NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION
TO: EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A MEMBERSHIP TO KIMKINS.COM THROUGH THE KIMKINS.COM WEB SITE (www.kimkins.com) FROM JANUARY 1, 2006 TO OCTOBER 15, 2007
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, IN RIVERSIDE, CALILFORNIA.
INTRODUCTION
1. On May 20, 2009, the Riverside County Superior Court, located in Riverside, California, issued an order certifying this case to proceed as a class action.
2. The plaintiffs are six individuals who bought memberships to kimkins.com through the kimkins.com Website (www.kimkins.com) from January 1, 2006 to October 15, 2007. The defendants are Heidi Diaz, an individual, and Kimkins (also known as Kimkins.com), a business entity that conducts business in Corona, California.
3. The plaintiffs contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com induced them into buying memberships for kimkins.com through false and misleading information provided on the Kimkins.com Web site. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants violated California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq., which authorizes courts to provide relief from unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices. The plaintiffs also contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com violated common law prohibitions against fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
4. This notice provides you with information regarding the litigation, including the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants and the current status of the litigation. This notice also provides you with information regarding the court’s class-certification order.
THE LITIGATION
The Plaintiffs’ Claims
5. This lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Diaz and Kimkins used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to induce them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit is also based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Web site constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and Kimkins.
6. Here’s a list of the kinds of misconduct that the plaintiffs have alleged:
• that Diaz and Kimkins concocted a false persona, “Kim Drake” or “Kimmer” to sell memberships to Kimkins.com
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that “Kim Drake” was real by using photos of real women and then falsely claiming that the photos depicted “Drake”
• that Diaz and Kimkins posted lied about “Drake’s” purported weight loss
• that Diaz and Kimkins provided false or misleading information to Women’s World magazine
• that Diaz and Kimkins fabricated 41 “success stories” and published on the Kimkins.com Web
• that Diaz and Kimkins made up celebrity endorsements
• that Diaz and Kimkins misused labels and metatags to steer Internet traffic to the Kimkins.com Website, in violation of the law
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that they were buying lifetime memberships, when in fact Diaz and Kimkins.com terminated memberships at their whim
• that Diaz and Kimkins intended to mislead potential members and assumed that potential members would rely on her misrepresentations.
The Defendants’ Position
7. Diaz and Kimkins have denied all allegations of wrongdoing and liability, and they continue to deny that they have done anything wrong. Diaz and Kimkins also have asserted various affirmative defenses to the plaintiffs’ claims.
THE COURT’S CLASS-CERTIFICATION ORDER
8. In an order filed May 20, 2009, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court certified for class treatment the plaintiffs’ claims for equitable relief, including disgorgement of the subscription fees paid to Diaz and Kimkins by the plaintiffs and the members of the class.
9. The certified class is defined as all individuals who purchased the Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.
THE COURT HAS NOT EXPRESSED ANY OPINIONS
REGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS
10. The Court ordered that this notice be provided to advise class members that this case is pending and that the Court has certified the case to proceed as a class action. You should not consider this notice or its mailing to be a statement by the Court that the plaintiffs are right or that their claims will prevail.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CLASS MEMBERS
11. You do not need to do anything to remain a member of the class. If you bought a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007—including either of those dates—you are automatically included in the class. Your rights will be represented by the plaintiffs and their attorneys. You will not be personally responsible for any attorney fees or for the any of the costs of this litigation.
OPT OUT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
12. You have the opportunity to opt out of the class action lawsuit as detailed herein. If you incurred a personal injury as a result of using the Kimkins.com aka Kimkins Diet, you have a right to opt out. Notices to opt must be sent to jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com or mailed to Tiedt & Hurd at 980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209, Corona, California 92879.
WHERE TO GO & WHOM TO CONTACT
SHOULD YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION
13. This notice provides only a brief summary of this litigation. For further details, you should take one or both of the following steps:
• Review the documents in the Court’s file for this lawsuit. Many of these documents may be viewed or obtained on-line at the following URL: http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/ . You also may review the Court’s file in person by going to the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the Riverside Superior Court, during regular business hours. The Clerk’s office is located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, California 92501.
• Write a letter to the attorneys who are representing the plaintiffs and whom the Court has appointed to represent the class. Here are their names and their contact information:
John E. Tiedt & Marc S. Hurd
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879
Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
707 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 4100
Los Angeles, California 90017
Ray Moore
Moore Winter McLennan LLP
701 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 200
Glendale, California 92103-4232
If you decide to contact one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, please do so in writing. To make it easier for them or one of their staff members to respond, however, your letter should include both your e-mail address and your telephone number.
There are estimated to be as many as 40,000 members in the class. So please, DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE COURT BY E-MAIL.
DATE: ___________________________, 2009
____________________________________
Hon. _________________________,
Presiding Judge
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, December 17, 2007
Susan
Im a Kimins survivor. I joined KK in Dec. 06. Straight from the start I wondered if the calories would put me in starvation mode? My fears were daily, weekly, monthly put to sleep by a Crooked gal named Heidi Diaz. She prompted us to gain our dieting energy by viewing the before/afters…read their stories…read HER story and FitDay. Susan (I) wasnt very smart….I believed her. I lost a great amount of weight, fairly easily too. I was becoming my own before/after. I dreamed of the day MY photos would be posted with the others, what a good day that would be. But in early April….after feeling tiny bouts of dizziness a few times, even falling once and injuring my arm….I went down for the count. My husband and I were at the computer, planning out next vacation when suddenly that little dizziness was BIG dizziness. I made it to the bathroom just in time before forcefully vomiting. I called to my husband who had to guide me to the couch as I couldnt walk a straight line. It was Easter eve so when he insisted we go to the ER, I told him I was certain it would pass. I didnt want to miss Easter! I laid on that couch til the middle of the night, retching every time I moved my head even a little bit. By 6 a.m. my husband decided Susan wasnt so smart and carried me to the car. Within 15 minutes of my ER admission, I was rapidly being set up to check for a stroke or a brain tumor. I was so sick and I simply couldnt believe this was happening. At NO time did I suspect the KK diet. I still feel so stupid. MRI’s, Neurologists, CAT scans, IV medication to try to stop the spinning. 5 days of laying on my side with a wet towel over my eyes, they finally got the vertigo under control enough that I could walk slowly. They did find my electrolytes were all out of whack and my liver enzymes a little elevated, eventually saying they thought it might be inner ear. On day 4 I could hold down the diabetic diet they were feeding me. I think that is how I started to feel better, EATING normally…again I was not tying 2 and 2 together. I went home, a little dizzy but able to manage. I wrote on several of the Kimkims forums, Egg White challenge, Shake experiment, over 40s mature chat, that I had been sick but was better now. At last I saw before I was banned, they were still there. From that day on, I simply couldnt get my body to re-start Kimkins. By entire body resisted. I felt like a failure. EACH day I re-started…lose a few pounds only to fall off again. I was humiliated. Finally in mid summer I quit the diet all together and that is the last time I felt a dizzy spell….I was starting to put it all together, Susan was getting smarter. I looked up the symptoms of Anorexia nervosa, or starvation mode. Oh my God. When this whole Kimkin scam hit the Internet…I went from shocked, to mad, to sad and back again. All i can say is I hope to God that crooked, lying, selfish Heidi woman is caught and this idiotic fake diet plan is shut down.
from “Smarter Susan“
from “Smarter Susan“
Friday, November 30, 2007
Lily
My name’s Lily and I’ve been lurking on these threads since late June. I tried Kimkins myself then, and lost 30 pounds in about two months - which I thought was fantastic. And then, I couldn’t lose any more. Like many others, I kept dragging my calories down to the point where I’d eat nothing but a plain chicken breast for dinner and break down crying the next morning since my scale wouldn’t budge. My hair started to thin out, dizzyness was commonplace, but thankfully my husband convinced me to go back to high protein/high fat (I’ve had problems with EDs in my teens and early 20s - I’m 30 now).
At first glance, the diet seemed fantastic (especially with all of those supposed success stories) - even though I found Kimmer’s before and after pics more than suspect. I spent the early years of my career as a TV news reporter, and despite my own instincts - and the glaring evidence telling me otherwise - I chose to ignore them out of my own desperation to lose weight. And now I’ve severely compromised my health as a result.
I’m sure my story is like the countless other ones here, but I wanted to post because of something else with respect to the whole Heidi/Kimkins saga that kicks pretty close to home for me. Without a doubt, Heidi has a classic case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Having read through the threads here, I know that it’s been mentioned before - but I have to say she’s spot on. My mother was diagnosed with NPD years ago (which she says is just the opinion of a quack doctor who knows nothing - lol) and every element of this situation is a mirror of the behavior I’ve witnessed myself over the years.
I have to give much love and respect to all of you here for every effort made to reveal the truth - and stand by it - regardless of how hard it has been at times. You have a fan and an ally.
Hugs,Lily
from “Why the Fascination with Kimmer” #10
At first glance, the diet seemed fantastic (especially with all of those supposed success stories) - even though I found Kimmer’s before and after pics more than suspect. I spent the early years of my career as a TV news reporter, and despite my own instincts - and the glaring evidence telling me otherwise - I chose to ignore them out of my own desperation to lose weight. And now I’ve severely compromised my health as a result.
I’m sure my story is like the countless other ones here, but I wanted to post because of something else with respect to the whole Heidi/Kimkins saga that kicks pretty close to home for me. Without a doubt, Heidi has a classic case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Having read through the threads here, I know that it’s been mentioned before - but I have to say she’s spot on. My mother was diagnosed with NPD years ago (which she says is just the opinion of a quack doctor who knows nothing - lol) and every element of this situation is a mirror of the behavior I’ve witnessed myself over the years.
I have to give much love and respect to all of you here for every effort made to reveal the truth - and stand by it - regardless of how hard it has been at times. You have a fan and an ally.
Hugs,Lily
from “Why the Fascination with Kimmer” #10
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Important Lawsuit Information
In light of Kimmer’s recent admission that she is Heidi Diaz on the Kimkins website, I felt it would be a good time to reiterate that which I have said for a long time.
Join the lawsuit.
The more numbers behind us, the stronger we are. We are still in need of class reps and every voice against this fraud counts.
Heidi has offered a refund to people who follow certain procedures on her website for the next three days.
Reject that offer.
It is time for Heidi to stand up in a court of law and for the honest truth to come out.
If you have requested a refund, when you receive it, send it back and join the lawsuit.
Heidi will only truly come to justice in a court of law.
To join, simply send your name, address, day and evening phone number, approximate join date and amount paid to Kimkins.com to kimkinslawsuit@yahoo.com.
from Kimkinlawsuit’s weblog
Join the lawsuit.
The more numbers behind us, the stronger we are. We are still in need of class reps and every voice against this fraud counts.
Heidi has offered a refund to people who follow certain procedures on her website for the next three days.
Reject that offer.
It is time for Heidi to stand up in a court of law and for the honest truth to come out.
If you have requested a refund, when you receive it, send it back and join the lawsuit.
Heidi will only truly come to justice in a court of law.
To join, simply send your name, address, day and evening phone number, approximate join date and amount paid to Kimkins.com to kimkinslawsuit@yahoo.com.
from Kimkinlawsuit’s weblog
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Mayberryfan
Based on completely false advertising, I chose to go on the Kimkins diet plan in June. My online food journal is evidence that I stuck to the plan as written, believing that it was a healthy and sensible form of weightloss based on the claims of the plan’s creator “Kimmer” or Heidi K. Diaz, who are in fact the same person. While I did lose weight, I also began to experience significant hair loss, nausea, bouts of dizziness and was freezing all the time. As a normally hot-natured person, I began researching the source of my coldness and discovered that such crash diets can lower thyroid function to dangerously low levels bringing about the cold feeling and hair loss. Doing more research, I discovered that Ms. Diaz has no medical backing for her diet plan, did not lose weight as she claimed and has faked many of the “success stories” that she uses on the Kimkins website to sell memberships. At the very best, this plan is a fraud and at worst, is downright dangerous to one’s health. She has no business selling a diet plan that will definitely harm a person’s health if they stick with it long enough.
from Better Business Bureau Kimkins reviews
from Better Business Bureau Kimkins reviews
RW
There is no denying that you’ll lose weight on Kimkins. But then again, it’s because you are depriving yourself of essential nutrients due to the severe restrictions of the diet. Kimkins dieters have complained of hair loss, nausea and in my case, chronic constipation that didn’t resolve until I stopped the diet altogether and added more fiber into my diet. Kimmer (the founder) advocates taking laxatives daily, something I and most physicians do not agree with. Now, it has recently been revealed through a private detective and KTLA that Kimmer never lost the 198 lbs she claimed to have lost and she’s even fatter than her “before” picture. Even worse, many of her success story profiles have been fakes, using pictures from different Russian mail order bride websites. If you want to lose weight, there are better low carb alternatives out there, founded by legitimate physicians and nutritionist. Kimmer is neither of these. She is nothing but a fraud!
from Better Business Bureau Customer Reviews
from Better Business Bureau Customer Reviews
Sparky's Girl
Many of you know that I am a member of Kimkins and tried the plan with great success for a few months. I’ve tried to be honest and open about my experiences with Kimkins in this blog. In the past my stance on this has been that of someone with an open mind and trusting heart. I sought knowledge. I openly proclaimed that I did not know if it was a healthy plan or not. I recommended that those considering the plan look into all the details they can find. It was working for me and I felt fine while doing it. I even added an affiliate link after giving it a trial run.
Then I read some information that was very disturbing about Kimmer’s business ethics. Funny how that seemed to be the “red flag” for me. But somehow it made me wonder if things truly were not as they seemed. I can deal with a lot of things, but being lied to is not one of them. No one likes to be deceived, and the thought that Kimmer might be misleading people was nagging at the back of my brain.
I started reading everything I could find on both sides of the issue. What I found was, quite frankly, sad. People on both sides of the battle lines were hurling insults and accusations quicker than you could blink. It made me sick. I don’t believe in handling problems by creating more problems. It’s not an effective strategy. But I was quickly finding that something was indeed wrong in the Kimkins camp.
After much thought and prayer I decided to pull my kimkins affiliate and endorsements. At the time I wasn’t sure where it would lead. I thought if things calmed down and Kimkins was validated, then I would replace the ads and all would be well. That was never to be.
I want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who bought a membership through my affiliate links. I know there were 4 of you. Yes. I’m admitting that I sold 4 memberships, which totaled a profit of $60 for me. I basically got my membership back, plus $30 (memberships were only $30 when I joined). I wish I could refund all of your money.. or at least the part I received. Sadly, I’m not in a position financially to do so, even though it’s “only” $60. On top of that there is this issue of honesty. I could ask those of you who joined to contact me, etc., etc., but then I’d be asking for scammers and liars out the wazoo. So sadly you’ll have to settle for my sincere apology. And I truly hope you will accept it. I pray that you got something from your membership that was worth the money to you. Again I’m sorry. I had no intention of misleading anyone. I myself was mislead. I hope you will feel you can trust me in the future. I made this statement to a good friend recently regarding this whole thing: “You can bet I’ll be looking into anything I plan on recommending with a fine tooth comb and a magnifying glass.”
As of late, more and more has been surfacing about this situation. The most interesting information is coming from people who, until recently, worked very closely with Kimmer. What I’ve read from these brave people, who have put themselves out there to stand for truth, despite the abuse and scrutiny they may receive, is just what I feared. Kimmer appears to be deceiving many. It also appears she could care less who it hurts. I hate to even type that. I’m the kind of person who loves other people and wants to believe the best of them. I tried to with Kimmer, but have found I can no longer do so.
In the posts I will link to a bit later on, you will find copies of emails exchanged, pictures taken, and comments made that display the smoke and mirrors that is called kimkins. And before you go off on me about how the diet is still OK and who cares who Kimmer really is, let me say that the diet is not OK. I can tell you from personal experience. Here is my explanation on this:
I started the diet very skeptical. Some of you may remember my posts telling how I was going to give it a shot, but seriously doubted I could continue with the plan. It just sounded hard. I managed to stick with it long enough for ketosis to kick in. then something amazing happened. It suddenly seemed very easy. I was breezing through each day hardly giving a thought to eating at all. I broke my stall and started losing very quickly. I was so excited! But something changed. Now physically I felt fine. I wasn’t having any health issues and I thought all was well. But in my mind something was changing. I didn’t see it as clearly then as I do now. To be honest, I didn’t realize it was as serious as it was until just a couple of days ago. That’s when I decided I needed to tell my story. But my way of thinking was changing. I was starting to obsess over every bite I took. Now if you are like me, you are saying “So what? We all do that sometimes!” And that’s exactly what I kept telling myself. I was sure it was just me and my obsessive personality. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person so I felt positive it was just issues I was having and not something related to the diet. I started having concerns about my calories being too low and decided to up them a bit to be sure I was eating healthy. But I found that It took tremendous effort to eat more. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to stop the quick weight loss.. or even slow it down. My way of thinking had changed so drastically that I was no longer as concerned about my health as I should have been. Thankfully I realized I couldn’t continue on this way and went back to a more Atkins-like plan.
A few days ago I was reading some comments from others who were once on Kimkins. They were experiencing the same thoughts I was. They had the same feelings I did. Some were afraid to eat anything! Those similar experiences caused something to click in my mind. I realized I could have easily developed an eating disorder. I was on the verge. I was so obsessed with losing weight quickly, that only having 3 protein shakes a day, which totaled 330 calories, actually seemed acceptable. I would have laughed in the past had you EVER told me I’d feel that way.
Now can I blame this way of thinking on the diet? I don’t know. I do think it’s possible. It’s not something I have ever even considered before, even when I was losing well on Atkins. So why this mentality now? Why when I was trying Kimkins. All I can say is there COULD be a link. And it’s a big enough could that I’m making sure the rest of you know about it.
I have not experienced health issues as some have, but then I was only on Kimkins for a short time. There are many, including some popular faces of Kimkins, that have confessed to losing hair, having energy issues, etc.
Here are the aforementioned links. Read them and decide for yourself. It might interest you to know that many people who bought lifetime memberships no longer seem to have access to kimkins.com. It seems that if they asked questions or made honest suggestions for nipping all this conflict in the bud, they were quickly squelched. I guess they are considered trouble makers. I don’t want to stir up trouble, but I do want to know the truth, as do so many others. I may be the next person to lose my membership access.. we shall see.
Check out Becky’s (littlebit’s) blog, who was a very public face for the kimkins forums. There are several posts here that will enlighten you to the workings of Kimmer’s mind, at least in relation to how she felt about the concerns at hand.
Here is Deni’s blog, who was one of the success stories in the Woman’s World write up. Again, it’s interesting to see her point of view. Considering she was a kimkins celebrity, why would she suddenly turn away from it all unless she had valid reasons?
Then we have Christin, who was the Woman’s World cover girl for that story. Again, why would she leave unless there were serious issues behind the scenes?Then we have a series of very disturbing posts by a man who claims to be the husband of Kimmer’s ex business partner. In his blog he reveals not only shady business dealings, but recent photos of Heidi Diaz, who is supposed to be Kimmer. Kimmer claims she is not Heidi and that she feels sorry for Heidi because she is being stalked by this PI. But my question is this. If Kimmer isn’t Heidi, then why did she let Women’s World magazine tell everyone she was? The famous “red dress” picture is in the magazine, along with the blue and white floral before picture. The magazine credits Heidi Diaz, otherwise known as Kimmer, as the creator of the diet and the person in the two photos. If Kimmer were an honest person, and these were not photos of her, wouldn’t she have stepped forward and said so? But now she claims that she is NOT Heidi Diaz, and seems to be bragging that no one knows WHO she really is (See Becky’s blog above). Does that sound like the comments of an honest person to you? Me thinks not.
I could add many more links here about the effects of very low calorie dieting, Kimmer’s advising people to use laxatives, etc., etc. But I think I’m done. You can find these on any of the many other blogs and web sites out there that are dedicated to bringing to light the truth. I just wanted to share my view point on this. While I’m not in the Kimmmer hating camp, because it’s not the way I believe or operate, I am very disappointed in her and her so-called healthy plan.
If you are doing the Kimkins diet, I wish you health and happiness. I’m not going to beat you up because you are. I feel I did learn some things about myself during this experience that have been helpful to me, so I can’t completely write it all off. But I don’t think the positives outweigh the negatives here. So please be careful and watch the signals your body is giving you. If you are concerned about anything at all, please go see a doctor and tell him/her of your diet plan.
So these are my feelings on the matter. I know I have opened myself up for abuse by posting this, but my hopes are that if you disagree with me, you can do so civilly. And I hope this post will give others the courage to tell their story and do an honest evaluation of their health. Weight loss is great, but the old saying is true.. “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.”
God bless you all.
from “Kimkins–How I feel about it now”
Then I read some information that was very disturbing about Kimmer’s business ethics. Funny how that seemed to be the “red flag” for me. But somehow it made me wonder if things truly were not as they seemed. I can deal with a lot of things, but being lied to is not one of them. No one likes to be deceived, and the thought that Kimmer might be misleading people was nagging at the back of my brain.
I started reading everything I could find on both sides of the issue. What I found was, quite frankly, sad. People on both sides of the battle lines were hurling insults and accusations quicker than you could blink. It made me sick. I don’t believe in handling problems by creating more problems. It’s not an effective strategy. But I was quickly finding that something was indeed wrong in the Kimkins camp.
After much thought and prayer I decided to pull my kimkins affiliate and endorsements. At the time I wasn’t sure where it would lead. I thought if things calmed down and Kimkins was validated, then I would replace the ads and all would be well. That was never to be.
I want to take this opportunity to apologize to anyone who bought a membership through my affiliate links. I know there were 4 of you. Yes. I’m admitting that I sold 4 memberships, which totaled a profit of $60 for me. I basically got my membership back, plus $30 (memberships were only $30 when I joined). I wish I could refund all of your money.. or at least the part I received. Sadly, I’m not in a position financially to do so, even though it’s “only” $60. On top of that there is this issue of honesty. I could ask those of you who joined to contact me, etc., etc., but then I’d be asking for scammers and liars out the wazoo. So sadly you’ll have to settle for my sincere apology. And I truly hope you will accept it. I pray that you got something from your membership that was worth the money to you. Again I’m sorry. I had no intention of misleading anyone. I myself was mislead. I hope you will feel you can trust me in the future. I made this statement to a good friend recently regarding this whole thing: “You can bet I’ll be looking into anything I plan on recommending with a fine tooth comb and a magnifying glass.”
As of late, more and more has been surfacing about this situation. The most interesting information is coming from people who, until recently, worked very closely with Kimmer. What I’ve read from these brave people, who have put themselves out there to stand for truth, despite the abuse and scrutiny they may receive, is just what I feared. Kimmer appears to be deceiving many. It also appears she could care less who it hurts. I hate to even type that. I’m the kind of person who loves other people and wants to believe the best of them. I tried to with Kimmer, but have found I can no longer do so.
In the posts I will link to a bit later on, you will find copies of emails exchanged, pictures taken, and comments made that display the smoke and mirrors that is called kimkins. And before you go off on me about how the diet is still OK and who cares who Kimmer really is, let me say that the diet is not OK. I can tell you from personal experience. Here is my explanation on this:
I started the diet very skeptical. Some of you may remember my posts telling how I was going to give it a shot, but seriously doubted I could continue with the plan. It just sounded hard. I managed to stick with it long enough for ketosis to kick in. then something amazing happened. It suddenly seemed very easy. I was breezing through each day hardly giving a thought to eating at all. I broke my stall and started losing very quickly. I was so excited! But something changed. Now physically I felt fine. I wasn’t having any health issues and I thought all was well. But in my mind something was changing. I didn’t see it as clearly then as I do now. To be honest, I didn’t realize it was as serious as it was until just a couple of days ago. That’s when I decided I needed to tell my story. But my way of thinking was changing. I was starting to obsess over every bite I took. Now if you are like me, you are saying “So what? We all do that sometimes!” And that’s exactly what I kept telling myself. I was sure it was just me and my obsessive personality. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person so I felt positive it was just issues I was having and not something related to the diet. I started having concerns about my calories being too low and decided to up them a bit to be sure I was eating healthy. But I found that It took tremendous effort to eat more. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to stop the quick weight loss.. or even slow it down. My way of thinking had changed so drastically that I was no longer as concerned about my health as I should have been. Thankfully I realized I couldn’t continue on this way and went back to a more Atkins-like plan.
A few days ago I was reading some comments from others who were once on Kimkins. They were experiencing the same thoughts I was. They had the same feelings I did. Some were afraid to eat anything! Those similar experiences caused something to click in my mind. I realized I could have easily developed an eating disorder. I was on the verge. I was so obsessed with losing weight quickly, that only having 3 protein shakes a day, which totaled 330 calories, actually seemed acceptable. I would have laughed in the past had you EVER told me I’d feel that way.
Now can I blame this way of thinking on the diet? I don’t know. I do think it’s possible. It’s not something I have ever even considered before, even when I was losing well on Atkins. So why this mentality now? Why when I was trying Kimkins. All I can say is there COULD be a link. And it’s a big enough could that I’m making sure the rest of you know about it.
I have not experienced health issues as some have, but then I was only on Kimkins for a short time. There are many, including some popular faces of Kimkins, that have confessed to losing hair, having energy issues, etc.
Here are the aforementioned links. Read them and decide for yourself. It might interest you to know that many people who bought lifetime memberships no longer seem to have access to kimkins.com. It seems that if they asked questions or made honest suggestions for nipping all this conflict in the bud, they were quickly squelched. I guess they are considered trouble makers. I don’t want to stir up trouble, but I do want to know the truth, as do so many others. I may be the next person to lose my membership access.. we shall see.
Check out Becky’s (littlebit’s) blog, who was a very public face for the kimkins forums. There are several posts here that will enlighten you to the workings of Kimmer’s mind, at least in relation to how she felt about the concerns at hand.
Here is Deni’s blog, who was one of the success stories in the Woman’s World write up. Again, it’s interesting to see her point of view. Considering she was a kimkins celebrity, why would she suddenly turn away from it all unless she had valid reasons?
Then we have Christin, who was the Woman’s World cover girl for that story. Again, why would she leave unless there were serious issues behind the scenes?Then we have a series of very disturbing posts by a man who claims to be the husband of Kimmer’s ex business partner. In his blog he reveals not only shady business dealings, but recent photos of Heidi Diaz, who is supposed to be Kimmer. Kimmer claims she is not Heidi and that she feels sorry for Heidi because she is being stalked by this PI. But my question is this. If Kimmer isn’t Heidi, then why did she let Women’s World magazine tell everyone she was? The famous “red dress” picture is in the magazine, along with the blue and white floral before picture. The magazine credits Heidi Diaz, otherwise known as Kimmer, as the creator of the diet and the person in the two photos. If Kimmer were an honest person, and these were not photos of her, wouldn’t she have stepped forward and said so? But now she claims that she is NOT Heidi Diaz, and seems to be bragging that no one knows WHO she really is (See Becky’s blog above). Does that sound like the comments of an honest person to you? Me thinks not.
I could add many more links here about the effects of very low calorie dieting, Kimmer’s advising people to use laxatives, etc., etc. But I think I’m done. You can find these on any of the many other blogs and web sites out there that are dedicated to bringing to light the truth. I just wanted to share my view point on this. While I’m not in the Kimmmer hating camp, because it’s not the way I believe or operate, I am very disappointed in her and her so-called healthy plan.
If you are doing the Kimkins diet, I wish you health and happiness. I’m not going to beat you up because you are. I feel I did learn some things about myself during this experience that have been helpful to me, so I can’t completely write it all off. But I don’t think the positives outweigh the negatives here. So please be careful and watch the signals your body is giving you. If you are concerned about anything at all, please go see a doctor and tell him/her of your diet plan.
So these are my feelings on the matter. I know I have opened myself up for abuse by posting this, but my hopes are that if you disagree with me, you can do so civilly. And I hope this post will give others the courage to tell their story and do an honest evaluation of their health. Weight loss is great, but the old saying is true.. “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.”
God bless you all.
from “Kimkins–How I feel about it now”
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