Can Fat Be Fit and the Kimkins Scam

HoneyBee has posted a very powerful piece looking at the descrimination of being overweight.

Are We Viewing Obesity In the Correct Light? Can Fat be Fit?:

We, the obese-the fat girls, accept that we are unhealthy and that we don’t fit in with the latest trend to be super thin. We want to be those fabulous women we see in the magazines and on the tv. You better believe that our daughters will want to be those people too. So we try diets and we if we don’t succeed then it is one more blow to the ego. That is where diets like Kimkins are allowed to take hold. It offers fast weight loss with little or no exercise and it even touts that celebs have used the diet. The diet had a beautiful image of the owner of the site and page after page of success stories. But now it has been discovered that it all was fraudulent. Fake pictures, fake success stories. A scam! Lies told to sell the ongoing trend that a person, especially a woman, must be thin at all costs. Because being thin is healthy…right? Eating 500 calories a day is better than being fat…right? That is a big FAT NO!

Are we viewing obesity in the correct light? The fact is that most dieters are not trying to lose weight in the correct way. If you look at the struggles that the average dieter goes through with yoyo dieting and the health extremes in an effort to get thin, then the idea that being thin is more healthy then being fat doesn’t appear to be a given. I think we all should view our healthy weight set point as an individual number, that is as individual as we are as humans. For some their natural body set point would qualify them as fat according to the standards used for a BMI. I am not saying that fat acceptance is an excuse for not getting healthy. But I am saying that obesity is not viewed in the correct light, because fat can be fit for some.

Be sure and click over and read the whole post. Plus take a look at the videos posted also.

Kimkins New Logo

Courtesy of Squeakie from LCF:

Kimkins–Affiliate Marketing

 Heidi has had some really unscrupulous marketers as affiliates.

Even the teen mentioned in this post was out spamming for Heidi.

So many of these have marketed at yahoo and myspace as well as craigslist.

Then we have the multiple article submission sites that continue to spread their articles like weeds. But some are seeing the light. As evidenced by this post on Kimkins Scam.

Thank You EzineArticles « Kimkins Scam

We still have the unscrupulous affiliate marketer, Wouter Van Dyck, to contend with. Yet many of the affiliates are pulling out.
An excellent example of affiliates pulling out is Andrew Kryzak. He left this comment recently on my post about EzineArticles:

I want to publicly state that I DO NOT support the kimkins diet. I have taken down my website and have done all I can to stop any promotions for it.

Andrew Kryzak

Thank you Andrew Kryzak , for renewing my faith in some affiliate marketers. You have shown that you are a man of integrity.

Too bad not all affiliate marketers have your standards.

Kimkins–Targeting Teens

One of my problems with Heidi has been her promotion of Kimkins through viral marketing. Most importantly is the fact she has targeted teens in her pursuit to have members.

For those who have followed this saga from the beginning, you remember the 14 year old who was on the Kimkins site looking for answers. Here are the posts as a reminder for everyone.

• Kimkins Cheers Child Dieting on Site « Kimkins Exposed
• 14 Year Old Begs Kimmer for Help « Kimkins Exposed
• Child Still Cheered Along on Kimkins « Kimkins Exposed
• Kimmer Encourages Child to Continue On! « Kimkins Exposed
• One Week, One Day, Teen Advised to go to Mother & Doctor « Kimkins Exposed
• Kimkins Members Attack Child on Kimkins Forum « Kimkins Exposed

The thing about all of this that disturbs me the most, was Heidi’s reply to this young girl. All of it disturbs me really. But Heidi’s stands out.

Kimmer (Admin)

Re:I need more calories

I agree with all the replies above, except about needing more calories simply because of your age. A calorie is a unit of energy, that’s all. If we eat too much energy, it’s stored as fat — whether you’re 14 or 84. If you have excess body fat, you have CALORIES hanging there, again whether you’re 14 or 84.

However, if you want to up your calories, simply add more food. You’re a teenager, so a couple servings of dairy are important (or use supplements with your doctor’s advice). String cheese, Dannon low carb yogurt, broccoli, kale, cottage cheese are good sources of calcium and will give you extra calories.

If your goal is to only add more calories, drink 1-2 meal replacement shakes in addition to your food choices. It’s easy to add calories if that’s your goal.

I disagree about adding fruit until you’re at maintenance. There’s little there nutritionally compared to the high carbs. Nothing that can’t wait a bit until you hit goal. You’re much better off with a 1/2 cup of sweet potato than an apple, as an example. More fiber, more antioxidants. And …

But if you’re listening to “other sources”, think logically and think about hidden agendas.

As a reminder, this 14 year old girl was following the boot camp program, 500 cals/day and 30 minutes of exercise. Yet Heidi did not say anything about her needing to up her calories.

In her efforts to target teens, Heidi planted stories about stars who were supposedly following Kimkins. These showed up on MySpace and Yahoo Answers, to name a few.

With so many of the former Kimkins members speaking of having eating disordered thinking. It worries me to see Heidi go specifically after teens. They are already very vulnerable to developing an eating disorder. The Kimkins diet severely increases your chance of developing an eating disorder.

As I’ve stated before, Kimkins is not better than being fat.

The Kimkins site is suppose to have an age restriction now. Other changes have been implemented to make the site more generic. Less cause for possible litigation.

In my opinion, all the changes at the site are much too little, done way too late. Or as we say here in the south, it’s like closing the barn door after the horse has got out.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr

Kimkins Diet–Is It Better Than Being Fat?

One of the biggest arguments Heidi had for following her diet was it was better than being fat. Here’s some of her ideals.

She employs fear, an emotion which can lead to decisions because one fears the unknown that the future holds. As someone listening who is overweight or obese, it’s easy to fall into the trap and set your emotions on overdrive to worry you too may get diabetes, heart disease, or have your arms or legs amputated if you don’t lose weight, fast. With your heart pounding, you think, because it’s now been suggested, that if you do not do something extreme and drastic, you might be too sick tomorrow to do something. You better start today. Tomorrow is too uncertain.She knows this type of fear mongering works. She previously used it when she actively posted on LowCarbFriends.com. One only need look at the thread titled ‘Ask Kimmer’ to really see her in action. Her proverbial paper trail is long and provides a glimpse into her techniques to motivate with fear, loathing any dissent, disdain for any questioning of her advice.

It’s apparent she has one goal, to convince you to starve yourself on a very low calorie diet (vLCD) so that she can continue to promote, loudly, that the diet works and weight loss is fast. That is nothing special, anyone who seeks out the data on very low calorie diets and reads through the findings knows that very low calorie diets make you lose weight, but with a price.

The media’s constant portrayal of the obesity epidemic is one thing that drives people to lose weight. Although the obesity paradox shows a different story. That being overweight is actually healthy for you.

Then you have the whole prejudice against being fat going on. Overweight people do not have it easy. They are discriminated against in the work force. Being thin generates more financial freedom, more independence, a more active social life, a better job.

Which leads people to be desperate to become thin at any cost. Which leads them to Kimkins regardless of the dangers or the controversy. Their mantra is always, “but it works”. Yeah, VLCDs work, but at what cost to your health.

So in answer to the question of this post, that’s a big…..fat…..NO

As long as Kimkins is still up and running. I will work with the other duck detectives to put a stop to Kimkins. I will not quit until I see….

Kimkins on Good Morning America

UPDATE

FOR THOSE WHO MISSED THE SHOW

YOU CAN VIEW IT ONLINE

ONLINE VIDEO

ABC News will be airing the expose of the Kimkins Scam on Good Morning America. Stay tuned for further details.

CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS

This is real step to finally trying to get Heidi to shut her site down. Many say what’s so bad about Kimkins? Kimkins’ is not just a fraud, it is dangerous. The fraud, the nutritionally bankrupt diet, the lies, the eating disordered thinking, sending people to “Banned Camp” just for speaking their mind. Will the added media coverage hurt Kimkins sales? One can only hope.

UPDATE:

TO BE AIRED SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2008

The Kimkins Debate

For months we have watched this saga unfold. Although it really all began many years ago. These last months have proved to be trying for many people. Now Heidi is spouting off about how the freezing of her assets is making a hardship on her and Kimkins. All I can say is yipee. Maybe this will finally make her close up shop and move on.

The VLCD pushed by Heidi and her band of minions is dangerous. What you eat when you are on Kimkins, causes undue amount of terrible side effects. Why do you want to do that to yourself, just to be thin? Is it an eating disorder or a diet?

We need to take down Kimkins NOW.

Harmed by Kimkins? Share your Story on National TV

Have you experienced medical problems due to Kimkins?

Do you have any medically documented health issues related to the
Kimkins Diet?

Do you have some free time this weekend for an exciting opportunity to appear from the comfort of your home, on national television, in a prime time spotlight?

If you have suffered any of the following doctor verified medical conditions:

• 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

as a result of your experience with the Kimkins Diet, and would like this exciting opportunity to share your experiences with the public, please contact KimkinsonABC@gmail.com within the next 48 hours.

No travel will be required, an ABC crew will come to you to discuss your experience.

If you know of anyone who fits the above-mentioned medical criteria, please share this contact information with them for this important opportunity.

I will not quit….

I had some interesting comments on the post from yesterday.

First we have Dana :

She most certainly did tell her to eat, just not on the site because of people like you , who take things out of context and post on blogs…….HATERS…….just unreal, leave us alone please.

Dana

Followed by AvenueGirl:

Dana, if she told her to eat on the site then we wouldn’t have anything negative to discuss here. It is near impossible to see all the harm being done here when you are under Heidi’s trance.

We are not haters, we are normal people like you, some of which used to follow the plan, lost weight, but now suffer the consequences.

You think you’re getting ahead, but really the time in there will eventually set you back even further.

We choose not to leave you alone because we care. WE don’t get any financial support for what we are doing here. We do it because we care about people like you.

We offer support that is from our hearts.

It’s people like us that have learned from the experience and freely share what we have learned.

It’s the things that are not said that are the things to worry about. What you don’t know can hurt you.

Last comes Watcher:

So Dana, are you privy to pm’s between Heidi and Jane Doe? How do you know she told her to eat, if Heidi didn’t make it public? We have only the desperate pleadings of Jane as recently as last week. Where did you get your info from?

Dana, have you taken a look at Jane Doe’s journal entries?

An entry was sent to me last night. I will not post it in it’s entirety. But I do want to post one small section.

“I am going to do protein shakes, chicken broth and diet drinks for the next five days…Kimmer thinks it might get things moving on the scale.”

Did you get that Dana?

Heidi is telling her to drink protein shakes, chicken broth, and diet drinks.

Do you know what that is doing to her body? The body is starving. It will feed off the muscles.

The heart is a muscle.

Jane Doe is a prime candidate for sudden death from her diet and exercise.

So the answer is NO.

I will not quit.

UPDATE:
AvenueGirl responds to Dana in more detail on her blog. Here is just a small excerpt from her post, Am I Off Topic Here?

I’m not going to lie to you Dana. I did not get it at first. I didn’t understand what the big deal was. I felt I wanted to be in charge, and make my own decisions. I didn’t need these crazy “haters” raining on my parade. So I entered the fascination thread to give them my two cents.

I took the time to stop and listen to their responses to me too. I wanted to understand why they were so intent on carrying on. It wasn’t just one or two looneys putting up a stink. Their number was probably somewhere in the hundreds.

Their compassion for others became clearly apparent to me within the writing of just a few posts. They had nothing to “sell” me. There was nothing in it for them. I was just an intruder. Yet, they took the time to listen to me, and treated me fairly.

Now I have joined the “haters” for better or worse. I understand their mission, and I believe the cause is beyond worthy.

Very well said. The cause is beyond worthy.

In Heidi’s Own Words

With all the sad news of continued support of low calorie starvation eating at Kimkins. We already know how nutritionally bankrupt the diet is. But is it a diet or an eating disorder? I thought you might like to revisit what Heidi feels about ED.

Low Calories/Pro Ana

We are low calorie after ketosis kicks in or with the shake option, but those calories are identical to post-WLS patients (500 cal a day for months), original Optifast and Medifast (450-700 cal a day for months).

I don’t know what WLS program Heidi used. But no reputable surgeon recommends 500cals/day. WLS programs are geared to be lower calorie at first, 1000 cals/day. That only lasts for a few months as your pouch heals. The big difference in these programs and Heidi’s is:

SHE”S NOT A DOCTOR.

SHE HAS NO LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE.

The same applies to the Medifast or other liquid diets. You are supervised very closely by a doctor. Not some woman sitting behind a computer screen on a big power trip.

I don’t think we can fight the “1200 calorie a day mentality”. Some people cannot understand that your body takes the calories it needs from body fat if the calories you eat are too low to sustain current weight. If you need 2500 calories (250 lb person) and eat 500 (number picked for easy math), the other 2000 are taken from body fat.

This is just stupid. Elle did a good job of debunking this myth.

In Jimmy’s interview I meant what I said about take a Weight Watcher or Jenny Craig meal and remove the starches. What’s left? Kimkins. There is no health advantage to adding carbs or extra fat, so why is removing them (and having less calories) dangerous? 1200 calories a day is an arbitrary number (like 8 glasses of water).

Once again, Heidi is just plain wrong. Fats are the key to good health. there are many benefits to eating fat. Here are some good articles:

• Why Low-Carb Diets Must Be High-Fat
• The Importance of Saturated Fats for Biological Functions
• The Skinny on Fats
• Fats and Oils and Their Impact on Health

Anorexia is a psychological disorder. Do we have people with ED on Kimkins? Of course. I weighed 318 pounds and you don’t get that big without an improper relationship with food so I have an ED. But low calories aren’t an ED, otherwise all of the WLS patients would be medically classified anorexic.

What if regular Kimkins changes guidelines from 0-20 carbs to 10-20 carbs and 0-3 cups to 2-3 cups List 1? Then again, I’m stuck with what to do when you’re not hungry. Forced eating sounds ED to me. I’ll find someone I trust to make a Recommended Supplements list.

Just a reminder of some info on what an eating disorder is:

While eating disorders may begin with preoccupations with food and weight, they are most often about much more than food.

Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. Scientists and researchers are still learning about the underlying causes of these emotionally and physically damaging conditions. We do know, however, about some of the general issues that can contribute to the development of eating disorders.

People with eating disorders often use food and the control of food in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem over-whelming. For some, dieting, binging, and purging may begin as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life, but ultimately, these behaviors will damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem, and sense of competence and control.

ED are behaviors. It’s not about the food or the calories. It is all about your thinking. Heidi and her minions all preach that nothing tastes as good as thin feels. That in itself is an ED. Period.

If we make changes it will be announced with the Maintenance Plan (which will be a work in progress from member feedback). The announcement will be general and not in response to any outside pressure.

At least in this aspect Heidi has been true to her word. The maintenance plan is still ongoing with her asking members for advice. She couldn’t come up with a maintenance plan on her own, so she is having members do it for her. Color me shocked….

She couldn’t even come up with a diet of her own, so she stole Stillman’s.

We Ain’t Done Yet

The Science of Wearing Red

In a recent post, Medusa, talked about Heidi’s affinity for wearing red.

Kimkins Controversy-Kimkins Scam posted a nice piece showing the science of wearing red. This is my favorite part:

A person who likes red can express many personality traits. The positive ones being passion, energy, and money making. The darker manifestations of those who favor reddish-brown colors can be addictions such as drugs, alcohol, eating disorders or emotional instability.

Sound like anyone we know???

Heidi Wins An Award

Consumer News, Advice & Commentary
Directory of Consumer Protest Sites

Avaritia Facit Bardus

“Greed Makes You Stupid”

WINNER! Week of 12/30/2007

KIMKINS DIET

For reckless disregard of everything and everyone that stands between her and a fast buck, Consumerama hereby force-feeds Kimmer and her company this week’s NMRoM Award!

Don’t it just kinda get you right here…..

Kimkins Trickle Down Theory of Weight Loss

This is from “Just Ducky” , Kimkins Exposed, August 24, 2007:

With Kimmer a tad busy, it seems members are jumping in to offer advice to each other. This might be a good thing if the starvation concepts advanced by Kimmer didn’t seep down deep into those following the diet.

A member recently asked for help on the Ask Kimmer thread:

…stayed on the diet for five days and not lost a pound so I gave up. Hard to stick to something that is not working for me….eveny just a 1/2 pound would have been nice. My fit day is public so if anyone wants to look at it, feel free. I hope someone can help and maybe I will feel excited about starting again. Thanks to anyone who will try…

After someone suggested a public fitday to review, the member complied, and sure enough, other members were at the ready to give advice.

Before we look at the advice, the member’s fitday clearly shows that

8/13
518 calories
13 grams carbohydrate

8/14

938 calories
16 grams carbohydrate

8/15
608 calories
18 grams carbohydrate

8/16
488 calories
19 grams carbohydrate

8/17
254 calories
6 grams carbohydrate

Guess what advice they received?

You use a lot of cream – this might satisfy your coffee with cream in the morning – it does mine!

Please review the veggies you’re eating with the Kimkins Grocery list. When I started I counted the carbs and stayed under 20 per day – I now stay under 10 per day.

Hope this helps!

The plan works – now you have to work the plan.

Then there was this gem:

I’m not Kimmer either but and no where near my goal but your veggies are too high. You can only have 2 cups of the list one and 1 cup of list two or 3 cups of list one. You show you’ve gone over on most days. Also, no regular creamer if that’s the kind you’re using. Drizz has good advice too. Also, there were a couple of days you didn’t list…..so not sure if you went over on those days or just didn’t write stuff down. Beef also stalls me terribly, which is a shame because I love beef and can only tolerate the rest of the choice.

If you go back to the food list and really follow it, I think you’ll find you’ll do just great. Please hang in there, you are so worth it!

Notice no one said anything about the erratic and very low calorie intake? With a five day calorie average hovering around 500 calories, the problem is too many vegetables and cream, even though this member is remaining within the 20 grams of carbohydrate supposedly allowed on the diet?

Yes, what we see here is the trickle down theory of Kimkins weight loss advice.

Sad isn’t it. Yet this is still the practice over at Kimkins. You know, I think I have a better title for this post.

S*** RUNS DOWNHILL

Kimkins Scam
Join Us, Say “NO” to Kimkins
WildAngel6 Daily Links
Back Across The Line
Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit
Kimkins Diet Review