A friend of mine recently said to me that Kimmer and Kimkins was getting too much attention. I respectfully disagreed.
Kimkins needs to be stopped before someone dies.
Kimkins is a dangerous diet in all its five forms. And it would be irresponsible not to speak out and speak out often on how potentially dangerous this diet can be.
I’ve been busy beefing up my Kimkins Watch links list on my sidebar. And I’ve decided to move the list as far up my sidebar as feasible. Today it’s at the top so check it out. The links appear in no particular order. If I missed listing any links it is purely oversight on my part and you can post any links you think I should add. I’ve tried to cover everyone’s experience or views. (Including Kimmer herself through other people's posts of conversations, PM's and emails, though frankly I wouldn’t trust anything she said at this point).
In my heart I feel this is the right thing to do. It’s a must to spread the word and warn people Kimkins and possibly it’s mysterious founder is a danger. I’m moved to do this, whether by God or conscience, or my gut emotions, I cannot look the other way. I can’t ignore this or play it down or pretend no one will get hurt. People have already gotten hurt.
As far as we know no one has died yet, but many Kimkins dieters have suffered harm both physical and emotional and mental - Kimmer messes with people's minds. People placed their trust in this woman and her diet plan(s) and believed that the diet was safe. It’s human nature to trust blindly when we want something badly. When it comes to weight loss we sometimes lose all reason in our desire to lose it fast. Our fast food drive thru-have it now-get ‘er done lifestyle has taught us to expect fast results.
And how seductive is this diet? For a brief time after Jimmy Moore started the K/E plan it crossed my mind to try Kimkins to lose the last few pounds. I was about 12 pounds from goal, getting impatient, and thought if Jimmy endorses it, it must be a good program. Lucky for me I was just getting into Power 90X and didn’t want to change plans let alone cough up $60 bucks. I decided to stay on plan and consider Kimkins after I finished Power 90X if I didn’t reach my goal. This was before the plan behind the plan leaked out and shocked those of us who knew a very low calorie diet could be dangerous.
Later Jimmy apologized for endorsing Kimkins and he caught a lot of flack from all sides.
Personally I do not feel Jimmy Moore has anything to apologize for. Sure Jimmy is a low carb lifestyle icon and a leader in the diet community but he’s also human like the rest of us. And Jimmy has a good heart. He only wanted to lose those last few pounds AND help others succeed as well. Jimmy’s intentions were good.
The hype and hoopla that ensued after Kimkins made the cover of Woman’s World magazine drove this dangerous way of losing weight because of dieters’ pain at being overweight, desperation to find a program that worked, and the desire for fast results YESTERDAY.
Be honest, we’ve all been there. There’s nothing mysterious about any one of us falling for a fast fix. Sure it’s against our better judgment, intelligence, high school biology, wisdom and experience.
Our culture is schizophrenic. One counter culture exists of thinness at any price with moral connotations that being fat means you’re less valuable. We are driven beyond reason to be thin.
This is juxtaposed by an environment of ample and cheap food driven by big agriculture, big food (like McDonalds, Applebys, Coca Cola, Frito Lay), rampant advertising everywhere you look urging you to eat, eat, eat, and while you're at it make it Super Size. This is supported by our time crunched, stressed out, hurry up and get it over with lives. Have no time to cook? Grab a fast and cheap Biggie Meal.
We send emails and instant messages, check our bank balances and pay our bills online without leaving our seats, enjoy one-hour dry cleaning and photo processing, TIVO our favorite shows to watch at our leisure, microwave our food in minutes, and patience is no longer seen as a virtue. In fact patience is rarely seen at all.
Kimkins found its niche in the midst of our cultural insanity. It fit into our schizophrenia to want to become thin without any effort or inconvenience and have it yesterday. No patience needed! Better than gastric bypass! No food restrictions, no exercise, no way!
Here was the low carb diet of our dreams. Lose a pound a day! Never mind that pound isn’t a pound of fat. VLCD’s are known to strip the body of muscle, water, and excess intestinal matter along with some body fat. You cannot easily lose a pound of body fat a day. You would have to create a calorie deficit of 3500 calories EVERY DAY.
Never mind the diet only works as promised if you starve yourself, restrict fluid intake, rely on laxatives, and are will to be slightly nauseous all the time (SNATT).
Kimkins perpetuated myths about weight loss than are not based on fact or science. Unfortunately average Americans don’t hold Ph.D.’s in science and medicine so Kimmer had no problem convincing her followers of whatever myths suited her agenda.
Kimkins Myth: If you have body fat you do not need to eat fat or even enough calories to sustain you beyond your RMR.
WRONG! Body fat does not supply complete nutrition, it is simply a form of fuel that can be burned for energy. It does not supply you with essential nutrients like omega-3s, 6s, 9s, vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals, antioxidants, and certainly not protein. Without adequate protein intake your body begins to break down muscle and other tissues (including heart muscle) to meet protein needs.
Kimkins Myth: It’s normal during weight loss to have SNATT, heart palpitations, weakness, dizziness, menstrual irregularities, and hair loss. WRONG!
Healthy weight loss – in other words slow weight loss – does not lead to symptoms of ill health. Only unhealthy rapid weight loss leads to symptoms like these.
(Many have questioned whether Kimmer ever lost weight because people close to her claimed she didn’t. I can’t help but wonder if her hair loss is not aleopecia but actually caused by chronic extreme dieting followed by rapid weight regain).
Kimkins Myth: Exercise is not necessary to weight loss. Although technically true in the long run this is bad advice to follow.
Our bodies lose more weight when exercise is a part of our lifestyle. We keep off more weight during maintenance by exercising regularly. And last but definitely not least exercise has benefits beyond weight loss and weight maintenance including cardiovascular conditioning, preserving and building muscle mass, mood improvement, better control of blood sugar levels, an improved sex life, better sleep, and more.
Kimkins Myth: Gastric Bypass patients eat less than 500 calories a day so it's safe for everyone. WRONG. Gastric Bypass patients only eat 500 calories or less for a brief time while their digestive tract heals from surgery. About 8 weeks after surgery the resume eating 3-6 meals a day of about 1/2 cup of food including food from all food groups. Limiting carbohydrates is encouraged.
In the end, Kimkins is not a low carbohydrate diet and the ‘diet behind the diet’ bears no resemblance to Atkins or Stillmans. Kimkins is a very low calorie diet. VLCD’s require close medical supervision even in obese patients in order to be done safely. And VLCD’s have a notorious past with dubious results For comprehensive coverage of VLCD’s check out A Pinch of Health’s VLCD Research.
If you are on Kimkins don’t ignore the warning signs and stop the diet immediately whether you suffer warning signs or not. See your physician and get checked out. Kimkins followers have complained of one or more of the following:
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Muscle fatigue or weakness
• Heartbeat palpitations
• Moderate to severe hair loss
• Bone and joint pain
• Mental changes - irritability, forgetfulness, confusion
• Bowel complications/symptoms of laxative abuse
The founder of Kimkins, known as “Kimmer” aka Heidi Kimberly Diaz
• is not certified or licensed in any way to dispense nutritional and medical advice
• claims to have lost 198 lbs. but has never provided solid evidence of such loss, having refused to be interviewed in person
• has advised the daily use of laxatives extended beyond products’ warnings
• has pushed diet followers to stay as low in calories as possible, even as low as 0-300 calories a day
• has used questionable marketing techniques to generate membership revenues by:
-- displaying false “before/after” testimonials
-- using viral marketing techniques such as the willful misplanting that young celebrities have followed the plan in order to target a younger demographic, including pre-teens
-- has allowed affiliates to spam many valid forums with misleading information
-- advertising the acquisition of an e-book as included in the membership fee, which she never produced
For what you can do to stop Kimkins go here and scroll down for a list of links including:
the Better Business Bureau
the Consumerist website
the Federal Trade Commission
Fraud.Com
The California Attorney General’s Office
Sign the Petition To Investigate Kimkins
As for the morality or character of this woman known as Kimmer aka Heidi Kimberly Miller Diaz aka Kim Drake, I’m not willing to judge the particulars of her character on a personal level. Not because I think her diets are not dangerous or she is not perpetrating fraud, but because I don’t know her personally and I've never dealt with her online or in any capacity. Not to mention judgment is not mine to mete out. In the end, it is perhaps our job to be our brother or sisters keeper and to look out for each other, but judgment belongs in the hands of the Lord. Only He knows our hearts and minds.
BUT I'm not going to stop telling whoever will listen about the dangers of the Kimkins diet or any other dangerous diet that comes along until everyone gets the message because it feels like the right thing to do.
Update: As of this afternoon The Truth Starts Here posted 'Ask Kimmer Locked Down' - perhaps the midnight hour looms near.
