Here is an update to the claim Skechers shoes makes that wearers will lose weight and tone their muscles while wearing these shoes. If it sounds too good to be true it just might be!

FTC: Skechers deceived consumers with shoe ads

Skechers to pay $40M to settle government charges over claim that fitness shoes toned muscles.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government wants you to know that simply sporting a pair of Skechers' fitness shoes is not going to get you Kim Kardashian's curves or Brooke Burke's toned tush.

Skechers USA Inc. will pay $40 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the footwear company made unfounded claims that its Shape-ups shoes would help people lose weight and strengthen their butt, leg and stomach muscles. Kardashian, Burke and other celebrities endorsed the shoes in Skechers ads.

Wednesday's settlement also involves the company's Resistance Runner, Toners, and Tone-ups shoes. Skechers made deceptive claims about those shoes, too, says the agency.

Consumers who bought the shoes will be eligible for refunds, though it's not clear how much money people will get. The FTC says that will depend on how many claims are received in the eight-month filing period. Most of the $40 million will be returned to consumers, the commission said. A small amount of the money will be used to administer the payouts.

"The FTC's message, for Skechers and other national advertisers, is to shape up your substantiation or tone down your claims," said David Vladeck, director of the agency's consumer protection bureau. For millions of consumers, he said, "the only thing that got a workout was their wallet."

The commission settled similar charges with Reebok last year over its EasyTone walking shoes and RunTone running shoes. That $25 million agreement also provided customer refunds.

Skechers billed its Shape-ups as a fitness tool designed to promote weight loss and tone muscles with the shoe's curved "rocker" or rolling bottom — saying it provides natural instability and causes the consumer to "use more energy with every step." Shape-ups cost about $100 and are sold at retailers nationwide.

Ads for the Resistance Runner shoes claimed people who wear them could increase "muscle activation" by up to 85 percent for posture-related muscles and 71 percent for one of the muscles in the buttocks, said the FTC.

The commission says Skechers falsely represented that clinical studies backed up the company's claims about its toning shoes. The settlement bars Skechers from misrepresenting any tests, studies or research on its shoes in the future.

In Wednesday's court filing, Skechers says it disputes the charges and is pursuing additional studies. A call to Skechers seeking additional comment was not immediately returned.

The settlement is part of a broader agreement also announced Wednesday — a settlement resolving a multi-state investigation led by the attorneys general from Tennessee and Ohio and involving more than 40 states. The company, based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., will provide $40 million for customer refunds in the federal case and $5 million to the states.

I saw this article on the K-E diet. What do you think? I would really like to try it because my wedding is 4 weeks away!

Readers - the diet being referred to is here. This kind of "get rich quick" or rather "get thin quick" is precisely why I wrote my book Diet Myths Busted! This is just another fad diet that happens to cost $1500. For that amount of money a person like you can hire a trainer, join a gym and learn how to make real, honest lifestyle changes that will last well beyond your wedding date. Have you thought about what you plan to do after the wedding? Gain the weight back? Walk around with a feeding tube all day? How romantic and how will that fit in at work?

This diet does not teach you how to change bad dietary habits, does not encourage heathy exercise and activity and it is only temporary. Don't spend a fortune on gimmicks and fads when the simple healthy alternatives are tried and true and will work over a lifetime.

Here is what happens to our bodies when we reduce our weight. Improve your life!

Here is a note from a dedicated reader. She is proof that eating whole, unprocessed foods in the right proportion and exercise is what works. Read her testimony!

Just thought I'd say hi via the blog. I've been reading through a lot of your entries tonight and they are quite interesting and informative. I'm still working with my trainer 2X a week. She and I are planning to run a 5K on April 21 together! I am up to running 1.5 miles and adding a little bit more every couple of runs. It took several months of working out before I was ready to get my head around controlling what I take in (and feeling good about that); I have really started improving my eating habits and have lost the first 30 lbs - ideally I will keep losing and get down another 50. As I lose weight I hope to increase my distance running. Also added yoga to the mix, which is surprisingly strenuous, at least the way my teacher does it. I certainly feel better all around and it's quite amusing to be able to get clothes out of my closet that haven't seen the light of day in a couple of years and be able to wear them again. Thanks for encouraging me to start working with a trainer - I think everything started to turn around for me when I took that step.

Here is an article that will help inspire you to create healthy eating habits.

New You!