After all, there are other low calorie diets out there. Just look at the latest issue of Women’s World or some other women’s magazine and I can guarantee that the recommended diet is low calorie. It may not be announced as such but adding up the suggested foods end up with 1000 cals or less. For example, egg white omelet for breakfast, 3 oz chicken for lunch, 6 oz salmon for dinner plus the rest fat free or low fat. Salads (with fat free dressing of course), a slice of whole wheat bread and half a cup of brown rice will not increase the calorie count by much.

So why is the Kimkins Diet so much worse? Especially now when there supposedly is no calorie limit on it any longer? Not that the recommended 70-90 gram protein, 3 cups salad veggies, with minimal fat easily add up to more than 500-600 cals.

What I see as the main danger with the kimkins diet is not the diet in itself. It’s the cult-like atmosphere on Kimkins “support” forum. Where people are encouraged to starve themselves. Where feeling icky is applauded.

Other crazy, fad, diets might produce the same physical ill effects (and quick weight loss), but there is nothing to motivate you to keep on doing them. You just abandon them as not doable. Another failed diet attempt.

Not so with Kimkins. When struggling to stick to the diet (and who wouldn’t?) you just log on to Kimkins.con to get support for why you shouldn’t give in to your body’s demand for nutrition. Hear people saying KUTGW (keep up the good work). Look at you! You have lost so much! Keep going! Don’t be weak!

You get inspired by the success stories on the site. Big losers. Real or not, who cares? They have pictures! They look pretty and skinny in the “after” photos.

No negativity at all on the site. Just upbeat posts. Friendly challenges where you get to know people. Checking in daily to say hello and read about your friends’ overnight whooshes. How many pounds they dropped. Hoping to do the same.

To me, that is really the danger with Kimkins. Not the diet, but the website. Without the brainwashing that goes on there, nobody could stick to the diet long enough for it to do much harm. Without the forum and people posting there (even if they are mostly sockpuppets by now) there wouldn’t be a Kimkins.con.

I have great hope that Kimkins.con will soon be gone from the internet. The site was funded by members that signed up based on fraudulent weight loss claims (Kimmer’s 198 pounds) and an article in Women’s World that had fake pictures (Kimmer’s Russian bride photo). The Class Action Lawsuit may force the shut down. Or, Heidi Diaz might decide to shut it down due to lack of new members. Sockpuppets don’t bring in any money.

One of the main concerns for people starting a low carb diet is the apparent lack of fiber in the diet. I say “apparent” because it’s really a misconception. One of those accepted “truths” that keeps on being repeated over and over again.

The FDA recommends 28 grams of fiber for a 2,000 cal diet. Using their other recommendations for servings, I fall just short of that. For example:

• 4 servings of fruit (2 cups)
• 5 servings of vegetables (2.5 cups)
• 6 oz grain (6 slices of bread)
• 5 oz meat
• 3 cups milk

add up to only 24 grams of fiber. And this is only because I used “100% whole grain wheat” for the grain servings. Whole grain bread was introduced to help increase fiber intake so it can really be compared to a fiber supplement in my opinion. If I replace it with white bread, the total fiber ends up being 15 grams.

On a low carb diet, staying at induction level carbs (<20 when subtracting fiber) I can easily achieve the same 15 grams of fiber as on the “normal” diet. My sample menu included 2 cups cooked cabbage, 1 cup cooked green beans, three cups lettuce and one tomato.

So do I need to be worried about just getting half the recommended daily fiber intake? No, I do not. Why would I need more fiber?

The FDA fiber myth claims:

• Lack of fiber causes colon cancer. This “fact” was never proved in the first place and has been shown not to be true.
• Lack of fiber causes constipation. This is just not true. Lack of fat causes constipation.

But, IF you don’t want to try a low carb diet with just these 15 grams of fiber, the problem is easily solved by fiber supplements that do not add much to your net carb count. I routinely eat Wasa rye crackers and the Bran Crispbread I order from Netrition. But that isn’t because I think I need more fiber. I just happen to like them. Actually, I have to be careful with the bran crispbread as too much fiber will give me diarrhea.

However, a NO fiber diet that is also LOW FAT is bound to cause constipation. Look at the K/E menu below. The plate has the food for ONE FULL DAY, i.e. 3 meals.

K/E is short for Kimmer’s Experiment. It was a diet devised by Kimmer/Kimkins to produce heavy ketosis (or as she calls it, “real” ketosis) and quick weight loss. Lean meats and eggs only. No vegetables. Originally suggested for 3 days to jump start weight loss, the time limit was soon removed and it was recommended for long term use.

The problem with this diet is not really related to fiber. It is LOW calorie and LOW fat. This particular menu, based on Kimkins recommendations, provides just 376 cals (only 12 grams of fat) for ONE DAY!

Kimmer, or Heidi Diaz, does not recommend fiber supplements. They are bulking and a negative reflection on scale weight before the “bulk” has been eliminated is to be avoided. Instead, she suggests laxatives. On a daily basis.

Beware of the Kimkins Diet! Don’t be fooled by its claim to be a low carb diet. It’s low everything. Low carb, low fat, low calorie.

I doubt it but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Kimkins Review has a call-out for how you can help. Only by getting some low carb proponents on the panel can we influence how the new food pyramid will look. At least we can hope for some improvement.

And quoting Dr. Michael Eades who got the question why it matters as nobody follows the USDA recommendations anyway:

I explained that although he may not pay attention to them, plenty of other people do. The law that established the guidelines mandates that every bit of food or money for food that the government doles out has to follow the Nutritional Guidelines. Approximately 54 million people are fed daily by the government, and they all have to be fed according to the guidelines. Who does the government feed? The military, people in the prison system, school lunch programs, numerous people who receive commodities from Uncle Sam, Federally funded daycare centers, the list goes on and on. So the Nutritional Guidelines are not a meaningless, harmless little bit of government doodling – they are of great importance. It would be nice to see them move away from a diet that composed primarily of carbohydrate. The only way this will happen is to get some low-carb advocates on the panel.

I never paid much attention to the food pyramid but looked at it on Dr. Eades blog. It looks a lot more scary when you see it that way than just looking at the numbers above (not that 65% carbs don’t look scary in themselves). No wonder people get fatter and fatter.

Just to amuse myself, I decided to redo the food pyramid for a low carb woe (way of eating). I didn’t add any food items so the “fats” segment ended up pretty empty – just a jar of mayo that is on the top in the USDA version.

It didn’t surprise me that the pyramid is pretty much flipped upside down. But notice that the “oh so important veggie” segment is in the same place and no smaller in the lowcarb variant.

And to further amuse myself, I created a Kimkins food pyramid. This one was simple. Just erase most of the food items. The pyramid ended up a lot smaller too as the typical Kimkins menu is 500 – 600 calories as compared to the 2,000 in the USDA pyramid.

I know many overweight people that do not have what I would call an unhealthy relationship with food. They eat what they want and just don’t care about being heavier than what society deems “acceptable”. They don’t obsess over food and rarely, if ever, step on a scale. Nothing disordered about their eating, in my opinion.

I think that eating disorders are mainly caused by restrictive dieting, Kimkins being the worst restrictive diet out there.

Is there anybody that did Kimkins for any significant amount of time that did not develop an eating disorder? I have yet to see one. The ones that have left the Kimpound typically react by:

1. Binge eating. The excessive food restriction on the Kimkins causes both physical and mental cravings. The body is crying for nutrition and the mind is rebelling. This results in weight regain and in possibly even in full blown bulimia with binge/purge cycles.

2. Fear of food. Following the extreme restriction on Kimkins, any increase of food tends to cause a weight gain, threatening to undo the weight loss success from Kimkins. It’s tempting to cut down calories again to get the scale to move downwards. But how long can you keep on doing it? You have to start eating more at some point in time.

It is sad to watch the victims of Kimkins struggling with finding a WOE (way of eating) that will not reverse the weight loss and that provides a sensible eating plan that can be followed for life. A WOE that can lead to a maintenance plan.  A WOE that stops yo-yo dieting and attempts at crash diets like Kimkins.

Weighing The Facts has a lot of information about Eating Disorders and Eating Disorder help resources.

How could I possibly eat like that when traveling? 4 oz chicken and a “finger grab” salad for dinner? Egg white omelet instead of the breakfast buffet? Not a chance. I don’t have that type of willpower. I’m not strong enough. I don’t want it bad enough. I’m a sissy. If I had been eating at Kimkins starvation levels, the deprivation would make me EAT when food was put in front of me.

I travel for work. A lot. During the four years I have been lowcarbing, I have applied different strategies, with varying success. Small portions, skipping most carbs but not freaking out from a few, no snacks and deciding that hunger it not an emergency is what is presently working well for me.

In the beginning, I would try to stay strict lowcarb. That worked, with one exception. Snacks. Instead of eating the airplane meal (when they even serve one) I would bring nuts with me. Macadamia or almonds. The problem is that I don’t have any portion control when it comes to nuts. Eating a handful will just make me want another handful until the bag is gone. No nuts in my carry-on any more.

At the airport, I don’t eat a meal if I’m not hungry at the time. I know I will not get anything on the plane, or what they serve will not be lowcarb, but so what? I can eat when I arrive. Temporary hunger is not a lethal condition. (People with blood sugar problems might need a different approach.)

During long flights, I eat the meal served. Often also the carb portion of the meal. I don’t worry about it as the serving is very small anyway. No way to overeat if I don’t bring any snacks.

Sticking to lowcarb at meals is relatively easy. When eating breakfast there are eggs and bacon. I don’t need the starches. It’s more of a problem at economy hotels but then I would just have a cup of coffee. Lately, they have been starting to include boiled eggs on the buffet so it has gotten easier.

Lunches are most problematic. Often catered, sandwiches are brought in. Sure, it’s possible to eat just the “guts” of the sandwich but it’s messy and people may comment on it. Often, I will just split it and eat half the bread, or just half the sandwich. The rest goes in the trash, with the dessert cookie. Out of view.

For dinner, I have had to learn that the “clean the plate rule” doesn’t apply at restaurants. The serving size is the same for a 250 pounds man as for me, a 125 pounds older woman with slow metabolism. Generally, it’s easy to substitute veggies for starches. If french fries still end up on my plate, there is nothing that says I have to eat them, and I don’t. Often, I order an appetizer as my main meal (crab cakes is a favorite). My dinner companions may comment on it. Ask me if that’s all I’m going to eat. I answer that I’m not all that hungry and leave it at that. Nobody has ever insisted on me ordering more and nobody insists on me having dessert when I say that I don’t want any.

Another rule I have had to implement is no snacking in the hotel room. I’m not really hungry anyway but if I bring snacks I will mindlessly eat them until they are gone. So I just don’t bring any. I remind myself that I will get food for breakfast. Real food as I’m not trying to do Kimkins.

My latest strategy is working very well for me and has made traveling a lot less stressful as I don’t have to plan ahead of time like when I tried to go hardcore lowcarb. The planning ahead never stretched to the return trip anyway.

Of course, now we know that she really looks like this:

Seems that the “no-exercise” diet didn’t work for her.

I’m going to share my weight loss story. It’s anecdotal but so is Kimmer’s. Except my story is true and hers isn’t.

When turning 46, I had slowly put on about 20 pounds over a couple of years. Before then, I had been a “naturally skinny” person for reasons that are unknown to me (and the medical community at large, it seems).

Vanity didn’t send me to the gym, but my doctor did. At my annual check up, he was lecturing me about my cholesterol and the risk for osteoporosis (small bones). I refused to even consider medication for it, and bit the bullet and started to go to the gym.

I lost 16 pounds over a period of 5-6 months. No diet at the time. I looked great (well, my body did) and I felt great. Next annual showed perfect cholesterol and the doctor didn’t even say anything about possible bone loss. The latter might be due to me not shrinking. I was still the same 5′6″ as I always had been.

I maintained my weight loss for over two years, and then the pounds started to creep back on again. Why? I didn’t stop exercising but went to the gym much less often and stopped challenging myself.

This time, life changes had made the gym less practical and I decided to try to diet off the pounds instead. Did it work? Not really. One month of Atkin’s induction showed no weight loss at all. Not even a single pound.

The gym still not being practical, I somehow found callanetics. Callanetics is a great workout to do at home, and I highly recommend it. It looks deceivingly simple but try it, and you will see that it isn’t. Or better yet, have your husband to try it with you. If he is anything like mine, you’ll laugh your a$$ off. Callanetics requires both flexibility and coordination which is not all that common in men, at least not if they are older.

This time, it also took me about 5-6 months to get back to my goal weight, from combined regular exercise and a low carb diet.

Did I try Kimkins? Yes, I did. This was at the time when she dominated LCF and I tried it a few times when I was frustrated at lack of scale movement. I never lasted more than a few days on this starvation diet. And, no, it wasn’t from carb withdrawal as I was already low in carbs. Most important, however, was that by the 3rd day, I could no longer exercise. That seemed counter productive so I gave up any quick fix attempt and went back to regular low carb with enough nutrition to carry me through my workouts.

Last fall, I regained 5 pounds. Why? Hmm, I stopped exercising again. See a pattern here? I do.

Now I’m back in the gym (no longer being able to motivate myself to get it done at home) and have gotten rid of 4 of the 5 pounds.

Exercise might not be required for weight loss for you, but it is for me.

We have been all over the internet to pull kimkins weeds. One place kimkins articles were found was Article-Gems. They did not respond too well to emails sent by “angry weigh loss people”:

Running an article directory – like article-gems is not always easy. Apart from the hundreds of articles each day to approve you occasionally are targeted by spammers – or in the latest case an email campaign from angry weight loss people (must be missing the food). Seriously though we received a number of emails demanding we removed articles on the Kimkins diet because the diet was the subject of litigation.

We make it quite clear in our terms of service will take no responsibility for the content of articles on article-gems. We chose to remove two articles – the first one for failing to comply with our terms of service (it had a link in the main article body) and the second one, because it had an untruth that was publically admitted to be untrue and therefore failed to comply with the spirit of our TOS.

However the over riding principle at article-gems.com is FREEDOM OF SPEECH. If your article complies with our terms of service IT WILL REMAIN – no matter how many angry dieters send us emails.

I have not emailed this site. But now I will.

She cautions:
“Veggies should be loosely placed in the measuring cup, not packed. If we try hard enough, we could squish a whole package of frozen spinach into 1 cup. But then I’m only lying to ourselves. And the scale will reflect it.”

1 pkg of frozen spinach (10 oz) is 82 calories and 4 net carbs (12 minus 8 fiber). The kimkins-approved 1/2 cup is 23 calories and 1 net carb. So 59 additional calories and 3 carbs from veggies will “reflect on the scale”?

She further teaches us how to measure lettuce:
“If you use an “ounce” option, the amount measured is by weight — not volume. For example, 1 cup of lettuce is about 1 ounce by weight, but if you enter lettuce in Fitday as “1 ounce” it will not show calories, fat, carb and protein counts for 1 cup.”

1 cup of lettuce has about 10 calories and 1.5 net carbs (according to USDA database). Why would it matter if I accidentally entered it as 1 oz (4 calories, 0.5 carbs)?

This is what Kimmer said on Kimkins blog today, answering a question whether to do K/E or regular Kimkins:

I prefer original Kimkins because I love veggies and the variety that it gives for low carb cooking. Imagine a plain chicken breast that you plan to grill. OK, but how many can you eat day after day? What about this instead:

• 1 chicken breast

or

• chicken + peppers & onions = fajitas

And in standard Kimmer fashion, the photo is taken from a regular recipe found on the web. (Edited: The original picture is found here.)
Looks good, doesn’t it? With tortillas and sauces on the side. And plenty of chicken and veggies.

Spending a few minutes in Photoshop, adapting this recipe to Kimkins Diet guidelines results in this picture:

Doesn’t look that good anymore, does it? And I still have been generous as this is probably more than 4 oz of chicken and the 1 cup veggies allowed.

Fitday for this meal gives: 136 calories, 2 grams fat, 12 grams carbs, 18 grams protein