stardust1

On a serious note: I didn’t have caring admins when I started, but I did meet caring members. I only lasted 10 days, but regardless of the time spent there, my thinking is still messed up as I am constantly thinking about calories, too much fat and things that are “on the list” or not. I have to remind myself to eat a healthy diet – that to me is sickening. It just gets under your skin, and if I’m complaining after only 10 days, I wonder what is happening to other members there that have been on KK for long periods of time. Like I said previously, sometimes all it takes is just a tiny trigger to get people into serious trouble. I worry about the remaining people there, and I hope that they will understand that many of us care about them. It’s not about them, it’s about somebody who is playing with their health and who couldn’t care less. Very otherwise smart people at KK have made statements like: Why do I care about Kimmer being fat? I lost xxx pounds. And even though I understand the desperation, I know how badly I want to be thin again, the fact that Kimmer probably never lost or maintained the weight as she claims has been very important to me from the beginning. It simply means that Kimmer doesn’t know what the side effects are from this WOE and NOBODY can say what the longterm damage could be. Please everybody use common sense, because you are smart people who just got blinded by false promises. Nobody would see a plumber to have dental work done, please! We are talking about a woman who has never lost weight on her own diet, SHE doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I know that some of you read here, and I want to use this opportunity to say, that I don’t care about the 60 bucks that I paid – if I can make an impact on one person with doubts about KK I’ll pay it again. This is just my take on the things that are going on there.

from lowcarbfriends.com“Why the Fascination with Kimmer #4”

Pesky

I started my weight loss with the help of my brother who went on Atkins with me. In August he reached his goal and is -145 lbs lighter. So I started looking for a new support group. I was also on a 3 month plateau and was about to hang my scale in effigy. In the midst of this I read the WW article and put it aside figuring I was doing fine on Atkins…then picked it up again months later and signed on. The low fat approach appealed to me since I had been keeping on the lower fat side of Atkins on my way through. (by this I mean low salt, low fat cold cuts and processed meats were what we used when not cooking fresh food). Counting my calories a little more didn’t seem like such a bad idea. HOWEVER, I was thinking 1200 calories, not 500-600.

Honestly, now that I look back, I will say that I probably was on the plateau because I let too many carbs back into my diet. Too many nuts, too many low carb pitas etc, and could have just gone back on induction and gotten the same results as Kimkins.

I stopped Kimkins when I realized that I was starting to have a really unhealthy relationship with food. I know I didn’t gain this weight overnight and until Kimkins had a pretty healthy idea that I was on a 3 year timeplan to lose 170 lbs. Of course I had hoped for closer to 2 years but hey, life happens. Once on it, I was convinced I could be down to 120 by March, and I made sure I followed the plan to get there.

Then one day, while doing a 14 mile hike in a local park, I grabbed 10 wild blueberries from a bush and scarfed them down, something I’ve always enjoyed about the early August Hiking. I felt like I had committed a major crime. 10 blueberries, full of anti-oxidents, and I was feeling an abnormal level of guilt, this is NOT healthy.

from lowcarbfriends.com “Why the Fascination with Kimmer? #4”

stilldew

I have been afloat for awhile and just trying to keep my head above water. It nice to feel I finally may have grabbed hold of a lifeboat!

Nice to see some from the 50’s thread here that I know. I did not post often, but occasionally. Mostly I stayed on the Nurses Challenge thread and I think that as nurses, most of us there made the mistake of not really looking at the other threads enough. I finally became alarmed at the poor advise I was seeing being given and horrified at some of the fitdays (mine included). I sent out some warning emails to member of the challenge, but was not ready for awhile to give up the support until a couple weeks ago. I posted links to Becky’s, Deni’s and Christin’s blogs in the thread and hope that by reading them, others will soon be jumping ship too. I know many have.

from lowcarbdiscussions.com “Kimkins Survivors”

debbie in AZ

Hi all! I’m still over THERE – at least for a while, but want to be HERE too. I’m trying to maintain right now. Happy in my clothes, but haven’t reached the goal I originally set….so that goal may change! I’m thankful that I was able to lose the weight I did, but at what cost I am asking myself now! I feel very healthy and am full of energy, but boy is my hair falling out….and I still haven’t been able to go to the bathroom without the help of MOM or other stimulants. I’m adding lots of veggies in this week and plan to start in on fruit next week. I’m taking a good multi and biotin and plan to call the DR to get a full check up done. I’m happy to see so many of who I consider my friends here.

from lowcarbdiscussion.com “Kimkins Survivors”

pazinhim

I’ve had it with everything. There’s just no more denying it. Here is my last post on Kimkins. Thank you for everyone who has contributed to getting the truth out!

Topic Line: Kimkins is the best diet ever!

Is what I would have said three months ago. You see, about three months ago, I was 42 lbs lighter, only 35 lbs away from my goal weight. I was thrilled to have finally found something that works for me.

Then one day, while at work, I almost passed out. Employees said I looked white as a ghost. I justfied the episode somehow in my mind and moved on.

About a month ago, I noticed small pains in my chest area. Sort of like little “twangs”. I can no longer ignore these pains as they are undoubtably becoming more frequent.

I cannot ignore my body any longer. I cannot ignore that nagging feeling that “something is just not quite right” with Kimmer and the Kimkins diet.

I cannot ignore the overwhelming evidence that Kimmer did not lose the weight she claims she did. I used to say “I don’t care if Kimmer is a robot, this diet works!” I tried to justify the facts. If Kimmer is telling the truth why does she not produce more before and after pics to put an end to this whole thing once and for all? Let’s think about this logically: Look at your own weight loss and what an accomplishment it is. Remember how great it feels? You’ve worked hard to accomplish something and are proud of what you did. You want people to see your before and after pics because you are proud of yourself. Yet Kimmer refuses to provide those pics? The ugly reality is she can’t produce any current pics because she does not have any. Not one.

I cannot ignore the harmful advice that she has given me and countless others to keep calories and fat as low as possible. After all, gastric bypass patients eat as low as 500 cals a day she would say. I now know that they are under strick doctor’s care and, they up their calories to normal ranges within the first 1-2 months. She would also say things such as “there is no such thing as starvation mode”. I wanted to believe it, too. It’s not true.

I cannot ignore the health issues that other people are having on this diet. You could hear Christin (WW cover girl) in her own words here: The Journey. As you listen, truly ask yourself what could possibly be her motivation for saying what she says. Money? She lost money by leaving Kimkins. Fame? She already had it due to her being on the cover of WW. Take a listen and let me know what you think is truly motivating her to say what she is saying.

I cannot ignore the current Kimkins admins and members who praise Kimmer and the diet. It’s sickening. It’s sickening not only because they are deceived but it’s sickening because those same people will most likely be writing something very similar to this once they too realize how deceptive Kimmer is and how dangerous the diet truly is. The very ones who lose the weight quickly will most likely have the same symptoms that are being reported by tons of other people.

I cannot ignore my own emotions and feelings about the entire ordeal. Who would have known, though?? Kimmer gave me something that nobody else had ever given me: HOPE. Hope that I could do lose the weight and keep it off. Kimmer gave me hope that this is a WOE that I could follow the rest of my life. Kimmer gave me hope that I could be thin again. She gave me hope that I could be finally freed of my addiction to eating. But guess what? It was a false hope because she never lost the weight. It was a lie. And now I’m left praying that the symptoms I’m experiencing will go away once I renoursh my body.

My sincere prayer is that what I’ve written will reach at least one person. I beg you now: If you too have been having that “gut” feeling, you know which one I’m talking about, please do your research. Do not be afraid to get off of the plan is a wonderful tool. Pray for wisdom. HE will provide it to those who ask. Let my last words on this forum ring in your ears:

This is a DANGEROUS diet and Kimmer is lying to you.

from, “Why the Fascination with Kimmer? #4”

jc

Hello again. It’s been a short while since I’ve posted here. Last time here, I was very pro-Kimkins. And I was angry at what I was reading here. I asked to be removed from this forum, and they kindly “unregistered” me.
Long story short…I’ve changed my tune, come to my senses, smartened up….
When I saw those PI pix, I just knew in my heart, it was HER. That was tough for me to swallow. But I told myself it was okay, I can still use the plan cause it works for me.
I continued to lurk here and other places, and it all finally started to sink in. I can’t explain it, why I couldn’t accept the truth. I kept trying to “make it work” in my head. I finally admitted to my dh that my hair is falling out, and has been for about 6 months. So far, that is the only side effect I have experienced. I emailed Christin, and she is such a beautiful and caring person, and it all fell into place.
I got in touch with a couple of other ex-kimkinites. And it really is a difficult process to remove yourself from the mindset. It all finally came crashing down the other night at the Kimkins site when Wonderwoman started spouting off. I was there, watching it happen. And again, another lightbulb moment…I knew that it was HER. I was typing my response when the screen went blank, and the whole thread was deleted.
I wanted so badly to chat with someone, I was livid! And of course I had burned my bridge here. I have since repented and the admins here kindly reinstated my priveleges. So here I am. I am not very outspoken. But I apologize for being so hard-headed, and thinking so badly of everyone here. You have done an awesome job of getting the word out that KK is not a healthy diet. And SHE is just beyond words! I felt sorry for her at first, but no more. This has got to STOP.
Anyway, thanks for listening. And again, I’m sorry for being so judgemental of everyone here. You were right…all along. I’m just glad that I finally came to my senses.

from “Why the Fascination with Kimmer?” # 4

Carole

Atkins did me good 7 yrs ago and I maintained that weight for approximately 3 yrs …. then I fell prey to emotional/stress eating and gained it all back. Yes, to the exact pound, a whooping 297 on my height challenged frame, 5’3″.

After having some stomach problems 2 yrs ago, I found out I had a fatty liver. Duh, of course I was sure it was because of Atkins even though my only real splurge was an amazing homemade salad dressing. Did I ever think is was my excessive addiction to ice cream? Who can have 2 Frostees a day and polish off a half gallon of ice cream in 2 or 3 nights. Talking about living under a rock.

I joined that KK place on June 16th and in 2.5 months lost 52 lbs. Was I ever thrilled since I had so much more to go. Then about 3 weeks ago, I became very concerned for my health. No hair loss, but NO, absolutely NO appetite at all. Sometimes it would be 4:00 pm and I would not have had a morsel of food in my body. Tiredness overcame me and I was napping every day, headaches returned and I felt so very weak. It truly was not intentional but when I looked at my calories for the day I was between 300 – 350. Holy Moly. A Church friend noticed what she called “a slight change” in me and she wasn’t talking about my weight. She questioned what I was eating and told me I needed to STOP immediately, that I was on the path to anorexia. Without knowing too much about that crippling disease, I chuckled and said “with another 100 lbs to lose, that’s ridiculous.” After sharing my ill feelings with my 50+ Buddies, I forced myself to increase my calorie level, having 3 shakes a day which still kept me way too low in calories.

Lori, once again thank you for getting the ball rolling. Hey I can do that too, a delish cheese ball rolled in cashews.

I’ve looked at Jimmy’s site so many times in the past and now I’m thrilled to be here.

As for Kimmer/Heidi, how sad that she stooped to this level. I will not blame her, I was so anxious to rid my body of 160 pounds that I jumped in with my eyes half closed. No one but ME is responsible for MY wrong choices.

Gee, once I get started I forget to stop. I’m just so excited to be in a much healthier place. Thanks for listening. I will no longer be afraid of too much fat and will add more veggies and REAL cheese to my daily meals. I can’t wait.

Wishing every other refugee continued “healthy” success here in our new safe haven.

Hugs
Carole

from lowcarbdiscussion.com, “Kimkins Survivors“

MyCannelloni

Christin’s video has brought all of my Kimkins horror memories back up.

I was only on it for a few months, but I started it after I had reached goal (115). I wanted to lose a few more pounds. I ended up weighing in near the bottom of “normal weight” per the BMI chart, but my frame is between medium and large, so I think I was at the absolute bottom at 104 lbs.

I experienced the loss of ovulation, severe panic and anxiety attacks, rapid heartbeat and arrhythmia. I attributed this all to stress since my personal life was indeed very stressful.

But the worst part was the incredibly painful and scary chest pain. Gallbladder problems were ruled out. I began to have reflux 24/7. I was worried I had esophageal cancer. The mysterious pain was so unnerving that I had crying spells and couldnt enjoy being model-thin. Finally it became evident that I was having terrible esophageal spasms. I also ended up attributing this to stress, and some extended release anti-spasmodic medicine helped a great deal.

It wasn’t until I found out about Heidi’s lies that I questioned her program. In the course of one weekend reading the first Fascination thread, I realized that I was anorexic while doing Kimkins and had no idea.

And now I wonder if my body’s freaking out due to stress was also linked with or was directly caused by my starvation menus. I never told my primary care doctor how few calories I was eating (at the low end of my BMI!). I didn’t tell my GI doctor either. I’ll never know if it was stress or an eating disorder that caused my health problems.

There’s one thing I do know. I was starving and thought I was in safe territory because I believed I had excess body fat, and Kimmer had me convinced that eating little to nothing was dandy if there was excess body fat present. I am actually grateful to be several pounds above goal right now. I’m better off now than I was at 104…struggling to find suits for job interviews because the size 2 skirts slid off of my hips…

from lowcarbfriends.com “Why the Fascination with Kimmer? Part 3”

Thank You, Christin

Thank you. 

Kendra

After a lot of soul searching and reading many things online, I think for a while one of my main topics here is going to have to be the Kimkins diet and web site. maybe I should start at the beginning.

I started to read about the Kimkins diet on LCF because it had all the info for free, but then I found Kimkin’s web site. For a small price (or so it seemed) I could join their forum and have access to personal replies from “Kimmer” the fouder and woman who created the diet. She said that she had lost almost 200 pounds in something like less than a year and has managed to keep it off going on 6 years. Sounded wonderful and just what I needed. I paid my fee and joined. There were great friends made there, great admins ect. But I must say it bothered me when I read a lot of the advice given. I started following th plan and when I asked a question, most of the time it was someone ether than kimmer answering. Fine I could live with that. These people seemed to know what they were doing. I took everything at face value and yes I did drop pounds and at a rapid speed. But I was having side effects. If I were to ask about them, I was told This is normal… you are loosing so well, don’t worry about the small things, everything will correct itself and you will be so much healthier skinny then when you were obese. I played this diet game for a little over 5 months and I have to say yes I lost a lot of weight, but I was not feeling at all healthy, fit or attractive. I had no energy, my hair was falling out and my Husband pretty much had to force me to eat and then I would feel the guilt after I ate. Looking back I now see that I was (and still am) dealing with an eating disorder I developed while doing Kimkins. The last starw was when I passed out at my child’s soccer game and my Husband had to call 911. I spent 4 days in the hospital because I was dehydrated, my heart had an abnormal beat and I was made to meet with a nutritonalist counsler before they would release me. I was told that the way of eating that I was following would damage my heart, gall bladder, kidneys, brain function and hormonal levels along with a list of many other possible side effects if I kept it up. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. I was following this WOE to become helthy, to have more energy so I could chase my kids around and play with them, to feel more attractive and to improve myself.
But in the truth, I seen that I was damaging myself and those around me. Sure I lost over 70 pounds. but at what cost? I could hardly get out of bed some days. I was moody all the time. I couldn’t give my Husband and children the attention they needed. Now 3 months later, I am still going to my doctor every few weeks and getting blood work done. I have had scans and tests on every part of my body (and it feels like my soul too) I am sure there is some damage done that can’t be seen right now and it may show itself in the future. But even with the remains of the damage I had done I still see it when I look in the mirror everyday. Yes my hair is starting to grow back, but to deal with so much hair loss, I felt like a freak and didn’t want to be seen by anyone. I lived in hats (and still do most of the time) So much of my life has been taken away by Kimkins, and all I wanted from it was to get my life back.

from Kenni’s Korner