November Bonus: Diet Scams!

I would love a discussion on Huberman!!!

Michael clap-yelling "I! WANT! CREDIT!" made me cackle.

“Michael, it’s dumbfuck nonsense” is a permanent ear worm for me 😆

My grandmother was a RELIGIOUS reader of Woman's World magazine, and thus by proxy so was teenage me. I still find myself picking it up in long lines, but thankfully no longer looking for that one easy fix plus the candy laden must make dessert of the week for some reason 🤣 I think it needs a Bachelor style deep dive for Mike!

She was punished for being fat.

Replaying this episode just of hear Aubrey sing “Michael, it’s dumbfuck nonsense!” and Michael say “Vision Dieter”

This was kind of wholesome. I especially loved when Michael thought of the glasses as vision Dieters. I am German but have lived in Australia for 16 years, and my Dad's middle name was Dieter. So, imagine my surprise when I was browsing the aisles of our local grocery shop to find Dieters Tea!! I thought awwww and then HANG ON they mean weight loss?? 👀 Vision Dieters made me chuckle especially when Aubrey brought them up again in the part about the Kimkins diet 🤣 I LOVE YOU GUYS PLEASE NEVER STOP ❤️❤️❤️

I feel like a movie about the Kimkins lady has the potential to be way better than the TV show about Belle Gibson

I initially pictured someone crawling when you said “micro-walking”

My aunt subscribes CURRENTLY to Women’s World magazine and is one of the sources of diet culture bullshit that I am trying to help my mother unlearn. In less than a week she is coming to stay with us for the first two weeks while my mother recovers from hip surgery. Pray for me that I don’t start a fight.

I feel very stupid that this is the first thing I’ve ever commented on here despite being a patron since the start of the Patreon, but…who is Tabitha?

The Kimkins part felt really wild to me because, while I don’t condone or excuse scamming or encouraging eating disorders, you now see this stuff everywhere on TikTok and with people directly monetizing off of it. I feel like she was only sued and actually held to account because she is a fat lady. I’m reading an article about the skinny tok influencer and I’m just enraged!

Hi Mike and Aubrey: thank you for your show and passion. I wish I could have listened to you when I was a teenager in the 70’s! Aubrey mentioned the Kardashians doing diet/weight loss grifting and I don’t know if you have done an episode on that family but I love to listen to your take on their huge influence.

Hey A&M! Please tell me you two have seen the new deranged Bryan Johnson post about his partner… I wish I could insert an image

You joked about doing the podcast for another 20 years with all the scamming the FTC offers, but I loved this episode so much! I would love more light bonus content like this! I have listened to it several times because it's funny and easy to mentally digest while hearing both your voices be delighted by one another and dieting scammy silliness. Please continue to pull from the FTC blog in the future! Happy holidays!

I love you all so much. Thank you, thank you. As a fellow 80’s kid, you’ve truly changed the way I see diet culture and the ways I interact with it. I cannot even express fully the gratitude I have for you all. You’ve helped heal wounds I probably would have never even realized existed. Just… thanks.

This hilarious ep got me thru a sleep and food deprived day of cross-country holiday air travel with my teenage child. Y’all are the best.

From now on when I butt dial or butt text dial someone I’m just going to say it was sent from my iPant.

I love you two so much. You got me through two big losses this year. Thank you.

The people are sick! Give them Caffeine water! A..and Protein yogurt! - RFKjr

I just love you guys. You could talk about anything and I would listen!

Nice is what people want you to be when they're treating you like shit. Y'all are KIND and that's much more difficult and important. Kindness feeds kindness. Y'all are the bomb dot com.

It has been a WHILE since I laughed at anything as hard as I did at the whole iPant segment. (Also, I can clearly remember reading "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" back [*way* back] in the day.) Wonderful episode.

Chill? Nice!! Love you both! Thanks for doing this work!

I'm a mail carrier in Wisconsin. I have 3 customers who are subscribed to women's world

Red-faced and absolutely losing my shit in front of strangers in the gym at “sent from my iPant” and attendant jokes. DEAD.

Guys “A Little Bit of Monocarb in My Life” was of course by In-LIEU-of Bagel

Take all the time you need to make episodes! ❤️

If I had a nickel for every time this podcast brought up Flickr on a bonus episode, I would have two nickels, etc. etc.

Cackling on the city bus as Michael says he rubbed his thighs together to text someone. Picturing a grasshopper, sent from my iPant.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR5AwlYicS8/?igsh=OTRjeGFpYW5tYjFk These could all be Woman’s World cover stories 😂😂😂

phenomenal show as usual!! PLEASE can we please, please have noom and slimfast in 2026. please. i am on the edge of my seat!!

The person(s) who thought up the word 'micro-walking' needs to be thrown in a pond.

As a fellow Corona, California native, I too consider myself “just some lady from the Inland Empire.”

Not-so-fun-fact about the Livin’ La Vida Low Carb blog… the guy who ran it, Jimmy Moore, is now serving time for PDF-activity… yeah. I knew him when I was in the space YEARSSSSS ago and we all got a creepy vibe from him and couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. And then, he got arrested a handful of years ago.👏🏻 Lots of comments here so not sure if anyone mentioned that one yet!

Every time Michael makes a 30 Rock reference, an angel gets its wings. (And THAT'S how Liz was able to high five a million angels!)

“ just some lady from the inland empire “ gotta be my favorite line because I too am just some lady from the inland empire

Y'all are extremely lovely and can get all the grace. These episodes are awesome and entertaining, but not worth harming yourselves!

America truly cannot think of a way to deal with wrongdoing of any kind that isn’t either absolutely nothing or completely destroying a person’s life forever. No in between.

I have been on an audiobook kick lately and haven't been listening to podcasts. I have to say I had forgotten how freaking hilarious you two are! LOL iPant!! Also shoutout to the Norm Thompson mention. Store from my childhood that I had forgotten about until recently. Too bad that mention was about weightloss scam pants...hahahaha

Look, I won't lie and say that you guys are chill, but you ARE un-chill in a way that is very lovely and nice. This show has always felt like a safe space and you do deserve credit for the kind of audience you've built <3 (sent from my iPant)

In the front page back of cover ad of my drugstore word search book, women’s world- “she lost 359 lbs at 55” 😐

Can not get “Livin’ la vida low carb” out of my head!

I did not get enough sleep last night and putting this podcast on while I sleepily got ready for work and immediately hearing a proper Aubrey laugh completely fixed my morning

I'm willing to believe that someone in the iPant "trial" did lose that much weight, because the Venn diagram of people signing up for that trial and people doing other fad diets that have initial rapid weight loss is almost a circle.

please PLEASE do a Women’s World episode because I could listen to yall rant about that for HOURS

we ARE nice because of you, Michael.

I am starting to get ads for calorie-burning leggings in my social feeds so the iPant trend is apparently coming around again.

To be fair to Mike, "I want CREDIT" is an extremely chill thing to say.

in case this has not already come up in the comments – Livin la vida low carb was a massive site, the guy behind it , jimmy moore, was a low carb influencer before the word influencer was a thing, had a podcast, had books, and is now serving time for CSA. FYI!

Big virtual hug for Aubrey during this tough time. Also applause for both of you for your performances in The Devil You Know 👏

Not the organised retail crime reference!! Michael the IBCK crowd are only just settling down after that episode

We are willing to wait as long as it takes for your fantastic content and we want you to be happy and healthy in your life beyond the show!

With civil justice as with criminal justice, huh? 😕 Instead of regulation to protect people in the future, instead of better jobs and welfare systems so fewer people turn to grifting, instead of even adequately helping victims, we just give the harshest punishment to whoever's easiest to go after. I enjoy a good story of a toppled scammer but the ending is so often bittersweet, sometimes because they get away with it but perhaps even more so when they don't. In addition to being cruel it's simply a waste that someone should be made to suffer forever for their choice to exploit an existing cultural vulnerability when you know the same thing is gonna keep happening anyway - and when the true villains rarely even have a face to hate or a character arc to package into a satisfying downfall narrative. Of course, the worst scams aren't even illegal. When I think about what separates me from, say, one of the Indian call center scammers I like to watch scambaiters outmaneuver, it's not mainly my unimpeachable moral character, is it? I have no idea how I would be acting if I were operated on by the same forces of poverty and colonialism. By pure luck I have had the luxury of never needing to consider that kind of choice. Undoubtedly many people in desperate situations still have moral principles that preclude them from scamming, but why is our takeaway from that "there's a right and a wrong way to be poor and/or marginalized" rather than "no one should ever be put in that position in the first place?" (And rather than, "hey maybe it's worth restricting the sacred business freedoms of the goddamned data brokers to protect people from losing their life savings?")

Loved the episode! Sent from my iPant.

I am sure that Women's World's lawyers have instructed them to put the word "Helped" in every weight loss headline. Like, "Listening to Maintenance Phase helped me lose three pounds!" What? Who's to say it didn't help to some hard-to-measure degree?...

An actual restorative justice approach for the Kimkins woman would look like her going on an educational campaign with real science about the harms of very low calorie diets… I just don’t see how perpetual financial ruin sets anything right

All the Canadians would like to see Michael's Canadian costume please. 👏🇨🇦

😂I’m sleeping but my thighs are wide awake!

Aubrey: kimkins My brain every time: timtams :)

Aubrey being like "you are not a bra buyer that im aware of" is a truly sweet ever-inclusive mindset haha

Livin la vida low carb made me HOWL with laughter

These episodes are getting shorter and taking longer to come out. It feels like the quality of the shows is not as robust anymore

Mike, hearing you play Pat Robertson on The Devil You Know was just DELIGHTFUL

I was HOWLING laughing at this episode. So grateful you were able to record it in the wake of personal loss. ❤️‍🩹

I really needed this funny yet horrifying episode so much (also why can’t we outrageously fund the FDA instead of the cops???).

Pretty sure the caffeinated everything is because we're all so burned out now that we need our diets to be 20% stimulants by volume in order to function

Can you PLEASE post a link to the kimkins tshirt I’m dying to see some mid aughts bad photoshop

love love love everything about this, thank yall

Back in the good days of Twitter, a woman I followed told the story of being poisoned by her underwear and it was this caffeine-infused nonsense. The story was horrifying, but also hilarious. Sadly, I cannot remember her name and Google is failing me.

The celery juice episode callback omg

Michael, we’re nice because we love you guys for your aggressively unchill show 😂

hold on, I'm downloading the Sprockets theme to play on my ipants.

I love that Aubrey supports fat peoples rights AND their wrongs! 😂 I'm with you, Aubrey, let a fat person benefit from the scams for once

My sister and I swap pants all the time cause we are similar enough in size though she is shorter. But now I think I’m gonna embroider iPants on all of mine and uPants on all of hers.

I know this was supposed to be a fun one but damn that ended dark! Lol

I can't believe that I have been unintentionally supporting terrible diet scams with my bra purchases, but also, the thought of trying to switch to a different brand than wacoal at this point in my life fills me with terror...

Can we get Heidi Diaz (sp?) as a guest interview? Half serious…

Is Mike Myers secretly funding Maintenance Phase? 😆

"Michael, it's dumbfuck nonsense." All timer. Going in the lexicon immediately.

I'm 26 but my parents are both nostalgic gen-xers and i have an interest in vintage media and technology so I usually get old references but prodigy has really stumped me. I have absolutely NO idea what that could possibly be referring to

Y’all should know your episodes make my absolute week 🩷

yeah what am I suppose to do "HURRY THe FUCK UP!!" does not seem like it would, be an effective motivator lol

Not the IE making an appearance 🤣🤣🤣

Omg my mom was very into Livin La Vida Low Carb! We got regular updates on Jimmy and his family. Also, every time low carb stuff comes up, I am reminded just how much that diet affected me (ie fucked me up). Sigh. Did they ever cover Good Calories, Bad Calories?

100% the reason they came down so hard on kimmer is because she was fat.

I thought my hometown’s only claims to fame would be Monster energy and the pilot episode of Bar Rescue, but Corona, Ca is really producing some movers and shakers 🥹 So much love to ya, Aubrey 💜

Wait, the dieter/deter thing I was once in a drag show where someone sang a song Dieter’s Prayer and I was like oh what Greek god is Deeter? ….took me about half of the song to realize hahahah

Lou Bagel made me spit my tea laughing

So…couldn’t help myself and had to google: the 2024 circulation for Women’s World was just over 800k. While it is very American focussed it is sold here in Canada too. It still has a very wide distribution. 😢

Sent from my iPant 🤣

"The rest of me can fall asleep BUT MY THIGHS ARE WIDE AWAKE!" Is such a perfect Gene Belcher line. I love it.

Banger episode, thanks team 🩷

Michael how do you even dress as a Canadian for Halloween? I had to replay that part and keep 😀 😄 😁 🤣 😂

I had to stop in the first 5 minutes and search for Prodigy because my 9 year old often comes home talking about using it at school. Different Prodigy, apparently.

Sending love to Aubrey and her family. Just so glad to hear you both giggling on my Monday morning. - sent from my iPant

The Heidi Diaz types get their lives ruined but Tommy Mottola is just out there living his life without consequence.

So sorry for your loss, Aubrey. May their memory be a blessing ❤️ We are always delighted to get a new episode, no matter how long it takes ❤️

I'm so sorry for your loss Aubrey. Please, take the time you need. I am so grateful for you, Mike, ans this podcast. Your humor and knowledge has helped me sift through the wellness grifty nonsense that feels like a firehose right now.

That first scam is the plot of an episode of Tales from the Dark Side 😂

I hope you're doing ok Aubrey! We completely understand taking time off 🖤 On a lighter note, I would die for a merch shirt that says "Botanicals: When you don't want to say plants"

I listened to this episode on my iPANTs

So sorry for your loss Aubrey! ❤️

omgggg, happy to report that the talk of caffeinated shapewear unlocked a memory from when i was 18 of caffeinated SOAP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shower_Shock sigh, we nerds DO love our caffeine

Sending love to you, Aubrey!

Nice? Definitely. Chill? Not a chance.

love the pre-ai era where scammers had to go to Russian dating sites for their fake photos

joke's on you, i AM subscribed to women's world magazine. there's a really good puzzle page.

I love when I wake up at like 3:54 abd the ep has dropped. When I wake up for real I hop out of bed to start my day and listen.

I’ve never studied German—just Spanish and Welsh—and for some reason I also thought it was ‘deeter’.

Loving wishes to you Aubrey!

I'm happy to get an episode whenever they arrive. I send my condolences to Aubrey, it's always hard losing a loved one.

I don't remember iPants, but everyone in Buffalo circa 2010 was selling IT WORKS! body wraps that were supposed to do the same thing. And, of course, it was an MLM.

Sending thoughts of comfort and condolences to Aubrey. I don’t keep track of when these episodes come out! It’s like a special gift when they do!

If it takes any pressure off of y'all, I'm a patron of a handful of podcasts and I no longer track what day bonus episodes are supposed to come out from any of them. I have a vague idea of which ones are weekly, but even then, I rarely notice if they release off-schedule anymore. I didn't even track that this episode was late, I just got super excited when I saw it 🙂

Why would we not be nice? You gift us SO much. You give us hope. You risk your own wellbeings and expose yourself to researching ROUGH, ROUGH topics, purely to make the world a safer place. For ALL of us! You take the time whenever you need. Your safety and recovery time is absolutely paramount! <3 <3 <3

Don't talk to me until I'm wearing my caffeine-infused underpants!!

Aubrey: 'this story starts in 1582' Mike: 'feel old yet? that was the year I was born' 5 minutes later, me: 'oh maybe she said 1982 actually'

I feel like this show has desensitized Mike to poop—errr bamu— talk

the ipants joke had me hooting and hollering out loud at work. sending much love to you both

Sending so much love. You two are fully worth the wait!! Hearing Aubrey’s laughter and Mike’s banter does my heart good.

Can you folks please sign off your emails with 'Sent with my i-Pants'. In fact, I'm gonna need a sticker

Sending you so much love Aubrey ❤️

We are happy to be chill and supportive of you! You create a safer world for us, and we want you to be safe and respected in return! Thanks for making my week better by dropping this episode!!

This irrelevant to the post and I'm sharing it just the same: In November 2023, my then-10-year-old son, Bradley, was diagnosed with leukemia. In February of this year, he entered the "maintenance phase" of treatment. So, whenever I listen to Maintenance Phase, I get all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Sorry for your loss, Aubrey.

New episode gonna be a good day!!