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To my understanding, the diet was never intended to include a maintenance plan. It was to be used as a crash diet and as the vast majority of people couldn’t stick to the diet all the way to goal, a maintenance plan was never needed.

For sure, Heidi Diaz never needed a maintenance plan herself. I doubt that the “thousands of people” she has “helped” on the boards and via email during “more than 10 years” have needed it either. Reading the Ask Kimmer thread at Low Carb Friends it is obvious that the diet provided only short term weight loss.

But following a request from a dieter on Kimkins, Heidi took a shot at starting to formulate a Kimkins Maintenance Plan. Not a very good shot, in my opinion. Actually, I was surprised at how bad it was considering that while Heidi never followed her own plan, she did a lot of reading about diets and has never been shy of stealing ideas from someone else. Surely she could have come up with something better than this:

Designing a Maintenance Plan – Feedback!

OK, let’s take a look at “maintenance”. Let me jot down a few ideas and you all let me know what you’re thinking. My vision of a successful Kimkins Maintenance Plan should be focused on high nutrient whole foods. Brown rice instead of instant white rice, whole fruit instead of juice drinks, 7 grain bread instead of white, lower calorie higher carb choices (fresh fruit or winter squash) over high calorie lower carb (faux cheesecake). Kimkins Maintenance should be as simple as Kimkins. A few easy to remember rules that you’ll always have with you. Nobody is going to drag a diet sheet in their purse or wallet for eternity or whip out a calculator at a restaurant — not for long anyway.

After 10 years as a self-proclaimed diet guru, and “30 years of diet experience”, a maintenance plan is still just a “vision” for Heidi? Isn’t that proof enough that the Kimkins Diet doesn’t lead to goal? No maintenance strategy is needed.

Kimkins Maintenance must be very simple. I think regular Kimkins is ultra simple, but some newbies have problems at the beginning figuring it out. Maintenance will more complicated, but it needs to be simple.

Yes, the regular Kimkins is simple. Just eat at starvation level calories and the weight will come off. Newbies are getting confused when they follow the new rules (unlimited protein, 3 cups of veggies) and don’t see the weight coming off as fast as promised.

I don’t see why maintenance has to be complicated. It isn’t for me. However, it might be complicated for Kimmer to put a plan together as she has no clue what she is talking about. Has no clue what amount of carbs or calories would be required on maintenance.

Should Kimkins Maintenance be calorie or carb oriented? If a combination, what limits? The accepted definition of “low carb” is 100 carbs or less per day. To us that sounds very generous until we realize that much fast food, fruits, grains and carb snacks can easily meet that limit with 1 serving. If a limit of 300 carbs is chosen, then any maintenance plan fits the bill including Weight Watchers.

What a dilemma. Kimkins is marketed as low carb, low fat, low calorie. So what to increase in maintenance? The answer is really that after following the Kimkins Diet, maintenance is still low carb, low fat, low calorie. Or, why not suggest that any maintainers find another plan, like WW? After having provided Heidi with “before” and “after” pictures, they have served their purpose. She has no use for them. She will get no more money from them and they are just using up bandwidth on kimkins.con.

How do we add back junk food? Few people are willing to give up cheeseburgers (on buns), pizza, spaghetti & garlic bread, beer, Grandma’s fudge, Hot Pockets, mashed potatoes & gravy, Girl Scout cookies, or nachos for the rest of their life. My vote would be that they not be included in Kimkins Maintenance choices, but I don’t think that’s realistic.

Junk food is now defined as higher carbs items? What happened with the 300 carbs WW plan?

What about restaurants? Would a good solution for Maintenance to state a calorie limit and advice to check the restaurant website in advance?

Hey, Kimmer! Don’t you remember when you recently spammed the internet with an article with diet advice for eating out? Perhaps you didn’t read the borrowed article before submitting it. Seems that there were some practical ideas in there that you could have adopted as your own. Which you did.

I’m reminded of Dr. Atkins research. A criticism of Dr. A was that high fat went hand in hand with heart disease and other conditions. Dr. Atkins’ research over 30+ years showed that it is high fat WITH high carb that triggers heart disease and poor cholesterol profiles. If Kimkins Maintenance leans toward typical American diet aren’t we leaning toward typical American health problems?

??? Is she really suggesting that Kimkins maintenance should be high fat, high carb? Or is she just rambling?

If we suggest a calorie limit will people be shocked to realize that they can’t eat as much as they think? Permanently? I’ve talked with thousands of people about low carb and weight loss over the past 10 years. One of the top 3 questions people have (or want to argue) is calories. Particularly for people who once weighed 300+ pounds (eating maybe 3500 calories a day or more) it’s a shock to learn that at 125 pounds they’re looking at 1300-1500 calories for life — and 1500 calories might require 30-60 minutes of exercise a day.

No Heidi. It’s not a shock and if you had ever been 125 lbs you would know this. 1500 calories might not sound much when you are 300+ pounds (as you are, or at least you look as if you are). For a 125 lbs person (like myself) it is plenty of food. When making healthy choices.

Will people “modify” Kimkins Maintenance? If so, is it really Kimkins?

Modify how? There is no “Kimkins Maintenance” to modify. Didn’t Heidi suggest WW?

Should we design our ideal “Kimkins Maintenance” as the official plan and those who find it too healthy or strict can follow other plans? Do people really want a “low carb” maintenance plan?

An “ideal” Kimkins maintenance plan would have to be the Kimkins Diet so I can see that it would be too strict. But anything else would result in weight regain. So she just wants the “other plans” to blame when people find it impossible to maintain?

What do you think? The perfect maintenance plan for me won’t necessarily be what’s best for others. As an example I would look forward to adding back fruit, yogurt and milk — but others can’t wait to add back spaghetti, rice, tortillas and Sara Lee.

Heidi “looks forward to adding back fruit, yogurt and milk”? Did she ever cut them out? The latest photos certainly don’t suggest that she has been on any diet lately.

[Kimmer's quotes copied from fellow blogger Mayberryfan, who also provides an excellent commentary to Heidi's "maintenance plan". Kimmer's picture copied from another fellow blogger; AmyB.]

As someone that has maintained for several years, my maintenance approach is very simple: Avoid white stuff, limit carbs (fruits and grains but unlimited non-starchy veggies). I never count anything. I don’t limit fats but don’t go out of my way to add any either. I eat desserts and higher carb items on rare occasions but I don’t make a habit of it. Most importantly, I do not let myself feel deprived, ever. I can have one cookie but I don’t need an entire box. Why would I? I can have another cookie another day.

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.

Isn’t that what we all want?

The fad diet industry is banking on it. Lose 10 pounds in a week! Lose 100 pounds in 5 months! No faster diet, none! Better than gastric bypass!

Sounds good? Apparently, as we keep on paying for new diet fads all the time. Looking for the magic diet/pill/supplement that will take the weight off once and for all.

Why is “quick” weight loss so important? Because we know that we can not stay on the diet forever!

If I can lose my 100 pounds in 5 months, I might have a chance to stick to it. It’s such a short time; surely I can make it that long. Just be determined and suffer through it. Then I can go back to eating, huh, normally? Whatever. I’ll deal with it when I get there.

So I start a starvation diet like Kimkins. Enthusiastically. The first couple of days are hard and I’m hungry, but the scale number drops so fast that it’s easy to fight through it. Sure, it’s water weight but who cares? It’s quick and I weigh less!

The diet is easier that I thought. I lose my appetite and it is not that difficult to just eat 500-600 calories per day. I gain self confidence. I can do this. Yes, I’m fat but I’m doing something about it. I’m in control.

Soon, “excessive” hunger and cravings appear. What do I do? Most people quit the diet at this time. Often with a binge. Berating themselves for being weak, a failure.

Too many return to the diet after the binge. It did work after all. I did lose weight on it. I just wasn’t strong enough last time. I’ll do better this time. Try to remember that it’s only for a short period of time. When I have reached goal, I can eat normally again.

Did it ever occur to you that there is a reason for the binge? The irresistible cravings? That is not psychological? That it’s not your “fault”? That you are not “weak”? Could your body be trying to tell you something?

The lack of food and especially the lack of fat cause a “starvation” response. The body does not get the required nutrition and this results in cravings. Normally cravings for sweets, but high fat sweets. It’s a natural reaction and has nothing to do with being “weak”. It has to do with survival.

A very obvious example of how the body objects to Kimkins diet abuse is when dieters that follow K/E start craving salads and vegetables. K/E (Kimmer’s Experiment) consists of lean meat and eggs only. Who would have thought that they ever would crave a salad? But many K/E dieters report just that. Isn’t it obvious that the diet lacks some essential nutrition? That the body is trying to tell you so?

And no, a daily multi-vitamin will not help.

If you can not stick to a diet, there is nothing wrong with YOU. Don’t blame yourself, blame the diet. And find a diet/woe (way of eating) that you can live with for life. Healthy food. I recommend Atkins. According to the book, not at induction levels as a quick fix.

The “quick weight loss to reach goal and then I can go back to eating whatever” is an unrealistic dream. Think about it. Does it even make sense?

The Kimkins Diet website was launched in June 2006 but had a rather obscure existence until an article in Women’s World magazine caused a large influx of customers one year later.

Many people tried the diet but rightly decided that the diet was not sustainable and disappeared. The $59.95 membership fee was written off as yet another waste of money on a fad diet gimmick. There are plenty of those around, and most of us have tried more than one.

These were the lucky ones. They left before they were harmed; physically or psychologically. The not so lucky ones stayed around a little longer, but eventually most of these abandoned the diet as well. The Kimkins starvation diet can not be followed for a longer period of time and the most natural reaction is binges.

Not surprisingly, the weight comes back on. Often as fast as it came off with starvation level of calories. The months of sacrifice and counting every morsel ended up with no results, or very little lasting weight loss to show for it.

So what do these dieters do? They return to Kimkins for another starvation cycle. Expecting a different result this time. Why? What has changed? The diet is still nutritionally bankrupt and the deprivation will lead to the same binges as last time. Why wouldn’t it?

But, the diet works, they say.

No it doesn’t. A diet you can not stick to does not work. What’s the point in keeping losing the same pounds over and over again?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

I do hope that all the exposure the Kimkins Diet is getting on the blogs is brought to the re-starters attention. This information was not available a year ago, and hopefully it will make a difference. Their life might depend on it, or at the minimum, their health.

One consolation is that Kimmer, a.k.a. Heidi Diaz, does not get any more money from the returning dieters. They already paid their “lifetime” membership fee. I’m sure Heidi is kicking herself for not making it a monthly fee instead.

Kimmer, the founder of the Kimkins Diet, has always insisted that starvation mode does not exist as long as there is body fat to burn for energy. Her diet suggested a daily calorie limit of 500 or less, later adjusted upwards to 710. The rest of the body’s needs would be taken from body fat.

For example:

“I don’t believe in starvation mode. I cannot and will not say anything about minimum calories. A grilled chicken breast and a 1 cup USDA serving of mixed greens is 200 calories. It just is. Adding fats or starches isn’t “healthier” to up the calories.”

“Don’t panic about low calories. . . . Bottom line, as long as you have sufficient body fat you don’t need to eat calories — you’re carrying them with you.”

“I don’t think we can fight the “1200 calorie a day mentality”. Some people cannot understand that your body takes the calories it needs from body fat if the calories you eat are too low to sustain current weight. If you need 2500 calories (250 lb person) and eat 500 (number picked for easy math), the other 2000 are taken from body fat.”

Why is it then that so many of the Kimkins Dieters experience starvation symptoms, such as:

• Feeling cold and having a lower-than-normal body temperature.
• Hair loss, brittle nails, and dry skin.
• Muscle weakness and muscle wasting.
• Constipation, slow emptying of the stomach, and belly pain.
• Sleep problems, hyperactivity, or extreme fatigue.
• Difficulty concentrating and solving problems or poor judgment.
• Dizziness, fainting spells, low blood pressure, slow heartbeat, heart palpitations.
• Frequent colds and other infections.
• Bruising.

You can find the individual accounts on Kimkins Survivors.

All these people were told to take a daily multivitamin, as if that would solve the problem. Obviously, it didn’t. Neither did the excess body fat they had. All of them were still overweight.

There are other obvious problems with a starvation diet. While ketosis initially may curb appetite, eventually hunger will reappear. Kimmer always claimed that hunger is not present as long as carbs are low enough. How she knew this, I have no idea. Certainly not from her own experience, considering that she is still obese.

I know for a fact that you can be in deep ketosis and still be hungry, and I am not alone to have experienced this. I read many accounts on Kimkins where people complained about hunger and cravings appearing around week 4 – 5 of the diet. Some of them followed K/E at the time; just eggs and meat.

Of course, the advice was to curb hunger by ignoring it, drinking water, soda or fat free broth. I am sure many people fell off the diet at this point (luckily for them) and never returned.

A diet you can not stick to is not a good diet. Your body is trying to tell you something. Listen to it.

Another issue is how to maintain the weight loss. If the above problems do not make the dieter stop the diet, eventually calories need to be increased. Nobody can live on 500 calories for life. The previous successful dieter now finds that she can not add anything without gaining weight. Even an extra cup of salad will cause the scale to go up.

The typical result is the start of a yo-yo diet. Eat more a few days and then back to starvation for a week or two. The lucky ones put in a lot of hard work to slowly increase their calories, ignoring the scale for a while, to raise their metabolism and have thus managed, with difficulty, to transition to a healthy weight loss regimen.

Why would anyone even consider starting a diet where there is a blog dedicated to SURVIVORS of the diet? With some 100 accounts of severe problems from it.

I do hope that anyone that happens to find the now year old article in the Woman’s World magazine takes a minute to google Kimkins before they go to the Kimkins.con website where Kimmer a.k.a. Heidi Diaz promises “Join today for only $79.95. That’s it. Not another penny.” That one time membership fee doesn’t include ER costs, medical bills or any compensation for long term health problems.

Edited to add: After I wrote this article, I came across this comment by a survivor that was made just two days ago:

KK has left me bald, wounded, sick and recovering from surgery and fear of food……no please don’t try Heidi’s Diet of Death!

Please take her advice. She knows what she is talking about. Unfortunately.

Why would I listen to this person? For advice that concerns my health? To PAY for advice that I have no proof worked for anybody?

I have no way of verifying that the information is true. While the pictures may be convincing (or not), there is no proof that the diet expert followed the diet she prescribes. There is no proof that she keeps it off by following the diet she prescribes. There is no proof that the diet is good for long term use, and to maintain the weight loss. There is no proof that the diet will not damage my health.

I can understand that anybody that loses a lot of weight is very enthusiastic about it and wants to share her success with other people. I see plenty of them on the FREE forums where they willingly share their experience without charging a dime.

But even there it’s hard to tell how honest they are. I have seen many examples where a successful maintainer eventually confessed to having regained weight, or confessed to unhealthy diet methods like laxative abuse. In the meantime though, they continued to give out diet advice as if they never had any problems of their own. It’s unfortunate, but understandable. Nobody wants to be a failure, and it’s probably so much harder when they have acquired a status as a role model.

Then we have all the self-made weight loss gurus that believe that just because they lost weight, they are now entitled to charge money for their “expert” advice. The only diet knowledge they have is how ONE person lost weight, and whatever information they have picked up along the way. They typically have no nutritional training and no long term track record.

The ones that try to turn their weight loss into a business could be even more prone to dishonesty. If you are selling a program solely based on YOUR success, you can not admit any failure in the form of weight regain or need to modify the recommended diet in any way.

[Edited. See Note below.]

And then we have what is probably the worst example in recent history; Heidi Diaz with the Kimkins Diet. She stands out among these self proclaimed diet gurus as she knows from her own experience that the starvation diet she is promoting and charging money for DOES NOT WORK. She sold it on the premises that she had lost 200 lbs and kept it off for more than 5 years. None of it was true. She never lost the weight, and even less kept anything off. And she still thinks she is qualified to charge money for diet advice?

Putting up fake pictures will just take you so far.

Photoshop doesn’t help much either when there is no real weight loss. And rumor has it that Heidi Diaz has failed (again) on the Kimkins Diet and is gaining weight.

If I would pay money for diet advice (and I have), I would spend it on books written by doctors or nutritionists that have worked with weigh loss for many years and that have accumulated knowledge from many people. One example is Dr. Atkins. Not only did he follow his own advice but he had feedback from thousands of patients that he had treated over the years. There are also books written by nutritionists at weight loss centers that are based on a large population and have good advice that is valid for more than ONE individual.

[Note. I originally had a paragraph in this post about Jimmy Moore. I realized that what I said was unfair, and I apologize to Jimmy. I had stated that Jimmy had not shared his struggles with regain, and it seems that I was incorrect. Jimmy sent me a very gracious email pointing out my error, and I'm more than happy to edit my post and remove the paragraph. (FYI. Jimmy did not even suggest removal or editing. He just wanted to set the record straight.)

I had based my initial assumption on information gathered from a bulletin board, but failed to properly do my own research. Ironically, it proves my point. Just because something is mentioned and repeated many times on the internet doesn't make it true.

I am using this blog to share information that is of interest to me, and everything I say is only my opinion. But, I will refrain from any type of character assassination based on rumors. Again, I apologize to Jimmy for my bad judgment.

However, that restriction does not apply to Heidi Diaz and her associates. I have no problems sharing information that is based on rumors only when it comes to the Kimkins Diet Scam.]

Who didn’t start their first diet when they were just a few pounds overweight? Dropped some weight and then put it back on, plus a few pounds more? Kept on repeating this cycle with each attempt ending up at a higher weight?

This dieting pattern is called a “feast and famine cycle” and is caused by restrictive diets.

The body’s natural response to excessive calorie restriction is:

• Reduced metabolic rate. As much as 15 – 30% fewer calories are burned.
• Cravings, especially for sweets and fat.
• Increased ability to store calories as fat, whenever excess calories become available again.

The result? A binge, and/or quitting the diet. Or for the unfortunate that “manage” to fight the hunger, anorexia.

During the period of re-feeding, weight is put back on. Even worse, while the weight loss was both muscle and fat, the regain is primarily fat. We end up bigger and with lower metabolism than before the weight loss as fat doesn’t burn as many calories as muscle does.

After this episode, or a period of time, the restrictive diet is restarted. The diet works, I did lose weight. I just wasn’t strong enough to stick with it.

Wrong! If the diet is not sustainable, the diet is wrong. It’s not the dieter’s fault. It’s the diet’s fault.

So what works for weight loss then? It’s obvious that restrictive diets are not doing us any favors. I strongly believe in lowcarb and “healthy eating” which to me means to eat the right foods, but not limit how much I eat.

With lowcarb, there is no need to feel deprived. There is no need to go hungry. If hungry, then eat. It’s not a diet, it’s a Way of Eating (WOE) that can be sustained long term.

And guess what? When we are ready for maintenance, we have learned how to eat. Do yourself a favor and follow Atkins as written, climbing the carb ladder. Then there is no sudden change from “weigh loss mode” to maintenance, with the common regain and struggle.

Beware of quick fixes that promises fast weight loss, like Kimkins. Not even the founder has been successful on the diet, but still keeps on promoting it. While starvation produces weight loss, the damage done to your body in the process might be permanent even when the weight loss isn’t.

Of course, I point this out as I do not want anyone to start a diet like Kimkins. In no way do I wish that anybody that has followed the Kimkins diet regain their weight.

That this isn’t obvious was made clear to me from a great post on Kimkins Diet Truth: We’re all on the same side, right?

Yes, we are on the same side. I just want people to give up the Kimkins diet not to damage their health. I do not want them to regain any weight lost.

So what to do when leaving Kimkins and realizing that the diet is not a good way to lose weight? Of course, I’m no more expert in diets than Heidi Diaz but I will share my opinions.

First, read the very informative thread Atkins Nutritional Interview (Repairing your metabolism and more) on LCF.

Be prepared to have a lot of patience, and expect a scale increase initially. Don’t panic. It’s most likely water weight and not fat regain. If possible, put away the scale for a while. Use a pair of pants that fit well as your measuring tape. You might be surprised to find that a scale increase does not reflect on your size. Nobody sees your scale number, just your size.

Exercise. I have been at a “maintenance” range in all of my weight loss and every time I stop exercising I regain weight. For me, I don’t think it’s the number of calories I burn (cardio) but building muscle (weight training) that makes a difference. Weight training is known to increase metabolism. Again, patience is needed. I don’t see any effect from starting an exercise regimen until after 4 – 6 weeks.

What about the diet? How to increase calories? In my opinion, there has to be a slow change, and done step by step. I know it must be tempting to go hog wild which is the natural reaction after deprivation on a low calorie diet. Clearly, that will not work.

My suggestion would be to increase by slowly adding one food item at a time. For a week or two. Then one more until a reasonable amount of calories is achieved with no size gain (again, the scale shows water weight and is not a reliable measure of fat loss).

Or to borrow from 2big4mysize’s advice to AmyB:

I’d suggest all Kimkinettes stop weight loss, see their docs and be honest about portion size with copies of your menus for the last month. Saying “I’m eating low glycemic veggies and lean proteins” sounds a lot healthier than those 800 cal Kimkins’ limited menus you have been eating of those lean proteins and veggies.

Repair any and all metabolic issues with more carbs, proteins and fats. Now don’t go nuts and slur a 44 ouncer of bacon grease through a straw while eating refined white foods or HFCS as your carbs, but do drizzle your veggies with EEOV or any other healthy fat you like. Roast or saute them as part of your meal prep and you will be having a healthy transitional meal.

Please remember y’all are going to be adding back lean body tissues too so do not panic if the scale goes up a few pounds. You may even replenish some of your glycogen stores but remember that is about 3 to 1 water by weight which is why it comes off so fast when you jump back to Kimkins or induction.

Please use your tape measure and see that if you switch to Atkins those added pounds are lean tissue and you are still small.

UConn did a study on folk eating Atkins at MAINTENANCE levels vs folk eating USDA high carb diets. Neither group was trying to lose weight. Each group was allowed to eat as much as they wanted. Neither group exercised. The Atkins group lost body fat and added muscle tissues just by eating according to the plan. Just as your body will be replenishing its protein stores when you give it more protein and fat in the diet.

Will you ever be able to eat the way you used to when you were heavier? Nobody can correctly answer that for you. But you will be healtheir growing old with your loved ones if you take the time right now to fix your metabolism and get off the road to an ED kimkins has placed y’all on.

Professional help like Christen is getting would be best but since I know most folk aren’t there is a free repairing your metabolism topic stickied at the top of most LCFS forums. And an excellent discussion on altering Kimkins and how to make it healthy on LCF’s Building a Healthy WOE if possible based on Kimkins

I tried to think of all the possible ways a Kimkinette could misinterpret the facts so all your questions should be answered. Except the one all of us have and that is what limits to place on total amount of carbs y’all should be eating.

I wish y’all would use the DANDR OWL carb ladder as that allows each person to discover what type of carb foods they can and can’t tolerate in a very controlled manner with immediate corrective steps should a food or carb food group have a negative impact on your craving control or weight loss.

Amy I wish you and all the other transitioning kimkinettes much success as you take the first steps on that scary journey to recovery and away from the ED many are heading for.

I, like 2big4mysize, wish ex-Kimkins dieters success with finding a healthy woe that will maintain their weight loss and/or help with continued weight loss.

We are on the same side.

The results from the study are really confusing, but they indicate that weight loss is not indicative of better health, at least not when it comes to mortality rate.

To summarize (numbers adjusted for smoking, alcohol, and other factors):

• Wanting to lose weight and doing so increased mortality by 87%
• Wanting to lose weight but not doing so decreased mortality by 16%
• Wanting to lose weight but gaining weight decreased mortality by 7%
• Not wanting to lose weight and staying stable was used as baseline
• Not wanting to lose weight but doing so increased mortality by 17%
• Not wanting to lose weight and gaining weight increased mortality by 58%

The study provides a lot of details, but the one detail that is lacking is what diet the subjects used. However, considering the time frame (1975 – 1999) I bet that the participants were on low fat, high carb diets.

Not even the researchers could interpret the results and they speculate that loss of lean mass or release of toxins in body fat could play a role. The simple answer is that they don’t really have a clue.

My non-expert interpretation of the results is that changing your lifestyle and eating better will decrease mortality rate. The study subjects who wanted to lose weight but didn’t do so were the ones benefiting the most from their efforts. Even the ones wanting to lose weight but failing to do so decreased their mortality rate!

Eat healthy, live longer! And healthy does not mean low fat!

What is painfully obvious is that being successful on a low fat diet is not beneficial if you want to live a long life.

I really, really hope that people avoid low fat diets like Kimkins that possibly could be the most deadly of them all.

Illustration by Squeakie