I’ve reviewed It Works a couple of times in the past, most recently in 2020, but honestly, they keep coming out with products that I feel like I can’t hold my fire on.
So, here we go again.
In the interest of brevity, let’s get right into It Works’ top weight loss products. I give my commentary on each and, at the end of this post.
It Works Skinny Brew
Skinny Brew is normal coffee with chromium, green tea, added caffeine, and a ‘nootropic brain blend.’
According to It Works, Skinny Brew coffee is:
Fat burning
Energizing
Brain enhancing
Hunger killing
And my favorite, a ‘game changer’
Game changer?
Show me the proof, because I’ve seen these same ingredients that are in Skinny Coffee, in a lot of other MLM products. And BTW: no food or drink burns fat. If it did, the diet industry would cease to exist.
Take chromium, for example. Even though it’s featured in a lot of MLM weight loss products, this mineral has never been proven to have any effect on weight.
In fact, none of the ingredients in this product have ever been shown in research to ‘burn fat’ or do anything else on that list except for ‘energizing,’ because caffeine.
And believe me, you’ll be ‘energized’ with Skinny Brew:There’s 225 mg of caffeine from coffee powder and green coffee bean in each Skinny Brew packet.
It Works Skinny Brew also has guarana and yerba mate, which both contain caffeine as well, but It Works doesn’t disclose how much more caffeine comes from those sources.
That means Skinny Brew is like Russian Roulette – you don’t really know exactly how much caffeine you’re getting, which is probably why It Works recommends followers take only one packet a day.
I find that a bit scary, not to mention, irresponsible.
Yeah, I’m good.
(Photo: ItWorks.com)
It Works Slimming Gummies
Drafting behind the apparent ‘success’ (or just ubiquitousness) of Goli apple cider vinegar gummies, It Works sells its Slimming Gummies with this rather embarrassing rhetoric:
“Shrink your waist and slim your hips with Slimming Gummies! Enjoy these low-effort, high-reward gummies that guard against unwanted love handles and expanded waistlines.
With just a few Slimming Gummies each day, you can start losing stubborn, pinchable fat on your stomach and hips.”
It Works also claims that these Slimming Gummies ‘attack fattening calories that add unwanted inches to your stomach and hips and, actively shrink bloated fat cells so you can enjoy a slimmer body.’
I’m not sure exactly how It Works is allowed to make these claims, not only because they use the grossest, most fat-shaming, 1980s language, but also because they are completely and utterly false.
I know this, because PHYSIOLOGY. Nothing shrinks fat cells except legit weight loss, which apple cider vinegar isn’t going to help you with.
And, nothing ‘attacks’ calories except…well, nothing. That’s an absolutely ridiculous assertion.
It Works Slimming Gummies contain Morosil, which the company says is “clinically proven to shrink waist and hip circumference by inches,” but I wanted to see the evidence.
This study, done in 2019, is actually a re-analysis of a 2014 study. Both are unremarkable in that they don’t share full study methodology, and it’s safe to assume that although the studies claim that the active ingredient in Morosil caused significant weight loss in subjects, we have no clue what else the subjects did to cause weight loss.
Funny enough, It Works put this disclaimer at the bottom of the Slimming Gummies page:
Slimming Gummies should be taken along with a calorie-restricted diet for a minimum of 90 days. MOROSIL® clinical study used a 400 mg daily dosage (the equivalent of four gummies) over 90 days.
Hmmmm. So you still need to be on a low-calorie diet while you eat 4 of these gummies every day? I thought they were ‘low-effort?’
Also: at 4 gummies a day, one bottle contains only 15 servings. That’s $67, every two weeks.
It Works Skinny Tea
Skinny tea isn’t new, but It Works Skinny Tea, at $132. a month, also comes in rose flavour.
It Works says this about its Skinny Tea:
You can sip this belly-flattening blend immediately after eating to help alleviate bloating and discomfort from a full stomach, or drink it anytime during the day to keep your liver sharp and your fluids balanced.
Keeping your liver ‘sharp’ is not a thing. It makes no sense whatsoever, and claims like this one help convince people that their bodies need help to do their job properly.
It Works also claims that Skinny Tea ‘gives your system a detoxifying clean-up,’ which again, is false. Your system isn’t dirty, and no tea (or food, or supplement) is going to detoxify anything.
Why are we still talking about detoxes in 2021? Because companies like It Works continue to sell this garbage.
In case you’re wondering, It Works Skinny Tea is essentially a herbal laxative and diuretic, with papaya enzymes and peppermint, among other ingredients.
It Works Carb Control
This white kidney bean and brown seaweed supplement is a nutrition MLM staple. Most of the nutrition MLMs have it, and there’s a good reason for that:
It doesn’t work.
If it did, it wouldn’t be sold by MLM: it would be first-line treatment for diabetes, and sold by pharma companies for weight loss. The research on both ingredients is underwhelming.
It Works says this:
Carbohydrates are…hidden in everyday foods and drinks, and they give you cravings.
No, they don’t. We crave carbs more often than other macronutrients, but carbs don’t cause cravings.
Have you ever eaten a bag of chips, felt temporarily satisfied, yet found yourself hungry, agitated, and low on energy again just a few hours later? That’s a glycemic stress cycle fueled by carbs.
There is no such thing as a ‘glycemic stress cycle.’ It Works made this phrase up to scare you into buying their product.
You can’t just take a pill and ‘block’ carbs.
It Works Cleanse and ThermoFight X
Both of these products are total garbage.
First of all, nobody needs a cleanse. Whether it’s a detox tea or a little bottle of laxatives – which is what the It Works Cleanse actually is, you don’t need it.
It Works says its cleanse helps you feel ‘cleaner and lighter,’ and that it ‘reboots your system.’
If that’s what you think laxatives do, I have a science lesson for you: they don’t. And here’s another one: your system isn’t dirty.
ThermoFight X is just the typical nutrition MLM fat burner. It has jalapeño and caffeine, and apparently caused more weight loss in studies than just a low-calorie diet.
I dug those studies up – here and here. Industry-funded and poorly done, they aren’t at all convincing, which is what I’d expect:
Because FAT. BURNERS. DON’T. WORK.
But they’ll cost you; ThermoFight X is $67. a bottle.
In short.
Nutrition MLMs thrive because they prey on peoples’ insecurities with their bodies, and their desperation to lose weight.
The inventing of phrases that have no meaning, the usage of science-y sounding words, the promises and claims that can’t be backed up by science, are all part of the predatory grift to make trash products appear legit and effective.
These companies count on laypeople not being able to interpret scientific studies or understand basic physiology.
It Works Skinny Brew, It Works Slimming Gummies, ThermoFight X, and all the other It Works weight loss products are unlikely to result in any meaningful weight loss.
Just remember these things:
- If it worked, it wouldn’t be sold by MLM, but sorry, ‘It Works,’ – it DOESN’T
- Your body isn’t dirty
- If your liver/kidneys/lungs/detox systems aren’t working properly, you need a hospital, not an MLM supplement
- You do not need to spend all of this money on products like these. Instead, put the money into something that brings you joy.