Kimkins Yo-Yo Diet

Yo-Yo Diet (Wikipedia):
The reasons for yo-yo dieting are varied but often include embarking upon a diet that was initially too extreme. At first the dieter may experience elation at the thought of loss and pride of their rejection of food. Over time, however, the limits imposed by such extreme diets cause effects such as depression or fatigue that make the diet impossible to sustain. The dieter reverts to their old eating habits, and with the added emotional effects begins to rapidly regain weight.

To me, "extreme diet" is a perfect description of Kimkins. Pushing 500 - 800 calories, low fat and low carb, it is a starvation diet. Will you lose weight? Yes, of course. How could you not? Can you maintain your weight loss? Probably not.

I was reading through some of the old Kimmer threads at LCF, starting in early 2004 when the name "Kimkins" was born. Many people jumped on board and enthusiastically reported quick weight loss. However, when looking at the stats of these dieters it is obvious that:

• None had reached goal (there might be exceptions, but I didn't see one)

• All had regained weight (possibly not up to their starting weight but it's hard to tell as many stopped posting on LCF)

• Many had restarted at a later date

So what's the point of doing Kimkins in the first place? What's the point of suffering through a starvation diet to just regain the pounds lost? Feeling like a failure because you are not "strong enough to stick with it"?

It is obvious that Kimkins is not a sustainable diet, and that a transition to maintenance would be very hard (provided you even reached goal in the first place).

Just look at Kimmer. She might have done Kimkins at some time (or possibly several times) but she did not reach goal, and certainly did not maintain any weight loss she might have had.