SCAMMY Awards

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

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

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

"Can I take that back?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimkins Lost Its Cult Status

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weight Loss Ads

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

The ads that come up today include:

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

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

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

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

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

Kimkins Wins the Slim Chance Award

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

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

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

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

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

For a full list, go to Quackery and Fraud

Kimkins Still Banning Members

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

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

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

Only new members bring in money.

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

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

Kimkins Google Ads

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimmer's Diabetic Diet

Is not Kimkins. At least, not for herself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A typical diabetics recommendation is to:

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

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

So what about:

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

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

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

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

Kimkins Still Pushing Very Low Calories

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

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

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

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

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

Make sure to have 800 calories minimum.

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

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

No Vegas for Kimkins, Baby!

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

It is still announced on the Kimkins.con website:

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

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

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

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

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

Kimmer Exaggerating Kimkins Weight Loss

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

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

That’s it. Hand to God, that’s it."

Dictionary (answers.com):

Exaggerate
v.tr.

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

v.intr.

To make overstatements.

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

to this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimmer Shows Her True Colors to Jimmy Moore

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

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

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

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

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

Jimmy received this email from Kimmer today:

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

Congratulations! Kimmer"

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

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

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

I meant well. I apologize.

And a little later:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Kimkins Diet Does Not Work

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

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


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

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

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

Kimkins Legal Troubles

Metabolife's former CEO sentenced to 6 months

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

June 10, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kimmer Admits WLS

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

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

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

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


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

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

Kimkins Sockpuppets

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

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

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

Some time back, someone found this ad on GetAFfreelancer:

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

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

1. Sign Up Under 5 Different Names

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

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

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

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

6. Never Post Links.

7. Never Copy/Paste From Other Sites.

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

9. Make It Look Natural!

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

11. English only.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Success from doing Kimkins?

Dee's success picture allegedly taken 4/18/2008 @ 239 lbs

Dee's picture taken in August? 2007 @ ??? lbs

Dee's picture taken in November 2007 @ 270 lbs

Dee's "before" picture from 11/2005 @ 350 lbs

So when did Dee start Kimkins? She has said herself that she started halfhearted in June 2007. In her first post she states:
Failed LAPBAND surgery in 2006, which put me $17,000 in debt. (I did lose 75 lbs and have kept off 60).

If this statement is true, she started Kimkins with a 60 lbs weight loss from 350 lbs, or at 290 lbs. This rings true looking at the liquid diet she did just before starting kimkins where she reported getting down to 285 lbs on April 17, 2007.

If Dee now weighs 239 pounds, her weight loss on Kimkins from June 2007 to May 2008 has been a total of 50 pounds (and not the 108 stated in the newsletter).

Weight Loss Success Story

Dee, the latest Kimkins' sockpuppet has a blog post with the title "KIMKINS - the perspective of a success story".

So, is Dee a weight loss "success story"? She has lost 100 pounds in 11 months or so, starting at around 345 pounds in June 2007. Certainly an accomplishment, but does it constitute a weight loss "success story"? In my opinion, it's too early to tell. She is still following a diet that has proven to not be sustainable for many that have tried it. If Dee comes back in a year and reports that she has kept the 100 pounds off, I will consider it a "success story". Until then, the jury is still out.

Remember that Dee's "diet adviser" Kimmer said that she once lost 100 pounds in 6 months. Was that a "success story"? Judging from the picture below, I would say no.



Where is the "success" in losing weight if it's not going to stay off?

Dee seems to have the same opinion as Kimmer when it comes to claiming being an expert on weight loss. I fail to see how many years of unsuccessfully trying to lose weight, or failing to keep weight off make anyone an "expert".

This is what Dee posted on the BBB Kimkins' review:

I have more than 30 years of dieting experience, so I feel more than qualified. If you are interested here is my resume:
1) Weight Watchers....more times than I can count
2) System 7......twice
3) Diet Workshop.....more than 5 times
4) Weigh Down workshop....once
5) LAPBAND....once
6) Do it yourself'ers.....more than a dozen.
7) Hospital based Liquid Diet....twice

And now, Kimkins of course.

Magic Chicken Alive Another Year

Domain Name: MAGICCHICKENDIET.COM
     Created on: 02-May-07
     Expires on: 02-May-09
     Last Updated on: 01-May-08

Success Rate from a VLCD

The most recent Kimkins sockpuppet, Swalt (Sue), says that she wants to find out if there are any risks with following Kimkins long term. Clearly, she can not ask on Kimkins as there are no long term successful losers there. And asking would probably label her as a Negative Nancy and those are not allowed on Kimkins so she might end up being banned.

Kimmer has no experience in maintenance. She never had a weight loss to maintain.

Kimmer didn't learn maintenance from the people on LCF she answered question for during 8 years as they did not have experience with maintenance either. Read the stats on the posters on the Ask Kimmer thread. Most of them are at a higher weight now than when the question was asked 2 years ago.

Christin has maintained for a year, but with great effort and she is not doing Kimkins any longer. Deni gained weight on 1,200 cals.

Very low calorie diets (VLCD's) are defined as diets that range from 300 to 800 calories per day intake. Long term studies of the use of VLCD's have shown consistent results; patients on VLCD programs regain most or all of the weight lost in the months following the VLCD regime. In fact, one of the most remarkable features of VLCD's is the speed of weight regain following treatment (Garner & Wooley, 1991).

[Isn't that what Kimmer has said. She loses fast (at least used to, not so fast any more) and regains fast. Isn't that a typical yo-yo dieter?]

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (1994) published a policy paper on VLCD's in which it was strongly stated that VLCD's should only be prescribed and supervised by specially trained physicians. The College was clear in its position that VLCD's should only be used on morbidly obese patients (over 300 pounds) and that the prolonged use of VLCD's is dangerous and potentially lethal. Despite this, VLCD's are widely advertised using prominent actors or models who clearly give the impression that liquid diets are easy, successful and safe for any amount of desired weight loss.

• VLCD should only be attemped when supervised by specially trained physicians (this is not your family doctor).
  
• VLCD gives quick weigh loss and even quicker regain of lost weight.
• Prolonged use of VLCD's is dangerous and potentially lethal.
  

Kimkins Yoga

The Kimmer:
Re:My NSV (Non Scale Victory)! 3 Days ago
XXXXXX, so this is where the Non Scale Victories are hanging out!

I love NSV, because even when that darned scale doesn't cooperate, you know you're losing when rings fall off, shoes get too big ... or you can walk a flight of stairs without gasping for breath! My sister gave me a pair of velour yoga pants (me?) that were too snug. I left them folded in a drawer and figured "some day". Well, now is the day! Hoping to outgrow them soon!!!