Melodie

I was contacted by Kimkins Smith and asked to tell my story. My first impulse was to leave it alone and not jump into the fray. But if this will take just one person out of harm’s way, then I will use my voice. There is not much to tell from a personal sense. My departure was due in fact to a basic disagreement on weight loss philosophies. I am a tweeker and a tinker and I never follow blindly. I am a short woman who has always had a problem losing weight. While my problem has not been as severe as many it’s been a problem none the less, and I was delighted to have finally found something that worked.

On Kimkins I found a great kinship with a lot of other “short girls” like myself who were at their wits end trying to lose weight. So I stuck my toe in the water, started the diet, and hooked up with a lot of really great “Short Girls”. When a couple of other girls and myself started the “Short Girls Support Group”, it was nirvana for me. I had always been a “loner” who pretty much took care of my own problems and kept to myself. Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of the Kimkins way, are the support groups, and ironically, therein lies the danger.

It’s like a truck rolling down hill with no escape ramp. The momentum becomes greater and greater, and then there is no stopping it. It’s a dream that has been sold to a lot of desperate people in their quest to become acceptable in a society that embraces thinness and who is paradoxically so overweight. It’s a fast and easy fix for people who are in a great deal of pain. So people reach out from the bottom of that pain and grab onto the Kimkins lifeboat, and at last there is hope. There are also a whole lot of people cheering you on and giving you the most amazing encouragement you could ever ask for. These are intelligent, educated people with one commonality, and again that is desperation.

And so it begins. The struggle from hunger is over. It is replaced by nausea, fatigue, and sleeplessness. For the unlucky ones that passes, because they have just successfully overridden their body’s early warning system. Make no mistake, Kimkins works, because the discomfort is quickly followed by a miraculous weight loss so affectionately referred to as the “whoosh”. More proof that your weight loss problems are over. Unfortunately, your heath problems may just be beginning.

I will not address these health issues because that information is already available on this site. What I’d like to talk about is the psychology behind the diet. I initially did not buy into the Kimkins bashing that was going on throughout the cyber world. I thought it was born out of jealousy and pettiness, and in retrospect, it may have initially done more harm than good. It was not important to me how much money Kimmer made or if her pictures were authentic, all I knew was that the diet worked, and all my “Short Girl” friends were living proof. But the bad press made me think and soon became a resounding alarm that finally brought me out of my Jonestown trance. It made me revisit some things that my gut had ignored, and it literally took the blush off the rose. I began to see the laxative use, the ultra low calories, and the abuse that was promoted from within and then parroted by well meaning support groups who were only trying to help. So ironically, these wonderful people on these wonderful forums promoted the “dream” in a cult sort of way. Many people stopped thinking for themselves and continued down the path to self -destruction. In all fairness, I think there are a lot of people out there who “secretly” practice a more Atkins approach, but stay around for the support. These are people who have not followed blindly, who think for themselves, and have not fallen prey to the hysteria. These are people who needed to feel a sense of community, and that is what they got at Kimkins I have heard from a lot of them since starting my new support group.For those I have addressed above, this article is not for you, because I know you are safe and have made wise informed decisions. This article is for the most successful of the Kimkinites, who follow blindly in pursuit of their dreams. I bear no malice towards anyone. My only motivation in writing this article is to get you to think and ask questions. Ask yourselves why you are willing to disregard the research of some of the most brilliant minds in the world of bariatrics. I’m not talking mainstream AMA stuff. I’m talking about brilliant and published researchers who can easily be found with a Google search. Why are you ignoring the distress signals your body is trying to send you each and every day. Your body wants to survive and I hope you do too.While I may not dissuade you from Kimkins, I truly hope you will consider what I’m saying and what others are trying to say to you. Above all, there is hope and there is middle ground. There are other ways to win your battle, maybe just not as fast.

For those of you who have lost, however you have done it, I applaud you, but please make use of your God given right to think for yourselves. At least if you decide to stay with Kimkins you have made an informed decision, and you know the risks. If you think fast weight loss is an even trade for the potentially life threatening complications, then at least you’ve been informed. That’s all I’m asking, and that’s the only reason for this article.In closing, the greatest lesson I have learned is the need for support. Trust me, there are plenty of support groups and forums who will welcome you with open arms. So whatever your decision is regarding Kimkins, I hope you won’t go it alone.