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 Yo-Yo Diet

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. ]

Success Rate from a VLCD

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.
  

Try Again, Article Gems

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?

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 in Las Vegas

Kimkins is planning a gathering in Las Vegas on July 18 - 20, 2008.

Do Kimkins members really believe that Kimmer intend to be there?

The court hearing for the Class Action Lawsuit is scheduled for July 15th! Is she planning to go to Vegas to drown her sorrows? I'm sure she will not have anything to celebrate.

And remember that this is a woman that is "shy" and suffers from agoraphobia. While we know that that isn't true, we do know what she said when discussing the previously planned Kimkins cruise:
"What a “relaxing” 5 days that would be. Staring, photos, whispering and full blog exposes when I return … not to mention sitting across the table from Jimmy. And don’t forget the stalkers. I never considered the cruise as a personal safety issue before."

Or, when the cruise organizer, Regandy, left Kimkins, remember how Typo Toes explained why a cruise wouldn't be a good idea:
"We have decided that a cruise would present a safety hazzard for Kimkins members as well as staff. However, rest assured we have some new gathering ideas in the works for next year. What we have in mind will be better and will geer more in tuned with Kimkins diets than an all you can eat fest cruise. I have cruised many times and it is not possible in my opinion to not gain some weight. So we are making positive changes in this area as well."

I don't see that the Vegas buffets would "geer more in tuned with Kimkins diets" than a cruise would, but of course, Tripsy is no longer at Kimkins. Her camping idea left to The Camp with Tippy herself. The cruise did take place, but not as a Kimkins event and no Kimkins admins were present.

Kimmer is chatting away on Kimkins as if she really intends to go to Las Vegas. She is discussing how to find good airfares and hotel rates. Just two days ago, she cautioned:

"Is everyone checking into flights & hotels? Booking ahead may get you a price bargain (or not risk the hotel you want being sold out during the popular summer Vegas season)."

This woman is truly evil. Kimmer is well aware that there most likely will not be a Kimkins in July 2008 and she has no intention of meeting up with any Kimkins members. You can not photoshop a real life appearance.

Why would she even suggest members spend money on buying airline tickets and paying for hotels? If you book a hotel package deal, you pay up front. Airline tickets are always paid in full at the time of booking. Kimmer must take pleasure in hurting people, physically and financially. I just hope that anybody that books this trip finds a way to enjoy themselves on their own. Don't expect Kimmer to be there. (Actually, if it were me, I would much prefer Kimmer not being there.)

Reinforcing the Cult

Kimkins is often compared to a cult, as the community within the pay site ($79.95 membership) has a lot of similarities to a cult. See for yourself:
Kimkins Cult Mentality
Kimkins Cult Mentality Revisited
Kimkins - A Cult

How can we recognize a cult?

A fair use of the cult label for a questionable organization would require the presence of most of the items on the following checklist.

Does the group:

• engage in deceptive recruitment practices?
• tend to target vulnerable individuals?
• offer unconditional affirmation and support initially, but soon make its continuance contingent on obedience?
• have a closed social system that makes a special effort to isolate acolytes from family, friends, etc.?
• use constant bombardment with pro-group and pro-leader messages and exclusion of other messages?
• have a rigid, authoritarian hierarchy?
• have a leader and ruling clique that are perceived to possess infallible insight, supernatural powers, etc.?
• have an eclectic, often muddled and internally contradictory, set of teachings - usually a magic-laden philosophy that claims to have infallible answers to those “big ticket” questions of existence?
• have a strict behavior code that governs all aspects of how one should think, feel, and act?
• instill fear of outsiders (the “bunker mentality”)? Does the group try to convince members they are powerless to act without the group’s support and that the world “out there” is uncaring and hostile?
  

A post yesterday by the Kimkins poster girl Singing Lass reinforces the image of a cult. The post was made in response to emails that concerned people had sent to a Kimkins dieter with a heart condition.

"I am so proud of you---you are such a beautiful and strong person, and are inspiring so many people because of it. I know right now is a difficult time to step outside the 'safety walls" of the inner site and proclaim yourself with the plan, and it just reflects all the more on your courage and spirit---and the desire to help others who feel hopeless or overwhelmed with their need for weight loss by sharing your personal story and journey.

As for the "others". What they do is the complete opposite---playground bully tactics of harassment and threats. It is obsessive and juvenile, and perhaps they should look to their own selves and lives for things to "fix" before trying to condem and force themselves and their opinions on others. We are adults, we should have the right to make our own choices, especially in regard to OUR own bodies ... they have no right to tell others what to do. Some of them lost weight on this plan, then after the fact joined the hate party, many never did the diet at all ..... and many more are stuck with weight issues, unable to stick to diets of their own, or reporting having gone to surgical means and having resulting infections and problems ..... while here you are, beautiful, losing, getting on your feet with your heart health etc ... You have every right to hold your head up and be proud for who you are and what you have accomplished.

I had my share of the bully tactics and harassment. I guess, I realized to give in, to step down like they wanted me to .... would have been condoning their tactics and would have made them the"winners". People who harass, threaten, say mean things/ make fun of people should not be given any satisfaction or justifcation for the tactics they employ. I think the real test is being strong, sticking to what you feel is right for you and what makes you feel good, and not letting obsessed people change that, or take it away from you. The real people who care about you are here ... the ones that have be-friended you without any motives, who show genuine concern and caring .... not people who pile up on you all of a sudden with threats etc ...

My advice still is the same regarding blocking their emails, just turn them off. Do not respond to them-----do not feed the animals. I know its a bit like a bad tv show that you hate, but cant bring yourself to change the channel just to see how much worse they will take it. It is all hot air, spite, jealousy etc ... though. You cannot reason with them. The only response I would even suggest giving any of them is an email saying you do not wish to have any interaction/communication from them, and any further attempts on their part will be reported to the police for harassment. Guess what.. .. it is very much against the law for them to continue to do so. When you cut off the fuel, ignore them .. .they get bored waving their fingers at a wall, do not get any satisfaction, and get a knot in their holy crusader underwear and move on .... unfortunately looking for new targets and meat to sink teeth into. but still.. .... the best way to fight it is to ignore, stick to guns, not let them make choices for you, and thusly it results in not allowing them to win or feel like they have any power over you.

You know, these same people who do this ..... I wonder how they would react if they were to get a report from school, or the parents of other kids telling them that their children are harassing other kids, making threats, bullying, emailing etc ... It is total school ground tactics that are typically discouraged and even punished when discovered in children. yet here they are. Great examples. I hope they feel proud of themselves."

Meet the Cult Leaders: The Kimmer, Singing Lass and sockpuppet Gary:


Emphasis mine, typos Singing Lass'.

Laxatives for Weight Loss

It's a MYTH. Since most of the calories eaten are absorbed by the small intestine right after eating, the method of using laxatives for weight loss is actually ineffective. Many laxatives act by irritating the lining of the intestines or by directly stimulating nerves. Continual over stimulation of the intestines form laxative abuse can eventually cause the bowels to become non-responsive.

Long term laxative use can damage the colon. Because of the damage that laxatives can cause, ever increasing dosages of laxatives may be needed in order to achieve the desired effect. Where one laxative dose produced results, now two, then three doses a day or more, are required. At this point, the habit has become fixed. The individual is unable to move their bowel without the use of a laxative or other bowel interventions.

So why do people use laxatives for weight loss? In the words of a girl recovering from an eating disorder:

Well, because laxatives cause a body to lose WATER WEIGHT and thus, when first used, appear to assist in weight loss. However, it is NOT REAL WEIGHT that is being lost. Every calorie consumed is still digested by the body, you simply lose more water than usual because the laxatives induce soft stool by adding water to the stool. That's the "secret" that has KILLED a number of people. Stupid water weight that you will GAIN right back as soon as you re-hydrate yourself (by drinking no calorie water). It's a LIE that laxatives cause any real weight loss. Ask a doctor if you don't believe me. In addition to this outrageous lie, laxatives are PHYSICALLY ADDICTING. That means, if you use them your body will start to depend on them in order to have a normal bowel movement. Your colon muscles will get lazy and you'll have to take laxatives just to be normal and the number of actual laxatives needed will increase as well. This cycle is VICIOUS and can absolutely RUIN your life without any "benefit" of weight loss that is lasting or real, and, in fact, there is a risk of weight GAIN.

There are numerous reports from Kimkins how laxatives are being pushed by Kimmer. Why is she doing this? Is it to boost the spirit of the dieter due to the immediate, imaginary weight loss that results? Or is she just plain evil?


Kimmer has a long history of recommending laxative abuse. A few examples from the "Ask Kimmer" thread on LCF:

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

---

"I think fiber slows down weight loss initially because it's bulking in the colon, absorbing water and "slowing things down" when new food is eaten. Think of the commercials for drain cleaners.

You're still losing, it's just takes awhile for everything to "work through" and this can be a hard thing for someone checking the scale. Suddenly there will be a "whoosh" and it's just everything catching up, so to speak.

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."

---

"You might consider MoM, epsom salt or other laxative either full strength 2-3 times a week or a reduced amount daily. Are you diabetic? "

---

"Keep in mind that meat, chicken & fish have zero fiber so there's nothing to "push them through".

Have you considered taking a mild laxative each night you're doing "protein only"? Or, hate to even suggest it, make up a batch of the horrible Epsom salt solution and take a couple tablespoons each night?

How much have you been losing each day before? You're still losing that right now. When things "move", you'll have a whoosh that will bring you up to date."

---

Question: I've had to use a laxative three times in the past two weeks, which I've never had to do before. When I bought them I was thinking it would be a one time deal, get things moving, and all would be well. Not so, I guess. I've heard mention of epsom salt tonics. Are they less harsh than a laxative? How often are people taking the epsom salt? Do you take it nightly? Or as needed? Is either the epsom salt or the laxatives used on a regular basis harmful? Also, I've stayed the same weight for a three days now. Can I assume that is due to the backup? Fun stuff

Kimmer: My guess would be, 'yes', to the back up.

Low carb is also low fiber so we have the option of taking extra fiber (sugar free Citrucel or Benefiber) with plenty of fluids or an "active" laxative like Ex-lax, epsom salts or something similar. They work in different ways, some bulking, some water attracting and others.

I'm cheap so I would use the epsom salts. Make a batch according to the directions on the box and keep it in the fridge. It tastes horrible so use Crystal Light or diet soda instead of water when you mix.

Personally, I'd drink 4 oz every night, but check on the timing according to how your body reacts. The point is to keep waste moving, as unpleasant as it is to think about."

---

And when someone questions her advice: I don't want to be negative, but I've seen a lot of dancers get dependent on laxatives, and have problems as they get older. An MRI will show how the colon is stained and damaged by many over the counter products used long term. Not the healthiest choice.Psyllium fiber needs lots of water to work right but has no dependence issues. $3.99 pound at Trader Joes. Slightly more expensive under brand names.By perscription only is the very best choice for those with coverage. Enulose is a non digestible agent that draws water into the colon, completely unabsorbed by the body, doesn't cause any dependency issues, extensively used in pediatric and adult medicine with reams of data supporting it's safety. Very $$$ RX for those without coverage though.

Senna is in the group of stimulants which the body eventually developes an attenuation to.
Not saying they won't work, just not the optimal choice for long term use.

Kimmer: Very good point about laxative abuse. We aren't interested in going there, but we are interested in maximum speedy weight loss.

I think laxatives used per instructions are safe and far better than constipation where the body reabsorbs some of the toxins and waste that are accumulated.

Do you think the staining of the colon is from the laxatives themselves or compaction of the fecal matter or bouts of poor eating and then relying on laxatives to maintain weight?"

---

As always with Kimkins, it's weight loss at any cost. It's just not obvious what the cost is at the time. Kimkins Survivors has many examples what the cost was for unsuspecting Kimkins dieters.

That laxatives are not even useful for weight loss is apparently of no importance to Kimmer. Anything to make the scale go down, if only temporarily.

If you are abusing laxatives, this thread has good information. Probiotics may help to restore the intestinal microflora balance.

Diet Founder

Does it matter if a founder of a Diet is following his/her own program, and has been successful on the diet?

For the current Kimkins followers, it doesn't seem so.

Unlike founders of popular diet programs such as Atkins, the South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, this particular diet "guru" has failed at her own program and has not lost weight. Even the ridiculous Magic Chicken Diet was founded by someone that, by all accounts, did lose weight, even if she didn't do it in a healthy manner.

At the height of the Kimkins "craze" last summer a PI took the below picture of Kimmer. Why would anyone take diet advice from this woman? Does she look like she knows what she is talking about? Does she look like she ever lost weight and managed to maintain her weight loss for some time? Does her image represent the results from the Kimkins diet?

Remember that Kimmer promoted this diet for 8 (eight) years, without being successful on it. Why does she still believe in this diet? She never could follow it. She never lost weight on it, except a few pounds that were quickly regained. Has not her results (or rather lack of results) proved to her that the diet does not work and is not sustainable long term?



After Kimmer was forced to stop using fake pictures, of herself and other "success stories", she resorted to Plan B: Elicit sympathy from other dieters that well know how easy it is to fall off the wagon and "regain" weight. Now the message changed from "do what I say to accomplish what I did" to "do what I say and we'll lose weight together". It's just that Kimmer doesn't seem to be losing weight, unless you believe her doctored pictures. So is the message really "do as I say because I say so"? Why would you?

And what is the purpose of the latest addition to the Kimmer pictures? Even if it is her, why is it relevant that she at one time, 35 years ago, was not obese? What does that have to do with the Kimkins diet? Will you pay me $79.95 if I put up a picture of myself as a teen?

Woman's World Apology

It took them long enough........

Maintaining Weight Loss

Any VLDC (Very Low Calorie Diet) such as Kimkins will cause you to lose weight. How could it not? Eating 500, or even 800, calories per day has to result in weight loss. Your body is burning calories whether they come from food or your stored fat/muscle.

If you start at a high weight, the first week's losses is probably going to be astounding; perhaps 10 pounds. But that is common for any low carb diet, Atkins for example, and is mostly water from the body depleting its glycogen stores and the water tied to them. Nevertheless, it's thrilling to see the scale go down so quickly, and seeing the big losses becomes addictive. You are not too hungry either, at least not in the beginning, due to ketosis.

The fast weight loss is very motivating for continuing the starvation diet, despite feeling tired, nauseous, dizziness, dry skin, hair loss, menstrual changes and other issues that are soon showing up. As Kimmer herself has said, you have to take a "hit" during the weight loss period as it, in her mind, is more dangerous to stay fat. (I do wonder why she never thought that was valid for herself, but that is a different post all together.)

When serious hunger start to develop, typically around week 5-6, you are already addicted to seeing a daily loss, so you forge ahead, ignoring that the body is demanding nutrition.

Many people drop out, giving in to the body's demands for FOOD, and end up feeling like a failure (see their stories at Kimkins Survivors). Others manage to "ride it out" by filling their stomach with no, or low, calorie foods such as diet soda, broth or egg whites. It will not stave off the hunger, but at least fills the stomach for a while.

A few of the Kimkins dieters manage to stay with the diet all the way to GOAL! Their body might not look exactly as they had envisioned, especially if they followed Kimmer's advice not to exercise during the weight loss period. But hey, they are SKINNY.

So what now? WHAT NOW? How and what will you eat to stay at goal, to stay slim?

Maintenance. Hmm, there is no maintenance plan. Kimmer said, when asked by Jimmy Moore:

Jimmy: One of the questions, Kimmer, that I’m getting from a lot of people is, alright Jimmy you’re doing this, and you’re doing your own little tweaks with it as everybody should (K: Mmm hmm.), what are you gonna do once you lose the weight, for long-term weight maintenance? And that’s a question they wanna hear, how do you transition from Kimkins the weight loss plan to Kimkins the maintenance plan?

K: ‘K, well in the simplest sense, you can transition to any lowcarb plan, if that’s easier for you. (J: Yeah.) My struggle with coming up with a maintenance plan is coming up with something that is super simple. What I have found from studying the website is that even the Kimkins diet, which I think is ultra-simple, that people still have problems deciphering what the rules are, and interpreting what they should do in, in different situations. I’m working with different people now, that we can come up with something, and it’s something that you could write on the back of your hand and you would know always, how to maintain your weight, without — I can’t even follow Dr. Atkins’ plan of 5-carb increments, because there’s 5 carbs in a serving of asparagus, and there’s 5 carbs in a half a cup of cream cheese. The calories are wildly different, weight maintenance will be wildly different. (J: Yeah.) So it’s, it’s in progress.

There is still no maintenance plan posted on Kimkins. Of course, we now know that Kimmer never needed one herself as she has never lost weight and didn't have to bother about maintenance.

There was a maintenance plan in the works, by Christin, before she left Kimkins. (Her thread has since been removed.) It's been almost a year since the Women's World cover girl, Christin, reached goal. So where is she today?
This is what she said yesterday on her blog post My Confession:
It is time for me to share something with you. I am coming clean about the excruciating difficulty that I have had in maintaining my weight loss that I obtained utilizing a Very Low Calorie Diet such as Kimkins. The road has been far from an easy transition. We think when we are on the road to losing weight that once we attain our goal that life will somehow magically get easier.

And the other Women's World cover girl, Deni, said this on December 19th:
I have not maintained well since Kimkins. I am up almost 20 pounds from my low and struggling daily to get some of them off. I instantly gained the 5.. and have slowly yo-yo'd the other 15 pounds ever since.
I have been open about this in my journal and in my challenge thread.

And, finally, the staunch Kimkins supporter, Tippy Toes, that went on the Mike&Juliet show to promote Kimkins said yesterday:
I don't know what I am doing anymore. My weight seems to have decided to be 153 as a new set point. 5 lbs over where it once was.
I mentioned in my journal (I think) that according to my calender I did maintain 147 for 3 months. But in taking a second look, I realized this was the 3 months I worked for Kimkins. I maintained at 147 BUT I was buckling down like crazy doing various K plans trying to reach 145 which never happened.
So, if all that did was maintain me at 147, well, that's not good as I don't want Kimkins to ever be THE maintenance plan!
Shocked.
Am wondering if this is my natural, true weight. I will continue with clean eating and see what the sunday weigh in (which I will record) will bring.
I know I could probably lose it again, either doing a short K round, Stillman's or perhaps just limiting calories to 1000 a day. But, if I cannot easily maintain it why bother? lol
I just don't know what to do, or for that matter, if I need to do anything at all. I guess it's that 5lb span that has me so worried as now I have NO SPAN left. Course I could change it. Maybe my body is OK and my head is the problem. I just don't know.

And I reported recently that another "successful" Kimkins dieter, Gary, is maintaining since 3 months on 800 calories. He is a 230lbs, 6'3" man!

When you reach your goal weight on a VLDC calorie diet, you will have problems finding a maintenance level. Eating like a "normal" person? Not a chance! Any increase of calories will inevitably end up in a weight gain. Are you prepared to continue on a starvation diet for the rest of your life, just to stay slim?

If you have fallen into the Kimkins trap, please read this thread on LCF: Repairing your metabolism.
"The good news is that any damage you did by messing around with your metabolism can be corrected with exercise and the Atkins lifestyle. How long it takes e will depend on how far down the path you have traveled, and for how long. Just know it can and has been done successfully by all of us. "

There is hope, but unfortunately it's not an easy process to get back to healthy eating, or healthy weight loss, after having followed Kimkins.

Do yourself a favor and chose a diet like Atkins. You can lose weight just as fast on Atkins as on Kimkins without deprivation and gradually ease into maintenance that you can stay on for life.

From Repairing your metabolism:
Reaching your goal weight is not—or should not be—about dieting. It's about changing your body, and your mind-set, permanently and for the better. It is—or should be—actually just the opposite of the start-and-stop process that most people consider a diet. I tell my patients that they should plan not just on losing weight, but also on restoring energy and feeling their physical best. All they have to do is exercise regularly, start an intelligent nutritional supplementation plan and eat the healthiest foods imaginable. Sound like a lot? Hardly. In fact, it sounds like a cinch.

The Gravy Diet

Kimkins has a new competitor on the internet: The Gravy Diet!

How the Gravy Diet works:

While mainstream medical science kept telling people to lose weight by changing their diets and exercising more often, Dr. Morgan kept working towards his dream of providing people with a quickfix diet that would allow people to lose massive amounts of weight quickly, and without exercising.

Soon the Gravy Diet was born.

But how does it work?

Think of gravy as a lubricant -it makes things stick less- and when you eat nothing but gravy, your body loses its "grip" on your stored fats and incoming calories, making them easier to burn and eliminate.

The Gravy Diet works with your body naturally, causing a state Gravy Diet researchers call "diatosis". Diatosis increases your metabolism, while at the same time reduces your absorbsion of incoming calories. Diatosis helps the body eliminate fat-building carbohydrates, fats, and proteins from your diet, causing quick and certain weight loss.

The key to the Gravy Diet is fine tuning your DVI, or Diatosis Volume Index. You'll want to keep your DVI at approximately 1 liter per 10 kilograms of body weight.

Gravy Diet Success Stories:

I've been on diets all my life, and finally I discovered that diets just don't work. Then I read Dr Morgan's book, and I'm a diet believer again! I've lost over 45 pounds!
-John Henderson, Missouri

After years of trying fad diets that promised I could eat all I wanted, not exercise, and still lose weight, I tried the Gravy Diet! Now I can eat all the gravy I want and still lose weight! This is great! I've lost over 75 pounds!
-Mary Manski, North Dakota

By following Dr. Morgan's wonderful diet, I was able to lose well over 200 pounds in just a few weeks. I'm a doctor, and I recomend Dr. Morgan's Gravy Diet to all my patients.
-Dr. Robert Morgan, Texas

I lost a grand total of 2,358 pounds on the Gravy Diet. If I can do it, anybody can.
-Li Mei Choi, Fuzhou, China

Common myths about the Gravy Diet:

Myth #1: The Gravy Diet doesn't work.

It has been conclusively proven that eating nothing but gravy causes a person to lose weight.

Myth #2: The Gravy Diet isn't healthy.

Proponents of this myth haven't been keeping up with recent scientific research which shows that the Gravy Diet is extremely healthy if health is measured by weight loss alone.

Myth #3: The Gravy Diet isn't nutritious.

Nonsense. Properly prepared, gravy contains all the nutrition a person needs. In rare cases nutritional supplements are needed to replenish those nutrients lost to diarrhea, but usually only about 80-99% of those on the Gravy Diet find this necessary.

Myth #4: Constant diarrhea (diatosis) is not good for people.

This is the most common myth. While proponents of this myth will point to numerous anecdotal hospital reports of patients "suffering" from diarrhea, there is no hard scientific link between unhealthy people, diarrhea, and the Gravy Diet.

Myth #5: The same effects can be had by taking simple laxatives.

Nothing could be further from the truth! While it's true that some people have lost weight by inducing diarrhea with laxatives, and that laxatives are sometimes a necessary part of the beginning phases of the Gravy Diet, research has shown that gravy-induced diarrhea is up to 7 times more effective than laxatives alone.

Myth #6: Gravy Dieters just blindly follow Dr. Morgan and worship him as a god.

Many people think Dr Morgan is treated more like a cult leader than a doctor giving medical advice, and many Gravy Dieters are accused of "hero worship". But is this really true? Dr Morgan says it is not, and that He had predicted that His followers would be persecuted by the non-believers.

Myth #7: The world's healthiest, longest lived, and least overweight cultures eat very little gravy.

They just think they're healthy. And what good is living a long time if you're not eating gravy?

The Gravy Train:

As the body of medical evidence supporting the Gravy Diet increases, more and more doctors and scientists "get on the gravy train" and support the gravy diet. Here is a sampling of quotes and excerpts from recent scientific studies on the Gravy Diet.

"The Gravy Diet is Gravylicious."
--Dr. Robert Morgan.

"... gravy ... can be ... an effective tool ... for ... weight loss ..."
--Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Well, yes, if you measure health by weight loss alone then a diet consisting of nothing but gravy and laxatives is 'healthy', but I..."
--US Surgeon General.

"...the patient lost a considerable amount of weight due to constant diarrhea..."
--Mayo Clinic hospital records.

"I really want the Gravy Diet to be true."
--Editor of Gravy Monthly Magazine.

"Diatosis is good."
--Gravy Science.

How does one start Dr. Morgan's Revolutionary Gravy Diet? Just follow this simple four phase plan:

Induction

Buy Dr. Morgan's book "Dr. Morgan's Gravy Diet Revolution".

If starting the Gravy Diet doesn't initiate diatosis naturally, use the proper amount of Dr. Morgan's Laxative Powder.

Weight Loss

If you haven't done so already, buy Dr. Morgan's book "Dr. Morgan's Gravy Diet Revolution".

Once you start shedding those pounds, have fun with your gravy. Try adding different spices.

Begin taking Dr Morgan's SuperGravy Multi-vitamin.

Maintenance

Buy the damn book already.

Once you've reached you target weight, it's important to stick with the diet forever. If you stray too far from a strict gravy diet, the weight will come back almost instantly. Most people have problems with this phase because they find that not being able to ever have candy, bread, rice, pasta, carrots, peanuts, apples, bananas, meats, and fish again a little depressing.

Don't cheat, the effects of the Gravy Diet are eliminated by having a biscuit with your gravy!

Avoid Dying/Spend Money

Taking Dr Morgan's SuperGravy Multi-vitamins can help avoid scurvy and death.

Buy new Gravy Diet books and products.

Remember that Dr. Morgan died for your sins, so pay us money.

Kimkins Diet Plans

KIMKINS BOOT CAMP
The most popular Kimkins Option!

30 minutes of intense daily exercise required

Breakfast
Up to 2 eggs (cooked without fat)
Up to 1/2 cup List 2 veggies
Up to 2 oz lean ham or other lean protein (raw/cured weight)
Unlimited non-calorie beverage

Lunch
Up to 4 oz lean protein (raw weight)
Up to 2 cups mixed greens + Wishbone Spritzer dressing (or caloric equivalent)
Unlimited non-calorie beverage

Dinner
Up to 4 oz lean protein (raw weight)
Up to 2 cups mixed greens + Wishbone Spritzer dressing (or caloric equivalent)
Unlimited non-calorie beverage

Take a complete multivitamin each day plus other desired supplements

This is the food for one entire day!

Calories: 594

Fat: 26 grams
Carbs: 16 grams
Protein: 74 grams

And split into individual meals:

KIMMER EXPERIMENT (K/E)
K/E is used to reach ketosis quickly or as a jumpstart for other Kimkins Options

As much lean protein as desired from the Kimkins Food List (but remember that serving size is 4 oz, cut to 3 if weight loss is slow!)
Minimal low-carb condiments and spices may be used sparingly
No alcohol, no cheese, no fatty meats, no fats, no veggies
Your appetite will drop naturally after 3-5 days
Take a complete multivitamin each day plus other desired supplements
You may remain on K/E as long as desired


Breakfast, lunch and dinner on one plate:

Total calories for a whole day: 376
(Breakfast is one egg, two egg whites as recommended in the food plans)

Kimkins Eating Disorders

From the transcript of the ABC Good morning America Interview with Kimkins poster girl Singingass:

"DELANEY DEAVER (aka SingingLass): We don’t tell people to starve, we encourage them to eat and I think there’s gonna be eating disorders that happen, you know, in any situation when somebody has an issue with food, but we try to prevent that from happening by giving people support."

Giving people support? People with eating disorders? On Kimkins? And who are "we?"

To my knowledge, the only admins left on Kimkins are:

• Kimmer, aka Heidi Diaz. An obese woman that have scammed and defrauded thousands of people over at least 10 years. A lying liar that lies.
  

• Singingass. A student, working as an online psychic and occasionally singing opera.
  

• Lasttime4me. A sock puppet, or if not, certainly does have the personality of a sock. Kimmer normally creates colorful characters. This one isn't.
  

• Tarvos{k}. Hasn't been seen there for a long time. His blog still exists but is empty. As far as I remember, he didn't do all that great on the diet either, still being over 400 lbs. And anybody reading his posts (and blog before it was scrubbed) realizes that this man has issues.
  

So who is going to help the people with eating disorders on Kimkins? Heidi Diaz? Singingass? Lasttime4me? Would you trust any of these three with anything? Especially related to diet or eating disorders?

Actually, we do know what type of "support" a dieter on Kimkins would get. Read this post by Medusa: FROM MY MOLE INSIDE THE KIMPOUND: KIMMER RESPONDS TO THE STARVING WOMAN...



Edit:
For Eating Disorder information, please go to Eating Disorders Today
Joanna Poppink, LMFT, Los Angeles psychotherapist, stopped by to comment and provide this link.

Note, this is a psychotherapist, specializing in eating disorder recovery. Who would you listen to, Joanna or Heidi? Heidi has no qualifications whatsoever to dispense diet advice or advice to a person with an eating disorder.

Kimkins Diet Scam

Contact the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission - Offices and Bureaus
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel®, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide

Internet Crime Complaint Center
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
The IC3 is co-sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)

IC3's mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3 gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, local and international level, IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.

Contact your states Attorney General
FindLaw: State Resources: Attorneys General

National Association of Attorney General's Computer Crime Point of Contact List
(all state-related cyber questions)


National Consumers League’s Fraud Center
Use this form to report suspected telemarketing or Internet fraud.
Online Fraud Report Form

Epinions.com
People search here for opinions on various things. So leave yours relating to Kimkins.
Become an Epinions member and publish your review.

Complaints.com Consumers in Control
Online compliant form

Complaints Board.com
Submit a Complaint

Troubleshooter.com
The Internet home of consumer advocate Tom Martino
Submit a compliant
Call the HelpCenter
1-866-966-HELP (4357)

ConsumerAffairs.com
To report any type of consumer fraud or scams
Complaint Form

$79.95 to starve at Kimkins in 2008

The membership fee just increased. Making up for less people signing up? Copying the Magic Chicken Diet price? One starvation diet is just as good as another, right?

Remember, there are many, many FREE sites that offer better support and better diets than Kimkins!

Try Active Lowcarber Forum (ALC) or Low Carb Friends (LCF). Both offer FREE support for any low carb (and many non-low carb) diets.

Tippy denies supporting Kimmer, but still thinks Kimkins is great

In a post on her Camp Site today (copied to LCF) Pocahontas aka Tippy Toes aka Jeannie Baitinger denied that she was still supporting Kimmer, stating that she left Kimkins to avoid being dragged into a law suit. Obviously, Kimmer's fraudulent marketing and unethical business methods with bannings were of no concern to Tippy.

She also goes on to endorse the Kimkins Diet in her post, and that she believes that Kimmer did not write that comment.

Tippy also says "I do believe in freedom of plan choice and I will never bully or harass anyone for their plan of choice." The comment she left on my blog a few weeks ago suggests differently. I do hope, for her sake, that she treats her new Camp members in a less "bullying" fashion.


Medusa has an insightful post with both Kimmers comment and Tippys response:

THE TURN OF THE SCREW...

Tippy still supporting Kimkins

Diets in Review said:

I wanted to share this Kimkins follow-up with what looks like Kimmer herself. Back in October, Diets In Review shared with you the disappointing news that many Kimkins customers feel that the Kimkins program is fraudulent. Their PR manager, Jeannie Baitinger, responded to Diets In Review and we shared that post with you here.

It appears that in early December, Jeannie left Kimkins. This morning we received a response from Kimmer explaining the departure.

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. - Kimmer Jan 1st, 2008 at 6:21 pm

Ruffled Feathers

I literally stumbled over the Magic Chicken Diet a couple of weeks back. A web search for Kimkins led me to Getafreelancer where someone was soliciting a web designer to make a website that should look like a clone of the Kimkins website. Having heard rumors that Kimmer had a backup site prepared, I was naturally intrigued.

The website and the diet had many similarities to Kimkins but also differences. Probably the most important difference is that to the best of my knowledge, the Magic Chicken Diet is promoted by a real person (Bonnie Luper) with a real weight loss story. Therefore, the fraud component of Kimkins should not come into play and as far as I know, nobody has suggested that it would.

I and other bloggers have been criticized for discussing the Magic Chicken Diet and have been accused of crucifying the Chicken Lady and driving the site out of business. (Of course, it was later revealed that the temporary shutdown of the site was most likely due to a non-paid bill and not due to any magic powers on Kimmer's behalf; Kimmer supposedly having found out about the clone from our blogs.)

While the site is again up and running, we are still not supposed to discuss or criticize the diet, as "it's free enterprise and anybody has the right to promote any diet they want". While I agree with free enterprise, I can not understand why we are not allowed to discuss it, especially in a community that argues pros and cons for all types of diets. With so little information up front, would you not want to hear what people knowledgeable in nutrition and diet have to say about it, if nothing else so that you can ask Bonnie questions before you shell out $69.95?

It is also alluded to that we will somehow interfere with the Chicken Lady's business by talking about the Magic Chicken Diet on blogs and lowcarb diet boards. This puzzles me.

First, if this is a good diet like Bonnie says, surely, discussing it will not cause any harm. Actually, it would only help promoting it.

Secondly, what facts are there that this is a successful business? That Bonnie claims that they have reached 200 members at the old introductory price of $19.95 while the website still states "introductory price (but now $69.95) for the first 200 members?" Do they have 200 members or not?

And how are new members recruited? Similar to Kimkins, Bonnie has a Lifetime membership so only new people coming in would generate revenue. There is absolutely no marketing of this company that I have been able to find, even when trying to search for it. Nothing on Craig's List, nothing on "Yahoo answers," no spam on celebrity sites, no articles, no ads, no affiliate program, no presence of Bonnie on lowcarb boards where she could attract new customers. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Apart from the Getafreelancer ad, there is no confirmed connection between Bonnie and Kimkins at this time. However, does that mean that I am not allowed to have questions about the Magic Chicken Diet?

$19.95 Camp Fee

Camp Carbaway announced:

"Our plan is to go "Public" on Jan 1 2008. Starting on that day new members will be asked to pay a registration fee of $19.95."

"There will not be any more approval process in the new system. Anyone can pay the $19.95 and join. This may cause issues, but we are ready to deal with those."

That's cool. Really. It's a free country. You want to charge money for providing a member board and you can find people that are willing to pay, that's perfectly fine.

But what does "public" mean? To me, FREE boards like LCF and ALC are public boards as they are open to read without membership. You have to register to post, but registration is FREE for anybody.

If you have to pay a membership fee to join, and the board is unaccessible to the public, it is a "private" board. Just removing the 3rd degree entrance interrogation doesn't make it "public".

But WHO is going to join and pay the membership fee? There has been no marketing of this website and the poorly designed front page has no information whatsoever what I would receive for my $19.95.

Clearly the Headmistress aka Pocahontas aka Tippy Toes believes that her reputation on the FREE boards will make people come running to join, just so that they can chit chat with Tippy on the board.

Think again.

And Tippy, your blog is not really helping with promoting you as a caring and loving person.

While Tippy needs this board as she is not welcome anywhere else, I can't see that is serves any purpose for other people, except perhaps for the few people that have already joined. The indirect "marketing" has seemingly targeted Tippy's "kimkinettes" and kimkins followers on LCF that want to escape the "haters".

Tippy is reinforcing the "US" versus "THEM" by suggesting that former kimkins members are not welcomed on other boards. In her own words:

"don't make them feel they have leprosy because of their dieting preference"

"I am so sorry we all have to feel the pressure of letting the public in. But here is the deal. If they are really ugly we will remove them from Camp. If they want to pay $20 to come back and be ugly again, we will repeat this process. We don't have to put up with the badgering nor will we. Eventually they will give up and leave us in peace. Or they can go broke trying to get the last jabs in.

I know it feels like a battleground. Here we are, armed and ready and KNOWING the opposing forces are closer... We will win. Please, please don't worry. It won't take long at all. And I appreciate that so many of you are concerned for me. I'll be OK. The way I see it is this: The best present LCF ever gave me was the ban button. Just look at where that has led us all! Right here to Camp where people are actually NICE, CARING and have COMPASSION for one another."

LCF and ALC are big boards, and there are many, many threads supporting all different types of "dieting preferences." That doesn't mean that concerned members would not speak up if they see a newbie eating dangerously low calories. But isn't that what Tippy is trying to do on her board as well? So what's the difference? $19.95 will not buy me anything that the FREE boards do not give me.

Kimorexia has some really good advice on what to look for when choosing a diet forum.

Grilled Cheese.... discusses the Camp.