mariasol

Thinking about trying the Kimkins diet?

2010-12-29T10:59:00.003-05:00

Perhaps you should think again. The court ordered statement was just posted on the Kimkins diet website.

The California Riverside County Superior Court has ruled in Jeanessa Fenderson, et al. v. Heidi Diaz, Kimkins, Case No. 483005 that Heidi Diaz and Kimkins have engaged in false advertising and fraudulent business practices. The Court found that Defendants Kimkins and Heidi Diaz aka "Kimmer" during the class period, (January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007, hereinafter "Class Period") have falsely represented the success of the Kimkins diet in that Heidi Diaz, as creator of the Kimkins diet, lied about her representations concerning the amount of weight she lost on the Kimkins diet. The Court also found that the "after diet" images promoted to be Heidi Diaz aka "Kimmer" following the alleged use of her Kimkins diet, posted on the Kimkins.com website and advertisements during the Class Period were not Heidi Diaz, but were actually misappropriated images of models who were used to mislead the public into believing that Heidi Diaz aka "Kimmer" was successful in her weight loss. The Court also found that Defendants, Kimkins and Heidi Diaz aka "Kimmer" used false testimonials on the Kimkins website during the Class Period to mislead the public as to the success of the Kimkins diet. The Court also found that Kimkins and Heidi Diaz aka "Kimmer" used misappropriated photographs of 41 models that were used with false testimonials on the Kimkins.com website during the Class Period to mislead the public as to the success of the Kimkins diet.

Is this really a diet you would want to follow? Paying money to this woman?

Kimkins Trial Verdict

2010-10-29T20:03:00.002-04:00

The Court found in favor of the plaintiffs on all points.

We have a judgement based on fraud for $1.8 Million.

We have punitive damages for $500,000

We have injunctive relief, which includes she can not further lie to promote her diet. She can not use fake photos, success stories or testimonials to promote her diet.

While we won't see a court ordered 404 message we got something even better.

Heidi must put a notice on ANY website she starts for any purpose, diet or otherwise, that explains that she lied, used fake success stories and testimonials, that she mislead, that she used deceptive practices. She is going to have to post a notice that explains that low calorie diets can be dangerous, with a list of possible adverse side effects (the wording of the notice is to be worked out between the lawyers and the judge). There is NO expiration of these notices.

The Judge included a PERMANENT restraining order wherein Heidi (or any of her socks) are prohibited against contacting in ANY form with any/all class members, class plaintiffs, lawyers, their families, their staffs (which includes me, Laura) for the rest of our lives.

Oh, all of her assets have been frozen until the judgement is entered and served.

This may be appealed, of course, but today, WE WON!!!!!

The official version:
Today, October 29, 2010, Judge Rick Brown of the Riverside County Superior Court entered a verdict for the plaintiffs in a certified national class action lawsuit. The court entered a verdict against Heidi Diaz the owner of the diet website Kimkins.com for fraud and false advertising. The court awarded the class members restitution in the amount of $1,824,210.39. The court also awarded an additional $500,000 in punitive damages as well as attorney fees. The court then issued a temporary restraining order to freeze all of the assets of Ms. Diaz.

Most notably, the court also imposed an injunction requiring Heidi Diaz to post on all of her websites that: (1) she lied about her weight loss; (2) she lied about her after diet pictures; (3) she lied about testimonials on her website; and (4) she lied about the photographs used with the testimonials to promote the Kimkins website.

An injunction was also issued to prevent Heidi Diaz from contracting, harassing or cyberbulling the plaintiffs and the witnesses. A formal judgment will be entered before November 19, 2010.

The original complaint was filed over three years ago on October 15, 2007. I want to thank everyone who supported the class action lawsuit. The Ducks were wonderful. I met a lot of great people and made a lot of new friends fighting for a good cause. Heidi Diaz lied on her website and made the fatal mistake of lying in the courtroom. You cannot trust Heidi Diaz. I anticipate more legal (illegal) maneuvering by Heidi Diaz to evade the judgment. We will be prepared and I will be relentless. Again, I thank all you.

John E. Tiedt
TIEDT & HURD

Kimkins Meet-Up

2010-10-27T18:13:00.004-04:00

Remember how Kimmer - Heidi Diaz - announced Kimkins meet-ups in Vegas, more than once, and they never happened? The first time it was something about gas prices, the second time never got off the drawing board if I remember correctly.

Now, she finally got her meet-up but not the way she envisioned it, I'm sure. Not in Vegas either. Court house in Riverside, CA.

It is likely the first time Kimmer has ever met any Kimkins dieters but I doubt she has any interest in socializing or chatting with them. The girls are former Kimkins members that are there to bring Heidi to justice and to have the Kimkins website removed from the internet. I'm sure that the testimony by these girls is nothing like the praise that Heidi would have expected from a meet-up at the time Kimkins operated as a cult. But perhaps even then, the people meeting her would have had this reaction:

Picture courtesy of CarolynF on LCF.

Kimkins Trial is Underway

2010-10-26T07:32:00.006-04:00

The trial should have started yesterday but due to a busy schedule, it was postponed until today. Heidi Diaz was not present yesterday but she is expected to show up today. Will she wear stretch pants to court?

Probably not. But perhaps red as here at the deposition almost 3 years ago:

Rumor has it that she is no smaller than in the pictures above. I think that may not be helpful to convince the judge (no jury trial) that Kimkins is a great diet that helps obese people to shed the weight and keep it off. The fake success stories and fake photos don't lend any credibility to the diet either.

The trial is attended by a number of plaintiffs and other people that have been involved in bringing Heidi to justice. We are lucky to get updates directly from court. Find out what is going on at the thread on Lowcarbfriends.

You will have to register at Lowcarbfriends to access the thread, but registration is free.

Kimkins Trial

2010-10-17T08:42:00.006-04:00

It just took 3 years but all our work is hopefully going to pay off.

Heidi Diaz of Kimkins is going to trial on October 25. She is being sued for fraud in a class action suit initiated by former members with help from our eminent attorney John Tiedt.

While many of us would want to see Heidi aka Kimmer punished for the dangerous diet advice she handed out (egg white challenge, anyone?) that is not what the trial is about. It is for fraud.

Members paid for access to a diet forum led by an alleged diet guru that claimed to successfully have lost 180 pounds and maintained that loss for years. The claims of how efficient the diet is was backed up with success stories with accompanying before and after pictures.

None of it was true. Heidi is morbidly obese and never lost the weight. Not with Kimkins, nor any other diet. The success stories were completely fabricated and the photos were "borrowed" from the 'net, namely websites for "Russian brides." These imaginary people had clearly never followed the Kimkins diet either.

The outcome from the lawsuit that we plaintiffs are hoping for is to have Heidi to refund the membership fee to all members of the class. That would be some 30,000 people @ $39.95 that signed up before the scam was revealed and the lawsuit filed in October of 2007.

The plaintiffs are also requesting that the Kimkins website is shut down.

As I wrote a long time ago Kimmer - so dumb I have no doubt that she regrets that she didn't offer refunds way back when the scam was found out. I'm sure she has spent a lot more money on lawyer fees by now than what the refunds would have cost her at that time.

I want to thank the principals that will represent the rest of us plaintiffs in the class during the trial. Good luck to you all, and we hope for a favorable outcome!

Kimkins hearing 07/28/2010

2010-07-28T14:08:00.000-04:00

07/28/2010 8:30 AM DEPT. 05

HEARING RE: MOTION TO/FOR DECERTIFICATION OF CLASS BY HEIDI DIAZ, KIMKINS

Denied

Kimkins Class Notice

2009-12-23T13:33:00.011-05:00

Although late, Heidi Diaz finally complied with the court order to post a notice about the class action lawsuit on her website kimkins.com. Or rather, she almost complied.

She was ordered to

THE COURT ORDERS THAT CLASS NOTICE SHALL BE PROVIDED THROUGH DEFENDANTS WEBSITE. THE NOTICE MAY BE THROUGH A LINK ON THE WEBSITE WHICH LEADS TO THE CLASS NOTICE.

She posted the notice with a link that is not functional. No doubt will she blame "technical difficulties." You would think after having had a website business for over two years, she would have learned some basic things. Like a simple file upload.

Just to show how easy it is: To open a pdf of the document, click this link: NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

It took me all of two minutes to upload it to my website.

Of course, she could have made it even easier for herself by linking to any of the anti-kimkins blogs that have already posted the notice.

Hopefully the court will find Heidi in contempt and fine her for not complying with the court order in a timely fashion. Surely, even a person that is not familiar with web sites and web technology must find any excuse of "technical difficulty" to be ridiculous. Really, if she can not perform such a simple thing, she has no business selling membership to a website that she is running.

NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

2009-11-10T19:20:00.001-05:00

NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

TO: EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A MEMBERSHIP TO KIMKINS.COM THROUGH THE KIMKINS.COM WEB SITE (www.kimkins.com) FROM JANUARY 1, 2006 TO OCTOBER 15, 2007

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, IN RIVERSIDE, CALILFORNIA.

INTRODUCTION

1. On May 20, 2009, the Riverside County Superior Court, located in Riverside, California, issued an order certifying this case to proceed as a class action.

2. The plaintiffs are six individuals who bought memberships to kimkins.com through the kimkins.com Website (www.kimkins.com) from January 1, 2006 to October 15, 2007. The defendants are Heidi Diaz, an individual, and Kimkins (also known as Kimkins.com), a business entity that conducts business in Corona, California.

3. The plaintiffs contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com induced them into buying memberships for kimkins.com through false and misleading information provided on the Kimkins.com Web site. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants violated California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq., which authorizes courts to provide relief from unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices. The plaintiffs also contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com violated common law prohibitions against fraud and negligent misrepresentation.

4. This notice provides you with information regarding the litigation, including the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants and the current status of the litigation. This notice also provides you with information regarding the court’s class-certification order.

THE LITIGATION

The Plaintiffs’ Claims

5. This lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Diaz and Kimkins used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to induce them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit is also based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Web site constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and Kimkins.

6. Here’s a list of the kinds of misconduct that the plaintiffs have alleged:

• that Diaz and Kimkins concocted a false persona, “Kim Drake” or “Kimmer” to sell memberships to Kimkins.com
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that “Kim Drake” was real by using photos of real women and then falsely claiming that the photos depicted “Drake”
• that Diaz and Kimkins posted lied about “Drake’s” purported weight loss
• that Diaz and Kimkins provided false or misleading information to Women’s World magazine
• that Diaz and Kimkins fabricated 41 “success stories” and published on the Kimkins.com Web
• that Diaz and Kimkins made up celebrity endorsements
• that Diaz and Kimkins misused labels and metatags to steer Internet traffic to the Kimkins.com Website, in violation of the law
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that they were buying lifetime memberships, when in fact Diaz and Kimkins.com terminated memberships at their whim
• that Diaz and Kimkins intended to mislead potential members and assumed that potential members would rely on her misrepresentations.

The Defendants’ Position

7. Diaz and Kimkins have denied all allegations of wrongdoing and liability, and they continue to deny that they have done anything wrong. Diaz and Kimkins also have asserted various affirmative defenses to the plaintiffs’ claims.

THE COURT’S CLASS-CERTIFICATION ORDER

8. In an order filed May 20, 2009, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court certified for class treatment the plaintiffs’ claims for equitable relief, including disgorgement of the subscription fees paid to Diaz and Kimkins by the plaintiffs and the members of the class.

9. The certified class is defined as all individuals who purchased the Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.

THE COURT HAS NOT EXPRESSED ANY OPINIONS
REGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS

10. The Court ordered that this notice be provided to advise class members that this case is pending and that the Court has certified the case to proceed as a class action. You should not consider this notice or its mailing to be a statement by the Court that the plaintiffs are right or that their claims will prevail.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CLASS MEMBERS

11. You do not need to do anything to remain a member of the class. If you bought a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007—including either of those dates—you are automatically included in the class. Your rights will be represented by the plaintiffs and their attorneys. You will not be personally responsible for any attorney fees or for the any of the costs of this litigation.

OPT OUT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

12. You have the opportunity to opt out of the class action lawsuit as detailed herein. If you incurred a personal injury as a result of using the Kimkins.com aka Kimkins Diet, you have a right to opt out. Notices to opt must be sent to jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com or mailed to Tiedt & Hurd at 980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209, Corona, California 92879.

WHERE TO GO & WHOM TO CONTACT
SHOULD YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION

13. This notice provides only a brief summary of this litigation. For further details, you should take one or both of the following steps:

• Review the documents in the Court’s file for this lawsuit. Many of these documents may be viewed or obtained on-line at the following URL: http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/ . You also may review the Court’s file in person by going to the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the Riverside Superior Court, during regular business hours. The Clerk’s office is located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, California 92501.

• Write a letter to the attorneys who are representing the plaintiffs and whom the Court has appointed to represent the class. Here are their names and their contact information:

John E. Tiedt & Marc S. Hurd
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879

Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
707 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 4100
Los Angeles, California 90017

Ray Moore
Moore Winter McLennan LLP
701 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 200
Glendale, California 92103-4232

If you decide to contact one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, please do so in writing. To make it easier for them or one of their staff members to respond, however, your letter should include both your e-mail address and your telephone number.

There are estimated to be as many as 40,000 members in the class. So please, DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE COURT BY E-MAIL.

DATE: ___________________________, 2009

____________________________________
Hon. _________________________,
Presiding Judge

Kimkins Opt Out Notice

2009-10-28T10:24:00.005-04:00

There was a court decision for the Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit on 10/27/2009. According to that decision, Heidi Diaz will be required to post an opt out on her website.

To me, the natural thing would have been to require Heidi to use her extensive spam database that sends out Kimkins Newsletters to all members, including us that have been banned. Of course, Heidi supposedly has "lost" all her records and it might be hard to prove that this isn't the case.

I'm looking forward to see the opt out notice. From the text below, it is clear that this has nothing to do with people wanting to support Kimkins and that think that this is a frivolous lawsuit. The opt out is meant to protect people that may want to sue Kimkins for personal injury. While the "injury" as such is not specified, my guess would be that the court had concerns about the numerous reports about health issues arising from following the Kimkins diet.

I'm also looking forward to the next hearing on 10/29/2009. Will we finally see an order to shut Kimkins.con down? However, the court site says "finalization of notice" for tomorrow's hearing so the end of Kimkins.con will probably take place at a later date. Lawsuits take time but I have no doubt it will happen.

COURTS SUBSEQUENT RULING ON 10/27/09 @ 08:30 FOR DEPARTMENT 05
10/27/2009 - 8:30 AM DEPT. 05

HONORABLE MARK E JOHNSON, PRESIDING
CLERK: M. MARTINEZ
COURT REPORTER: NONE
COURT SUBSEQUENTLY RULES:
ORDER REGARDING CLASS NOTICE: THE COURT FINDS THAT CLASS MEMBERS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO OPT OUT IN CONNECTION WITH THE CLASS ACTION CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ENTITLED ACTION.
THE CLASS ACTION WAS NOT CERTIFIED FOR THE PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS ALLEGED BY CLASS
PLAINTIFFS. FAILURE TO ALLOW CLASS MEMBERS TO OPT OUT OF THE ACTION MAY IMPAIR OR ELIMINATE POTENTIAL PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS BECAUSE A JUDGMENT IN THIS ACTION COULD BAR RECOVERY IN ANY LATER PERSONAL INJURY ACTIONS BROUGHT BY CLASS MEMBERS AGAINST DEFENDANTS. (SEE HICKS V. KAUFMAN & BROAD (2001) 89 CAL.APP.4TH 908 924-925.)
THUS, IT APPEARS THAT THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPT OUT OF THIS CLASS ACTION IS NECESSARY. (SEE PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO. V. SHUFFS (1985) 472 U.S. 797, 811-812.) ACCORDINGLY, PLAINTIFFS PROPOSED CLASS NOTICE NEEDS A STATEMENT WHICH GIVES POTENTIAL CLASS MEMBERS WHO MAY HAVE SUFFERED PERSONAL INJURIES AN APPROPRIATE CAVEAT REGARDING POTENTIAL PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS, PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPT OUT, AND PROVIDES A PROCEDURE FOR OPTING OUT. (SEE CHAVEZ V. NETFLIX (2008) 162 CAL.APP.4TH 43, 57.)
IN ADDITION, PLAINTIFFS SUBMISSION DOES NOT EXPLAIN WHY CLASS NOTICE CANNOT BETTER BE PROVIDED THROUGH DEFENDANTS OWN WEBSITE TO ALL PERSONS WHO SIGNED UP THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
ACCORDINGLY, THE COURT ORDERS THAT CLASS NOTICE SHALL BE PROVIDED THROUGH DEFENDANTS WEBSITE.
THE COURT MAKES THIS DECISION BECAUSE THE LAWSUIT HAS ALREADY BEEN REFERENCED ON THE KIMKINS WEBSITE. THE NOTICE MAY BE THROUGH A LINK ON THE WEBSITE WHICH LEADS TO THE CLASS NOTICE.
FINALLY, ALL REFERENCES TO THE "PENDING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT" SHALL BE REMOVED FROM THE CLASS NOTICE.
NOTICE TO BE GIVEN BY COURT CLERK'S CERTIFICATE OF MAILING RE: SUBSEQUENT RULING
NOTICE SENT TO MICHAEL L COHEN A PROFESSIONALLAW CORP ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO MOORE WINTER MCLENNAN LLP ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO TIEDT & HURD ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO LAW OFFICE OF TIMOTHY P PEABODY ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO LAW OFFICES OF COTTLE & KEMP ON 10/27/09
NOTICE SENT TO COTTLE & KEEN ON 10/27/09

Kimkins Court Hearing

2009-10-15T16:03:00.005-04:00

There was a hearing today for Summary Judgment for the Class Action Suit against Kimkins.

All the details are not out yet, but it was decided that Heidi has to post an "Opt-Out Notice" on Kimkins. The notice is also to be posted on one more site in order to reach as many class action members as possible.

The Opt-Out Notice will give the option for any eligible class action member to reserve the right to sue Heidi individually instead of taking part in the class action suit. I don't see it as likely that anybody would want to do this in this case, but it seems to be a requirement for any class action lawsuit that this option is provided.

So much for the lawsuit being dismissed, Heidi. I'm looking forward to seeing the Opt-Out Notice on Kimkins.con. And your explanation for it.

The End of Kimkins

2009-10-11T13:18:00.004-04:00

Is that what we will see from the upcoming court hearing on October 15? Despite what Heidi Diaz claims, the case was not dismissed, the judge was just not ready to make a decision and postponed doing so. To my understanding, this didn't even have anything to do with the viability of the lawsuit. It had to do with an opt-out technicality for the class action members. (Typically, a class member is given an option to not partake in a class action lawsuit in order to be able to sue the defendant individually.)

Heidi seems to be struggling to keep kimkins afloat. The forum was moved to a new platform and without all the old posts from the previous years, it is very obvious how few members that are there. Her google ads have stopped. It's likely that they didn't result in many new customers and they are costly to run.

Heidi is most likely finding out that internet marketing is not all that easy. Without having the advertizement from a Woman's World article that draw customers, it's not easy to attract them to an obscure diet on the internet. Kimkins has outlived its fame. The only ones that are familiar with the name are people that know about the scam, and they don't work well as a customer base. Any new people coming across the website are likely not impressed.

I do hope that the court hearing on Thursday will result in Heidi having to close kimkins.con down. But even if there are further delays, I am positive that kimkins is a dying enterprise. It's just a matter of time. I can't see that Heidi would keep kimkin.con running as a service to the few members that are there. Judging from all the bannings, she is not really a caring person.

Of course, the hearing on Thursday might not even take place. Perhaps Heidi decided to file for bankruptcy again. But this time, I think she might have problems showing much income from kimkins.com. So why would a bankruptcy court allow her to restructure a business that doesn't even make money? Hopefully any bankruptcy lawyer she has hired would have informed her about this so we can avoid yet another unnecessary delay of the class action hearing.

The "New" Slimmer Kimkins

2009-09-13T08:11:00.004-04:00

No, I don't think Kimmer herself has slimmed down, but the website has.

While Heidi Diaz has tried to copy the design from the old site, it shows that she doesn't have the graphics knowledge that her previous web techs had. Of course, it's costly to keep a professional team on board and when there is little income from new members signing up, Heidi apparently decided to take it over herself.

New Kimkins

Old Kimkins

The previous site was build on joomla and firebird forum which, while free, require some web program ability. The new site is using SMF (Simple Machines) forum software which is free and simpler to configure. If it were me, I would have invested in the very affordable vBulletin forum as it's very easy to use. And, that's what I did on my forum: Tipping the Scales to Health.

Did you notice that she has even changed the Kimkins logo? I recall that there was someone that showed how the original was copied from one of the Russian Bride websites, so perhaps this is an attempt of avoiding this being brought up in the ongoing Class Action Lawsuit.

The new site displays a lot of old success stories. People that are not seen on the Kimkins forum any more (if they were even there in the first place). Where are these people now? Unfortunately, I believe most of them have regained their weight. It happens more often than not following a starvation diet like Kimkins. I do hope they have found a more sensible weight loss program by now and are working towards health and not continuing the yo-yo cycle.

And it doesn't matter if Heidi is now trying to rewrite history. The class action lawsuit is still going strong. Heidi told her members that it had been dismissed, but that is not true. A decision for summary judgement was delayed, not dismissed. You can see for youself: Say NO to Kimkins has posted the pdf file of the decision.

Kimkins in the News

2009-08-24T13:04:00.002-04:00

Guru Sued for Alleged Diet Scam

Kimmer about the Lawsuit

2009-08-21T14:11:00.006-04:00

Heidi Diaz finally allowed a thread about the lawsuit on kimkins.con. AmyB reported on what Kimmer had to say in her post a few days ago: Why am I surprised.

What Heidi Diaz seems to have the most difficulty to understand is why her own weight would be an issue. Why her own failure at losing weight on the Kimkins Diet would reflect on the effectiveness of the diet. If that is really the case, why did she have to lie about it in the first place? Clearly, she knows that she would never have had any members if she had put up a real photo of herself.

She now argues that she has lost 100 pounds (several times!) and just couldn't keep it off. The diet works, in her opinion. So why would you want to starve off 100 pounds just to turn around and regain it all, even faster than you lost it? Possibly having damaged your health permanently in the process? To me, that just seems like self-inflicted torture.

Heidi also claims that members got what they paid for: a weight loss diet that works. That's not quite accurate. If Heidi cares to re-read her own promises on former front pages on the Kimkins.con website, she can easily see that Kimkins promised not only weight loss, but being able to maintain that loss. And, she offered up her own alleged weight loss success with 4 years maintaining at 118 lbs as proof (or 5 or 6 or 7 years, depending which version you read).

Heidi correctly says that the class action seeks an injunction against the Kimkins website; to have it shut down. Again, she can't really understand why and compares Kimkins with other diets like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers where dieters also often end up regaining. She fails to see that these other diets don't necessarily jeopardize your health. If you did follow Kimkins as prescribed; 500 cals or less of lean protein and veggies, you more likely than not suffered health consequences. Just read the testimonials on Kimkins Survivors. We want Kimkins.con to be shut down so not any more unsuspecting, desperate, dieters get hurt.

Heidi also has a lot to say about money. She claims that the plaintiffs are all in the lawsuit to get back the money they paid for the membership. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I think Heidi knows this. I don't expect to see a dime in refund. I just don't want Heidi to get to keep the money she fraudulently obtained from me. And, I don't want Heidi to continue to operate a business that was built on fraud.

Count Down for Kimkins

2009-08-19T15:37:00.001-04:00

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.7is7.com/otto/countdown.html?year=2009&amp;amp;amp;month=8&amp;amp;amp;date=24&amp;amp;amp;hrs=8&amp;amp;amp;ts=24&amp;amp;amp;min=30&amp;amp;amp;sec=0&amp;amp;amp;tz=-420&amp;amp;amp;lang=en&amp;amp;amp;show=dhms&amp;amp;amp;mode=r&amp;amp;amp;cdir=down&amp;amp;amp;bgcolor=%23CCFFFF&amp;amp;amp;fgcolor=%23000000&amp;amp;amp;title=Countdown%20To%20Summary%20Judgment%20Hearing"&amp;gt;Countdown &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;To Summary Judgment Hearing&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Kimkins Yo-Yo Diet

2009-08-03T11:46:00.004-04:00

Wikipedia:

Yo-yo dieting, also known as weight cycling, is a repeated loss and gain of body weight due to excessive dieting. ... 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.

This kind of diet is associated with extreme food deprivation as a substitute for good diet and exercise techniques. As a result, the dieter may experience loss of both muscle and body fat during the initial weight-loss phase (weight-bearing exercise is required to maintain muscle). After completing the diet, the dieter is likely to experience the body's famine response, leading to rapid weight gain of only fat. This is a dangerous fat-cycle that changes the body's fat to muscle ratio, one of the more important factors in health. One study in rats showed those made to yo-yo diet were more efficient at gaining weight.

I find this being a very accurate description of the Kimkins Diet. And it has held true for the majority of her members.

Lately, the only "new" members showing up in the Kimkins forum are people that originally tried the diet around the time of the Woman's World article in June 2007. Lost a little weight then but could not stick to it. They are now returning as the "diet did work" the first time. No, it didn't. A diet you can not stick to does not work. A diet that does not lead to lifelong weight loss maintenance is not even worth trying, in my opinion. What's the point of losing the same weight over and over again?

The good news with the returning members is that they don't generate any new revenue for Heidi Diaz. As they purchased a life time membership, there is no additional fees that she can add to the fraudulently obtained money she already has.

The Kimkins board has undergone changes since the June 2007 peak. There is very little activity and there is no peer pressure to drop calories to starvation levels. Sure, lean proteins with minimal fats are still recommended, but most of the members fall off or cheat on a regular basis. Even the few maintainers are not doing a very good job at maintaining these days.

Despite that the board does no longer appear to promote a diet that would be dangerous to your health, it still should be shut down. The entire venture was based on fraud and should not be allowed to continue in any form.

[The rat study Wikipedia references might not fully apply to people, but the results would scare me off any extreme diet attempt. Even if I would be able to starve myself all the way to goal, How would I deal with the "four-fold food efficiency" while trying to maintain? Continue to starve the rest of my life?

This study examined the metabolic effects of weight cycling, i.e., repeated periods of weight loss followed by regain. There were three groups of adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats: (1) Chow Controls (a normal weight control group fed chow throughout); (2) Obese Controls (animals fed a high-fat diet throughout); and (3) Obese Cycling (obese animals cycled through two bouts of caloric restriction and refeeding). The cycled animals showed significant increases in food efficiency (weight gain/kcal food intake) in the second restriction and refeeding periods compared to the first, i.e., weight loss occurred at half the rate and regain at three times the rate in the second cycle. Several physiological changes were associated with this cycling effect. At the end of the experiment, cycled animals had a four-fold increase in food efficiency compared to obese animals of the same weight who had not cycled. These data suggest that frequent dieting may make subsequent weight loss more difficult. The possible metabolic and health consequences of “yo-yo” dieting are discussed. ]

Kimkins Faux Dieting

2009-07-02T14:02:00.003-04:00

Kimkins July 2009 Newsletter has arrived. One of the articles is a recycled piece from last year (or the year before) called: Are You Faux Dieting.

I think it is fitting that Heidi Diaz writes this article. She certainly looks as if she is an expert. I would assume that she can describe all these "faux dieting" pitfalls from her own experience during the last 10 years when she seems to have failed again and again at any weight loss attempt. Assuming that she has even tried her own diet.

In her Faux Dieting article, she mentions things like "make a whole hearted 100% commitment to my weight loss plan," "When are you going to suck it up and finally do it?" and "It boggles the mind to hear the excuses we give ourselves for remaining fat and undisciplined."

While Heidi Diaz certainly can be seen as an expert in "faux dieting" it boggles my mind that she has the gall to imply that she has been successful herself. Do as I say and not as I do?

Kimkins SPAM

2009-06-04T10:00:00.003-04:00

I am banned from Kimkins. Since September 2007. But I still receive newsletters, recipes and emails from Kimkins.con. Several times per month.

It doesn't matter how many times I unsubscribe. The emails keep on arriving.

I wonder if Heidi Diaz knows that she is in violation of the CAN-SPAM act.

From the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) website:

What the Law Requires

Here's a rundown of the law's main provisions:

It bans false or misleading header information. Your email's "From," "To," and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.
It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.
It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages to that email address, and you must honor the requests. You may create a "menu" of choices to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to end any commercial messages from the sender.

Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email. When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email to the requestor's email address. You cannot help another entity send email to that address, or have another entity send email on your behalf to that address. Finally, it's illegal for you to sell or transfer the email addresses of people who choose not to receive your email, even in the form of a mailing list, unless you transfer the addresses so another entity can comply with the law.
It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address. Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more commercial email from you. It also must include your valid physical postal address.

The emails from Kimkins.con fulfill these requirements, with the exception of the "opt-out."

I don't doubt that Heidi will blame "technical glitches" or duplicate databases and email services but the Law doesn't allow for such an excuse. It clearly says that you have to honor the opt-out and stop sending emails within 10 days.

The FTC also spells out the penalties:

Penalties

Each violation of the above provisions is subject to fines of up to $11,000.

As Heidi does not seem to be aware that she is in violation of this law (or does not care) I made sure that the FTC knows about her spamming. It is very easy to submit a complaint on the FTC website.

Kimkins Cyber Attorney

2009-06-03T09:40:00.003-04:00

Since when does legal correspondence take place via email? Heidi Diaz' attorney, Peabody, apparently thinks that this is a proper form of communication.

Is this something new approved in legal circles that I am just not aware of? All my dealings with attorneys have always involved written letters by mail or fax.

To me, there seems to be a reason for this. There is no easy way to tell WHO sent an email. There is no easy way to tell if an email was received (served). How can you know it doesn't end up in a spam filter that the recipient is never checking?

Nevertheless, Peabody keeps on sending "official" Cease and Desist emails to anti-kimkins blogger. Affiliatescams has posted the email she received. Note that her email wasn't even sent directly to her. Unbelievable. But then nothing should really surprise us when it comes to this Kimkins saga, should it?

Also, read the comments to Affiliatescams' post. One blogger (Becky) received a Cease and Desist as a blog comment. Blog comment! How can that be considered Service of Process?

So what is the purpose of these Cease and Desist emails and comments? Peabody says to Affiliatescams: "demand is hereby made that you immediately cease and desist from making any further derogatory or untoward comments on your blog(s) regarding my client and her business interests".

What about the First Amendment? Consumer rights?

I am a disgruntled (banned) customer of Kimkins and have the right to express my dissatisfaction with their service (or lack thereof). My blog certainly has a lot of untoward comments regarding Heidi Diaz but that is less of my doing that hers. If Heidi had not flooded the internet with her lies and fraudulent pictures, I would not had anything to write about.

While it might be beneficial for Peabody (billing hours!) to write these emails, we expect that he will be busy with real legal actions soon. There is an unprecedented hearing set for a Motion for Summary Judgement set for August 24. Read about it on Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit blog, and mark your calendars.

Kimkins Plantiffs Depositions

2009-05-29T15:05:00.005-04:00

The five principal plaintiffs in the Class Action Suit against Kimkins have been deposed by our lawyer John Tiedt and Heidi's lawyer Peabody.

I have no details about what was covered during the depositions, but in my opinion it would be a fairly simple process to determine fraud on the part of Heidi Diaz. For example:

Q: Did you sign up for the Kimkins Diet based on Heidi Diaz' claim of losing 198 pounds in one year and maintaining that weight loss for 5 years?
A: Yes.
Q: Did you believe that the pictures Heidi posted as her own were indeed true pictures of herself?
A: Yes.
Q: Would you have paid money to Heidi Diaz if you knew that these claims were not true?
A: No.

Case closed.

Now, I think the depositions were a little more involved than this but I can not see how Peabody could argue (on behalf of Heidi) that there was no fraud. Especially as she has admitted the fraud herself during her depositions.

Peabody can hardly claim that the five principals are not representative of the class either. Were we not all equally defrauded of our membership fee based on Heidi's false claims?

The court order for Class Certification has been posted on the Riverside Court website. Or, you can read it here: Court Order.

John Tiedt continues to excel. The court order states:

Plaintiffs' claims are typical of the claims of the other members of the class
All requests for judicial notice on behalf of Plaintiffs are granted
Defendant's evidentiary objections have been overruled

Is this the beginning of the end of Kimkins.con?

Kimkins Class Action Certified

2009-05-21T09:27:00.005-04:00

Two years after the now infamous Kimkins Woman's World article came out, there is now a certified Class Action Lawsuit against Kimkins.

The certification was actually granted back in January 2009 but it was deemed an invalid decision due to Heidi Diaz of Kimkins having filed for bankruptcy just days prior. With the bankruptcy suit being dismissed, the certification hearing was put back on the case agenda and certification was finally granted.

For the January hearing, Heidi did not bother to file any opposition to the motion for certification. She surely relied on the bankruptcy to resolve the issue for her. However, the end result was just a few months delay.

This time, she did file an opposition. Or, her lawyer did, Mr. Peabody. He tried to claim that the principals were not representative of the class and therefore each plaintiff would need to sue Heidi individually.

It's hard to understand his reasoning for this claim. The lawsuit is not about the nutritionally bankrupt Kimkins diet, but about fraud. The fraud consists of lying about her own weight loss and using pictures of other people for herself and other "success" stories.

The claim by the plaintiffs is that we all paid money to Heidi Diaz based on her fraudulent claims of her own successful weight loss using her diet. How can the principals NOT be representative of the class?

I would like to thank ALL the principals that represent me and the other plaintiffs. I know that there is work involved on their part; papers to fill in and send to our lawyer John Tiedt, phone calls and depositions. Thank you all for hanging in there during this long process!

Why I Like Kimkins

2009-05-03T09:42:00.009-04:00

"Why I Like Kimkins" is the topic for the Kimkins essay contest. Affiliate Scams and Prudentia already wrote their essays. Somehow, I don't think they will be among the winners.

So who could write the winning essay? One of the success stories already featured on the Kimkins website? Someone that lost 144 pounds in a year by eating like this:

This is the boot camp menu that was recommended during the time this success story lost her weight.

This example provides:
Calories: 594
Fat: 26 grams
Carbs: 16 grams
Protein: 74 grams

So who would like to eat like this for a year? This is what she said in her success story:

"Being in ketosis has really helped me not have cravings and be able to pass up temptations. This journey has been so amazing! Many people say they could never do this because they love carbs, breads, sweets, etc. Well, so do I! I eat chicken and eggs almost daily and still love them!"

So where is she today? Trying to maintain, or rather, trying to take off 20 regained pounds.

"I am plugging away, but frustrated that I am sticking to it and working out and the scale is not going down! This is when I want to just give in and eat what I want, but then I do further damage! I must be strong! When I was losing the first time, I didn't let myself have the option of eating something not on Kimkins, I need to think that way now!"

So how can this be given a positive spin for the topic "I Like Kimkins"?

I don't know. I can just find reasons why I do NOT like Kimkins. Like having to stay on starvation level of calories to maintain any weight loss.

Kimkins Essay Contest

2009-04-29T09:05:00.006-04:00

Heidi Diaz is giving out prices for the best essays about how weight loss has improved life.

Perhaps she should save herself the trouble and just declare Kimmer the winner. Who can top her story?

Here is an excerpt from the email interview she did with Jimmy Moore, talking about her fabricated weight loss success:

"Losing 200 lbs has literally been like freeing an albatross from around my neck. I was so desperately unhappy. Despite lying to myself that my size didn't matter, and although I was blessed with good health despite 300+ pounds, I knew I was harming my body.

Now, a slim size 4, I look back and wonder what took me so long to get serious? I now fit into theater seats without even touching the arms! Seat belts aren't anxiety provoking. My confidence has soared! No longer do I fear developing diabetes. Few people are aware that it doesn't take very much extra body fat to develop Type 2 diabetes and once you do, it's for life. You can manage it, but the damage to cells never disappears.

But probably the most blessed part of being thin and healthy is the pride my children have in me. No longer do I wonder whether they might be embarrassed by their 318-pound mom at school events or the mall. It almost seems as though they show me off!

Heck, I can even tie my shoes – no more slip ons!

I don't ever want to regain my weight. As a reminder, I hung onto a pair of size 26 jeans which I keep hanging in a corner of my closet. I bring them out once a week and try them on. Once again, I can't believe I was ever that big! What was I thinking?"

Of course, this story is pure fantasy. Kimmer likely was still 300+ pounds when she wrote it, judging from a photo taken about half a year after the interview.

If you want to read some REAL Kimkins Diet stories, head over to the Kimkins Survivor blog.

Kimkins on Facebook

2009-04-09T09:28:00.006-04:00

As part of the viral marketing of Kimkins by Heidi Diaz, she is now on Facebook. She presently has two profiles there; Kimmer and Kimkins Diet.

I am not myself into Facebook as I have other ways to network with people online. But I thought one of the main ideas with Facebook was that you should show YOUR actual FACE.

So what does Heidi Diaz do?

This is the one for Kimmer:

And this is the one for Kimkins Diet

Why not show her own face?

As Kimmer has always claimed that she wants to "inspire" people to lose weight, she might find it more appropriate to use a fairy and a young woman (that most likely never had any weight to lose) to represent her diet. I am sure that few people would see the picture of the founder of the Kimkins Diet and think: "Oh, this is a diet I have to try! $79.95 is a bargain if I get to look as she does."

Kimmer Hiding Assets?

2009-03-30T07:35:00.003-04:00

A blog post by Affiliatescams about the bankruptcy dismissal reminded me about this picture originally posted by Kimkins Controversy.

Kimkins Bankruptcy Dismissed

2009-03-28T13:57:00.003-04:00

Heidi's attempt to derail the Class Action Lawsuit against Kimkins.con was not successful. She filed for bankruptcy in January 2009 which put all other legal actions on hold. But the bankruptcy case has now been dismissed.

So who thinks Heidi Diaz will show up for the new Kimkins get-together scheduled for Las Vegas in October 2009? The 2008 venture didn't happen due to "high gas prices." What will the excuse be this time? That Kimkins.con doesn't exist anymore?

SCAMMY Awards

2009-03-22T03:35:00.003-04:00

Americans Against Self-Help Fraud is now accepting nominations for the 2009 "SCAMMY" Awards, which are given to Self Help Gurus for "excellence" in ripping off Americans with their falsehoods, false hopes, myths & half-truths!

Don't you think Heidi Diaz qualifies for every single one of these:

1. DUMB SPEAK AWARD - given for the most unintelligent thing uttered by a Self-Help Guru!

"Can I take that back?"

2. HYPOCRITE AWARD - given to the Self-Help guru with the biggest gap between their professed values and how they actually behave!

Eating sugar cookies while she was advising people to cut calories below 500 by eating egg whites and no more than 3 oz of lean meat per meal?

3. DADDY BIG BUCKS AWARD - given to the Self-Help Guru whose lifestyle shows that they are only in it for the money!

Banning members as they had already paid their "lifetime" fee and did not bring in any further revenue? Now having ads and selling anything; including Alli and Acai Berry with Colon Cleanse?

4. HOODWINKED AWARD - given to the Self-Help Guru who did the best job of tricking a celebrity into being their sponsor!

Remember the Lindsay Lohan Kimkins T-shirt? The photo shopped one? Plus submitting comments stating that other celebrities were using Kimkins?

5. BI-POLAR AWARD - given to the Self-Help Guru whose promises got the opposite results!

I think many ex-Kimkins dieters can testify to this one. Ending up heavier than before they started as the starvation diet more often than not lead to binges and regain of any weight lost.

6. BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MIS-LEADING ROLE AWARD - given to the Self Help Guru who did the best job of deceiving the public!

Pretending to be an 118 lbs slim woman in a white dress for 6-7 years on a large lowcarb forum? Not to mention the phone interview she did with Jimmy Moore, still claiming to be 118 lbs while she probably topped 350 lbs at the time. Or the Russian Bride pictures in Woman's World and on her website.

7. BERNIE MADOFF LIFETIME MIS-ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - given to the best, all around Self-Help Guru who did the most to diminish the human race!

I don't know where to start. Just read her posts on LCF where she over and over again belittled dieters that did not agree with her. Or, check out Kimkins Survivors to see what happened to people trying to follow her dangerous diet advice.

Why don't you head over to the SCAMMY Awards and cast your vote?

Kimkins Lost Its Cult Status

2009-03-02T09:31:00.003-05:00

Remember how we just a year back used to call Kimkins a cult? That was at a time where staunch supporters still visited blogs to defend Kimmer. When they were talking about the anti-kimkins haters and Kimkins.con being a "safe" place. When the members hung onto every word that came out of Kimmer's keyboard. When the forum was full of activity and people expected to lose a pound a day. When cutting calories still was the only way to weight loss.

No more. Kimkins is now just another diet forum. There is nothing different going on there than on any other FREE forum. People join challenges. Fall off the plan. Come back and start over. Just as on any other diet site.

There are a few long timers there, but it's questionable if they are Kimmer supporters. Some lend their name to advertising, no doubt with the expectation of making some money off it. Others stay there for reasons that I can just guess at:

Staying with friends in their challenge groups
The diet works for them, at least for now
Blaming Kimkins dieters that developed health problems on their own poor judgement; they should have known better
Feeling sorry for Kimmer. We all know how it feels to be overweight, to fail on a diet.
Having sympathy for Kimmer because the anti-kk attack her.
Not feeling "safe" going to another diet site as following the Kimkins diet is largely frowned upon by the lowcarb community

I just hope they all come out unharmed at the end.

Kimmer, Heidi Diaz, must have felt on top of the world a year and a half ago, when Kimkins was at its biggest. Money rolling in, more than she had ever seen before. People worshipping her and seeing her as their savior.

I wonder how she feels today? Class action suit underway. Bankruptcy court perhaps not ending up the way she wanted.

Weight Loss Ads

2009-02-28T18:25:00.004-05:00

Despite having applied for bankruptcy, Heidi Diaz continues to blow her ill gotten money on Google Ads. It's sort of funny to read them when you know that they are written by a morbidly obese, diabetic, woman that never lost weight on her own diet despite having had gastric bypass surgery.

The ads that come up today include:

Turbo fast weight loss
Amazing "no exercise" diet secret
Supercharged low carb diet
Works fast
Low carb diabetic diet
Fast!
Bariatric gastric band surgery diet
Xtreme "no exercise" diet
Fast detox weight loss
Insulin resistant diet
Turbo fast fat loss
Lose stomach fat fast
Postpartum weight loss
Master cleanse low carb

Does this woman look like she knows what she is talking about?

Yes, sure, the picture is a couple of years old, but reportedly she really haven't lost much compared to this picture. And it was taken at a time when she claimed to be a svelte 118 lbs!

Of course, the ads use other "success" stories now. Somebody that starved off the weight and agreed to become a poster girl (or guy) for Kimkins.con. Possibly with compensation in form of affiliate payouts. I hope it is worth the money, which I'm sure isn't much. Personally, I would be embarrassed to represent this woman.

And while there are people that did lose weight on Kimkins, I wouldn't call them a success before they have managed to keep that weight off for several years. Far too many end up looking like Heidi, ending up heavier than before they started. Severe dieting does much more harm than good, in my opinion.

Heidi Diaz in Bankruptcy Court

2009-02-24T10:41:00.003-05:00

There was a hearing held yesterday. While no details about the legal side of things have been made public, we did hear that she has not lost any weight.

How come I am not surprised?

She is still selling the Kimkins Diet as a "magic pill" that will help people lose a lot of weight quickly. How come it doesn't work for Heidi herself? Doesn't she "want it bad enough"? Is she a "sissy?"

She is leading a "boot camp" challenge on Kimkins but apparently only the others are supposed to follow the rules, and not Heidi herself. How can she expect that anybody can stick to that diet? She obviously can not.

I hope that she had to explain in court why she is still spending thousands of dollars in ads every month. I can not see that those ads attract many new members. At least there is no indication on Kimkins.con that they do. Is she just trying to waste the money so that it will not be available to the lawyers and plaintiffs in the Class Action Suit?

Kimkins Email Lists

2009-02-15T14:34:00.003-05:00

Despite being banned I still receive newsletters from Kimkins.con. Unsubscribe doesn't work either. I wonder if that doesn't violate the spam act. But then I can't see Heidi Diaz caring much about what she violates. Defrauding me of my membership fee was perfectly fine in her opinion. Lying about her weight loss and using pictures of other people was just "marketing" and no fraud intended? Making up "success" stories the same. And finally, filing for bankruptcy is just a way of staying in business?

No doubt is my name still on the list for all members that at one time paid the membership fee. No doubt did she not bother to remove the ones banned. Why would she? Many of us are annoying her by blogging so why not annoy us? Not that it bothers me. Just another email that ends up in my spam box to be deleted.

Of course, the reason for these emails is obvious. Most of the members abandoned Kimkins early on when they found out that the diet was not sustainable. Many of these may be unaware of the fraud and everything else that has been discovered during the past year and a half. Perhaps they would be willing to return and give it a new try. Even better for Heidi, talk some friends into joining them, paying the "discounted" Valentine's fee of $71.96. I hope they will spend a minute or two googling Kimkins before they part with their money.

Heidi Diaz is also continuing with the Kimkins google ads. Obviously, the bankruptcy doesn't mean that she is short of money. Not to mention new websites. Simple Choices Diet may have been abondoned now when it was discovered, but there are several more, I'm sure. Hopefully they will also disappear when Kimkins.con is shut down.

Calories in Lettuce

2009-01-30T10:41:00.004-05:00

Despite setback after setback in the court cases against Kimkins, Kimmer still finds the time to caution her members about the calories in lettuce. In a recent reply to a member that wondered if she needed to increase her calories over the earlier recommended starvation level, Kimmer responded:

"Are you sure you are eating 897 calories? The main reason I ask "stalled" people for their Fitday link is to check the food descriptions they picked."

"People can also get confused about quantities. Many times people either don't weigh food and guess at the amount, or they don't know which foods should be measured vs. weighed so their Fitday entries are inaccurate. As an example, 8 oz of lettuce in a measuring cup would be the size of a yogurt container, but 8 oz of lettuce on a food scale would be 8 cups."

A diet for which an additional 31 calories and 2.1 gram carbs from an "excessive" amount of lettuce is making a difference is a sad one.

But what can you expect from an obese diet "guru" that looks as if she never managed to follow any diet at all?

Kimkins Bankrupt

2009-01-16T14:25:00.003-05:00

In an attempt to avoid certification of the Class Action Lawsuit, Heidi Diaz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Kimkins.

Luckily, that did not prevent certification. Heidi failed to show up for the Class Action hearing and had a default judgment entered against her.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the bankruptcy. She may have a hard time explaining why she started a new website, Simple Choices Diet, when she supposedly is busy reorganizing Kimkins to regain it's footing as a viable operation.

There has been speculation that Heidi would move the existing Kimkins members to her new site. I doubt it. Not unless they are willing to become subscribers and pay the monthly fee the new site charges. Of course, she may offer them a free trial membership for a few months to just populate the forum for her. That would save her the cost of hiring professional sock puppets.

It's not surprising that Heidi is now changing her business model to a monthly payment plan instead of the lifetime membership she had on Kimkins. She must have regretted choosing that option. Lately, the only new posters on the site have been returning members that do not bring in any new revenue.

Personally, I think the new site is an attempt to get rid of Clexus, a joomla tech support company. Clexus may have helped finance the buy out from Catherine, the partner Heidi initially had for Kimkins. At least there must be a reason that Heidi is continuing to pay money to this company. Around 25% after business expenses, if I read the bankruptcy data correctly. Having seen how Heidi operates, my guess is that she is not too happy about sharing any income. She did not like Catherine getting 50% of the profit when Heidi "was doing all the work." Surely she has the same opinion about Clexus.

The new site is using SMF (Simple Machines) free forum software. Brandon has some experience with it as he has had it on his own forum for some time (thecorruptedcanvas.com). I wouldn't call him an expert as he seems to have had problems with custom tweaks he has done. But at least Heidi could hope to get rid of the tech expenses she now has for running the joomla board on Kimkins.

I'm sure that Clexus is not too happy about what is going on with Kimkins. Having the company run down by Heidi. Spending a lot of money on google ads that don't result in revenue. Seeing the reputation of the company going down the tube. But not having presence in this country, I suspect they have few options of making their voice heard. However, my guess is that they have already gotten a higher payback than they ever expected.

Busy Court Month for Kimkins

2009-01-11T11:01:00.006-05:00

The Kimkins Class action suit is moving along with a snail's pace, as legal cases generally do. After the first filing more than a year ago, we have finally reached the point of having a hearing for the motion for Class Certification. This is scheduled for 01/14/2009.

Kimkins is no longer represented by a lawyer. Heidi Diaz will represent herself, unless she finds a new lawyer the next couple of days.

So will she show up? She doesn't have a good track record for court appearances in the past.

What happens if she doesn't show up? Unless she has filed some type of excuse I would assume that there will be a default judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, i.e. class action certification will be granted. I may be wrong.

The next scheduled court hearings are on 01/27 and 01/28. These are a number of similar hearings all dealing with determining jurisdiction for the defendants in Heidi's counter suit (SLAPP suit). As none of them is a resident of California it is not that obvious that they can be sued in Riverside Court.

What happens if the plaintiff, Heidi, doesn't show up at the hearing for HER counter suit? I would assume that it is dropped. Again, I could be wrong.

The third item in court is a hearing on 01/29 in Small Claims Court. The City of Corona is suing her for failing to pay a business license fee. They are not asking for much money at all, and it wouldn't surprise me if Heidi has already paid it. But then, it didn't make sense not to pay it in the first place. I would expect her not to show up for this hearing and just get a default judgment against her. Leaving the City of Corona having to try to collect the money owned.

Kimkins makes the Local News

2008-12-31T08:30:00.002-05:00

Corona woman's diet program given low marks

07:40 PM PST on Tuesday, December 30, 2008

By DOUGLAS QUAN
The Press-Enterprise

A Corona woman's Internet-based weight-loss program has been named the worst diet product of 2008 by a healthy-eating Web site.

In announcing winners of its 20th annual Slim Chance Awards, the Healthy Weight Network -- an online forum for health care professionals, researchers and consumers -- said the Kimkins low-fat, low-carb diet amounts to a "starvation diet" that deprives members of many nutrients.

"This weight obsession is causing so many problems," said network founder Francie Berg, a licensed nutritionist and adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine.

Corona resident Heidi Diaz, founder of the Kimkins program, which charges members a fee to access the diet, could not be reached Tuesday by phone or e-mail.

A pending class-action lawsuit filed against Diaz claims that Diaz misled consumers with made-up success stories and pilfered images from a Russian dating Web site to depict as successful Kimkins dieters.

Some Kimkins members have said that they suffered hair loss, heart palpitations, weakness, nausea, muscle fatigue, forgetfulness and abnormal menstrual cycles.

Court records show that Diaz dropped her lawyer this month and is representing herself.

In an online message to Kimkins members posted a year ago, Diaz acknowledged that she had not lost 198 pounds in 11 months, as she had claimed on her site, but 100 pounds in six months. She also wrote that photos accompanying success stories were taken from another site.

"We wanted to show visitors the possibilities with Kimkins," she said.

Woman's World magazine featured the Kimkins diet program on its cover in June 2007 with the headline "Better than gastric bypass!" The magazine later apologized to readers for "having shared with you a story we can't stand behind."

As of Tuesday, the Kimkins Web site was still running, telling visitors that "many Kimkins members drop 5 percent or more of their total body weight in the first 10 days."

Members pay $79.90 to join the program.

A disclaimer tells visitors to contact their doctor before starting any diet.

Berg said people should focus less on losing weight and concentrate more on eating well, staying active and relieving stress.

Berg's Web site named as its worst gimmick of 2008 a brand of jeans that claims to release a cellulite-fighting medication when the jeans rub against the skin.

"Some of this is just ridiculous," Berg said.

Reach Douglas Quan at 951-368-9479 or dquan@PE.com

Yet Another Kimkins Award

2008-12-29T09:08:00.002-05:00

Top 10 Worst Diets of 2008

Sunday, December 28, 2008

1. Ear Stapling. Think about this: how many chubby people do you know with multiple piercings? (If you're having trouble envisioning, think about going to a Ren Faire.)

2. Original Hollywood Celebrity Diet. Sure, you too can lose weight if you live on 400 calories a day for two weeks. Wow, it's like magic!

3. Kimkins. Gives sketchy advice like super-low calorie levels and also laxatives (eeek!), but finding out that the diet's supposed inventor and biggest success story actually weighs over 300 pounds must have been très awkward.

4. Hydroxycut. Starbucks sells buckets of caffeine for much less money than these capsules, and with no scary ephedra accidentally making its way into your misto.

5. Celluslim. Random words thrown together to name pills that made a lot of people feel ishy. Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to us.

6. Chitosan. Weirdly, found to reduce cholesterol to some extent, but totally does not help you lose weight even a little.

7. Slim Slippers. Are you kidding us? Reflexology has no proven association with weight loss or metabolism and also, need we mention that these are slippers! For your feet!

8. Hoodia. It might be TrimSpa, but it's also bullshit, baby!

9. Diet Patch. Come on, you're on a diet, not an ocean voyage.

10. Mariah Carey's Purple Food diet. No, really. Purple food.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T07:44:00.004-05:00

Who would have thought that we would see yet another Christmas with Kimkins.con still being up and running? At least a lot have been accomplished during the year. Many, many pro-kk articles have been removed from the internet. Many anti-kk blogs are still kept current. A dieter looking for a new plan is bound to find information to be warned about the dangers of the Kimkins diet.

Kimkins.con is a ghost town today. Many members have left and found other support communities. A few loyal members remain. Most of them signed up a long time ago so they don't bring any new revenue for Heidi Diaz. Hopefully she doesn't get many, or any, new customers.

Many times during the past year, I have heard pro-kk people telling us bloggers to "move on". We are moving on. We have been moving on. But my blog will remain until I can report the shut down of Kimkins.con.

Kimkins doesn't consume my life. I have many projects I'm working on, both in real life and on the internet. One of them is a new forum: Tipping the Scales to Health

As the name implies, we are focusing on Health. That may include losing weight. It may not. For me, the most important is to eat healthy to stay healthy. To exercise for health.

While the forum was formed by an anti-kk group, the focus is no longer Kimkins. Yes, we follow and report the latest developments, but it's not an anti-kk forum. We also report on other diet fads and quick fixes that are designed only to line the pockets of the people promoting them.

Please join us in our goal to make 2009 and beyond Healthy years. Meet like minded people. Discuss. Share your ups and downs. Receive and give support.

Kimmer Representing Herself

2008-12-23T09:22:00.005-05:00

12/22/2008 SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY FILED; ON 3RD AMENDED COMPLAINT OF JEANESSA FENDERSON REMOVE ATTORNEY LAW OFFICES OF COTTLE & KEMP FOR PARTY(S) HEIDI DIAZ AND REPLACE WITH ATTORNEY PRO/PER

The Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit took a new twist when Heidi Diaz' lawyer was removed from the case and leaving Heidi to fend for herself.

What is the reason? Nobody knows.

Perhaps he was fired by Heidi. She seems to have unreasonable expectations which is evident from the counter suit that she filed. She appeared to have listed a number of defendants just because she was mad at them, and not because she could possibly win a verdict against them.

Perhaps Heidi didn't want to, or could not, pay him any longer. All the hours Cottle has put in during the last year must have cost her a lot of money.

Whatever the reason, I think it is very good news for the plaintiffs in the Class Action Suit and the defendants in the Cross Complaint. Perhaps this saga will be over sooner than we expected. Perhaps the day to celebrate the shut down of Kimkins.con will arrive shortly.

It will be interesting to see Heidi Diaz representing herself. What persona is she going to assume? Heidi? Kimmer? Vanessa? Lesya, the Russian Bride in the red dress?

Kimkins Wins the Slim Chance Award

2008-12-21T09:22:00.004-05:00

The Worst Diet Promotions of 2008 snag 20th Annual Slim Chance Awards

HETTINGER, ND – Healthy Weight Network released its 20th annual Slim Chance Awards today, highlighting both the hidden dangers of diets and supplements that often contain unknown ingredients and sometimes potent drugs, and the merely ridiculous.

To call 2008 a typical year in the weight loss field would be too easy. This year’s awards go to an infamous huckster of diet infomercials, known for his outrageous disregard of injunctions against him; $139 body-shaping jeans impregnated with substances that supposedly reduce cellulite; a pill that’s “proven” to make your belly fat vanish; and a dangerous starvation diet launched recklessly on the Internet with false promises of safe, fast and permanent weight loss.

All in all, a typical year that synthesizes all that is deceptive and exploitative in this field. So, here they are, the 20th annual Slim Chance Awards (only "Worst Product" is shown here):

WORST PRODUCT: Kimkins diet. It must have seemed an easy way to get rich quick. Founder Heidi “Kimmer” Diaz set up a website and charged members a fee to access the Kimkins diet, boasting they could lose up to 5 percent of their body weight in 10 days. “Better than gastric bypass,” there was “no faster diet,” and in fact she herself had lost 198# in 11 months. Stunning “after” photos were displayed. In June 2007 Women's World ran it as a cover story, and that month alone PayPal records show the Kimkins site took in over $1.2 million. Then users began complaining of chest pains, hair loss, heart palpitations, irritability and menstrual irregularities. This was not surprising since Kimkins is essentially a starvation diet, down to 500 calories per day and deficient in many nutrients (shockingly, laxatives are advised to replace the missing fiber). In a lawsuit, 11 former members are uncovering a vast record of Diez’s alleged fraud. They found that the stunning “after” photos, including one of Kimmer herself, had been lifted from a Russian mail order bride site. According to a deposition reported by Los Angeles TV station KTLA, Diaz admitted using fake pictures, fake stories and fake IDs, and a judge has allowed the litigants to freeze some of her assets.

For a full list, go to Quackery and Fraud

Motion for Class Certification

2008-12-12T11:43:00.013-05:00

The motion for Class Certification for the Lawsuit against Kimkins.con was filed last week. It is an impressive document that details many of the lies told by Heidi Diaz in her efforts to attract customers to her website.

The motion has an excellent summary of why a Class Action Lawsuit is justified. The entire document can be read on the Riverside Court website (look up RIC483005 or search on Diaz, Heidi).

An excerpt from the motion (edited to shorten):

The Unraveling of America's Worst Internet Diet Scam.
Almost all of the material representations of the Kimkins.con website and advertisements were in fact false. The success stories were pure fiction and photographs were stolen from other Internet sites. The Kimkins diet was not ever proven safe or effective.

"Kimmer", aka Heidi Diaz, never lost 198 pounds in 11 months. "Kimmer" was purely a fictional character created to defraud the public. The perpetrator of this scam is Heidi Diaz, who habitually lied about the Kimkins diet and her alleged weight loss on the Internet for years from her home in Corona, California. She regularly used false names on the Internet, lied about her weight loss, created countless false success stories, falsely claimed celebrities such as Jessica Alba and Lindsay Lohan used her diet, lied about the safety and efficacy of the Kimkins diet, falsely impersonated consumers in order to induce sales, used unlawful labels and Metatags to misdirect Internet traffic and fraudulently tried to conceal her assets to avoid repaying customers. Heidi Diaz was caught red-handed but still continues to engage in false and misleading advertising on the Internet while making a substantial profit.

1. Kimmer is not Kim Drake, the thin diet expert: Kimmer is Heidi Diaz, a morbidlv obese Internet swindler from Corona, California.
The beautiful woman in the red dress featured on the Kimkins Internet site named Kim Drake aka "Kimmer," does not exist! Ms. Diaz also admitted that she had posed as Kimmer in a "public apology" that was posted on Kimkins.con after she was successfully exposed by an investigative report on the KTLA news. The Kimkins "poster girl" is actually a model named Lesya whose image was lifted by Heidi Diaz from a Russian bride Internet site. Heidi Diaz used her own picture to depict the "before Kimkins diet" image of Kimmer, and unlawfully misappropriated the photograph of Lesya as the "after Kimkins diet" image of Kimmer. Heidi Diaz has been and remains a morbidly obese woman.

Heidi Diaz created false identities to sell or promote the Kimkins Diet. She admitted under oath that she had used such names as Kimmer, Jennifer Danser, Brad Curtis, Kimberly Stewart, Kimberly Drake, Vanessa Sharp, Dennis Sharp and numerous other monikers.

2. Use of False Pictures of Kimmer.
Under oath and by way of public apology, Heidi Diaz has established that she has used false pictures to depict the weight loss success story of Kimmer. Under oath she stated that the picture of the Kimmer was not her and was actually "a model."'M s. Diaz' decision to use a false picture to advertise Klmkins was even questioned by her technical support staff. Her technical consultant, Aliyar Firat, wanted to use a real picture of Heidi Diaz but Ms. Diaz refused and insisted on using the picture of the model for Kimmer's after diet photographs.

3. Heidi Diaz Lied About Her Alleged Weight Loss.
Under oath, and by way of public apology, Heidi Diaz admitted that she lied about the alleged weight loss success of Kimmer on Internet and print advertisements. She admitted that her statement that Kimmer lost an amazing 198 pounds in 11 months was in fact a statement that she prepared but was false. Ms. Diaz also admitted that the woman identified as Vanessa does not actually exist and her story was a fictional creation by Ms. Diaz.

With respect to Kimkins' homepage, Ms. Diaz admits that her testimony on said homepage was derived from the interview wherein she claims to have lost a purported 198 pounds in 11 months was false. Variations of the homepage of Kimkins.con were accessible to the public throughout the class period.

To promote Kimkins, Heidi Diaz made phenomenal misrepresentations on the Internet program known as the "Livin La Vida Low Carb" show hosted by Jimmy Moore on July 19, 2007. Heidi Diaz also stated in the interview that she had kept the weight off for a total of 5 to 5 1/2 years. At the time of the interview, Heidi Diaz weighed over 300 pounds. She was photographed several times shortly after the interview.

4. Material Misrepresentations Contained in the Woman's World
Magazine Article "Make Heidi Diaz a Millionaire."
In June of 2007, the story of Kimmer and the Kimkins diet reached millions of Americans. Heidi Diaz admitted that she supplied her own "before diet" photograph for the article but used a photograph of another model for her "after diet" photograph. When asked where she obtained the picture of the model, she stated: "from the Intemet. I don't remember the site. Just again, I wanted to be anonymous." Ms. Diaz does not dispute the fact that she also used the false name "Kim Drake" and another false picture in the article.

Her statements in the article were a phenomenal act of fraud by Heidi Diaz. In the article she falsely stated she had lost 200 pounds in 11 months. She also falsely represented that she soared up to 318 pounds after a serious injury. She falsely claimed she went from a dress size 26 to a size 6. As a result of such blatant false advertising, sales shot up immediately. In June of 2007, there were 15,330 paid memberships.

5. The Use of Fortv-One (41) False Success Stories with Misapproprated Photographs.
Numerous Kimkins' success stories used on the websites and on advertisements were FALSE. The photographs featured in each of the success stories were lifted from Russian Bride websites. Ms. Diaz admitted that each and every person featured did not use the Kimkins diet and did not lose the weight as advertised.

She admitted to fabricating success stories and using false photographs in connection with the advertisements. She also created fraudulent success stories on the Kimkins Newsletter which was accessible to the general public and designed to promote Kimkins.con subscriptions.

6. False Celebrity Endorsements.
Heidi Diaz admitted that she had represented to the public that celebrity Jessica Alba, a famous actress, used the Kimkins diet. She testified that she did not know if Jessica Alba used the diet but repeated the "rumor" on the internet. She admitted in retrospect, she thought it was deceptive to repeat the rumor that Jessica Alba used the Kimkins diet.

Heidi Diaz also falsely claimed and advertised that Lindsay Lohan was a user of the Kimkins diet. In fact, she misappropriated a picture of Lindsay Lohan wearing a T-shirt. The Kimkins logo is superimposed on Ms. Lohan's t-shirt. Ms. Diaz admitted that she has never had any contact with Lindsay Lohan. She also testified that she never believed the photograph of Lindsay Lohan with the doctored image displaying Kimkins across Ms. Lohan's chest was real.

7. Unlawful Use of Labels and Metatam to Misdirect Internet Traffic.
Many of the Kimkins.com advertisements have labels or tags that are used as a basis to direct traffic to the Kimkins.com site. Heidi Diaz was an expert on how to misdirect traffic on the Internet. For example, Heidi Diaz took a popular Internet topic such as the "Geico Caveman" which generated a lot of Internet activity at the time. Heidi Diaz placed the labels: "Caveman, Geico, Kimkins" together so that when "Geico" and "Caveman" would be searched, the Kimkins advertisement would appear. Heidi Diaz admitted that she prepared the graphic and text without the permission of the Geico Insurance Company. Heidi Diaz admitted that labels were also used as tags and that if a search were conducted with respect to the terms "Geico" or "Caveman," the subject advertisement would show up in a ranking!'
Another example of label/tag misdirection occurred on the Kimkins Blog. Ms. Diaz used the following labels: "Celebrity Diet Secrets, Christie Brinkley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kimkins, and low carb."

8. No Lifetime membership as Promised by Heidi Diaz.
Members of Kimkims.con were promised a one-time payment for a lifetime membership. However, if anyone complained of becoming ill on the diet, which was a common occurrence, said member would be immediately terminated. In fact, if Heidi Diaz or any of her minions decided they did not like you, you would also be terminated. Heidi Diaz testified that troublemakers would be blocked from full access to the website. She claimed to have no criteria for terminations. She stated that the term "troublemaker" would be defined by each administrator!

9. Advertised Lies and Misrepresentations.
Although Heidi Diaz is the sole owner of Kimkins and responsible for all of the content on its website, she has made the miraculous claim that certain representations appeared on her website without her knowledge.

Another classic misrepresentation repeated throughout the Kimkins advertisements was that the Kimkins diet was a "fast and permanent" way to lose weight.

Heidi Diaz admits that no medical doctor has ever approved the safety or efficacy of the Kimkins diet."

Another amazing misrepresentation repeatedly stated that the Kimkins diet was thermogenic and that no exercise was needed to lose weight. Many other irresponsible statements were made by Heidi Diaz and it is anticipated that she may even try to claim that she was not responsible for everything stated on her own website. However, she did admit undeer oath that no one had access to her website other than her technical company, Clexus New Media. Ms. Diaz admitted under oath that in her best estimate, she only visited her homepage two times in the year 2007, despite being the sole owner of the website.

The Court already has on file numerous declarations and affidavits signed by purchasers of Kimkins.con memberships, who stated under oath that they relied on the representations of Defendant's weight loss claims when they decided to subscribe to Kimkins.con. The subject declarations and affidavits illustrate the consumers' reliance on the fraudulent representations of Heidi Diaz. Heidi Diaz admits she lied and the sheer volume of lies proves her intent to deceive her customers.

Kimmer Ignoring Members

2008-12-07T13:22:00.003-05:00

A while back, Kimmer asked for her members input to come up with a Kimkins maintenance plan. She eventually came up with something she published as a "plan."

The "plan" was really obscure and really just consisted of calorie recommendations: "........ a 10-12X multiplier for women and 12-14X for men" i.e. if your weight is 125 pounds you would eat 1250 to 1500 calories per day. The "plan" didn't include any recommendations about carb limits, more than that you had to find out your own "Carb & Calorie Equilibrium" without any explanation of what this is or how to find out what it is.

On Kimkins forum, she posted a more detailed sample menu. For being a low carb plan, it included a lot of carbs in the form of fruit and grains. Still low fat, of course. Her menu had waffles for breakfast, a hoagie roll for lunch, and pasta for dinner, for example. For her 1200 calorie menu, the carb count varied between 103 and 135 grams! From where did she steal this plan? Weight Watchers?

Following the posting of this menu, some members on the maintainer board weighted in with their comments. All (3?) of them pointed out that they could not eat anywhere close to that carb amount. They also said that any grains were off limits for them.

So what did Kimmer do?

Nothing. No comment. No change of the menu. Did she even read the comments?

You would think that Kimmer would listen to her maintainers. After all, Heidi Diaz has no experience of her own for how to maintain weight loss. But then, she has never listened to anybody in the first place. She is still acting as the know-it-all diet guru that lost 200 pounds and maintained for 6 years. Not as the 300+ pound obese person she is that has failed over and over again to lose weight.

It is also baffling that the maintainers stay at Kimkins.con. Could it be because they are still doing Kimkins? Constantly trying to take off a few regained pounds? It certainly can not be to receive "advice" from Heidi Diaz.

Move On

2008-12-06T10:50:00.003-05:00

Some people find us anti-kk bloggers "obsessed" and suggest that we "move on". The reasoning seems to be that fraud has now been admitted, the Class Action Suit is underway, and many people have left Kimkins to gather at other places. Why would we continue to pursue this one woman that started it all?

The answer is simple. Kimkins.con is still operational. Heidi Diaz is still running google ads to snatch new, unsuspecting members.

Some also think that we are doing this for attention. And, they are right. I do this for attention. Not attention for me as a person, but to spread awareness of the Kimkins fraud to prevent other people to lose their money like I did. Remember that when the Woman's World article came out in June 2007, there was no negative information to be found about Kimkins on the internet.
A Kimkins search at that time gave a lot of hits to affiliate blogs, and if ending up on Ask Kimmer on Lowcarbfriends, there was just praise for the diet there as well. Today, Kimkins Survivors often come up as the 2nd hit, directly following the Kimkins.con website. Hopefully, seeing a site dedicated to "survivors" will give pause before blindly signing up for Kimkins. Or, going down the list to read all the other anti-kk blogs.

Some also criticize the anti-kk bloggers based on that many of us (a) lost weight, (b) didn't do the diet, or (c) never were Kimkins members in the first place.

With very few exceptions, the ones that lost weight on Kimkins didn't do it without consequences. Some suffer health problems. Many discovered that they had developed an eating disorder. Most regained weight.

I am in the group that didn't do the diet, so my only loss was the money I paid for the "lifetime" membership. And the loss of trust. Knowing that people like Heidi Diaz so easily can create an online persona that has very little in common with who she really is. And me falling for it, paying her money that helped establish a website based on fraud. You could call me a "disgruntled customer" and I want to prevent others, not yet Kimkins customers, to become "disgruntled" also.

The last group that never were Kimkins members largely comprises dieters that are concerned about their fellow dieters' health. That were appalled at the diet "advice" Heidi Diaz gave out. They became aware of the fraud, and now want to stop Kimkins.con.

When it comes to "moving on", many, many have done so. The vast majority no doubt within weeks of signing up at Kimkins.con following the WW article. The anti-kk bloggers and the people working behind the scenes constitute just a small number as compared to the reportedly 40,000 that paid money to Heidi Diaz. Do not the people that walked away also deserve restitution? To get their money back when they realized that the diet was not anything they could ever do?

Some also tell the anti-kk bloggers to "get a life" as if we spend all our time obsessing about Heidi Diaz and Kimkins.con. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just check out the FWK thread to see how many other subjects that are discussed there. Or visit one of the other boards where we hang out and it will become obvious that this Kimkins thing is just occupying a small part of our lives. And it will keep on doing so until Kimkins.con is shut down. I will not "move on" just yet.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T15:13:00.002-05:00

Kimkins Business Ethics

2008-11-23T15:53:00.004-05:00

Or rather lack thereof. I was banned from Kimkins more than a year ago. Not for anything I posted on Heidi Diaz' site but for something I posted on another board. But as the post referred to as a reason for my banning took place a month after I had been banned, who knows what the real reason was. I would expect that Tippy knows, but she is not telling.

Anyway, a while back I started to receive emails from Kimmer to the email address I had used on Kimkins. I tried to unsubscribe several weeks back, but apparently that is not working.

I received an email today for "Kimkins Holiday Savings!" where she suggests that I get a "buddy" to sign up for Kimkins, and providing a discount code for 15% off off the $79.95 "lifetime" membership fee. Yeah, right. As if I would recommend this program to someone else. I already lost my money. Why would I want a "buddy" to do the same.

In addition, the email had my user name and password for Kimkins:

HERE'S YOUR KIMKINS USER NAME & PASSWORD:
user: sward001
pass: T58ZSOFV

Apart from it not being secure to send this type of information in a standard email, I can't figure out why Heidi did it in the first place. I am banned. Try it for yourself. You will just get this:

And, no. Waiting 1-2 hours will not change anything. I am permanently banned.

If this was an attempt by Heidi to collect my IP address, she will be disappointed. The constantly changing IP my broadband connection provides is not going to give out any information of use to her.

Kimkins Still Banning Members

2008-11-23T10:05:00.005-05:00

Kimkins is subject to a Class Action Lawsuit for banning members without cause and without giving them a refund. While there are many other complaints about the Kimkins Diet, they are not as easily proven as the simple fact that you paid for a lifetime membership and did not receive what you paid for.

The latest banned member was asked to provide "before" and "after" photos for herself to be used in a Kimkins success story. Timing was imperative as Kimmer is gearing up for the weight loss boom that always take place after the holidays. The member did not promptly respond and found herself banned.

It is clear that Kimmer has no concern about banning lifetime members without cause. After all, they are of no use to her as the one time fee has been paid and they don't bring in new revenue for Heidi Diaz. That the member has formed friendships inside the Kimpound and is following the restrictive posting rules there is of no importance to her.

Only new members bring in money.

It's ironical that one of the selling points Heidi is using in her google ads and newsletters is the lifetime membership. "$79. Not another penny ever." It seems that her definition of "lifetime" is something else than for the rest of us. I think an honest ad should say "$79 to get access to a poorly defined diet plan. Receive advice from the diet's creator that never lost weight on it herself and that is not able to stick to her own diet. Join a dying community on a board where you have to watch what you say. Do not venture out on other, public, boards. Be prepared to lose access when the founder decides you are no longer of use to her, or if you annoy her. Being electronic media, the membership fee is non-refundable".

I doubt she would get any new members with such an ad. Hopefully she is not getting new members anyway. I hope they have the knowledge to google Kimkins before they shell out the money. The second google hit "Kimkins Survivors" should tell them something.

Anoretix

2008-11-13T13:09:00.003-05:00

Anoretix is a weight loss pill. Who on earth came up with this name? Yes, I know that "anorexic" literally means "loss of appetite" but don't most of us associate it with anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa is a serious, often deadly, eating disorder. Medusa has written extensively about it. Eating disorder victims should not have any further encouragement to starve themselves.

I wonder if there was some marketing team behind this name. Or just an ignorant internet marketer. Very ignorant.

The Anoretix web site is a typical weight loss product sales page. The head line announces "I lost 12 pounds in 72 hours" next to a stock photo of a slim woman with tape measure. Some testimonials. Promise of a lifetime money back guarantee. Whose lifetime?

By the way; these testimonials? How many of you go back to a web site where you made a purchase just to submit a testimonial? And post progress updates? I have never done it. I don't even give feedback reviews on Amazon for a product I like.

Not that I believe for a minute that this product is any more helpful for weight loss than any other pill. Actually, it is a combination of some 9 other weight loss products that all are supported by some undisclosed studies and research. Just the usual "clinically proven" nonsense. And the "patented" or "patent pending" statement. As if a product needs to be proven effective to get a patent.

Many affiliates have jumped on the Anoretix train and it seems that very few of them have any knowledge about weight loss. A google search returns 40,000 hits. Blogs, ads, web sites. Hoping to cash in from desperate dieters. I hope they all fail.

One of the sites I looked up actually provided some interesting info; inadvertently, I'm sure. They said: "Most diet pills have about a 1,000% markup meaning that if it costs $3 to manufacture — companies sell it for $30. Which means we consumers are getting ripped off."

You can say that again. We consumers get ripped off!

Kimkins Sues

2008-11-09T11:36:00.003-05:00

It is not that easy (for me, at least) to understand who is being sued for what. In addition to the named defendants, there are 100 Roes being sued, and just one of these have been named. It is assumed that these Roes are anti-kimkins bloggers and if the suit is not being thrown out, we surely will be seeing more of us being named as the time goes on.

The Kimkins Counter Suit claims:

Interference with contract
"By contacting Kimkins members and encouraging them to terminate their memberships, By contacting and harassing affiliates and agents and demanding and threatening them to stop working for or with Kimkins and further threatening members and affiliates with criminal persecution of civil suit."
I assume this refers to our "weed pulling". I don't see how informing people of fraud can be seen as "threatening" and "demanding". Everybody contacted had the option of making an informed decision of what action they wanted to take. If Kimmer hadn't committed fraud in the first place, there would have been nothing to inform them about.

Interference with economic advantage
The suit claims that we "disrupted the relationship between Heidi Diaz and the Kimkins members and affiliates telling each that Heidi Diaz was unsafe, unreliable and often failed to meet its contractual obligations and was continuing to defraud it members at their expense. Cross defendants made these statements and allegations at a time when they knew the statements to be untrue."
Economic advantage? As gained by fraud? And in my opinion, Kimkins was "unsafe" with its recommended 500 cals. They also did "fail to meet their contractual allegations" as I was banned without a refund.

Slander/libel
"publishing malicious and false posts regarding Heidi Diaz ". And, "the entirety of each message was and is false as it pertains to Heidi Diaz because said statements were made solely in an effort to humiliate, defame, infuriate and injure Heidi Diaz. The statement is slanderous per se in that it imputes to Heidi Diaz a dishonest and bad reputation in the business and Internet community."
Huh? Heidi wasn't dishonest? When she posted false pictures and claimed non-existent weight loss? Starting on LCF years ago? Stating the TRUTH is not slander or libel. Furthermore, it's up to the plaintiff to prove that the statements are false. How is Heidi Diaz going to do that? She will produce REAL pictures of herself from June 2007 showing that she actually was 118 lbs? I don't think so.

Invasion of privacy
Heidi is a public figure. She submitted her picture to a wide spread magazine (yes, the "after" picture was not her, but the BEFORE picture was). And a person can become a "limited public figure" by engaging in actions which generate publicity within a narrow area of interest. This made Kimmer a public figure even long before she started Kimkins.con. She can not deny to willingly generate "publicity" with all her posts on Lowcarbfriends forum.
However, the counter suit seems to refer to a to me unknown issue of her ex husband disclosing some private information from a Family Law matter. It's not clear to me why this was bundled with the suit of the 1 - 100 Roes.

Civil conspiracy
"conspired to slander and defame Heidi Diaz" and "each of them acted despicably, willfully, wantonly, oppressively, fraudulently"
Conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to accomplish a criminal act or a legal act through criminal means. I'm not aware of any "agreement" between the Ducks. I am an individual blogger and I don't take orders for what to blog about. If there is a "Duck in charge" he/she is unknown to me.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress
I'm sure it's stressful to being found out as a liar, especially when the lies have been told for years and the lies were the foundation of her business. I don't see how that can be blamed on the defendants.

Kimkins Email

2008-11-01T10:02:00.004-04:00

My email boxes have been flooded by Kimkins newsletters, 10 reasons, and other messages from Kimkins lately. Even the email addresses where I have opted out from receiving them. Seems to be difficult to get out of her database.

It's sort of fun to read them though. To see what Kimmer consider selling points for the Kimkins Diet. Like this one:

"Hey there!

You know when you've tried other diets in the past and you didn't quite understand something or wanted more details? What did you do? Ask a friend or try to figure it out yourself, right?

Don't you wish you could ask the diet creator directly? With Kimkins you can! Our members have direct access to "Kimmer", the founder of Kimkins, by asking questions in the Kimkins Cafe forum or an easy email."

Wish to ask the diet creator? The one that can't do her own diet?

Kimkins Sued - Again

2008-10-29T10:41:00.006-04:00

This time by the City of Corona. For not applying and paying for a business license. The fee, including penalties, is a mere $150. Heidi Diaz can afford to run google ads for hundreds, or perhaps thousands of dollars, but not pay $150 to her city? Heidi Diaz that bought a house for cash? That bought two brand new cars for cash? That earned millions from defrauding people over the internet?

Sure, not applying for a business license in the first place might have been an oversight on Heidi's part. After all, she is not selling anything in Corona, but just operating an internet business out of her Corona house.

But surely the attempts by the city to collect the money could not have been ignored due to an "oversight". Heidi probably thinks that the city is not entitled to any money from her. Or, she might just be trying to avoid the home inspection that may be required when you operate a business in your house.

Kimkins Hunk

2008-10-24T17:37:00.005-04:00

That is what Kimmer calls the latest success story, a handsome Hunk. He claims to go to the gym at least four times per week, and perhaps if he exchanged some cardio for weights, I would call him a hunk too. But, I digress.

This Derek, like many of the recent success stories, turned up on Kimkins.con after he had lost his weight. He never participated in the support forums, never took part in a challenge, never asked any questions. Just suddenly arrives on Kimkins.con and posts his before and after pictures. Then finds LCF and comes in to "defend his name". Providing inconsistent answers when asked questions.

I have no doubt that "Derek" is a real person. But where did he come from? Some Kimmer supporter's son, brother, nephew, neighbor, friend? Did he lose 125 pounds? On Kimkins? I have no idea, and I couldn't care less. It's beside the point.

In my opinion, the point is that Derek promotes a fraudulent business.

Kimmer's defenders (how people can still defend this woman is beyond my comprehension) claim that Kimkins.con is not committing fraud any longer and we Ducks are just meanies that will not allow Kimmer to operate her business in peace. In their opinion, we have achieved what we wanted; the diet doesn't promote starvation levels of calories any longer and the Russian bride photos are gone.

To me, it's irrelevant whether fraud is still committed on Kimkins.con or not. Kimkins.con was created by fraud. There would never have been a Kimkins.con if Kimmer had not claimed to have lost 198 lbs and kept it off for years.

If I buy a car with a check that bounces, should I be allowed to keep the car just because I presently do not write any bad checks?

Of course not.

Kimkins.con should be shut down.

Kimkins Lawsuit 1 Yr Anniversary

2008-10-15T10:45:00.003-04:00

Wishing all the plaintiffs Happy Anniversary!

A lot has happened in one year. The Ducks have worked tirelessly to uncover more lies. Pulled thousands of weeds. Sent in complaints to agencies and consumer groups. Learned web technology and tools. Set up forums. Formed friendships that will last long after the Lawsuit is over and done with.

And we are not done yet. We are still patiently waiting for the trial or settlement that will take Kimkins.con down. I have no doubt it will happen.

Heidi Diaz is probably less happy with what has happened since the lawsuit was filed. She has been forced to clean up her site and remove fraudulent pictures. She has seen droves of members leaving and probably very few new ones replacing them. She has been blogged about. She has had to make deposition where she admits to lying. No, it's not been a good year for Heidi.

And to think that all this could have been avoided, had she only given a refund to the members she banned. Or, it would probably have been enough not to deny Jeanessa a refund. I bet she wishes she could take that back.

Camp Carbaway Closing

2008-10-11T09:26:00.005-04:00

The former Kimkins Admin Tippy Toes created Camp Carbaway in December last year when she left Kimkins. It was supposed to be a "safe" place for Kimkins "refugees". I never figured out what it would be "safe" from, more than that Tippy herself needed a place where she would be accepted as the majority of the lowcarb community shunned her at that point.

From all indications, Tippy intended to make this into a business, registering an LLC and charging a $19.95 membership fee after the initial, free registration. That didn't work out. Who would pay to join her board when there are so many free boards available? I think she had greatly overestimated her popularity.

She turned the board over to Brian and Heather, the couple she had brought with her from Kimkins that helped her set it up. Tippy stayed on as an admin.

The board did not grow. It remained a small place with some 100 members with probably not more than half of them active. It was mainly calm for a long time, with just a few bannings here and there.

Personally, I had guessed a year for the board's existence. It is very hard to keep a board alive with so few members. People drop out due to other priorities in life, and when fewer and fewer people participate, it generally just fizzles out due to lack of interest.

That didn't happen. The Camp went out with a bang. And what was the cause? The rumor blames Tippy.

It seems that Tippy has learned nothing from her previous experiences. She brings drama wherever she goes. She is an expert at turning people against each other by working behind the scenes.

The rumor further says that first Tippy was stripped of her Admin powers but when not even that helped, they are shutting down the board and starting over without Tippy.

Now, the only refugee is really Tippy. Where is she going to show up next? Will she be welcome? Trying to join some board anonymously will not work. Her writing style is much too distinct, as is her method of operation.

What do Kimkins and Zero Carb have in Common?

2008-10-03T08:52:00.006-04:00

Kimkins' K/E (Kimmer Experiment) is a meat only diet. So is Zero Carb. The difference is that K/E is lean meat only (preferably skinless chicken breast) while the Zero Carb woe (way of eating) advocates fat meat and even added fats (preferably beef and a 80% fat, 20% protein ratio).

Both diets do not allow vegetables, no fruit, no dairy, no carbs. K/E includes eggs, but even that is discouraged on Zero Carb.

But the most scary similarity between these two diets is the self-proclaimed diet gurus that promote them; Kimmer for Kimkins and Charles for Zero Carb. None of them have any nutritional qualifications but freely dispense their "expert advice" on the internet. Just look at the Ask Kimmer on Lowcarbfriends and the Zero Carb thread on Jimmy Moore's forum.

The similarities are striking. For example:

Kimmer says that zero cals is absolutely fine as long as you have body fat. Charles says that Zero Carb is suitable for anyone, even pregnant women.

Kimmer has her own definition of "real ketosis". Charles is talking about "ketoadaption" and claims that Zero Carbers are not in ketosis, despite the 80% fat/20% protein diet.

Both state their opinions as facts. Anybody questioning these facts is ridiculed by the diet guru, and the loyal followers that quickly chime in with their support.

"Studies" are referenced, but only the ones that support their opinion. When other studies are quoted, or when the simplistic interpretation of the referenced studies is questioned, the question is dismissed as not relevant or completely ignored.

There is a lot more, but I suggest you go and see for yourself.

Last, but not least, Jimmy Moore's support of these self-proclaimed diet gurus is very similar. He has now denounced Kimmer, but that was due to being forced by an outcry from the lowcarb community. He is still strongly supporting Charles, and most likely loves the increased blog and forum traffic the present debate is giving him.

Personally, I have a hard time to see that a diet on exclusively ground beef (hamburger) from Walmart has much nutritional similarity to the wild animals that the Mackenzie Eskimos ate 100 years ago (which is the study quoted over and over again by Charles for support of the Zero Carb diet). But this is the subject for another blog post.

UPDATE
The similarities between Kimkins and Zero Carb continue. Jimmy Moore just announced that he will no longer allow the Zero Carb people on his forum and Charles will open his own forum. I wonder if there will be a "lifetime" membership offered for a nominal fee.

Honest Kimkins Ad

2008-09-28T11:51:00.004-04:00

Heidi Diaz' counter suit claims "Interference with Economic Advantage". So how did she accomplish her economic advantage in the first place? By lying about her own weight loss for years and by fabricating success stories with fake pictures.

How would a true representation of the Kimkins Diet look? And would she have had any members at all if the front page on kimkins.con said something like this:

Hi, I'm the founder of this diet that I put together from using ideas from Atkins and Stillmans. I have lost 50 pounds the last year, following the diet on and off. I still have 150 pounds to goal.
I'm a diet expert as I have been dieting for 35 years. I lose weight quickly when on plan, but unfortunately I can not stick to it very long and regain weight even quicker than I lost it.

I know that the diet works for weight loss as I have seen many people during the years (on kimkins.con and lowcarb boards before then) losing several pounds quickly. Now, most are not strong enough to stay with the diet and quickly regain what they have lost. But that's not the diet's fault. They were just weak. Kimkins is not for sissies!

Sign up for my forum and you'll get some loosely formulated rules for my diet (that are also available on many free sites on the internet). You'll get access to a very friendly forum where no negativity is allowed. You'll get personal support from me where I tell you to do as I say and not as I do.

Don't you want to get skinny and sexy? Perhaps even a MILF? A little hair loss is a small price to pay. Nutritional short comings? A daily multivitamin provides 100% of RDA. Developing eating disorders? Every overweight person has an eating disorder, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten this big.

The most important is to get the weight off! At any price! $79.95 is a bargain (note, any ER costs and doctors' fees are additional).

Kimmer's Counter Suit

2008-09-26T19:32:00.004-04:00

Heidi Diaz is responding to the Class Action lawsuit against Kimkins by filing a counter suit against a number of plaintiffs, plus other persons that have taken part in the Kimkins drama.

The suit is available to read online at Riverside Court. What I find interesting is the Heidi claims that "the use of controversial advertising practices have been fully and completely addressed, terminated and/or corrected by Heidi Diaz."

So why do we still find fraudulent pictures on the internet? Sure, Heidi can correctly claim that she has no control over blogs or affiliate websites that she does not own. But Heidi has control over pictures that reside on HER own server and that are linked from her site. If she removes them from there, they also disappear from the other sites. Simple.

Here are some examples of what is still on kimkins.con (not copied to my blog but linked from kimkins.con):

Edited 09/13/2009

It seems that the affiliate pictures are finally gone. At least the links are no longer valid.

The origin of the stolen pictures can be found on HoneyBee's blog.

Kimkins Google Ads

2008-09-26T11:07:00.006-04:00

There has been a lot of Kimkins Google Ads the last couple of weeks. Now, I know practically nothing about the cost for Google AdWords but it seems that:

The advertiser pay per click, i.e. every time someone clicks on the ad, the account is charged.

The cost for a click varies. It starts at 1 cent, but can be much higher depending on how popular the AdWord is (the word in a google search that will make your ad show up). The actual cost is determined by bidding.

It looks as if Kimmer is just using "Kimkins" as an Adword and the estimated cost is around 75 cents per click. Estimated number of clicks is 7 - 8 per day. I have no idea if this is per ad or per account. Heidi presently has about 25 different ads showing up. Assuming it is per account, the cost adds up to $4 - 6 per day, or $120 - $180 per month.

The question is why Heidi bothers to spend money on these ads. Kimkins is continuing its demise. I don't see that anything can save this business by now. Surely anybody googling kimkins will see all the negative blogs that show up and not just blindly click on the google ad.

Now, if she used an AdWord like "turbo weight loss" or something similar, she wouldn't need to compete with the anti-kimkins blogs. But I'm sure the bidding on those generic terms make the cost per click very high.

While the AdWord used seems to be only "Kimkins" she is using other terms in the actual ad to catch new customers. For example: "Gastric Band Diet", "Insulin Resistant Diet", "Low Glycemic Index Diet", "Master Cleanse Low Carb", "Low Carb Diabetic Diet", "Postpartum Weight Loss", "Quick diet for new moms", "Gastric Band Alternative", "Fast Detox Weight Loss".

Who would have known that a starvation diet could have so many names?

She is also trying to capitalize on the weight loss "success" stories on Kimkins. Out of the 25 ads, 15 of them are using the name of one or another poster girl. Deb is most popular, but also Pat (or Pattie), Del (or Delaney) and Lynne are featured. We might soon see Jan that Medusa wrote about earlier today.

If it were me, I would be embarrassed to lend my name to Heidi. But it's clear why Heidi doesn't use herself for the ads. Who would sign up for a diet where the founder herself can not lose weight?

Ask Kimmer Digest

2008-09-20T18:36:00.011-04:00

The “Ask Kimmer” thread on LCF was started on April 18, 2006. Kimkins.con was registered on April 22. It’s interesting to read the Ask Kimmer thread now. Knowing that Kimmer never was the pretty young-looking, slim, woman in a white dress. Knowing that she had not maintained for years. Knowing that she was getting ready to leave and was using the thread for marketing of her new business; Kimkins.con.

In the thread, Kimmer personifies what every dieter wants to accomplish. Easy, fast, lasting weight loss. Looking beautiful. Little did we know then that all of it was a big lie.

If she had used her real picture for the avatar on LCF, I doubt there would have ever been a Kimkins.con.

Nobody would have believed her claims:

"If you check my Fitday, my calories were very low and I lost 160 pounds in 7 months."

"How 'suddenly'? Like 318 to 158 in only 7 months. I just say 'pass' and stay size 4."

"See me at 118 lbs and 70-90 carbs with no weight gain ... actual loss sometimes."

"The strongest motivator I know is fast weight loss. If I were losing 1-2 lbs a week I'd be ripping into an Entemann's box."

"I lost very quickly because I was determined. I knew how fast I could lose and that's what I wanted ... no cheats, no snacks."

"I lost quickly, I knew I would."

"I, too, am impatient with slow weight loss. I can't imagine eating anything that would have been worth waiting 2 months to go down 1 pant size."

"For me, the ability to lose 160 lbs in 7 months meant way more to me than pork rinds and cheese ever would but that's me."

"I find it very easy to keep my weight stable."

"If I were eating my maintenance amounts (1200-1400 calories, 70-90 carbs) during my weight loss phase, I would have lost very slowly. Very. But now, I can eat 90 carbs a day and not gain. Who knew, LOL?"

And of course, she shares her diet wisdom:

"I got used to SNATT, but then again I don't mind the feeling. I wanted to lose 200 lbs as quickly as possible and SNATT helped ketosis greatly!"

"The nauseous feeling subsides a bit over time, but for many of us it just hangs around. You might also get a headache, feel tired and/or light headed."

"You're doing it right or you wouldn't feel so lousy. The strong nausea dies down in 2'ish days after the conversion is complete, but there always seems to be a quasi nauseous feeling about eating."

"If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely water fast the first 100 lbs off."

"The body self regulates. Even with 0 calorie 0 nutrient intake, the body stabilizes it's sodium, potassium, etc. levels."

"Reminder to everybody as to whether epsom salts or other laxative is necessary? We want to keep things moooooving, so to speak."

"If you have regularity problems, buy a small carton of epsom salts (in the medicine aisle) and follow the directions. It tastes horrible, works great ... mix with diet soda to help a bit."

"Traditional advice is that laxatives are not for daily use because the digestive system will depend on them, but I've read new info (don't have a source) which says that's old science. The opinion was that it was more important to keep waste moving. We're talking the stated dose, not mass quantities or laxative abuse."

But the most interesting in the Ask Kimmer thread is to read between the lines. In the posts, people are reporting 2-3-4 lbs losses overnight. But look at where these people are NOW, two years later. Nobody reached goal. The ones that didn’t leave LCF (or that have returned) have started over. After having regained some or all that was lost on Kimkins. And this is what Kimmer calls a successful diet? Short term losses? Yo-yo dieting? Eating disorders with binges?

Kimkins Debate

2008-09-16T19:26:00.005-04:00

Do you remember when Heidi Diaz "came clean" after the Mike&Juliet show in November last year? The page is still there; just no link to it.

I wonder why. Could it be due to what she says there? For instance:

Heidi claims to have regained her weight after Kimkins appeared in Woman's World in June 2007. I think it's obvious that not even Heidi Diaz could gain from 118 lbs to whatever her weight was (350+) when the P.I. took her picture in August 2007. Not even rebounding after a starvation diet like Kimkins would cause a person to gain 200 pounds in less than 3 months.

She did say that she had lost 50+ pounds in the "last couple of months" and that may have been true. But it looks as if it stopped there. That she has lost no more since November last year, judging from the recent pictures on AmyB's blog.

Heidi also promised to be a model on the homepage and update her stats each week. That didn't last long. The updates stopped after a few months and it's obvious that she didn't "lose her weight all over again".

She also claimed: "Kimkins works. I've offered diet advice online for 10 years and was hugely successful." Works for whom? Who was "hugely successful"? Not Heidi Diaz, for sure.

Kimmer's Progress Pictures

2008-09-15T10:32:00.003-04:00

Why would anyone even consider following the Kimkins Diet after seeing these? The diet surely has not worked for Heidi Diaz.

The first picture is Kimmer's "before" picture used on LCF. The next 5 are from when Heidi still posted progress pictures on Kimkins.con. The last picture is from AmyB's blog.

The Infamous Kimkins

2008-09-06T10:47:00.004-04:00

Infamous
in·fa·mous [in-fuh-muhs] Dictionary.com

having an extremely bad reputation: an infamous city.
deserving of or causing an evil reputation; shamefully malign; detestable: an infamous deed.

Kimkins has certainly earned this label by now. Any of the synonyms would work too: abhorrent, arrant, atrocious, base, contemptible, corrupt, degenerate, despicable, detestable, dishonorable, disreputable, evil. Or, all of them.

So why does Heidi Diaz still hang on to kimkins.con? Even bad publicity is better than none? In this case, I doubt it. Just google kimkins and see what it brings up. Who in their right mind would consider handing over $79.95 to a forum owner that has no many negative things said about her? So many negative things said about the diet she promotes? That is facing a Class Action Lawsuit for fraud?

Why not abandon the tainted Kimkins name? The Ducks and their blogs are not going to go away as long as kimkins.con stay operational. The success following the Women's World article in June of 2007 can never be repeated. Kimkins.con is broken beyond repair.

The site is a failure. Just accept it and shut it down.

Kimkins Maintenance Diet

2008-09-01T20:36:00.000-04:00

There is no such thing. The founder has not yet put one together, and it may take a while before she needs one herself.

So we have to look at what the maintainers on Kimkins are doing. Not surprisingly, they are still doing Kimkins with low calories. Experimenting with a few added carbs and calories. Cutting back again to take off the pounds regained. Trial and error, and so far nobody has come up with a long term strategy.

One of the most recent success stories, Debv, is starting boot camp. The most popular Kimkins option! 30 minutes daily exercise required.

All Kimkins options have been modified to allow higher calories. So how does the new bootcamp look?

Daily Limits

Breakfast
2 eggs (cooked without fat) or 4 egg whites (1 cup egg substitute OK)
1/2 cup Level 2 veggies
4 oz sandwich ham or other lean protein
Unlimited non-calorie beverage

Lunch
4 oz lean protein
2 cups Level 1 veggies
1/2 cup Level 2 veggies
Unlimited non-calorie beverage

Dinner
4 oz lean protein
3 cups mixed greens
1 cup Level 2 veggies
Unlimited non-calorie beverage

Plugging this into Fitday, I come up with 541 cals (using egg whites) or 624 cals (eggs). And this is what a Kimkins dieter has to look forward to in maintenance?

And about Debv, who willingly has provided her success story and pictures for Kimkins promotion, I don't doubt that she lost some weight. But, I have a really hard time to believe that the pictures she offers as proof are real. To me, it looks as if the before picture could be her daughter.

Look at the age of the kids. And the clothes in the before picture. It doesn't look as if it were taken 25 years ago like the age difference suggests.

Mother?

Daughter?

Grandparents with grandchildren?

Daughter with grandchildren?

My suspicion seems confirmed about this old testimonial on kimkins.con that google found:
Deb V Madison, WI , Posted at Monday, 13 August 2007 12:21. I have to tell you this is fantastic! My mom and I are doing Kimkins together and she's lost 37 ...

Kimmer's 1 Year Progress

2008-08-27T11:30:00.007-04:00

These pictures show Heidi Diaz' progress after one year on the Kimkins Diet. The August 2007 picture was posted by Slamboard and the August 2008 picture by AmyB.

I think it's obvious that Heidi has lost weight. How much? Hard to tell and she doesn't give any updates about her own weight loss on her own diet site. 50 pounds perhaps? Down from 350 lbs to 300? 50 pounds in a year is about one pound per week. Huh?

What about the claim of "No faster diet, none"? What about promising 3 - 5 pounds per week? As compared to the 1 - 2 pounds' "gaggle" other diets provide?

What is it with the Kimkins Diet that makes it not work as promised for the founder? The fact that the diet is not suitable for anyone? That it's impossible to stick to? That any weight lost on it is really hard to keep off?

Any decent person would stop promoting something that obviously is not working for herself.

Kimmer's Diabetic Diet

2008-08-26T12:26:00.009-04:00

Is not Kimkins. At least, not for herself.

Kimkins has been promoted as perfect for diabetes, with catch phrases like:

"Kimkins is perfect for all diabetics!
Most diabetic members reduce their medication dose because Kimkins controls blood sugar levels so well. In fact, many type 2 members are able to stop their meds completely!"

"Is Kimkins good for diabetics? Kimkins is perfect for all diabetics!"

"Researchers have found Kimkins to be exceptionally effective for the people having mobility problems and diabetes." (Source)

And, today, the kimkins.con website still claims:

"Is Kimkins good for diabetics?
Kimkins is ideal for managing diabetes! As a low glycemic weight loss plan, Kimkins allows many members to reduce or eliminate their medications due to excellent blood sugar control."

So what does Kimmer, a.k.a. Heidi Diaz do when she herself is faced with diabetes? AmyB reports that Heidi tried to follow the Diabetes Educator's advice as recommended by her nurse. She claims that she gained 15 pounds in the 12 weeks she followed the diet. I wonder how good the adherence was. (Not that I believe anything this woman says. I think that any truth coming out of her mouth would be by pure accident).

A typical diabetics recommendation is to:

Limit sweets
Eat often
Be careful about when and how many carbohydrates you eat
Eat lots of whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables
Eating less fat
Limiting your use of alcohol

I can see Heidi managing 2) but the rest? I doubt it.

So what about:

"According to Kimmer, many members of her diet program who are Type II diabetics say that, after a few short weeks using her meal plan, they need to take less medication, or none at all. There even are some Type I diabetics who can lower their insulin intake — of course, with permission from their doctors.

That is why, if you are diabetic, or someone in your family, or someone else you know needs to control their blood sugar levels, then you would probably be doing them a favor if you let them know about the Kimkins diet.

An ounce of prevention, of course, is worth a pound of cure. So anyone who is having problems with carrying extra weight could possibly prevent getting Type 2 diabetes by losing that weight now. And the Kimkins diet seems to be working for many people."

So, the Kimkins Diet is just good for paying members and not for the founder? Do as I say and not as I do? Well, that is sort of obvious, considering that Heidi never lost weight on Kimkins and still weighs some 250-350 pounds. Why would anyone take this woman's advice?

Tired of Kimkins?

2008-08-09T16:05:00.002-04:00

Not tired from Kimkins, even though I understand that is common for anyone following the Kimkins starvation Diet. Tired of Kimkins and Kimmer.

Many people have followed the Kimkins Saga since the start late June 2007. Some have left and others have joined the anti-kimkins ducks along the way. Many are still here, but quieter than before. And some, like Yust Yucky, announce that they are fed up and are looking for other things to get engaged in. That have more rewarding results? Or, perhaps any results?

The entire anti-kk community seems to be in waiting mode. The Class Action Law Suit is continuing with more depositions, but it's a slow process. No new, juicy, information has surfaced lately and no new pictures. Is Kimmer finally losing weight? Nobody knows. Do we even care at this point? I don't. She is a proven liar and one more lie will make no difference to me.

No news about the absent admins either. Gary is long gone. Singingass rarely makes an appearance on Kimkins these days. Kimkins website is a ghost town with sockpuppets manning the ranks. Yawn.

But I'm still blogging. Why? Because Kimkins.con is still operating on the internet. And I plan on going on blogging as long as there is a risk that unsuspecting people googling for a diet will find Kimkins.con. At least the anti-kk blogs provide a second opinion. Perhaps we can prevent new victims.

Yes, Heidi Diaz supposedly has sanitized the diet. No 500 cals any more. No laxative abuse. But it is still a horrible diet, in my opinion. Low carb should not be low fat. A diet should not be used as a quick fix (and not so "quick" as you are supposed to follow Kimkins to goal). A diet should be a life style change long term. A restrictive diet like Kimkins promotes yo-yo dieting and eating disorders.

The Kimkins.con website is now supposedly "legal" but still has questionable weight loss photos, they just haven't been proven fake. There are "success" stories on there that look as if they have achieved weight loss. And why wouldn't they? Not eating, or eating very little, will cause you to lose weight. But what about maintaining a weight loss? I still have not seen anybody that has managed to maintain their goal weight after reaching it on Kimkins. And I doubt I ever will.

Instead of feeling despair at the legal machine moving so slowly, look at what has been accomplished during a year. A class action lawsuit is underway. Many, many promotional articles have been removed from the internet. The Russian pictures are gone. Heidi Diaz does no longer (openly) push 500 cals and laxatives. Very few people are still at Kimkins and I doubt she is getting any new members. Kimmer is gone from LCF and dieters there are encouraged to use safe weight loss methods.

Calling Kimkins Diet Members

2008-08-05T13:31:00.009-04:00

Please join the Class Action Lawsuit. You don't need to have been banned from Kimkins. It is enough to have paid for a membership before November 12, 2007.

Why should you join the lawsuit? It's not to help the anti-kimkins bloggers, the posters on LCF's "Fascination with Kimmer" thread. It is to help to shut kimkins.con down!

Many, many people signed up for Kimkins based on fraudulent information (Kimmer's fake pictures and her fake weight loss claims) presented in Women's World in June 2007. The vast majority of these have left kimkins.com.

Many couldn't stick to the diet and just saw the membership money as wasted on yet another fad diet attempt. Others left when the controversy started and tried to forget about it all, embarrassed that they bought in to the lies.

Many of the members just walked away and had no interest in joining the lawsuit. Let others deal with it. Hope that kimkins.con gets shut down without them doing anything.

But, please, think about other potential victims.

Read Kimkins Survivors to see what happened to trusting people following Heidi Diaz' diet advice. People were HURT by the diet. Physically and mentally.

Would you really want, 5 years from now, your daughter/granddaughter/niece/friend finding kimkin.con on the internet? Develop an eating disorder? Starve herself thin? Suffer health complications that may follow her for life?

If you haven't already joined the Class Action Lawsuit, please reconsider your decision for not doing so. There is strength in numbers.

You are eligible if:
You paid for a membership to Kimkins before Nov 12, 2007, and you either
i) have not received a refund (or refused it in case one was sent to you) OR
ii) are still a Kimkins member

Information on how to join is available on Kimkins Lawsuit.

Or, watch the video

You can also contact John Tiedt, the Class Action lawyer, directly:

www.tiedtlaw.com

jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com

951-549-9400

Kimkins in Diets in Review

2008-08-03T10:44:00.006-04:00

I came across this article, and while I read it back then, I found it interesting to refresh my memory. You might too.

Direct from Kimkins - Rebuttal
by Jimmy C

October 8, 2007
posted to Diet News and Diets in Review.

UPDATE:
Diets in review has received a rebuttal to our review from Jeannie Baitinger - Kimkins PR Director.

Dear Jim,

Thank you for giving Kimkins.com the opportunity to present our side of the story.

First please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jeannie Baitinger and on the website I am known as Tippy Toes. I am employed by Kimkins.com as PR Director and as management.

We know we are under attack from various sources. But many of these sources are coming from people who have only heard about our diets and have not actually tried them. The effect has been much like a snowball effect of people who genuinely mean well but are not actual members. Much is based on hear say and negative publicity.

Moreover, we offer no calorie limits on any plan. There are no 500 calorie per day plans. No plan is 100% fat free. We do allow the individual to use common sense when adding healthy fats and we term this as “just enough fat to make it work”. We do not promote starvation of any kind and we never will. We encourage members to stick within the plan guidelines and further, we encourage them to add extra protein and possibly extra salads if they are still hungry or not feeling well.

We do not encourage or promote laxative abuse. However, it is not at all uncommon for a low carb diet plan to cause constipation. When a member complains we have recommended gentle stimulants such as M.O.M. or 100% physillium husks. There is also a tea which is helpful in relieving symptoms. We will never recommend laxatives as part of weight loss plans. Never!

Additionally we do encourage our members to have their Doctor’s review the plans and monitor their progress. Many, many members report excellent lab reviews and Doctor’s blessings. On our website I have never seen anything but positive reviews. On other websites I read the negatives but without offered proof. What I do read are stories of hair loss. This seems common on a lot of diets. Even the Atkins diet can cause this. When I did Atkins it happened to me. Oddly, I never lost hair doing Kimkins though. But again, hair loss is easily corrected and people who have their Doctor’s monitoring progress can address the issue and get help. I would find it rather bizarre to lose huge chunks of my hair and still continue with any diet WITHOUT seeing my Doctor immediately. So I must question why there are no medical claims based on proof…

I am personally a Kimkins success story. I began my weight loss journey at 263 lbs. I am a female of 5′ 7″. I began losing weight with the Atkins diet (also quite con-traversal) and did well on it for about a year. I lost approximately 50 lbs on Atkins and then it stopped working. For the next 6 months I lost no further weight or inches. A dear friend told me about the Kimkins diet and I decided to give it a try. The weight came off just as promised! EXACTLY as promised! I made a personal choice to begin alternating Kimkins diet with Atkins. On Kimkins I could lose the weight and on Atkins breaks I could easily maintain it. Today my current weight is 152. Maintaining my weight has never been so easy thanks to a low carb lifestyle.

Our website is full of happy success stories much like mine. Many people have no trouble doing only Kimkins straight to goal. I have seen amazing losses–as much as 100lbs in 5 months. These big losses are quite common at Kimkins. Side effects appear minimal and as stated previously we do encourage everyone to have their Doctor’s monitor them every step of the way.

Our members are not uneducated people being mislead. We just completed a Teacher’s Challenge and the entire group lost an unbelievable amount of weight. The teacher’s group had planned to make a public donation to fund teachers but with all the negative publicity they have opted for private donations instead. It is not at all uncommon for Internet users to wish to remain private. That is why many choose a nickname rather than using a real name.

As far as the founder of Kimkins.com is concerned and with all due respect, most members really don’t care who she really is or is not. We believe the founder has every right to privacy and further we believe she is entitled to such. Her real name and weight is not an issue to people who are serious about weight loss and finally are able to make it happen. People buy a membership for their own weight loss and that is what they get. Weight loss. Our claim “there is no faster weight loss plan” is very accurate.

I will be more than happy to issue you a temporary site pass if you would like to come in and see what is really happening for yourself. Just let me know if you are interested in the real truth. It’s pretty amazing!

Sincerely,
Jeannie Baitinger, PR
Kimkins.con

Katey Oct 8th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
This is white-washing nonsense. I was a member of Kimkins. Members were told to eat their fill of lowfat protein. The ketosis kicks in very strong on that diet, and the appetite completely disappears.

Most Kimkins members, including admins and “star” losers provided their FitDay links. All of them were getting around 500 calories per day, sometimes less. I questioned this on the forums and was told that all the calories I needed would come from my excess body fat.

As far as members not really caring who Kimmer is….also nonsense. Plenty of members cared, and voiced their concerns on the forums. But you won’t see those posts, because they are immediately DELETED and the posters banned. (Yes, BANNED, after paying for a “lifetime” membership.)

Susan Oct 8th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Jeannie is terribly misleading. I sent my diet log personally to Kimmer/Heidi and was instructed to reduce my calories (running around 700 at the time) and my protein “If I wanted faster losses.”

When I was a member on KimKins, I complained that I was stalling due to starvation mode and was chastized that there was no such thing! All I had to do was lower my calories further!

Constipated? Take 1/2 the usual dose of Milk of Magnesia daily, that’ll keep the pipes working.

This coming from Heidi/Kimmer, an obese woman who enticed us with fake photos and her own fake FitDay diet weight loss log & journal. Makes me question everything now.

I CARE about who this Kimmer is, if she based the diet on years of lies and her own faked before and after photos, that diet plan lost all credibility. I am now banned from Kimins for having a different view of that diet. I discovered she faked most of the Success stories.

ANYONE having a different view of that diet or questions anything will have their posts removed and then eventually they too, will go *POOF*. So much for paying for a lifetime membership.

You will find NO dissenters as you read the Kimkins posts, they simply are not allowed to exist. You will however find posts from the new administrators that will say “Who cares who this Kimmers WAS…this diet works!”

Candace Oct 8th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
This article is pure rubbish. I was a member of Kimkins when it first started and I tried their original Boot Camp Diet. It was 500 calories per day at that time. It is only recently that they have recommended more calories, and a paltry 800 calories per day at that.

Kimkins is a diet based upon a big fat lie. There is no Kimmer who lost 198 lbs in 11 months. The woman behind the diet is an obese fraud. The diet has been grossly misrepresented and success stories proven to be fraudulent. This diet is unsafe and unhealthy. There is only one nugget of truth to this post.

Where Tippy says “On our website I have never seen anything but positive reviews.” Anyone who dares question the diet, the founder or posts any negative effects are quickly banned from the forum without a warning or a refund.

I would urge anyone considering Kimkins to do their research. There are healthy lowcarb plans out there that are safe and that work. Please consider Atkins or Southbeach.

unhappyexkimkin Oct 8th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
What utter rubbish Jeannie (Tiptytoes) is spewing. Up until a few weeks ago when the media began investigating Kimkins the slogan of the site and members was “SNATT” which stands for Slightlky Nauseous All The Time. It was encouraged and cheered on by admins, other members and the Kimmer herself.

I bought the lifetime membership based on Kimmer’s success story of losing over a hundred pounds and finding out she is a morbidly obese fraud and con artist with criminal convictions was not my idea of who to take nutritional advice from.

I lurked for months on the site and saw firsthand Kimmer and other admins advising members to cut calories, take laxatives daily and that if your bowels only moved once a week it was fine. They actually sold T-shirts with the SNATT logo. You were berated if you ate over 500 calories a day and the notion of starvation mode was laughed at.

I could go on but there is enough information out there on the lies and eating disorder type strategies on the Internet already. Kimkins has been sanitized and cleaned up to cover up the real plan that is advocated. It is not sound nor healthy and most importantly it is not safe.

I hope that once the various authorities who are undergoing investigations conclude the site will be shut down and proper criminal charges laid against all who perpetuated this dangerous fraud and I do hope desperate people like me who want to lose weight find other healthier plans to follow. I am paying with my health for my months trying to follow Kimkins as laid out. I pray no one else is as foolish as I was.

Really? Oct 8th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
>But many of these sources are coming from people who have only heard about our diets and have not actually tried them. As far as the founder of Kimkins.com is concerned and with all due respect, most members really don’t care who she really is or is not.

yes REALLY! Oct 9th, 2007 at 2:21 am
The members who Do care who the Kimmer really is, are instantly banned. We Have tried the diet and we Do have serious comlications from the diet.

Clumps of hair falling out due to the malnutrition, slow metabolism and rapid pulse, no energy and fainting. Impaired thyroid function. Yoppy even has that now.

Dr. Broda Barnes was the doctor who did most of the testing on hypothyroid individuals and metabolisms. It’s not JUST those with autoimmune hypothyroidism either (Hashimoto’s). Dr. B (and Dr. Atkins much later) found that when you lower your carbs less than 30net, AND your calories to less than 1200, that your T4 to T3 conversion is almost nonexistent and can trigger Hashimoto’s as well as tertiary hypothyroidism.

Subjects who ate well OVER 1600 to 1800 calories a day with 25net grams carbs did quite well. Subjects who ate well over 100 grams carbs and about 1400 cals a day did well too.

and now we have that idiot hick Tippy telling us to us our diet to 800 cals.

IdontThinkSo Oct 9th, 2007 at 7:42 am
This rebuttal is misleading, to say the least. When I joined I had no idea that the impressive before/after pictures and stories were fraudulent, the pictures taken from online Russian bride and groom sites. I had no idea that the inspiring after pictures of the site’s founder were also fake. I, like many, do care who Kimmer is. I based my decision to join on those stories, those pictures, and her claim of losing nearly 200 pounds and maintaining that loss for several years. I paid for her experience, support, and guidance following a plan that I was to find was not based on her success at all.
Members were told to lower already low calories. Members were told to take Milk of Magnesia at half dose, daily. Members were told that the calories they needed would be taken from their excess body weight/fat. “Tweaking” the plan to suit your needs was frowned upon. If you tweaked it, it wasn’t Kimkins. I read those posts during my time as a member of Kimkins. SNATT (semi-nauseous all the time) was applauded and available for purchase, printed on tee shirts.
I agree with one thing said in the rebuttal above. You will find many happy success stories but that is not due to a lack of dissatisfaction. Jeannie Baitinger says, “On our website I have never seen anything but positive reviews.” If this is true then I would guess that she has spent much of her time on the site with here eyes closed. Members who have questioned the validity of this diet, the founder, the advice given, or stated health concerns or health issues were deemed trouble makers and have had their posts deleted and were banned without warning. One needs only search the internet to find the truth.

Sherrie Oct 9th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Yes shes right, there are plenty of people whom haven’t tried the diet…

BECAUSE THEY KNEW IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS!!!

You don’t need to try the diet to make a judgment on it, you just need to be able to read.

500 calorie bootcamp with 30min daily cardio MINIMUM

800 max calorie protein shake plan where you can choose to use standard protein shakes, no mention of adding fat and Kimmer herself has recommended her members to do a 450 cal version for faster weight loss, calling it her fastest plan.

1000 calorie vegetarian plan.

To top that off Kimmer has given out very dangerous advice.

Plus her other two plans being so low fat particularly her lean meat and egg only plan often come to below 500 calories or close for a lot of members due to something they encourage called SNATT (semi nauseous all the time). Just ask their former PR Director, Christin, ask her how she lost her weight and how KIMMER encouraged her members to copy what Christin was doing!!! Ask Christin how healhy she has been feeling lately!

Apparently, they are now stating an 800 calorie minimum (publicly) but this is only because of an impending lawsuit, TV expose and various investigations. Now Kimmer encourages the members to email Kimmer at her gmail account for “Ask Kimmer” questions… SCARY!

Laura Dec 1st, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Isn’t it interesting that the one who posted the rebuttal has now jumped ship?

http://2big4mysize.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/has-tippy-toes-flipped/

http://2medusa.blogspot.com/2007/12/tippytoes-spills-beans.html

If you were a paid member of the Kimkins.com website and you would like to participate in the Class Action Lawsuit against Kimkins:

http://kimkinslawsuit.wordpress.com/

To see the latest information from the KTLA investigation:

http://tinyurl.com/2voac6
[link added by me goes to Insider Exclusive]

Say NO to Kimkins Jan 1st, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Please update your article to reflect that Jeannie Baitinger in NO LONGER the Kimkins PR Director.

You might want to contact her to see if she still feels the same way about her rebuttal. I have a feeling that she does not.

Kimmer Jan 1st, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Please be advised that Jeannie continues to follow and support the Kimkins Plan today.

She simply left Kimkins in order to help spread the word via her own Kimkins-based website. She has my blessing and full support for her Kimkins CTF Diet.

Jeannie is still a very strong Kimkins supporter, and she remains my right hand here at Kimkins. Kimkins would not be the success it is today without all the hard work and support that Jeannie has given me and continues to give me on a daily basis.

If your life has been benefitted by the Kimkins Diet, you owe a great debt to Jeannie and all her hard work.

I couldn’t have achieved all that I have achieved without the monumental contributions made by Jeannie.

She is a fine testament of the proof that the Kimkins Diet is working miracles for thousand of obese men and woman every day.

2BIG Jan 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
interesting post Kimmer. too bad Jeannie saw it and has sent a rebuttal of her own to your rebuttal of her leaving Kimkins.com

here it is for folk not realizing DIETSINREVIEW has moved the Kimmer commnet out as a page of its own

Jeannie Baitinger
Jan 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I am friggen stunned! I just don’t know what else to say. Cutting/reducing fats from Atkins does not make it Kimkins. I have done both and I know the difference.

First, I am in no way affiliated with Kimkins. In fact, I don’t even visit the site. Check the stats for yourselves. I will try to make this very clear. I left Kimkins to avoid being dragged into a lawsuit and a serious one at that. It is not my intent to bad mouth Heidi or her Kimkins plans. That is NOT saying I support her or any fraud she has done.

I am not following Kimkins diet. I am at goal. I did re-gain a tad over the holidays. I tried STILLMAN’S Quick Weight Loss and took it off. I do believe in freedom of plan choice and I will never bully or harass anyone for their plan of choice. As far as Kimkins plans, yes I did lose weight and a lot of it. No one wants to hear it but I will not lie about it. I have no reason to. I stalled on Atkins after about a 50lb loss. I tried Kimkins but learned I just couldn’t stay on it long. But I also saw weight loss for the first time in a very long time. So, I learned to cycle it back and forth–Kimkins to lose–Atkins to maintain. There are threads at LCF which show this though they are mostly overlooked. :Smiley A matter of convenience I am certain. Check the thread “Has Atkins Quit Working For You”. It’s all there. Another thread I posted a lot on was Support Unlimited. And for a while Banta Babes. Some say that was never Kimkins… But on a Kimkins cycle round it WAS.

Because I did lose a lot of weight using Kimkins I have not asked her to remove my success story. I know that is going to make a lot of people mad to read but that is how I feel. It is fair. I have not had contact with Heidi about my pics, my story or anything else. All ties are severed. We do not communicate by email, telephone or 3rd parties. And while I have been granted immunity from the lawsuit in exchange for cooperating I have not joined the lawsuit nor do I want my money refunded. I just want to be left in peace from all sides. This has been a nightmare.

A family member has started reading all the blogs and such about me and is now worried to death over it all. He didn’t need that at all. He has had one stroke previously and suffers from other health and stress problems. My daughter started reading it too and is very angry over the obvious lies. In fact, my entire family is worried sick for me. People who do not know me at all are repeating the lies. It is sickening of the joy some get from attempts to ruin a person’s life. I don’t understand it.

I had no idea when I left Kimkins that I would be starting a site. In fact, I looked into Amy’s site as a new home and was instantly banned thanks to LCF members who are determined I am not worthy of support, even though I have supported so many of them on my weight loss journey. This is what lead to Brian and Heather offering to build us our very own “home” and that is how Camp Carbaway was born. There was no master plot happening at Kimkins. We can all clearly see how people who follow her diets are treated by the other low carb communities. IF she should be forced to shut her doors due to the lawsuit her people are most assuredly welcome here. In fact, I don’t care if they want to be members of both. That is their right.

Further, I find it surprising that Heidi would want us to offer Kimkins plans here as she sent Brian an email with a hint she would sue anyone for copycatting her plans. And, after all, they do belong to her. I respect that. Because of that I find it hard to imagine that Heidi would write that at all… And I suspect she did not. What I do suspect is just another person claiming glory to once again put a dagger in the middle of my back. Seems my suffering is their joy.

UPDATE 2
After posting this, it was brought to my attention that Tippy had made a new comment with a disclaimer:

Jeannie baitinger
Aug 1st, 2008 at 1:57 pm

Just a note to update my view of the Kimkins diet. I have recently been made aware of serious health complications that may be caused from following Kimkins diet. I urge anyone who is following this diet plan to discontinue the diet until you have the chance to speak with your Physician about the plan.

Please tell your Physician your calorie and carb counts and provide a detailed menu with portion sizes and exact amounts. Be sure the Physician knows how long you have been using the diet and how much weight you plan to lose. Many times we say low carb veggies and lean meats that sounds great but when broken down into the diets guidelines may prove to be dangerous.

I would no longer advise anyone to follow the diet at this time after seeing examples of health problems in members who’s Doctor’s feel is likely is a matter of complication from following Kimkins. There are many low carb diets available with great results as well that have not been linked to the complications that may be from Kimkins. Atkins, when done properly is one, Protein Power is yet another.

I recommend before starting any diet, it is written and approved by the founding Physician or health professional as well as your own. I no longer endorse Kimkins Diets.

Kimkins Fraud

2008-08-01T14:28:00.005-04:00

There are more depositions coming up in the next couple of weeks for the Kimkins lawsuit. While many people have complained about health problems after following Kimkins starvation diet, the present lawsuit is for fraud.

I'm a plaintiff in the lawsuit. So how was I defrauded by Heidi Diaz? The answer is straight forward and should be easy to prove:

1) I paid a membership fee based on Kimmer's claim that she had lost 160 pounds in 7 months and maintained the weight loss for more than 4 years. That is a lie, and consequently I did not get what I paid for which according to Kimmer was "Personal coaching from someone that lost 200 pounds - me!"

2) My membership was unjustly terminated without any refund. In a letter to the AG, Heidi Diaz claims that I was terminated due to "malicious, disparaging and false accusations within the forum area of the website" and then references a post on another forum that was made 4 weeks after I was banned.

To me, there is no question that Heidi Diaz committed fraud. Now we just wait for the court to decide the same thing. And, I'm looking forward to more pictures from Heidi in deposition, now for the third time.

Kimkins Third Deposition

2008-07-24T10:44:00.005-04:00

A third deposition will take place on or before August 17th. Will we get any updated pictures of Heidi Diaz? Has she lost any weight since finally starting on her own diet late last year? She hasn't given any weight loss updates for months now.

I don't know what Tiedt is going to ask her this time, but one of my questions would be:

Do you regret not re-reimbursing banned members right from the start? As pointed out earlier, this might not have cost you more than $30,000 or so and you could have kept your $2.4 million legally. There wouldn't have been grounds for a class action law suit.

I have more questions, and may add those to this post later. For now, I just want to push the ghastly poo picture from the top of my blog.

What does Colonix have to do with Lowcarb?

2008-07-18T19:23:00.013-04:00

UPDATE

Lowcarbfriends have pulled the thread. Perhaps it followed a couple of complaints they received for a post where a woman talked about starting her 6 year old (!) on colon cleanse. The reason doesn't really matter. What is important is that the thread is no longer there to trick any unsuspecting, desperate, low carb dieters. A huge thanks to the LCF mods!

I have no idea. I know that Kimmer was a big proponent of cleansing and had a fasting/cleansing forum on Kimkins until the Ducks started to report what was going on there.

Kimmer was of the opinion that "toxic waste" had to get out as soon as possible, as is evident from the laxative abuse she pushed. You can see examples of this at Truth's blog.

Colon cleanse works on the same principle; taking fiber capsules and laxatives to get the toxic waste out. Even worse, people also believe that our intestines are full of parasites and "plaque" and the only way to get rid of it is by a three months' cleansing regimen. Colonix and similar cleansing products are sold by use of graphic pictures of the "worms" expelled, which in my uneducated opinion are just congealed mass from the fiber in the cleansing product.

If we all had all these parasites inside us, how come the medical community knows nothing about it? How come our doctors don't tell us that we have a problem and suggest a cure for it? How come the pharmaceutical companies don't develop medicines that will address the issue? Probably because it doesn't exist.

But then again, what does this have to do with lowcarb? Yes, some people use Colonix to lose weight, which obviously is of interest on a lowcarb board. Yes, some lowcarbers complain about constipation, and colon cleanse will help with that also as it is a laxative. Any further connection escapes me.

So why is there an entire thread, with 69 pages and 1820 posts on Lowcarbfriends dedicated to Colonix? The particular thread any one tried colonix exhibits all the typical signs of being populated by a large number of sock puppets. With the agenda of selling Colonix.

What does a colon cleansing thread do on a lowcarb board? Why would anyone set up a new user account on a weight loss forum to discuss colon cleansing? Why would several? All at one time?

There are more than a dozen people who have posted one time and one time only and it was on that thread and it was usually positive. There are quite a few people who have posted on that thread and that thread only. Most of the newbies of late post only there.

It does not make any sense to me.

It also upsets me as I (and many others) buy products based on reviews on our home board, LCF. Are we being misled by hired sockpuppets?

Like they talk about in this article: I'm Evil.

And for your amusement, see how this blogger exposed "Dr." Suzanne Gudakunst.

Suzanne's marketing approach reminds me a lot about Kimkins:

Scare tactics; Suzanne with parasites and Kimmer with dangers of staying obese.
A pretty woman on the page. Suzanne may be Suzanne but Kimmer was a Russian bride.
A very generous affiliate program, making internet marketeers jumping on the chance of making a buck.
The promise to lose weight.

Credits for links, ideas, material and discussions go to my fellow posters on fascinated.

Edited to add:
If you are like me, you can not stand reading the "any one tried colonix" thread. A friend of mine has a stronger stomach than I, and she pointed out this gem to me: Post#1670. This seems to be a genuine review of colon cleansing products.

Real Kimkins Food Banners

2008-07-11T11:54:00.004-04:00

The banner on Kimkins website and banners used for the newsletters give the impression that you get to eat delicious food on the Kimkins Diet. However, these are stock photos based on real food and do not properly represent what is allowed on the Kimkins Diet.

These are the two latest banners used:

Look good, don't they? However, following the suggested menu for K/E (top) and bootcamp (bottom) the actual banners should look like this:

Kimorexia is sharing her view of Kimkins Deceptive Marketing on her blog.

Kimkins Still Pushing Very Low Calories

2008-07-05T17:00:00.004-04:00

After a lot of criticism for the 500 (or less) calories typically recommended for the Kimkins Diet, this limit was raised to 800 by the new admin Tippy Toes late last summer. Why was 800 chosen as the new limit? Probably because this is the cut off for when a diet is labeled by the medical profession as VLCD (very low calorie diet) versus just low calorie.

So does 800 calories make the diet safe? I think not. This is well below BMR (basal metabolic rate) and will push the body into starvation mode.

Further, the actual recommendations given on Kimkins don't even go up to 800 calories. Kimmer herself gave daily amounts that provide maximum 710 calories, or just 500 if following the low end of her recommendations.

The other day, a newbie to the Kimkins forum asked for advice about what to eat, and this answer was provided by a long timer:

BF: 2 eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon
L: 4-6 oz shredded chicken, 1 cup lettuce, calorie free salad dressing
snack: string cheese or SF jello
D: 4-6 oz tilapia, 1 cup salad

Make sure to have 800 calories minimum.

Adding this up in Fitday I get 432 - 639 calories, depending on if I use the lower or the higher amounts. Just saying 800 calories minimum will not make it so. What is supposed to be added to reach the calorie minimum? Nobody knows.

It seems that the plan behind the plan at Kimkins is still alive and well.

Singinglass REALLY twisting the truth

2008-07-02T10:42:00.003-04:00

Yust Yucky sent a very polite email to three theaters in Oregon, inquiring whether Singingass was scheduled to perform in one of their upcoming productions:

"Hi! I just read that [SL], the opera singer from [city, state], will be appearing in one of the upcoming stage productions there at [name of theatre]! Can you please tell me in what role she has been cast, and if any tickets are still available? Thank you!"

Somehow, Singingass interprets this as threatening and says:

"I am glad to know my life is so fascinating, but there is absolutely no reason for my personal life and activities to factor into anything relating to Kimmer/kimkins. No reason at all....emailing directors from my area and making inquiries about me, what I am doing etc....is low, wrong, and straight out harassment. Yes, I know, have the name, email address, state etc... ( Thanks Mimi/ Yust yucky)...because this stuff was forwarded to me by those who were confused to receive random out-of-state inquries.

Whatever you all have against me, the diet etc...it is still wrong and harmful on a personal level that should not happen. Imagine someone calling your bosses and other important connections. It should not be done. Please refrain from this activity and involving people who have nothing to do with any of this."

Low, wrong, and straight out harassment? To have an apparent fan asking about you?

Out-of-state? What is so threatening about that? People travel on vacation all the time, especially in the summer. You are not allowed to buy a ticket if you live out-of-state?

Calling your bosses and other important connections? Who called? Not Yucky.

And when it comes to involving Singingass as a person with regards to the Kimkins Diet:

..there is absolutely no reason for my personal life and activities to factor into anything relating to Kimmer/kimkins? Then you shouldn't allow your person to promote a dangerous diet. Your picture is featured as a success story. You went on National Television, twice, to defend the diet. It is personal.

Whatever you all have against me, the diet etc...it is still wrong and harmful on a personal level that should not happen? Yes, the diet has everything to do with us "being against you". When you stop supporting the Kimkins Diet as a person, you might see that our interest in you as a person will quickly subside.

Ex-kimkins dieters (and present dieters for that matter) have been physically and mentally hurt. On a personal level.

No Vegas for Kimkins, Baby!

2008-07-02T08:30:00.004-04:00

Less than three weeks before the Kimkins "Meet and Greet" is supposed to take place in Las Vegas, Kimmer cancels the trip.

It is still announced on the Kimkins.con website:

Kimkins is going to Las Vegas! Ever want to meet your Kimkins pals face to face? Well, here's your chance!

We're planning a casual get together this summer for July 18-20. The itinerary is being worked up now with several Meet & Greet opportunities. No matter when you arrive you'll have a chance to meet your Kimkins buddies! Everyone will make their own airfare and hotel arrangements.

None of us had expected Kimmer to actually show up there, but we did think she would have some more inventive excuse than what she came up with: Gas prices.

Gas prices? Here is a con that has made millions off her members and she can not afford to drive from Corona, CA to Las Vegas? The round trip is about 500 miles. With a fuel efficient car (and she has one, paid for in cash by her members' fees) the gas cost might be, what, $85 or so? Almost covered by one membership fee.

Three people made reservations early on. I hope they truly enjoy their trip, even more so because Heidi Diaz is not there.

Kimkins during Pregnancy

2008-06-28T13:42:00.004-04:00

This was posted on Kimkins on June 20th:

Pregnant
Has anyone ever done kimkins while pregnant? This is my third child and I really don't want to gain weight I am already heavy and I would actually like to lose a little weight. Please let me know....

Up to today (June 28) no Admin has bothered to give an answer.

Kimmer has posted on other places on the board. Singingass has posted on other places on the board. Gary is missing.

Kimkins is a starvation diet and should not be used by anybody. But an unborn child? I am speechless.

From Women's Health:

Make sure not to restrict your diet during pregnancy either. If you do, your unborn baby might not get the right amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Low-calorie diets can break down a pregnant woman's stored fat. This can lead to the production of substances called ketones. Ketones can be found in the mother's blood and urine and are a sign of starvation. Constant production of ketones can result in a mentally retarded child.

You might also want to see what Medusa has to say about it. And while you are at her site, look at some of her anorexia posts. Would you do this to an unborn child?

Kimkins Exposed Revived

2008-06-24T17:59:00.006-04:00

Kimkins Exposed was the first anti-Kimkins blog that surfaced almost a year ago, in mid-July 2007. It was THE place to go for the latest news in the Kimkins Saga and many of us read in awe on a daily basis.

The blog started out as "duckyopinines" and the still unknown blogger (or group of bloggers) was soon known as Ducky.

Eventually other anti-Kimkins blogs followed and for some unexplained reason, Kimkins Exposed stopped updating the blog after the Russian red dress photo was found. The last post was Introducing Kimmer on October 6, 2007.

The blog remained dormant but was still a great source for information. Ducky remained in hiding with just a couple of comments on blogs in March 2008. Not very pleasant comments either. Not the Ducky we loved and thought we knew.

Then suddenly the blog was deleted. With all its posts. Gone.

Thanks to a lot of hours and hard work by BamaGal, Kimkins Exposed has been revived! She has painfully, and with a lot of patience, rescued cached copies of not only the majority of the posts, but also the comments.

The other prominent anti-kimkins blog that disappeared just prior to Kimkins Exposed, Kimkins Dangers, has also experienced a re-birth. Again thanks to BamaGal, here with the help of WunnatheDux.

While the Kimkins Dangers blog was eventually handed over to BamaGal, the posts were all gone and needed to be retrieved one by one from cached copies.

However, thanks to it being the same blog, with the same address, links stay intact.

This is not the case for Kimkins Exposed. The new address is:

http://kimkinsexposed2.wordpress.com/

Please update your blogroll to direct to the revived copy of Kimkins Exposed.

I hope many of the bloggers also take the time to search their blogs and update links to Kimkins Exposed as the old ones no longer lead anywhere.

And as a final note, I'd like to ask any anti-Kimkins blogger that no longer wants to continue blogging to do one of two things:
1) Keep the blog dormant, but do not delete it.
2) Hand it over to the anti-kk community. Contact one of the active bloggers and we will find someone to take ownership of it.

As BamaGal is saying on Kimkins Exposed Revived:

WE AIN'T DONE YET!

Kimmer Exaggerating Kimkins Weight Loss

2008-06-23T20:15:00.007-04:00

Kimmer, a.k.a. Heidi Diaz recently stated:

"This is what I did wrong:
1) I used model photos to show Kimkins possibilities
2) I exaggerated my personal weight loss

That’s it. Hand to God, that’s it."

Dictionary (answers.com):

Exaggerate
v.tr.

To represent as greater than is actually the case; overstate: exaggerate the size of the enemy force; exaggerated his own role in the episode.
To enlarge or increase to an abnormal degree: thick lenses that exaggerated the size of her eyes.

v.intr.

To make overstatements.

How can you "exaggerate" something that is non-existent in the first place? Kimmer went from this:

to this:

There never was any weight loss, so how can she "exaggerate" a weight loss? Fabricate seems to be a more fitting word.

Kimmer successfully fabricated a weight loss story that she stuck to for 6 years and posted fake photos to support her claim of being a slender 118 lbs young-looking woman.

"I've been at goal for nearly 6 years and my old 318-pound life seems like eons ago!"

And what about the first thing that she did wrong? Using model photos to show Kimkins possibilities? If the diet was as successful as she claims, where are all the real pictures from the 6 years she was promoting it? She always talked about receiving so many emails from people that thanked her for their weight loss. Were they all camera shy, like Kimmer herself?

"Hello, I'm Kimmer! I've studied weight loss plans for a lifetime, noting what worked. What didn't. And, most importantly, why. Not only from personal experience, but from the feedback of hundreds of unhappy, overweight folks."

I do think she knows what doesn't work. But not what does work. At least not for herself.

Kimmer Shows Her True Colors to Jimmy Moore

2008-06-19T14:01:00.011-04:00

Readers of Jimmy Moore's low carb blog Livin' La Vida Low Carb are familiar with Jimmy's infertility issues that have prevented him and his wife Christine from becoming parents.

Jimmy has shared details about their struggles on his blog and podcast:

2008/05
2007/12
2007/12
2007/12
2007/11
2007/11
2007/10
2007/10

Personally, I had the children I wanted, at the time I wanted them, so I can only imagine how painful it is for Jimmy and his wife to go through all this to try to have the family they want.

Most people can sympathize. Heidi Diaz, Kimmer of Kimkins, is not one of them. Instead, she sees it as an opportunity to inflict some more pain for Jimmy. As if he hasn't suffered enough from his previous association with Heidi and the recent (possibly related) hacking of his forum and PayPal account.

Jimmy received this email from Kimmer today:

"---- Kimmer (webmaster@kimkins.com) wrote:
Hi Jimmy, I just heard the fantstic news that you & Christine were blessed with a son! There is nothing more precious than a new baby and he surely has the very best parents. My very best to you & Christine at this special time.

Congratulations! Kimmer"

When Jimmy sent her a reply that she was mistaken, Kimmer responded with:

---- Kimmer (webmaster@kimkins.com) wrote:
Jimmy, what? I received an email this morning from the Low Carb Show. It said you & your wife had a baby? I offering sincere congratulations??? I don't read your blog so I don't know any history.

Confused. Obviously I offended you and I'm sorry. Maybe the Low Carb Show is talking about someone else??? Jimmy, I'm very sorry. I thought this was a happy time.

I meant well. I apologize.

And a little later:

---- Kimmer (webmaster@kimkins.com) wrote:
Jimmy, I *didn't* know it was a different show. I think "Low Carb" + podcast and I automatically think "Jimmy Moore". I receive hundreds of emails a day, as I'm sure you do. I skim quickly and delete or reply. I saw what I thought was good news and dashed off a congratulatory note.

My sons are 14 years apart and not by choice. I had several reconstructive surgeries & fertility treatments to conceive my last child. I also suffered a 16th week miscarriage 3 months before he was finally conceived. I would never make light of someone else in the same circumstance.

It was an honest mistake and I've apologized. There's nothing more I can do.

Kimmer has always stressed how computer illiterate she is, but she has never before claimed to have limited reading ability or bad memory. And if she hit "reply" to the email she received, why did it go to Jimmy?

Surely Kimmer is well aware of Jimmy's infertility problems and Kimmer also knows that Jimmy's podcast is called "The Living' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore". After all, she starred in it herself not too long ago.

This was when Kimmer, or Heidi Diaz, claimed to be 118 lbs and that she had maintained this weight for over 6 years. Recorded in July 2007, it was just a month before the truth was revealed in a set of pictures of a 350 pounds Heidi.

The question is why she is doing this. It has no bearing on the lawsuit. Intimidation? Why? Jimmy has not written much about Heidi Diaz lately. To me, it seems that if she is leaving him alone, he is pretty much ignoring her and Kimkins.

Personally, I think Heidi Diaz is just plain evil and she doesn't need a reason to hurt people. She does it just because she can. She is a sorry excuse of a human being.

Heidi Diaz, a.k.a. Kimmer, in deposition.

[Note. The Low Carb Show Kimmer refers to is by another podcaster, Marc Sage.]

The Kimkins Diet Does Not Work

2008-06-15T06:45:00.004-04:00

At least not for the founder, Kimmer or Heidi Diaz.

After having been exposed as obese instead of the svelte 118 lbs she has claimed for 6 plus years, Heidi Diaz committed to losing weight, starting in November last year. She was updating her weight loss stats (even though those might have been purely fictional) and putting up more or less photoshopped "progress" pictures of herself.

All that stopped a few months ago. No new weight loss announced. No new pictures posted. Despite the "2008 pinky swear" challenge she is participating in where everybody except Kimmer report their weight. Despite having promised "good numbers" to be announced early May.

Nobody at Kimkins questions Heidi's lack of weight loss reports. The few loyal oldtimers know better as they don't want to get banned from the site. And the paid sockpuppets don't care.

It is likely that the Kimkins Diet has failed Kimmer, again. It is likely that she is back at the weight of last summer (350+ lbs?) when the P.I. Robert Charlton took this picture posted on Slamboards:

Kimkins Legal Troubles

2008-06-12T08:11:00.005-04:00

Metabolife's former CEO sentenced to 6 months

Ellis pleaded guilty to misleading FDA
By Mike Freeman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 10, 2008

The former chief executive of dietary supplement maker Metabolife International was sentenced to six months in federal prison yesterday for lying to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding an ephedra-based weight-loss product.

Michael J. Ellis, 55, pleaded guilty in November to one count of making false statements to the FDA in 1999 about Metabolife 356. In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. ordered Ellis to pay a $20,000 fine.

According to prosecutors, Ellis and the company sent letters to the federal agency saying they had “never received a notice from a consumer that any serious adverse health event has occurred because of the ingestion of Metabolife 356.”

Metabolife's own documents showed that it had received many reports from consumers of seizures, heart attacks, strokes, loss of consciousness and other serious illnesses, said the U.S. Attorney's Office.

At the time Metabolife was saying it had a “claims-free history,” the FDA was considering tighter regulations on products containing ephedra. Metabolife was one of the largest dietary supplement companies in the United States, largely based on sales of Metabolife 356.

In 2002, the company turned over reports of 14,000 ephedra-related events that the company had previously not disclosed to the FDA. The FDA eventually banned ephedra, and in 2004, Ellis and Metabolife were indicted on several counts of making false statements.

Metabolife filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in July 2005 in the wake of hundreds of civil lawsuits.
Ellis' lawyer, Charles La Bella, said Ellis is no longer working in the dietary supplement industry.

Ellis chose to plead guilty to close this chapter in his life and move on, La Bella said, because the lawsuits and bankruptcy cases are no longer pending.

“That's why it was important that he get this behind him,” La Bella said. “He's happy this is over and he can get on with the rest of his life.”

The Class Action Lawsuit against Kimkins is for fraud and has nothing to do with adverse health events.

However, legal actions by the FDA might follow. While Kimkins does not sell any supplements, promoting dangerous diet practices might not be all that legal either. Dieters following Kimkins and the advice given by Kimmer (Heidi Diaz) reportedly have suffered hair loss, heart palpitations, dizziness, thrashed thyroid, etc. Not to mention the documented promotion of laxative abuse.

Tippy Toes, a former Admin, has admitted to seeing reports of adverse health events. She didn't believe them, but she did see them. I am sure Heidi Diaz did too. She better not lie to the FDA about it.

Tippy Toes about Kimkins

2008-06-08T16:21:00.005-04:00

The previous PR director of Kimkins left the company in December 2007 and started her own diet forum, Camp Carbaway. While the forum initially may have been intended as a business, it is now just another free private bulletin board that only requires invitation.

Tippy has not officially denounced the Kimkins Diet as being unsound. When she first left Kimkins, she supposedly still believed in the diet, with the only change that it should be at least 800 calories (which is still a starvation level but just misses the label VLCD, Very Low Calorie Diet).

Her forum caters primarily to ex-kimkins dieters and Tippy has not made any effort to strongly discourage the Kimkins diet. The closest she came was the other day when she responded to a hard core KK promoter in the Camp, but it's still not saying NOT to do Kimkins.

"Hi XXXX. I can understand your questions, believe me. I too was a KK supporter--so much so I am a former PR Director for the website. There was a time I thought KK was the magic bullet as I could no longer lose weight and was not yet to the half way point on my journey. Now I see other options that could have helped and I am trying to present them all here for KKers. Always more than one road to a destination.

I too showed the original KK plan to my own Doctor. She didn't blink an eye but did write me a list of supplements to buy as I continued KK. The supplements were from vitaminshopp.com and were their brand vitamin C, 1000mg 3x a day, one flax, one country life brand vitamin and 2 country life brand minerals. I believe strongly in these supplements and continue to take them to this day even though I will not use KK diets ever again. I also ate red meats--just leaner cuts.

While at KK as PR I did hear stories... And I really thought they were just stories. I heard of hair loss. What I didn't realize was that it was not just normal hair shedding...

(Tippy shares some details about members that I hope she had their permission to do. I will not repeat them here.)

And there is Christin, the first PR Director who made the cover of Women's World Mag with her amazing 100lb loss in 5 months. You bet she starved it off. I followed her old posts around KK and I was mad at her for teaching others to starve, drinking water to make the hunger go away, ect. I know NOW she was following the directions provided by her boss--Kimmer. Christin is hanging in there but she has been hospitalized for heart palpatations, lost more hair than many, her menstral cycles were messed up and here is the really bad part which has carried over with her--she cannot consume over 1200 calories a day without regaining. And this has been under medical supervision, with help from a Nutritionist even. Her weight management is a daily struggle and she is unsure how her health will hold up later. She has two small children to raise and I know she is scared to death of what time may bring. We are all hoping for the best for her, of course.

Now, about the plan... Yes it does lack nutrients we need and yes supplements can help with that. But I am not convinced they can provide all of the missing pieces. And my experience with KK was hitting a lot of miserable stalls. I would cycle to Atkins and just maintain for a while rather than continue on. It was too hard to not see results. However, I saw advice given to others at KK to keep going--try cutting this and that out (usually fats somewhere)... Now, if we start on the highest 800 calorie side (which I added to the plan when I was PR, BTW--calories were 500 a day prior to my arrival) and we begin to subtract as we progress and slow down we are simply going back to the old ways of KK--and most do. Maybe not you and I hope not. That is what is called the dangerous "plan behind the plan". There is a blogger, 2big4mysize (link added by me) who has written of the nutrients lacking. Her blog is worth reading and I have posted some of her info here.

Back in the day over at LCF Kimmer came on the scene with Kimkins. She claimed to be 118lbs and said she had maintained her 198lb weight loss for 5 years. She gave people her plan to try, which I know now was her "experiment". As folks would stall she would tell them to cut back lower and lower and she did promote daily laxitive use to "keep things going". She also advocated fasting for very long periods of time including her infamous diet coke fast which she claimed "If I had to do it all again I would lose all the weight doing a diet coke fast...". Clearly she was fishing for her next guinie pig to try it. I hope no one did! And some were using her plan under her direction and were under 500 calories a day in many cases. The head admin, Cheri, from LCF stepped in and told Kimmer that was not enough calories and to please direct them to eat more and she said no--the calories were fine.

Then the private investigator stuff came out and it was discovered that Kimmer was not 118lbs at all. In fact, in a recent depo given by her son, he says Kimmer has never lost weight--ever. You can find the PI pics of her at LCF and in many anti KK blogs.

My conculsion here is that this is a plan written by a liar and a scammer who didn't really care about anyone's health at all. She wanted to see her plan as a success is all--at any expense to others. Keep in mind after all, she was not following KK herself as she was telling everyone. For her it was all about conditioning desperate overweight women who would eventually pay her for her bad advice.

Now, here is some facts I have gathered. If a person does Atkins, the basic guidelines for induction are 60%fats, 30% protein and 10% carbs. The ongoing weight loss phase is a 50/30/20 %. Maintenance is 40/30/30. Run your figures in fitday and see where you really are to these figures. If you are doing the updated KK plan, you may not be so far off. And I am curious. So if you will post your % I will be interested in seeing them.

How many calories are you getting in a day? What % of fats, carbs and proteins do you average? These are figures your Doctor needs to see. Yes the diet looks pretty good on paper until you dig in deeper.

All that said, you may still stay here and continue to use your KK plan. We don't want you to feel you are the only one here following KK--many still do. My hopes is for everyone to stay safe. And I am not trying to lecture anyone as I have been there and done that too. I hope to find a balance that is healthier for everyone that works as well. Some say Atkins is too high in fats but looking at the % given to me by Atkins Center, not really after induction. If lowering most fats produces rapid weight loss at first, moderate and slow weight loss later, than what would happen if we just reduced fats by a little instead of so much? The menus would be much more enjoyable, we would learn a way to eat that we can keep forever and perhaps keep our health. I am working on this and doing an experiement with Atkins myself. See my journal if you get a chance."

Tippy, I am still waiting for you to officially declare the Kimkins Diet being nutritionally bankrupt and that you don't encourage anyone to follow it. And, that you are sorry you ever did.

Kimkins Fraud Continues

2008-06-06T19:58:00.003-04:00

So much for Heidi Diaz cleaning up her act. An old blog of hers was revived a few days ago, sporting not only pictures of Christin and Deni but also the photoshopped picture of Lindsay Lohan, suggesting that she endorses the Kimkins Diet.

Lindsay's photo is gone today, but this is how the blog looked yesterday:

Christin's and Deni's photos are still there, despite Heidi no longer having the right to use them.

Kimmer Admits WLS

2008-06-04T15:58:00.006-04:00

While it has been known for quite some time that Heidi Diaz had weight loss surgery, she has never said anything about it herself, as far as I know.

I was surprised to hear today that she openly referred to her WLS in a post on Kimkins:

"Particularly after weight loss surgery I was unhappy. It worked great at first since I followed Kimkins once I could add back solid food, but eventually old eating habits returned and weight crept back up."

The WLS could have taken place in 1993. Do you remember this post on curezone that was posted on the blogs last year?

Kimkins is sold as "Better than gastric bypass!" Kimkins didn't even work for Kimmer after WLS. As it has failed to work for her all other times she has tried it. Again and again.

When is Heidi Diaz going to realize that Kimkins is not a sustainable diet? Why keep on promoting something that she knows from her own experience does not work. It is not a matter of willpower. The diet is wrong.

Kimkins Sockpuppets

2008-06-01T11:14:00.006-04:00

I wrote a post a while back where I voiced my suspicion that many posters on Kimkins are in fact sockpuppets.

That suspicion was based on the unrealistic avatars they are using. Clearly, if you are not trying to lose weight, or the picture is not of you in the first place, you don't care that the proportions make you look heavier.

In addition to the avatars, there are also many posts by "newbies" and they all have in common that not only are they enthusiastic about the Kimkins diet, but they are also born cheerleaders from the get-go. They just don't sound like "real" people to me. I have spent 4 years on diet boards, and I just don't recognize this type of posts.

Some time back, someone found this ad on GetAFfreelancer:

Description: I'm trying to drum up some action at a weight loss/dieting forum that I am running.

Please only bid on this project if you are knowledgeable with weight/loss dieting because I don't want a lot of nonsensical posts!

1. Sign Up Under 5 Different Names

2. Average about 2 posts per day for each name.

3. The Different Names Should Be Talking To Each Other (yes you get to talk to yourself!)

4. Only Post On Topic. Weight/Loss/Exercise/Diet. (The Forum has different sections, make sure you are posting in the right section.)

5. If You See People Posting Who Are NOT YOU (I may hire more people to post and there may be other "real" posters as well.) Talk To Them Before Talking To Yourself.

6. Never Post Links.

7. Never Copy/Paste From Other Sites.

8. Each Post Should Be At Least One Sentence Long. And Each Day You Should Make At Least Two Long Posts (4 sentences or more.)

9. Make It Look Natural!

10. Make a total of 10 posts per day. At the end of the project each user name should have approximately (but not exactly) 60 posts each. For example one name may be 65 and another 55. You can make 5 posts in one day with one name and 3 on another and 2 on another. It's up to you. But you have to have 5 total names and a total of 300 posts between them. You have to use at least 3 different names per day. And do not go more than 3 days without using a name.

11. English only.

12. I recommend using the same password for all 5 names so you do not forget it. When you win this project I will send you the forum address and then you can sign up your 5 user names - Once you have done so - Please email me with the 5 user names so I can keep track of your work.

This is a 30 day project. So in total there will be 300 posts (10 x 30 = 300) ... But keep in mind when bidding that many of the posts will be short. You should not have to spend more than 15 to 20 minutes a day to complete this project.

If this works well and you do a good job - I will possibly hire you for another month of the same work.

This particular ad was not for Kimkins, but another unrelated diet board. But isn't it likely that Heidi Diaz has done the same? It's easy to put up an ad on craigslist or a Work-At-Home board. Not very expensive either.

While employing sockpuppets is surely unethical, I do not know if it's illegal. Not really important as Heidi Diaz has other more serious legal problems to worry about.

However, I feel sad for the REAL people at Kimkins that are interacting with sockpuppets. I would feel very betrayed if I found out that someone I had a long term relationship with on the internet was a "fictional character". Just as I feel betrayed by Heidi Diaz from her misrepresentation of herself as a successful dieter, even though I had little interaction with her myself.

Gary - Update

2008-06-01T09:52:00.002-04:00

I had found the picture of the Gary Fontaine a while ago but as I wasn't convinced it had anything to do with Kimkins' Admin Gary, I didn't want to post a picture of an innocent person.

It wasn't until I found the article about the Southbridge Gary possibly being a less than honest person (which are still nothing more than allegations as far as I know) that I decided that that Gary was already a public person, so, why not?

However, looking at people search, the Southbridge Gary does not fit with what Admin Gary has posted about himself on Kimkins as Gary E of Southbridge is 53 years old.

There is a Gary R in Willimantic, CT that fits the bill. 56 years old with a 91 year old father. Lived previously in FL, which has also been mentioned by Admin Gary.

Another candidate that was brought up on LCF, was a Gary R in Longmeadow, MA, but he is only 42 years old.

While the Gary R Fontaine in Willimantic fits what Admin Gary has said about himself, this is no "proof" that it actually is him. Anybody can find the information on people search (like I did) and adopt an identity for an online persona.

Kimkins Admin Gary Fontaine

2008-05-28T10:40:00.008-04:00

In November last year, I wrote a post where I speculated that the Kimkins admin Gary was a sockpuppet. At that time, I thought that Heidi and/or Brandon were posting as Gary. I have since been informed and convinced that a person "Gary" exists.

Gary doesn't display a lot of personality and I suspect he plays a "fictional character" and that not much he says on Kimkins is true. He has been a staunch Kimmer supporter since he first showed up on Kimkins and nothing about the controversy has changed that.

In my opinion, that means that Gary still qualifies as a sockpuppet.

Wikipedia:
A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception within an Internet community. In its earliest usage, a sockpuppet was a false identity through which a member of an Internet community speaks while pretending not to, like a puppeteer manipulating a hand puppet.

In current usage, the perception of the term has been extended beyond second identities of people who already post in a forum to include other uses of misleading online identities. For example, a NY Times article claims that "sock-puppeting" is defined as "the act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one’s self, allies or company."

The key difference between a sockpuppet and a regular pseudonym (sometimes termed an "alt") is the pretense that the puppet is a third party who is not affiliated with the puppeteer.

Gary showed up on the Kimkins scene in early June 2007. He immediately became a "diet guru" and cheerleader on the site. The avatar he posted does not look like the 56 year old he claimed to be, neither like someone that needs to lose 100 pounds (which he subsequently claimed to have done in 5 months without any problems along the way).

While Kimmer is desperate to post success stories on her website and in newsletters, there have never been any "after" pictures of Gary.

There is a Gary Fontaine in Southbridge, MA close to where Gary claims to live (CT). I don't know if this is the same Gary Fontaine but they share a lot of non-favorable characteristics. The MA Gary Fontaine is the person on the right in this picture:

This picture is from February 2006 when this Gary Fontaine was president of the Southbridge Lion's Club and likely also the Gary Fontaine who is a Lieutenant in the Southbridge Police Department.

Lt. Gary Fontaine was put on administrative leave in 2005 and a local reporter had plenty to say about him: Sheriff Glodis’s payroll amazing

Some highlights:

Lt. Fontaine acquired $148,000 in cash to buy a Sturbridge restaurant. No evidence of wrongdoing was found, although questions about where the money came from weren’t answered.
Lt. Fontaine’s cell phone number was found in a safe during a state police raid in 2000 on Sonny’s Place in Southbridge that turned up $18,000 in cash, credit slips from poker machine payouts and telephone numbers linked to a man who had been charged with operating an illegal gambling business.
Lt. Fontaine has said he saved the money but never put it in a bank. He said his phone number was in the safe at Sonny’s Place because he was friends with the owner.
In an unrelated matter in 2001, the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission pulled the liquor license for Lt. Fontaine’s pub, saying he continued to operate Tarragon Restaurant despite being told he had no valid license. He later lost the business after the ABCC refused to give him a license.
In February 2005, Lt. Fontaine was placed on paid leave by Town Manager Clayton R. Carlisle, who said only that the action was “pending an investigation into issues that have come to the town’s attention.” While on leave, Lt. Fontaine has been paid more than $72,000 to date for doing absolutely nothing.

Sounds like a nice guy? Just like Admin Gary? The Gary that wrote nasty PM's to Amy B, posted as CrispyBread on LCF and put up a blog where he claimed that prominent anti-Kimkins people were lesbians?

Admin Gary being on administrative leave would also explain why he has so much time to post on Kimkins. And while he still may receive pay as a police officer, extra money from Kimmer is surely welcome.

Success from doing Kimkins?

2008-05-23T23:33:00.005-04:00

Dee's success picture allegedly taken 4/18/2008 @ 239 lbs

Dee's picture taken in August? 2007 @ ??? lbs

Dee's picture taken in November 2007 @ 270 lbs

Dee's "before" picture from 11/2005 @ 350 lbs

So when did Dee start Kimkins? She has said herself that she started halfhearted in June 2007. In her first post she states:
Failed LAPBAND surgery in 2006, which put me $17,000 in debt. (I did lose 75 lbs and have kept off 60).

If this statement is true, she started Kimkins with a 60 lbs weight loss from 350 lbs, or at 290 lbs. This rings true looking at the liquid diet she did just before starting kimkins where she reported getting down to 285 lbs on April 17, 2007.

If Dee now weighs 239 pounds, her weight loss on Kimkins from June 2007 to May 2008 has been a total of 50 pounds (and not the 108 stated in the newsletter).

Weight Loss Success Story

2008-05-10T09:32:00.008-04:00

Dee, the latest Kimkins' sockpuppet has a blog post with the title "KIMKINS - the perspective of a success story".

So, is Dee a weight loss "success story"? She has lost 100 pounds in 11 months or so, starting at around 345 pounds in June 2007. Certainly an accomplishment, but does it constitute a weight loss "success story"? In my opinion, it's too early to tell. She is still following a diet that has proven to not be sustainable for many that have tried it. If Dee comes back in a year and reports that she has kept the 100 pounds off, I will consider it a "success story". Until then, the jury is still out.

Remember that Dee's "diet adviser" Kimmer said that she once lost 100 pounds in 6 months. Was that a "success story"? Judging from the picture below, I would say no.

Where is the "success" in losing weight if it's not going to stay off?

Dee seems to have the same opinion as Kimmer when it comes to claiming being an expert on weight loss. I fail to see how many years of unsuccessfully trying to lose weight, or failing to keep weight off make anyone an "expert".

This is what Dee posted on the BBB Kimkins' review:

I have more than 30 years of dieting experience, so I feel more than qualified. If you are interested here is my resume:
1) Weight Watchers....more times than I can count
2) System 7......twice
3) Diet Workshop.....more than 5 times
4) Weigh Down workshop....once
5) LAPBAND....once
6) Do it yourself'ers.....more than a dozen.
7) Hospital based Liquid Diet....twice

And now, Kimkins of course.

Kimmer Fails to do Kimkins

2008-05-05T21:48:00.006-04:00

Who would pay $79.95 for "expert" advice from a "Diet Guru" that can't even stay on her own diet? This is from a recent post on her member-only-$79.95-board:

"We went to dinner for my son's birthday and I wasn't 100% on plan. Oddly, I didn't cheat on purpose. I ordered something that I've always ordered (non Kimkins) and in chatting with people I didn't think twice about it. But the shocker was having a fruit punch drink which I never do (our friends ordered a round) and I sipped it without thinking. Fruit juice. Carb central ... and not good for diabetics. Haven't had pineapple juice in forever (and I love it) so live and learn and I'm planning a coping strategy for the next time out. Planning to cheat, I can understand ... but not thinking before ordering? What was that about?"

This is a "Diet Guru" that has been pushing her starvation diet for eight years on lowcarb boards on the internet. Sounding like she knew what she was talking about. Not accepting any cheats. Not accepting any weaknesses. Not accepting any excuses.

So now it's all acceptable because she can not do the diet? Asking for sympathy for cheats that she knows people can relate too? Birthday dinner. Not thinking. Not planning. Did she ever listen to herself?

What on earth does this woman provide that dieters can not find on free low carb boards? Where they can actually interact with real people and not sock puppets? Where they can get to know real friends that don't want anything from them? That don't lie to them and take their money?

This is Kimmer?

2008-05-02T00:00:00.003-04:00

Can anybody tell me the significance of this picture? Why is Kimmer using it as her avatar? Sure, it's no less realistic than the lady in the red dress was, but I'm still wondering why.

And what's up with her not blogging. The last post was on April 14th. Getting tired of no people reading? Weed pulling resulting in no links to her blog?

Magic Chicken Alive Another Year

2008-05-01T23:45:00.001-04:00

Domain Name: MAGICCHICKENDIET.COM
     Created on: 02-May-07
     Expires on: 02-May-09
     Last Updated on: 01-May-08

Success Rate from a VLCD

2008-04-26T21:53:00.007-04:00

The most recent Kimkins sockpuppet, Swalt (Sue), says that she wants to find out if there are any risks with following Kimkins long term. Clearly, she can not ask on Kimkins as there are no long term successful losers there. And asking would probably label her as a Negative Nancy and those are not allowed on Kimkins so she might end up being banned.

Kimmer has no experience in maintenance. She never had a weight loss to maintain.

Kimmer didn't learn maintenance from the people on LCF she answered question for during 8 years as they did not have experience with maintenance either. Read the stats on the posters on the Ask Kimmer thread. Most of them are at a higher weight now than when the question was asked 2 years ago.

Christin has maintained for a year, but with great effort and she is not doing Kimkins any longer. Deni gained weight on 1,200 cals.

Very low calorie diets (VLCD's) are defined as diets that range from 300 to 800 calories per day intake. Long term studies of the use of VLCD's have shown consistent results; patients on VLCD programs regain most or all of the weight lost in the months following the VLCD regime. In fact, one of the most remarkable features of VLCD's is the speed of weight regain following treatment (Garner & Wooley, 1991).

[Isn't that what Kimmer has said. She loses fast (at least used to, not so fast any more) and regains fast. Isn't that a typical yo-yo dieter?]

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (1994) published a policy paper on VLCD's in which it was strongly stated that VLCD's should only be prescribed and supervised by specially trained physicians. The College was clear in its position that VLCD's should only be used on morbidly obese patients (over 300 pounds) and that the prolonged use of VLCD's is dangerous and potentially lethal. Despite this, VLCD's are widely advertised using prominent actors or models who clearly give the impression that liquid diets are easy, successful and safe for any amount of desired weight loss.

VLCD should only be attemped when supervised by specially trained physicians (this is not your family doctor).
VLCD gives quick weigh loss and even quicker regain of lost weight.
Prolonged use of VLCD's is dangerous and potentially lethal.

Kimkins Yoga

2008-04-25T15:01:00.003-04:00

The Kimmer:
Re:My NSV (Non Scale Victory)! 3 Days ago
XXXXXX, so this is where the Non Scale Victories are hanging out!

I love NSV, because even when that darned scale doesn't cooperate, you know you're losing when rings fall off, shoes get too big ... or you can walk a flight of stairs without gasping for breath! My sister gave me a pair of velour yoga pants (me?) that were too snug. I left them folded in a drawer and figured "some day". Well, now is the day! Hoping to outgrow them soon!!!

New Kimkins Sock Puppets

2008-04-25T08:03:00.005-04:00

I believe there is a large number of sock puppets on Kimkins and that Kimmer, SingingLass, Gary and possibly other loyal minions are busy keeping them all "alive".

While the earlier sock puppets mainly acted as cheerleaders and motivators ("Keep up the good work!", "I lost 20 pounds in 10 days!") the new breed is aimed towards keeping people at Kimkins.con despite the controversy.

A number of newbies or returning dieters are posting things like:

"I know about the controversy. I don't care. This diet is the only thing that is working for me. I've tried other lowcarb boards but they don't accept me there."

[Paraphrasing here as I do not have access and rely on secondhand reports.]

They are trying to tell the few remaining kimkinites that the only place "safe" and "friendly" for them is kimkins.con.

That is not true. The many free boards have challenges where any kimkins member would be welcome, even if they stay with low fat and low calories.

Just join one of the LCF Stillmans challenges and skip the dairy. It's the same thing.

Or, the LCF "Meat and Egg" challenge. Those girls are doing "Kimmer's Experiment (K/E)" but just not using the Kimkins label for it.

Amy Eating Low is another place where it's "safe" to do Kimkins.

Why stay at Kimkins.con? Continue to support the fraud? Having to watch what you are saying not to be banned? Not knowing how many of your friends are "fictional characters"?

Doesn't it bother them that prominent, long-time members leave or get banned? That Kimmer herself doesn't show the "turbo weight loss" she promises? That there is a pending lawsuit?

Will they stay until Kimkins.con is inevitably shut down? Why? Why not leave now?

Kimkins Starvation Diet

2008-04-21T18:51:00.003-04:00

Remember Jimmy Moore's phone interview with Kimmer last summer? The part where she said "The purpose of Kimkins is for very quick weight loss. You can take a fiber hit for a few months to get to goal."

She was talking about a fiber "hit" but forgot to say anything about all the other "hits" that strike Kimkins dieters; hair loss, trashed thyroid, heart palpitations with possible permanent heart damage, muscle loss and bone loss.

Is it worth it? Is fast weight loss worth risking your health for? When there are safe alternatives? Like Atkins? No starvation necessary.

[Tippy Toes said this in a comment recently: "I have done many things to lose weight before. I was actually mad when they pulled Phen Fen from the market as I was almost at goal. Yes, I knew it was killing people but I also knew I would gladly pay the price to be thin at all costs."
I have to believe it was just a badly chosen expression, but it shows the desperation that drives people to try Kimkins.]

And when you have lost weight on Kimkins, what do you do then? To maintain? Or lose a few more pounds if you didn't make it all the way to goal? Continue to starve or see the scale go back up?

What's the point in losing weight if it's not going to stay off? And if your health is going to suffer in the process?

We seem to have a whole new diet community with ex-kimkins dieters that are trying to repair their metabolism. They are finding it very hard to maintain and even harder to lose.

Christin, the WW cover girl, has admitted struggling. Deni, also featured in WW, regained 20 pounds while eating 1200 cals per day. Tippy Toes doesn't really know what she is doing and is getting help from an Atkins expert, 2big4mysize. AmyB will be starting Atkins as well.

Is there any true Kimkins success story? I have yet to see one.

"The biggest misconception is that doing something in the short term will have long-term results"
[Elaine Magee, the "Recipe Doctor" for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic]

Kimkins - How It All Started

2008-04-21T09:30:00.001-04:00

Kimmer's fairy tale of her weight loss is well known on Low Carb Friends (LCF). Kimmer joined there sometime in 2000 and I believe she intended to lose weight on a lowcarb diet at the time. I also think she actually lost some weight.

But, what she later on used as her "before" picture is probably her "after" picture, showing her at the lowest weight she ever achieved.

What would her weight be in this photo? 220? If she started at 318 lbs, she would have lost about 100 pounds at that time.

Obviously, she wasn't "strong enough to stick with it" and started gaining back weight at this point. For some reason, she could not admit her failure at LCF and started to fake further weight loss. Perhaps people there had been impressed with her success and she got addicted to the admiration.

At some time between 2000 and 2002 (which is when the LCF public archive starts) she claimed to have reached her goal, 135 lbs or 125 lbs at that time. Later, she adjusted that to 118 lbs without really commenting on it. I think it happened when she allegedly was fasting for a longer period of time. It would have been strange if she didn't show any loss.

Personally, I never believed her claim of 118 lbs. I am 5'6", like she is, just a couple of years older, with small bones and I would be too skinny if I went below 120. With big bones, as she has always claimed to have, she would have to weigh at least 20 - 30 pounds more. She would look severely anorexic at 118.

Of course, now we know that she went from the 220 pounds to, what, 350? 380? It certainly is more than the 318 she still claims was her highest weight.

Supposedly she is NOW, finally, trying to lose weight. What took her so long? She was acting as a diet guru for 8 years and it never occurred to her to actually follow what she preached?

And is she really losing weight? Her most recent picture doesn't show a big difference.

It seems also that she is finding out that what she has been claiming all these years is not true. The majority of people can not follow the Kimkins starvation diet a longer period of time without cheats. The body's defense mechanism objects to the lack of nutrition and off-plan meals or binges result.

Would Kimmer have been kinder to the dieters on LCF that she chastised on a daily basis if she had known this then? I doubt it.

Kimmer, your birthday is coming up soon

2008-04-20T13:44:00.004-04:00

Remember when Kimmer started the "Kimmer back on track" challenge on Kimkins? She then said:

"Also, my birthday is May 10th and I will be 50 years old. It's my goal to reach goal by that date. What is my goal weight? I'll know it when I see it, but in the 130-150'ish range probably. I'm big boned and that will be good for me."

She presently weighs 256 pounds. That means that she needs to lose 106 - 126 pounds in 3 weeks. After having lost just 62 pounds in the previous 5 months.

Turbo weight loss? No faster diet, none? Apparently not for Kimmer herself. She must not want it bad enough.

Try Again, Article Gems

2008-04-19T14:14:00.006-04:00

UPDATE:
It was just brought to my attention that there are two Article Gems sites. The owner quoted below, article-gems.com, has in fact removed all Kimkins articles.

The three Kimkins articles we found reside on articlegems.com. They have not even responded to emails sent to them.

Sorry about the confusion.

In a comment to Kimkins Scam, the owner of Article Gems said:

"Did I not take the time (half a day) to investigate what you said, to ask for further information - search through 50,000 articles to find what you were talking about - none of which I’m obligated to do. Yet I did it because I try to run a quality directory and I care about fellow human beings."

This was in response of Article Gems first being pointed out as an article service that did not initially agree that Kimkins' articles violated the TOS. However, eventually the articles were removed and we updated our blog posts to reflect this.

But it seems that the "half a day" work was all in vain. The article site is still picking up weeds. As pointed out by an observant weed chasing duck to me this morning, there are at least three Kimkins articles on the site today:

Kimkins search

Instead of manually removing them after the automatic article generator program has picked them up, perhaps try to tweak the settings in the program so it doesn't pick up articles with a Kimkins tag?

New Anti-Kimkins Blog

2008-04-19T14:04:00.002-04:00

mariasols

No, I'm not moving. Just adding a 2nd blog. The new blog has all of my old posts, but from today on I will not intentionally duplicate my posts on the two blogs. They will both remain Anti-Kimkins blogs. We are not done yet.

2 More Weeks of Magic Chicken

2008-04-18T21:39:00.003-04:00

Domain Name: MAGICCHICKENDIET.COM
Created on: 02-May-07
Expires on: 02-May-08

The Magic Chicken Diet that was made as a clone of Kimkins (both the web site and the diet itself) might be gone in a couple of weeks if the domain is not renewed. We have already seen a number of former pro-Kimkins sites being put up for auction. Will this one be next?

I still can not understand what purpose this site is supposed to have. Bonnie can certainly not make any money from it.

There seem to be no paying members. She can not expect to get any paying members either as she now had disabled the registration process for her forum.

Bonnie herself hasn't been on the site for more than two weeks. Her last visit was when the ducks flocked in via the open access directly into the forum. Bonnie was upset with the "freeloaders" and banned a few of them. However, she couldn't even do this right. She banned their IP but not the User. The link is still open unless you try to access it from a banned IP.

There was an attempt in early January to add another success story, and pictures were taken as is evident from Bonnie's MySpace album. But the pictures never made it up on the website. They don't seem to be able to do it themselves and apparently are not paying anybody to handle the site for them. Even existing pictures of Bonnie are now gone from the site.

Was this venture just done on a whim by a husband that was proud that his wife had lost weight and wanted to show her off to the world? And then none of them had the interest or the energy to make it into a real business?

If so, my guess it that the domain will not be renewed. In my opinion, that is a good thing. As real as Bonnie's weight loss success seems to be, we don't need another starvation diet like Kimkins sold on the internet.

A Gem from Article-Gems

2008-04-18T12:40:00.005-04:00

UPDATE:
Article Gems decided to listen to us and has removed the articles!

We have been all over the internet to pull kimkins weeds. One place kimkins articles were found was Article-Gems. They did not respond too well to emails sent by "angry weigh loss people":

Running an article directory - like article-gems is not always easy. Apart from the hundreds of articles each day to approve you occasionally are targeted by spammers - or in the latest case an email campaign from angry weight loss people (must be missing the food). Seriously though we received a number of emails demanding we removed articles on the Kimkins diet because the diet was the subject of litigation.

We make it quite clear in our terms of service will take no responsibility for the content of articles on article-gems. We chose to remove two articles - the first one for failing to comply with our terms of service (it had a link in the main article body) and the second one, because it had an untruth that was publically admitted to be untrue and therefore failed to comply with the spirit of our TOS.

However the over riding principle at article-gems.com is FREEDOM OF SPEECH. If your article complies with our terms of service IT WILL REMAIN - no matter how many angry dieters send us emails.

I have not emailed this site. But now I will.