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Kimkins

Kimkins

Kimkins PR Director rebuts fraudulent claims.

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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND Start the Diet Now Advertisement

Please note, DietsInReview.com does not recommend the Kimkins diet program. Kimkins has completely misrepresented itself and the information it presents to customers, and in doing so, has endangered the lives of many of those people.

UPDATE 10/10 Kimkins Diets Founder Heidi Diaz is found guilty of fraud and false advertising

UPDATE 11/09: Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit Filed

Kimkins broke into the diet scene in 2000 selling itself as the one sure thing to end your dieting chaos. She said she had been an obese 300 pounds and like so many others, struggled to find a diet that worked for her. So she created her own solution- a low-carb/low-calorie diet that she says works incredibly fast. Not only would Kimkins help you lose weight quickly (198 pounds in one year in her case), but the plan would set you up for success for life. Kimkins also excitedly promotes that you won't have to do a single stretch, sprint or sit-up as exercise isn't necessary to achieve these amazing results.

Unfortunately, none of it is true. Kimkins is being investigated for fraud after many customers became seriously ill. Kimkins is an excruciatingly low-calorie diet and none of the information presented as fact as any medical or scientific support. Kimmer herself does not have a nutritional background and her advice is strictly from what appears to be fake experiences.

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PROPRO
  • None to speak of
CONCON

There is a laundry list of reasons why you should not follow the Kimkins diet. Currently the creator, Heidi Diaz, who operates under the alias Kimmer, is the possible subject of a potential class-action lawsuit and under investigation for fraud. Many of the Kimkins customers are becoming dangerously sick from following the Kimkins program. While Kimmer markets the diet as being a quick solution that will last for life, and losing 200 pounds in one year herself, she currently is morbidly obese- not at all what her ads claim.

  • No research or healthcare endoresements
  • Plan contradicts sound medical research
  • Dangerously low caloric intake
  • No exercise
  • Suggested to take laxatives regularly
  • Creator under investigation for fraud
  • Creator does not have any nutrition or medical experience

Additionally, many followers of Kimkins have reported frightening side effects, including:

  • Constant nausea
  • Hair loss
  • Fainting
  • Heart palpitations
  • Fatigue
  • Bone and/or joint pain
  • Constipation
DIET and NUTRITIONDIET and NUTRITION

The proposed Kimkins diet is made up mainly of lean protein, very little fat or carbs and no fiber. The diet is said to be based on Atkins, but with Kimmer's personal twist. The average user consumes about 1200 calories a day; many users admit to only about 500 calories a day.

EXERCISEEXERCISE

Kimkins advertises that you will not need any exercise to achieve your desired goals.

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Mom always said "If it's too good to be true, it probably is". And in the case of Kimkins, it sounded so much better than it actually turned out to be. This is one rapid weight loss fad that turned out to be a rapid weight loss scam. Consumers have been raising flags of concern about both the legitimacy of Kimkins and the health risks linked with the program. Heidi Diaz "Kimmer" is currently under investigation for fraud. It's unfortunate that so many men and women were duped by this convincing and charming sales woman. But it appears that this scam produced nothing more than a very lucrative eating disorder that has left a lot of people hurting.

Common misspellings: Kimmer, KimKens, Kemkins, Kemkind, Kimkins deit review

UPDATEUPDATE

In October 2007 Diets in review received a rebuttal to our review (below letter) from Jeannie Baitinger - Kimkins PR Director. In January 2008, Kimmer sent a rebuttal and Jeannie responded letting us know that she had left Kimkins and severed all ties with the lawsuit-ridden program.

Dear Jim,

Thank you for giving Kimkins.com the opportunity to present our side of the story.

First please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jeannie Baitinger and on the website I am known as Tippy Toes. I am employed by Kimkins.com as PR Director and as management.

We know we are under attack from various sources. But many of these sources are coming from people who have only heard about our diets and have not actually tried them. The effect has been much like a snowball effect of people who genuinely mean well but are not actual members. Much is based on hear say and negative publicity.

Moreover, we offer no calorie limits on any plan. There are no 500 calorie per day plans. No plan is 100% fat free. We do allow the individual to use common sense when adding healthy fats and we term this as "just enough fat to make it work". We do not promote starvation of any kind and we never will. We encourage members to stick within the plan guidelines and further, we encourage them to add extra protein and possibly extra salads if they are still hungry or not feeling well.

We do not encourage or promote laxative abuse. However, it is not at all uncommon for a low carb diet plan to cause constipation. When a member complains we have recommended gentle stimulants such as M.O.M. or 100% physillium husks. There is also a tea which is helpful in relieving symptoms. We will never recommend laxatives as part of weight loss plans. Never!

Additionally we do encourage our members to have their Doctor's review the plans and monitor their progress. Many, many members report excellent lab reviews and Doctor's blessings. On our website I have never seen anything but positive reviews. On other websites I read the negatives but without offered proof. What I do read are stories of hair loss. This seems common on a lot of diets. Even the Atkins diet can cause this. When I did Atkins it happened to me. Oddly, I never lost hair doing Kimkins though. But again, hair loss is easily corrected and people who have their Doctor's monitoring progress can address the issue and get help. I would find it rather bizarre to lose huge chunks of my hair and still continue with any diet WITHOUT seeing my Doctor immediately. So I must question why there are no medical claims based on proof...

I am personally a Kimkins success story. I began my weight loss journey at 263 lbs. I am a female of 5' 7". I began losing weight with the Atkins diet (also quite con-traversal) and did well on it for about a year. I lost approximately 50 lbs on Atkins and then it stopped working. For the next 6 months I lost no further weight or inches. A dear friend told me about the Kimkins diet and I decided to give it a try. The weight came off just as promised! EXACTLY as promised! I made a personal choice to begin alternating Kimkins diet with Atkins. On Kimkins I could lose the weight and on Atkins breaks I could easily maintain it. Today my current weight is 152. Maintaining my weight has never been so easy thanks to a low carb lifestyle.

Our website is full of happy success stories much like mine. Many people have no trouble doing only Kimkins straight to goal. I have seen amazing losses--as much as 100lbs in 5 months. These big losses are quite common at Kimkins. Side effects appear minimal and as stated previously we do encourage everyone to have their Doctor's monitor them every step of the way.

Our members are not uneducated people being mislead. We just completed a Teacher's Challenge and the entire group lost an unbelievable amount of weight. The teacher's group had planned to make a public donation to fund teachers but with all the negative publicity they have opted for private donations instead. It is not at all uncommon for Internet users to wish to remain private. That is why many choose a nickname rather than using a real name.

As far as the founder of Kimkins.com is concerned and with all due respect, most members really don't care who she really is or is not. We believe the founder has every right to privacy and further we believe she is entitled to such. Her real name and weight is not an issue to people who are serious about weight loss and finally are able to make it happen. People buy a membership for their own weight loss and that is what they get. Weight loss. Our claim "there is no faster weight loss plan" is very accurate.

I will be more than happy to issue you a temporary site pass if you would like to come in and see what is really happening for yourself. Just let me know if you are interested in the real truth. It's pretty amazing!

Sincerely,
Jeannie Baitinger, PR
Kimkins.com

end of Kimkins rebuttal

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(Page 2 of 7, 124 total comments)

Laura

Be sure to check out the latest Kimkins video: http://www.insiderexclusive.com/firm_cohen2.htm

posted Apr 2nd, 2008 10:40 am


Sweet Success

Regardless Of What The Negative Posters Say, the diet DOES work, & it is NOT a starvation diet. Why some idiots choose to consume 500 or less calories a day on their own, & then complain about health problems is beyond me. The negative posters are a gang of a self appointed vigilante committee

posted Mar 31st, 2008 10:34 pm


Fernando

check out the the lawsuit. And everything that is wrong about Kimkins http://blip.tv/file/784284

posted Mar 30th, 2008 6:35 pm


SW

I have lost 62 lbs on Kimkins, and have maintained it for 5 months. My health has not been better than it is right now. I have gotten my life back, thanks to the Kimkins way of eating. And never was I instructed to eat less than 500 calories, not sure who your sources were. I'm thinking fraud on your sources part.

posted Mar 26th, 2008 9:39 am


Lynn

I have mixed feeling about this diet. I have joined kimkins website after the article feature in womans world. Tried the diet for close to two weeks and I did lose about 7 pounds. BUT after I found out she was a liar and a fraud I felt like I was another loser who had just been scammed and I hate that she is such a horrible person to do such a thing! but i also must admitt that I think the plan is ok. I never personally stopped my fiber intake I just never agreed with that part of the plan and I did take a multi-V everyday as well. Since I have been off the plan I am considering starting again but in my own healthy way.

posted Mar 19th, 2008 2:12 pm


Janice

I tried this diet for about 2 months and noticed that I did lose alot of weight and fast but I also found that my energy level was very low! When ever I would work out for 30-40 min I would feel dizzy and just weird, kind of like I was empty. Suddenly my workouts slowly decreased to 20-30 min a day cause I just didn't have the energy to do the whole thing. I'm not saying that this would happen to everyone but that's my story.

posted Feb 26th, 2008 9:26 am


LMAO!

Heidi Diaz (Kimmer) recently posted her own Before and After picture on her website. Not much of a before and after, she's fat in both. I wonder if she will actually try to lose weight and I wonder which diet she will do. I doubt she will do her own since it is dangerous and unhealthy. Are people really still falling for her scam?


Anonymous

The great thing about suing Heidi Diaz is if you missed out on the current class action lawsuit that is going on right now, you can probably start your own to get anything she might have left over in her scammed fortune. I hope she goes to jail, i bet she would lose the weight in there. i hate fat lying b******


Mike

"you love the publicity"? --- Heidi Diaz, do you also like the class action lawsuit. I hope you get what's coming to you.


2BIG

hey anonymous I'd be happy to link you to pages inside the kimpound on the awyback machine so you can see Kimmers words about cutting the cals to folk eating at that level. read the rules for the boot camp and as a nurse how can you say a plan deficient in EFAs is a life saver or did you mean for the medical professionals who will be treating those victims of the diet for their medical problems?


Anonymous

This diet is a life saver for me. Like all diets you have the silly people who will over do it to lose weight. I have never seen anywhere on the website where it tells you to eat 500 cals or less perday. They actually tell you to eat until you are full. Also I don't believe these people who are saying they gained 20 plus pounds back in 4 days after stopping the diet. As a nurse for many year I SERIOUSLY doubt that. Not every diet is for everyone. You should definitely speak to your doctor before starting any plan, but if you choose this one you wont be dissapointed. What I like more than the diet is this site offers support. I can get on anytime of day or night and chat with someone about any success of difficulties I am having and that truly helps a lot. I love all the publisity. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't have found this diet. So THANK YOU!!!


Anonymous

kimmer never lost a pound in her 325 lb life!!!


Anonymous

Well, I have read every single comment from the beginning. Yeah, this gal should have told the truth about herself, but as all of us overweight people know - well, we like to fudge. HOWEVER -- I joined back in Summer '07, did it for 4 weeks and lost 15 lbs. For me -- hypothyroid, messed up metabolism, bread and beer lover, that was AMAZING. It is as Meastra states, " I began using the basic principles behind the Kimkins Diet in June of 2007 and lost 40# in four months. By basic principles I mean high protein from varying sources, low fat, and low carbs (it is almost impossible to eliminate all carbs from your diet, but if you choose your carb sources intelligently I believe that those carbs are beneficial to you)." Use common sense, own your body, recognize your symptoms! I am sure that being a little dizzy during weight loss is much less dangerous than weighing 250lbs., high cholesterol, high blood pressure, on and on and on.


concerned

Also, it's a bit disgusting that people will say that this diet works. I can bet that most of these people are Kimmer herself or other employees of hers who are trying to further the lies of this diet.


Enjoying the problems?

Kimkins is a scam. Kimmer is a fraud. She is a morbidly obese liar. I hope she looses her lawsuit. She has ruined many lives, including one of my good friends. Basically, her diet is promoting anorexia. Bit ironic that the founder is a fat, cheap, scammer.


Anonymous

Kristen you gained 30 lbs back in 4 days? I have been off the kimkins diet since Thanksgiving, and haven't gained a lb back. Last night I ate pizza...... Thats a pretty amazing story. If you are smart, and realize what you put into your body, you won't be at health risks. Honestly you should be able to tell if you are being healthy, and if you have any concers, you should TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM. How many diets tell us this? Lets get a clue and take some personal responsibility. If you follow Kimkins to the T, you will have problems. I read, and modified because I KNEW better than to torture my body that way.


Kristen

This diet is pure nonsense and it's not remotely healthy. As a fit but overweight 25 year old, this eating plan put me in the hospital with heart problems. Four days after stopping the plan for health concerns, I had gained back the entire 20 pounds lost, plus another 10 pounds. I was too weak to work out on the plan, which lead to muscle loss, and the website staff told me it was normal to be too weak and to just take more vitamins. The entire thing is a scam and it's practically a cult website for anorexics that promotes not eating. When I expressed my health concerns and hospital stay to Kimmer in a private message, I was banned from the site with no refund. $4,000 in medical bills late I am telling you to stay away because it's not worth it.


Steven

The news reports on the Kimkins diet are pretty amazing!


Healthy LCer

Good grief..Who would ever do this diet after realizing that Heidi NEVER lost the weight and thoroughly enjoyed telling people to cut their calories. She never was concerned about the dangerous side effect. All she cared about was the money. Who could ever work for such a scam artist and encourage others to do the diet, too?


nancy

you know.....people talk about things which they DO NOT know....I agree with the first ladies comment...they never ever tell you to restrict calories and if you look at the amout of veggies they tell you to eat...what is wrong with that..I can personally tell you i have never ever felt bad one day on this diet..as a matter of fact when i am not on it I feel horrible...I have more energy on the diet and even my mental state is happier and more content....all im saying is dont knock it until you try it....BTW I am 52/f and lost 28 pounds in 1 month....



 

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