Sureslim vs Cohen, which one??!!!

[bulgebabe]

Hi everyone I have been trying desperately trying to post a new thread but do not how to, so please excuse my jumping aboard abruptly.

I am happy to have found such a big Cohen community here and all the fantastic testimonials that I have read is just unbelievable.

I have been researching on ways to fight the bulge and was very happy to have found SureSlim. I think what they do make sense and was so determine to find out more from forums to check on their credibility and also find out if there are other providers out there, then I stumbled onto this forum.......

Just to make sure, it is the Cohen's Lifestyle clinic you gals are talking about, right?

If yes, so what is the difference between the 2? and how did you decide to go with Cohen apart from this forum?

1. They are both based in blood profiling
2. They both prescribe fresh food, no/low carb diets
3. The meals are 5 hours apart.
4. There seems to be a refeeding programme for both

The only difference is the perhaps their beliefs of what are the root causes of the bulge.

this newbie needs help, please shed some light, thanks so much

[Kohinoor]

Hi Bulgebabe,

I moved this to its own thread in the New Members Forum. I'm sure your question will be on the minds of many other new members.

Click below to check out an earlier post that asked exactly the same question (Sureslim vs Cohens) .
http://newyouforum.com/forum/showthr...light=sureslim


Re another question I saw you ask, "How do I post a new thread?" - the instructions are here:-
http://newyouforum.com/forum/faq.php..._threads_posts


Look down around the third paragraph - in essence, you are looking for the "New Thread" button. To instigate a new thread, first you need to choose WHICH forum you want the thread to be in (Discussion forum, Diary forum, New Members start here forum, etc.) Once you've decided which forum is BEST for your question, click to go INTO that forum, then look (top left) for the "New thread" button.

I don't know about this "url" problem you are having. Feel free to PM me with the exact wording of what you are seeing - I'll see what I can do,

And welcome aboard,

Koh

[bulgebabe]

Hi Kohninoor,

Thanks for moving the thread here.

I took a look at the link you provided, thanks, will search for more.

Hope more people will reply to the thread soon.

Gratefully,

Bulogebabe

[TwoZeds]

I walked past a SureSlim shop the other day, and stopped to read the massive big poster stuck on the door. It was about 3m high, and 2m wide, so you could not really miss it. Aside from the mandatory before and after photo, they had some interesting data there. It was about 50% text based - not your usual advertisement. Since my background is in marketing and advertising, I tend to read and notice most ads, and so this is why I stopped.

Anyway, it went on to list all the benefits of SS, you know, like Cholesterol down x%, Blood pressure, LDL, HDL's etc. I can't remember them all.

But I could not help but think to myself, why aren't we provided with this kind of information. Surely, to know that your health is improving on the inside is a great incentive (aside from the obvious weight loss component).

As far as I can see, this is a big tick for SureSlim...I have found my clinic to be virtually non existent, and pretty hard to get to (in Sydney, the one clinic services the entire city on different days - too bad if you can't make it on the day for the most accessible clinic). Whereas, there are SureSlim clinics "around". I have not found them leaving me alone to be motivating at all. Of course I am able to go to them...but it's not that easy here!!

I can see that SS markets themselves much more successfully, and are more mainstream than Cohen's. That's not to say that the program is any better or worse of course.

Anyway...just my observations. If I were the one marketing Cohen's, I would shake it up big time. It needs a much more professional face than the one it has. It really has a 'backyard' look to it, which I think it's not, but who's to say? Since it has such a success rate, then I think it is sad that it is not managed differently. I can only assume it's a case of money, if you don't have it you cannot use it to polish your image. But if you don't polish your image, then you cannot attract more customers.

The idea of the "Good Doctor" wanting to keep it exclusive etc is a ridiculous answer BTW in my own personal opinion. You can clean up your image and still keep it exclusive and personal.

[bulgebabe]

Hi TZ,

You mentioned "why aren't we provided with this kind of information" - does that mean you are also with Cohen and Cohen does not provide report on your health improvement?

You said "I have found my clinic to be virtually non existent, and pretty hard to get to (in Sydney, the one clinic services the entire city on different days - too bad if you can't make it on the day for the most accessible clinic)" - You mean your signed up outlet does not operate during convenient hours?

You also mentioned that your clinic "I have not found them leaving me alone to be motivating at all." - does that mean you get a lot of encouragement from them? Isn't that good rather than motivating yourself?

you are right that laid back marketing effort does not mean they are not effective in their weight and health management, just mean that they are not good at marketing - you know, I care that I sign up with a good method but I also feel that I need encouragement along the way which I guess i can find from is forum.

Thanks for the comparison from the marketing perspective, do you know any one who has tried Sureslim? I also heard about the numerous seeds that they have to take, Can anyone else verify that?


Thanks you'all

[coolcat]

Interesting comments about the marketing of cohens vs sureslim.....

Before I embarked on my weightloss journey I looked into Sureslim and Cohens before parting with my hard earned cash. Both had free seminars so went along.....

Whilst Sureslims marketing claims are impressive ....once I got there i was very disappointed. I found them unprofessional , unknowledgeable and also unwilling to tell me very much before I handed my cash over. I simply wasnt convinced. The following night I went to the Cohens seminar.....and wow what a difference. People who knew what they were talking about , could answer my many questions and were professional. The answer for me was very simple ...i signed up to Cohens that night and I have not been dissappointed.

I have found great support from people who actually know what they are talking about. Since then , through talking to friends and family I have found a number of success stories...people who have lost the weight and kept it up.

Hope that helps
Coolcat

[Faithy]

I personally think that the marketing side of diet companies is a rude joke.. at least with Cohen's I've found nothing but real people who are open & honest... & honestly, to me the proof is seen in the results.. any diet 'club' who professes their wonderful results in spectacular colour with all too gorgeous people plastered everywhere can very rarely be trusted, but that's just my opinion.

For me when I went to find out about what was involved with Cohen's I received very informative information on all the health benefits & what to expect whilst on the program.. so good in fact that their were no horrid surprises when I joined..

I looked in to Sureslim & many other diet mobs.. I've even done most of them.. & I can honestly say that for me Cohen's was the only one that delivered what they said it would..

I have to say that even though many people say these programs are very similar, they are in fact quite different & I know of many people who have tried both & have found that Cohen's was the one that worked for them..

It does boil down to personal choice.. do your research, speak to people who have done both the programs & decide for yourself.. ask to see what types of foods you get to eat on both.. what you can expect etc etc..

I certainly dont regret the path I took & I know that my friends who have followed in my foot steps think that seeing amazing results such as mine & others like me the best marketing tool around..

[Shanara]

Well said Faithy



Shanara

[fair rose_za]

I agree with twozeds on the marketing. I really found Cohen's per chance while browsing the net and someone just vaguely mentioned it while i was researching Reductil(ya i know..wanted the silver bullet..which it isn't really..luckily all the silver bullets contain gelatine in its capsule so I had to go the diet route..which i don't regret at all)
Anyways, i went to the cohen's website and became so excited when i found it all started here in south africa. The consultant i'm with, works from home. She just weighed me, did no measurements at all and she didn't really work out my ideal weight. She just estimated an amount(which was above what my BMI should be btw) and when my program came it was put in a cardboard folder with no guideline book. I even had to pay for my recipe book(although it wasn't much) When i say 'my program' it was just a list of what i could have and the weights. No real guidelines although she did mention a few. If it weren't for the forums...my confidence in the program would have been a bit blurred.
As for sureslim...even here in south africa they have clinics all over the place and i just think Cohen's would do so much better. I am afraid if they did market now though..they might just seem like a 2nd rate Sureslim. Pity i say! Interestingly, when i initially researched sureslim, most of the reviews were negative and i have yet to find as much negativity abt COhen's ...so maybe cohen's doesn't really need the marketing?

[Dedeemay]

I too have tried a lot of those other diet companies, although not Sureslim to be honest. My boss however has been on Sureslim for several months longer than I have been on Cohens, and I have lost more than twice the amount she has lost in half the time. I know which program I would rather be following!
I think the lack of marketing allows the program to speak for itself rather than have the flashy advertising, which rarely delivers on its promises.
Although I do have to agree with TwoZed, I have found the clinic to be difficult to contact, emails don't get answered and phone calls don't get returned. When I first started the program I rang to let the clinic know I had transferred funds and gone for my blood test and when they returned my call it was in relation to something else entirely and they didn't have the message about the start date. That was the one and only call I have had.
So while the program is great, I have found the support to be lacking a little. I would have been really lost without the forum I think!
You ladies (and guys) rock!

[bulgebabe]

Hi everyone,

thanks for your input.

So far I have heard great testimonials for Cohen but have not heard from anyone who has tried Sureslim. It is not fair to judge Sureslim based on hear say except Coolcat said that he/she went and found out that they were not as informative as Cohen.

It is such a shame that Cohen does not have a dynamic marketing team especially when I heard that Cohen was the original company and has a better programme - there are too many good companies that do not do as well as their copycats - and I hate copycats - still I have to make sure that the copy cat story is true and not made up by unethical people who can say wahtever they want in a forum whose identity is concealed - for the record, though I have heard it a few times already, the copy cat story may not be true afterall.

The whole purpose of coming onto this forum is to do my research, I am hestitant to base my decision just on marketing and stories about who copied who.

can someone else who has tried Sureslim share pls, I want need to gather more information on Sureslim. This forum has definitley an more than overwhelming support for Cohen, which is great and that has to be Cohen's greatest consolation. what if I find another forum just as enthusiatic about Sureslim.

Real comparisons like coolcat's please, anyone?

Seems like Cohen has a real good formula but really lack the business skills.

[TwoZeds]

OK, here are my answers:

Originally Posted by bulgebabe

You mentioned "why aren't we provided with this kind of information" - does that mean you are also with Cohen and Cohen does not provide report on your health improvement? Ahhh...no no report. No information.

You said "I have found my clinic to be virtually non existent, and pretty hard to get to (in Sydney, the one clinic services the entire city on different days - too bad if you can't make it on the day for the most accessible clinic)" - You mean your signed up outlet does not operate during convenient hours? Yes, they operate in convenient hours. But the one clinic services all of Sydney, which is obviously too much. They can't physically cover all of Sydney, so they dedicate certain days to certain areas. And, it's based in the city. Whereas SureSlim seems to be EVERYWHERE...

You also mentioned that your clinic "I have not found them leaving me alone to be motivating at all." - does that mean you get a lot of encouragement from them? Isn't that good rather than motivating yourself? No, I don't think you read this right. I don't hear from them at all. I get a monthly email from them. I have deviated big time for a blood test previously and heard back that everything was "OK". No information otherwise.

you are right that laid back marketing effort does not mean they are not effective in their weight and health management, just mean that they are not good at marketing - you know, I care that I sign up with a good method but I also feel that I need encouragement along the way which I guess i can find from is forum.

Thanks for the comparison from the marketing perspective, do you know any one who has tried Sureslim? I also heard about the numerous seeds that they have to take, Can anyone else verify that?Yeah I tried it one. Didn't like it. And I have to say, I DO like Cohen's and think it's theory. I just thought the SureSlim approach to supplying information on the blood test results was a great way of illustrating the effectiveness of the diet in more ways than just weight loss, as it is a WELLNESS PROGRAM isn't it???

I just want to get something straight. I am not thinking that Cohen's needs to have some slick marketing campaign and appear on TV etc like Weight Watchers, JC or any of the other companies. I am like Faithy and I agree, it's mostly there to suck all the stay at home mums into the programs as they are conveniently slotted in between Dr Phil and Oprah on weekdays. I just think there needs to be consistently of the information presented, the service provided and the results that you are achieving. You know, that's just simple marketing at the best.

Just some background for you - I am a Certified Practicing Marketing with the Austn Marketing Institute, so this "non-Marketing" stands out like you know what to me.

Anyway...like I said...it's not about the effectiveness of the program, I just think it will always be viewed a second rate, because people will research on line etc, will see how hard it is to get information and the way in which the information is presented, and unless they hear feedback from other people, they may very well walk away.

I think consumers these days (because that is what we are when we purchase this program) are wanting more than a printed and bound word document for their $750. Super service could make up for the "Non-Marketing" of Cohen's, but I am not getting super or even regular service, I get very little service....so there aren't many boxes being ticked.

For what it's worth I am sticking to it, but anyone who speaks to me about the program I will forewarn them not to expect anything other than the information, and then they are up to their own devices with it.

[Kohinoor]

Hi Bulgebabe,

what if I find another forum just as enthusiatic about Sureslim

Well, if you do, I'd love to hear of it. But, only a support forum (like this one) and NOT an official SS marketing tool. It would be good to "compare notes",

Koh

[shell]

Try looking for a SS forum.
As this is a Cohen's forum, you will find mainly Cohen's information.
You might find more info on another site.

[fair rose_za]

Interestingly, my consultant said she had a couple who left sure slim and started cohens. The husband lost more in one month on cohens than he did in the 3 months that he was at sureslim. Obviously their methods work as it is based on the same principal but i think that Cohen is more complete..thus more effective. At the end of the day it's up to u. I think the more important thing is that u going to have to be committed to whichever one you choose. Neither is a silver bullet. Both are going to require effort on your part. I think the one thing that steered me away from sureslim was that the Cohen program was individual, whereas at sureslim, couples have received the exact same program despite being very different in stature and weight.

Importantly, the biggest part abt being on a diet program is the support u'll need thru'out. Having such a large online community, it means u can have support at ANY time of day as opposed to having to wait until opening hrs or wkly visits. Ok, so that was my 3c worth

[Shanara]

Hi Bulgebabe,

This is a Cohens support forum so naturally people on here are largely Cohen Fans. This is one of the main reasons why I did Cohens. I hung out in this forum reading people's diaries and looking at photos before I made up my mind.

Ultimately its really up to you what works for you, Howver this forum itself was one of the deciding points for me. Another was that I rang the clinic and spoke to them and they specifically told me that they would not be calling me to try to sign me up. they would give me the information - whether I decided to join would be up to me.

They also said to me , and its written in the bookelt - if we don't hear from you we assume you are OK. Now i have found one of the consultants I don't really gel with. If my decision had been based on her response to me I would not have done Cohens. but I knew this was more important for me than whether I liked the consultant. A childlike response is to decide on the program by whether you like the person. I wanted to approach this as an adult. I have had the best phone conversations with one of the consultants who has gone out of her way to answer my questions - but largely, except for when there was an irregularity in my bloodtest it is up to me to initiate the contact. In the beginning there were days when I rang three times in a day - always my questions were well answered.

I decided that for me to approach this from my adult self - not my needy little girl works for me. Its the needy little girl who overeats . I am glad Cohens doesn't have a slick marketing team and allows me to feel in control of the process -they are there if I need them. My adult self is blossoming.

I wish you luck on your choice and ultimately it will be up to your inner knowing. let your head do all the research but then don't let your head have the final say - go on your gut feel. I wish you well no matter what you decide. Ultimately its up to you.

Shanara

[TwoZeds]

I agree with what you are saying Shanara, but I still think there's loads of room for improvement.

Anyway, like we all say on here, the lack of consistency in the clinics, is made up by the existence of this forum. So, thankfully, this place exists.

I like your analogy on the adult/little child - you are right, it's the stupid part of me that partakes in self destructive behaviour. The adult in me would never be party to it, if she could help it.

All the best everyone.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Well, to be truthful, I researched weight loss programs from early September last 2007 when Baloo told me about the program (just as he was entering refeed) till the middle of November and could not find anything negative about Cohen's at all. In fact, finding negative about ANY weight loss program is so easy you can do it blindfolded. Especially the hyped up ones. Magic Bullets, Cheat Days, High Protein, Low Carb, magic pills, lotions, body wraps, voodoo chants, and a trip to Lourdes. All have negative press all over the world if you hit just a few buttons on the PC.

The beauty of the marketing program with Cohen's is the fact that the marketing is free and extremely effective. Referrals are the best advertising method out there. Referrals usually are only given to those people who the referree thinks will really benefit and stick with the program. This ensures minimal negative press because normally any negative press only reflects on the person giving it because 'they' didn't stick with the program and not because the program doesn't really work and work amazingly well. This allows for smaller administrative support and less need to keep a large back-end organization. This therefore reduces the chances of corporate espionage and a higher profit margin on a smaller turnover with less recurring costs.

If the program is working and the Cohenites are working the program then there is little need for the clinics to keep calling you up to find out how you are doing. They already know you are doing well. If you have a problem they are always ready and willing to provide you with answers or escalate the query to Dr. C himself. Of course there is always the odd consultant who shouldn't be there. Show me any organization that doesn't have their fair share of them. That's life. I never had any contact with my clinic at all during the whole program except when I sent them an email with my weights and measurements and requested that they schedule me for a blood test. They do provide monthly counseling sessions, but as I did not need nor request to attend they did not keep calling me (which I hate from any organization).

Cohen's is upfront from the very beginning. They tell you the upside and the downside. If you refuse to hear what they are saying then that cannot be blamed on the Clinic or Dr. Cohen. And that's my two bob's worth.

[fair rose_za]

Well said SMS..and that sums it all up!

[freeagain]

Hi BB,

I have been on Cohens since June and lurked around this forum from time to time but have not signed up before now, but I have to share this with you. My sister and I were both around 96kg and decided to join Cohens. We made our phone calls appts etc separately, even visited the clinics separately and it wasn't til we both got our programmes that we realised she had joined Sureslim. She's still not sure how she managed to stuff that one up!!

After her initial dismay at joining the wrong program, she was determined to beat me and show that SS was better. Even kept sprouting how her program was more sustainable because she had a wider choice of food and my (Cohens) diet was so restrictive.

Fast forward nearly six months. I am 2.2kgs from my goal, the weight has fallen off and I have managed to work the diet into my life, including travel and eating out.

My sister? She lasted about six weeks on SS, lost about 6.5kgs which she has since put back on and then some. She is signing up for Cohens in the New Year.

People ask me about the diet and how I have found it - it is the hardest yet easiest thing I have ever done. Aside from the weight loss, I have never felt better just eating pure good food. Yes it appears restrictive, but too much choice and being out of control was what made me fat in the first place. I know from my sisters attempt at SS, when you are used to a couple of glasses of wine, it is hard to stop at one. She had loads of bread and too much scope for her to "cheat", which she obviously did!

I hope this helps you make up your mind, good luck whatever you choose.