Thinking about trying the Kimkins diet?

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

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!

NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION

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 Faux Dieting

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 Email Lists

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.

Kimkins makes the Local News

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

Calling Kimkins Diet Members

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

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

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.

The Kimkins Diet Does Not Work

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 Admin Gary Fontaine

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.

This is Kimmer?

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?

Kimkins - How It All Started

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.

Kimkins Facing Criminal Charges Next?

The Sam Redman character recently visited LCF to lecture us on why the Class Action Lawsuit against Kimmer is without merit. Among a lot of other verbiage, he said in a post:

"There must have been an intent to deceive. But, it could be well argued that she used the creative photos and testimonials... not to deceive, but to convey the truth.

If her "intent" (a very important distinction) was instead of misrepresenting the benefits of her program, but instead to provide prospective dieters with a true picture of the results that such a program can accomplish then there was no "intent to deceive.".

Here we are really talking about what was in Heidi's mind... did she believe that what she was offering was honestly a way that enabled a good weight loss program?

Her historical postings show that she really was a "believer" in what she was describing and because of that ingenuousness, then the legal concept of "scienter" comes in to play.

It's a legal distinction called "guilty knowledge," which often has to be proven convincingly before a judgement (or conviction) can be obtained. I think this is where Diaz is on very strong footing legally."

Sam Redman might be surprised. Anipomini provided a link today to a very similar case where criminal charges for fraud were filed:

Deputies raid Lakeland home

This case involved the sales of products rather than "lifetime memberships" but otherwise they are eerily similar.

Fascination with Kimkins

The Fascination with Kimmer thread on LCF started on 06/27/2007, almost 10 months ago. I thought it would be interesting to see some statistics:

• We are presently on thread #16
• There is a total of 57,076 posts
• 2,467,725 views; that is 2.5 million views
  

Is the interest waning? I don't think so. Not looking at thread #1 that was 4 times bigger than the normal 100 pages thread limit, every thread has 100,000 - 140,000 views and it's not going down. The latest completed thread, #15, has over 120,000 views.

Who would have thought that this woman could create so much interest for such a long time?

Counting Calories on Kimkins

Kimmer shares her diet wisdom in a recent blog post about how to properly measure food.

She cautions:
"Veggies should be loosely placed in the measuring cup, not packed. If we try hard enough, we could squish a whole package of frozen spinach into 1 cup. But then I'm only lying to ourselves. And the scale will reflect it."

1 pkg of frozen spinach (10 oz) is 82 calories and 4 net carbs (12 minus 8 fiber). The kimkins-approved 1/2 cup is 23 calories and 1 net carb. So 59 additional calories and 3 carbs from veggies will "reflect on the scale"?

She further teaches us how to measure lettuce:
"If you use an "ounce" option, the amount measured is by weight -- not volume. For example, 1 cup of lettuce is about 1 ounce by weight, but if you enter lettuce in Fitday as "1 ounce" it will not show calories, fat, carb and protein counts for 1 cup."

1 cup of lettuce has about 10 calories and 1.5 net carbs (according to USDA database). Why would it matter if I accidentally entered it as 1 oz (4 calories, 0.5 carbs)?

Did Heidi get fat eating lettuce?

Kimkins Yo-Yo Diet

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

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

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

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

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

• Many had restarted at a later date

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

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

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

Kimkins Scam on Headline News

INSIDER EXCLUSIVE

An abbreviated version is available on YouTube

Magicsmom did a fantastic job of representing the plaintiffs in the Class Action Lawsuit against Kimkins.

Magicsmom was an early member of Kimkins, did try the diet (which backfired on her like it does for many, many people) and has been banned for no reason. She was a very good representative for the complaints we have against Heidi Diaz.

Magicsmom is telling her story from the taping on Magicsmom's Musings

And as always, our wonderful Grilled Cheese with Pickles has provided a transcript for those that are unable to watch the video.

Deception on the Internet

Photo Illustation: Christopher Griffin

This story has nothing to do with Kimkins and Heidi Diaz, but I think there are parallels in showing how easy it is to create an online persona that has little to do with the real person behind it.

An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then the Truth Came Out.

Writ of Attachment

John Tiedt, the plaintiffs' lawyer in the Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit, reports that the Writ of Attachment still stands.

A writ of attachment is a court order to 'attach' or seize an asset. It is issued by a court to a law enforcement officer or sheriff. The writ of attachment is issued in order to satisfy a judgment issued by the court. A prejudgment writ of attachment may be used to freeze assets of a defendant while a legal action is pending. Common grounds for obtaining a prejudgment writ of attachment are that a defendant has committed fraud or that a defendant is prepared to hide assets from a court.