about so called “research” being so new that it wasn’t likely known to the public is comical. As a qualified fitness professional and soon to graduate as an Exercise Scientist, I can tell you that most of the claims in this video are frivolous. Yes, I can confirm that CHO is the preferred energy source of the body and yes I agree with one comment below about intermittent fasting. However, the author here endorses a program I’m quite familiar with called Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon. If you have ever listened to the podcasts and audio files that go with Eat Stop Eat, you’ll have heard the number of legitimate references to research that are used. As stated in the audio, this was Brad’s University Thesis that he… Read more »
Hi, All I read the report objectively, and with an open mind. My experience with the 3week diet is great excitement, and tangible results. I can look in the mirror and say with complete confidence, I now know how I got fat, and I also now know how to lose weight. The plan for me was fun to follow, I learned a lot and love the exercises. I now walk 30 min everyday (7), and workout 1hr mwf. I do some weights, yoga, stretching. I feel better, and have lots to look forward to. I also sat a recent Local hospital class on Diabetes education and benefited greatly from that. I did get a diet from a Diettician there at the hospital. I have gained so much useful information and I like that. You, know, a lot of writers used a penname. So I am not dis swayed at all… Read more »
When you sign up and pay for the 3 Week Diet Plan the details are left vague to draw you into the purchase. This is standard procedure in ALL industries in which consumers and sellers are involved. The clincher is the so-called full refund no questions asked policy. So I bought it. After receiving the plan many parts of it are similar to other diets I’ve tried. I tried it and lost 3 lbs in 4 weeks and I didn’t feel very well. I spoke with my physician and we decided it wasn’t a good option to continue. There’s no way you or anyone can say that 3 lbs was the result of this plan. I’m not trashing the plan, it just wasn’t for me. What I’m upset about is the phony guarantee. Purchased 8/12/17 1st cancellation attempt 9/18/17 2nd attempt 9/20/17 Reply 9/21/17 stating I would receive my refund… Read more »
it really is
well.. It is a scam, but you don’t know what are u talking about… You dont know anything about diet and weight loss…. sorry
I’ve done the 3 week diet and have lost about 12lbs. In my opinion after applying it, it really works at least for me. I honestly didn’t follow the plan 100% and cheated myself within the diet period due to hunger pang- but I still lost few pounds.
I am completely agree that Mr Brian Flatt is not a real person. Maybe just a persona name for internet purpose.
Just my opinion.
Can you please share the diet plan. I am skeptical on doing a purchase
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