elliotsmom

I have to share my experience on kimkins. I first joined in February and had about 60 lbs to lose. It was very strict and austere, but I managed to stick w/ it. I have heard a friend say that the “high” you get when you see the scale go down so quickly is very addictive. That is so true, and that’s exactly what happened to me.

I believed Kimmer when she said new information shows that laxatives are not addictive, so I started taking ex-lax, much as she said her sister did. I took it for almost 5 months, morning and night, and it worked. After hearing the upset on the lowcarbfriends board, I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t “go” without them. I am still trying to undo the harm they have caused.

Another problem I had on Kimkins was the lack of energy and inability to exercise like before. I did go to the gym, but where I used to walk quickly on the treadmill, I had to walk very slowly and where I used to walk for almost an hour, I had to stop at 20 min. I just didn’t have the energy to go on. By the time I got home and took my shower, I was spent. Thank goodness I didn’t have a job outside the home. I truly don’t know how I could have worked all day in that condition.

I decided a couple of months ago that I needed to slow down the weight loss so I could ease into maintenance, and I knew I couldn’t slow it down the way I was going. I tried Atkins ‘72, but the thought of adding alot to the diet I was on (Kimkins) was very scary to me. It took alot of encouragement from people at a couple of lowcarb websites to even get me to try it. The first time didn’t work out so well….I went running back to Kimkins after 4 days and getting myself out of ketosis. The 2nd time I tried, I just had to jump in with both feet, because the fear was holding me back. I have done good on Atkins ‘72, still losing, but slowly, which is what I wanted. I KNOW it’s healthier and I am stronger and have alot more energy. When I go into the Kimkins site now, it breaks my heart to see the women talking about how few calories they are eating, threads about how weak they are feeling, etc. I don’t know how to help them because I feel if I say something, the post will be pulled before anybody can see it. It has happened to others.
I do not hate Kimmer. I do feel like she has hurt alot of people w/ her advice. I didn’t believe it when the thread at lcf started, and felt they were bashing her. The more I read, the more I had to agree w/ alot of what they were saying. This WOE is NOT healthy, is not going to help as much as hurt others in the long run.

I have been to pro-ana sites in the past, just out of curiousity, and when I started this diet, I felt at the beginning that it sounded like pro-ana, but just pushed that feeling aside. Now that I am caught up in that mindset (low calories are normal, afraid to add more, only picking the leanest of anything to eat, laxatives) I KNOW how the anorexics feel and why it’s hard for them to quit. I don’t feel like I’m anorexic, but I do understand them alot better now, and can see how they could get swept up in it all when they are just trying to drop a few lbs. The feeling of no appetite (I had that sometimes) is very empowering, makes you feel like you could diet forever and not be bothered by it. You push the bells going off in your head aside and continue on. Then one day the bells stop going off and all is well.

I’m telling you, it is soooo easy to get sucked in, and soooo hard to stop the madness.

I can hardly call this site a neutral site, but others and myself are telling our experiences w/ Kimkins. Please stop the madness, you know in your heart and mind it’s not healthy and there WILL come a time that you CAN’T convince yourself to stop. Do it before then, or it’s too late.