Insider Exclusive Features Kimkins Scandal

The Insider Exclusive TV show with host Steve Murphy has aired a 30-minute feature episode exposing the Kimkins diet scandal. This news program is the longest and arguably the best coverage of this diet scam so far. This in-depth report features clips from the excellent surveillance work of private investigator Robert Charlton, as well as previously aired clips from the KTLA news reports with Chip Yost, Fox TV's The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, and ABC's Good Morning America. This exclusive report also features interviews with lead attorney and health fraud expert John Tiedt, co-counsel and class action expert Michael Cohen, cardiologist Dr. Americo Simonini of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and former Kimkins member Terry Lind, who articulately related her own negative experiences with Kimkins.

Highlights include John Tiedt explaining that having a defendant's assets frozen via Writ of Attachment in a proposed class action suit prior to certification is virtually unprecedented, simply never done. Yet due to the unusual circumstances of this case, the writ to freeze Heidi Diaz' assets was granted. (In fact, the writ was granted by one judge and even upheld by another judge.)

Michael Cohen stated that certification of class action status is expected soon, and that in addition to the return of class members' fees, the suit will be seeking injunctive relief, which, if granted, means that the site will be shut down.

John Tiedt also reported that evidence in this case has been turned over to the FTC, the District Attorney, and the Attorney General, and criminal prosecution in the near future is a very real possibility.

Click the Insider Exclusive image to watch the full report in another window:





A shorter version (the first 10 minutes or so) is also available through YouTube:


Things are not going well for Ms. Diaz of Kimkins, and they do not look to get any better any time soon.

An Obvious Comment

So much more can and will be said about Heidi "The Kimmer" Diaz's prodigious use of falsehood as a "creative outlet".

For now, let's just take one recent example, from the new blog of former Kimkins member amyb.

In early November, while discussing with SingingLass some possible success stories to showcase on the upcoming Kimkins scam exposure on the Mike and Juliet Show, Heidi Diaz said of Amy:

Kimmer wrote:

Hmmm, unsure on AmyB since I’m not sure she’s an actual Kimkins supporter. She has some medical concens that may not help our case.

Amy was soon banned, and she asked to be reinstated shortly thereafter. In a response message (a saved copy of which the attorney will have, along with many similar documents)Heidi Diaz told her:

Original Message —–
From Kimmer
To answer your question, you are banned.
I am done dealing with the issues on the group. I will let you back in group but you will follow what I say.
No more talk about your hair. You have hair so stop talking about it. IT can not be falling out that much.
I do not want any talk about your Dr telling you to add foods back in. That will just make you gain weight . NO talk of vitamins .No medical issues at all.
You do not mention Jimmy Moore on my site. You need to reconsider a lunch meeting. I am very upset that you would consider this after the UTube video he made making fun of Kimkins. Just do not meet him.
Enough of the fake niceness. No one can be that nice. You pop in and out with fake nice post. Stop it. It seems you do this to make me mad.
I gave you a membership, use it wisely. Or Else.

So here it seems that Heidi Diaz was fully aware that Amy B was reporting health complications from Kimkins. Yet, instead of being concerned, Heidi was annoyed and angry. The owner of Kimkins not only failed to acknowledge the harm caused by the diet, she chose to squash all truth to the contrary, completely forbid all discussion of the matter, and even countermanded the advice of Amy's doctor.

(Your doctor says you are suffering from starvation and malnutrition and need more healthy food? No way! "That will just make you gain weight.")

For that matter, the original admins brought up health concerns being reported by some members back in late July- very early August 2007. Her response at that time, paraphrased, was something like It isn't happening, and if it is, it's not Kimkin's fault, and even if it is, they can't prove it, and even if they do, I'm too smart for them and they won't get my money.

Yet, even after all the very public discussion of health issues on the Kimkins forums and elsewhere, with copies of posts and PMs and emails to prove it, STILL, on January 23, Heidi Diaz swore under oath upon penalty of perjury that she

" . . . never received any complaints of injury from anyone who tried the Kimkins diet. She never reviewed complaints such as irregular heartbeat, hair loss or failure to have menstrual cycles. To her memory, she states that she never received an email concerning a single complaint or injury. She did not collect any adverse event reports."

As Little Red Riding Hood might say,
Why, Heidi, what very big CREATIVITY you have!

THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART TWO, concluded

DECLARATION OF HEIDI DIAZ FILED WITH MOTION TO SET ASIDE WRIT OF ATTACHMENT

Before signing her declaration, she did not determine whether or not her bank accounts were attached. In paragraph 3 of her declaration, which was attached to the deposition as Exhibit 69, she explained that she had severe family hardship, which means that she could not buy the things she needed to conduct household repairs, purchase earthquake insurance and make car payments. She said her son was sleeping on the floor. However, she admitted that her son was an adult who never had a job and is the only family member currently living at her home. She testified that Brandon Diaz had a broken bed when she moved into the Calhoun home and that despite the fact that she had $1 million in the bank, she did not order a new bed for her son, as it “didn’t occur to her.” Even though she had $1 million in the bank when she purchased the home, she did not purchase earthquake insurance.

She also complained that the writ of attachment interfered with her ability to earn a living because she could not issue refunds to her members and she could not use traditional vendors. However, during the course of her deposition, she cannot confirm a single person who had been terminated as a result of the writ of attachment. She also complained that she did not have medical insurance. She could not apply to Medicare because she makes too much money. Her SSDI benefits were terminated two months prior to part two of her deposition which was taken on January 23, 2008.


FINAL COMMENTS

We have sent out an initial set of written discovery in preparation for our motion for certification. The defendant’s responses were unsatisfactory, and therefore we will send additional discovery and seek further responses. It is our expectation that we will have a Motion for Certification on file within the next 30 days. We will soon be taking the deposition of Delaney Deaver and other former administrators of Kimkins.com.

The District Attorney’s office in San Diego will be reviewing the non-confidential documents of this file. A decision by the California Attorney General’s office concerning criminal prosecution is purportedly pending.



Very truly yours

TIEDT & HURD
John E. Tiedt

THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART TWO, continued

She also admitted to lying about representations that she made to members that she had to borrow to buy out her former partner. She also admitted to using the name Brad Johnson with regard to Kimkins.com business. She said that Brad Johnson is actually her little brother that died. She provided the following explanation as to why she uses false names.

Q. “Don't you foresee that by using other people's names, you're giving the false impression that your company is staffed with a number of people rather than just you?”

A. I -- I don't see it that way. I understand what you're saying, but I don't see it that way.”

Q. “When you use false names, aren't you giving the impression that the company is much bigger than it really is, as far as staff?

A. I see it as a creative outlet. I get tired of seeing my own name.

Q. You don't see that as dishonest or deceptive?

A. No.” 2

She contends she never received any complaints of injury from anyone who tried the Kimkins diet. She never reviewed complaints such as irregular heartbeat, hair loss or failure to have menstrual cycles. To her memory, she states that she never received an email concerning a single complaint or injury. She did not collect any adverse event reports.


2 California Penal Code Section 529 states: Every person who falsely personates another in either his private or official capacity, and in such assumed character either: 1. Becomes bail or surety for any party in any proceeding whatever, before any court or officer authorized to take such bail or surety; 2. Verifies, publishes, acknowledges, or proves, in the name of another person, any written instrument, with intent that the same may be recorded, delivered, or used as true; or, 3. Does any other act whereby, if done by the person falsely personated, he might, in any event, become liable to any suit or prosecution, or to pay any sum of money, or to incur any charge, forfeiture, or penalty, or whereby any benefit might accrue to the party personating, or to any other person; is punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART TWO

[Note: The second deposition of Heidi Diaz was taken on January 23, 2008.]

SUMMARY OF THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART TWO

Assets and Income of Heidi Diaz

Heidi Diaz stated that her sole source of income in 2007 was income generated from Kimkins.com, benefits from SDI, alimony, and income from foster care. Although she announced that Halcyon Web, LLC was the new owner in October 2007, she claimed at the time of her deposition that Halcyon did not have any cash. She claimed that her Kimkins business did not have any assets other than its computers. She claimed that Halcyon Web LLC does not own other websites. She does own a number of domain names related to Kimkins.com. She owns no other corporation, limited liability company, or interest in any partnership. Other than her corporate assets, she merely has her house and her car. She never checked to see if her assets were actually attached prior to her deposition. She does not keep track of her money and does not balance her checkbook. Since her PayPal account was frozen, she did open a CCBill account. She now accepts checks. She said that she had her Medicare benefits terminated and cannot afford medical insurance at this time. She filed a tax return in 2006, but did not pay federal taxes.

Heidi Diaz did produce financial records, which were marked as confidential and cannot be discussed in this document at this time.


Additional Acts of Fraud and Asset Concealment

Heidi Diaz was shown additional screenshots of individuals who were featured on the Kimkins.com website as success stories. She admitted that she took pictures of various women on the internet and placed said picture on the Kimkins.com website along with text on how these women purportedly lost weight as a result of the Kimkins diet. Models who were provided names such as Destiny, Raquel, Jasmine, Gretchen, and Petr were not users of the Kimkins diet and their photos had been misappropriated from other websites.

She also admitted to passing a rumor that Jessica Alba was using the Kimkins diet and she knew that was a false statement. She admitted that repeating the rumor that Jessica Alba originally used the Kimkins diet to lose weight was deceptive.

She admitted making certain false statements to administrators and members of Kimkins.com. As an example, Exhibit 57 falsely revealed that Kimmer and Heidi Diaz were best friends since high school. She also stated that in October of 2007, Kimkins.com did not have any money despite the fact that the company had $1 million in assets in the bank. Also in Exhibit 57, she misrepresented the fact that she had partners.

In an email response regarding this case, Kimmer made the following statement: “before I left, I thought I would share with you my thinking. I won’t know for sure until Monday until I talk to an attorney, but if worse comes to worse, we can close Kimkins.com and a lawyer can fight over the carcass. He probably thinks it is a large company.”

In connection with the email marked as Exhibit 57, she admitted to implying to Jeannie Baitinger that the company did not have any money despite the fact that the company had $1 million in liquid assets. In the same email, she stated that the database would be moved to a new domain name, “www.???.com and move the forums, members and everything there.”

She was aware that Jeannie Baitinger, Delaney Deaver, and Christin Sherburne were going to be on the Mike and Juliet Show on Fox TV on November 12, 2007.

Q: “Did you view this particular program as an opportunity to get new members for Kimkins?”
A: “No. actually, I thought it would have the opposite effect.”

Exhibit 65 is an email from Heidi Diaz to Jeannie Baitinger and Delaney Deaver dated November 9, 2007 that discussed the Mike and Juliet Show. Ms. Diaz said in the email: “I expect we will get many new members from the TV exposure,“...”Shhh, the lawyer is sniffing around for money $$$”

Heidi admitted that she wasn’t lying to Ms Baitinger and Ms. Deaver, but was actually giving a motivational speech in an email for their benefit. Finally, she admitted she was not telling the truth.

THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART ONE, concluded

How Did Heidi Diaz Profit From her Deception?

Heidi Diaz testified that her gross income for Kimkins.com for 2006 was approximately $50,000. Her best estimate of income earned by Kimkins.com from January through November 2007 was $1.5 million. She claimed $878,000 in profit, and from that, she purchased a home for cash in the amount of $444,000. She also stated that she paid $700,000 in taxes to the federal government and $100,000 to the State of California for the Franchise Tax payment. She claims Clexus New Media, the computer programmer/web designer, received approximately $400,000.00 in income.

She planned to pay refunds through an account at Bank of America, which totaled approximately $38,000.00. She claimed that the total members who subscribed to Kimkins.com as of November 12, 2007 ranged between 37,000 and 40,000. She claimed affiliates were paid a total of $55,000.00. Up until the date of her first deposition, all payments to Kimkins.com were made by PayPal.


Were the Representations Made By Heidi Diaz On November 12, 2007 on the Kimkins Website Truthful?

Heidi Diaz admitted that she did not lose 198 pounds in 11 months, but claimed to lose 100 pounds in six months. However, when pressed on this issue, she admitted that she had no photographic evidence of said weight loss. She never used her own website to record the alleged weight loss. She made no written record of the weight loss referenced in her website. She also claimed that there are no witnesses that will testify to her alleged weight loss. Incidentally, the deposition of Brandon Diaz revealed that he did not witness his mother losing 100 pounds at any time. She last weighed herself on November 11 and at that time she weighed 294 pounds. She claimed to have lost 23 pounds in the last two weeks as of November 12, 2008.

Why Did Heidi Diaz Block Members?

She claimed that certain members were blocked from access to chat with other members because they were “troublemakers”. Troublemakers could retain access to the full website, diet, and food list, but were restricted from the community areas. She claims that the term troublemaker was defined by each administrator. Accordingly, administrators were given the power to block member’s access to the community areas. There were no written parameters for blocking members or any oral instructions by Heidi Diaz. She admitted to using moles on the website, which she defines as “somebody who operates quietly to go through the website to make sure everything is operating.”

THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART ONE, continued

Asset Concealment

Heidi Diaz had a plan to conceal and dissipate her assets when she found out that a class action lawsuit was contemplated by the members of Kimkins.com. 1

On the date of the original writ of attachment hearing, October 16, 2007, Heidi Diaz had $878,252.79 in a mutual fund. A copy of the T. Rowe Price mutual fund account statement is attached to the deposition transcript of Heidi Diaz as Exhibit 39. On October 18, 2007, Heidi Diaz directed T. Rowe Price to close the account and send her a check for $878,252.79, which she placed in her Bank of America account. Heidi Diaz was then served with a deposition notice for November 4, 2007, but pursuant to her request, her deposition was rescheduled for November 12, 2007.

On Friday, November 9, 2007, the last business day before the deposition of Heidi Diaz, Heidi Diaz contacted an accountant referred to her by her lawyer. The accountant, Rahul Shaw, had not reviewed any of the financial documents of Heidi Diaz or of Kimkins.com. Nevertheless, Heidi Diaz stated that the accountant who had never examined or evaluated any financial document advised her to unilaterally write a check to the U.S. Treasury Department in the amount $700,000.

Heidi Diaz also testified at her deposition that on the afternoon of November 9, 2007, this same accountant advised her to write a check to the California Franchise Tax Board, without having reviewed a single document. Accordingly, on the afternoon of November 9, 2007, Ms. Diaz wrote check number 1501 to the U.S. Treasury for $700,000, and check number 1502 to the Franchise Tax Board for $100,000.

Heidi Diaz bragged on the internet about her efforts to conceal and dissipate assets. She prepared for the class action lawsuit and anticipated collection efforts. On August 14, 2007, Heidi Diaz and Kimkins.com member and administrator Christin Sherburne engaged in an internet conversation concerning anticipated lawsuits. Allegations of fraud and misleading advertising had been made and Heidi Diaz made the following, unsolicited statement to Mrs. Sherburne:

Heidi Diaz: Christin, have time for Law 101?

Christin: Sure

Heidi Diaz: In a nutshell, there can be no class action lawsuit or any lawsuit. ... If you had a bad car accident -- broken arm, concussion but hit a poor person with no insurance you COULD NOT get a lawyer. There is no ‘recovery’. There is no money to receive. It’s the same with Kimkins. There is no $$$. They don’t even have jurisdiction. No lawyer would touch it. do they even know who “kimmer” is. well, in a real class action suit the company is ordered to pay legal costs. but who will pay?... Anyhow, bottom line for today’s law lesson: No recovery, no lawyer.... You have to make allegations. They must be substantiated. Backed up with doctor’s reports, etc., not just that (1) prove their health before Kimkins; (2) prove that “but for” doing Kimkins there would not have been damages; (3) must have damages; (be hurt) all that takes $$$. they have to hire a doctor, get tests, deposition of doctors & whoever they can find at kimkins ;)”

Also on August 14, 2007 Ms. Diaz informed Mrs. Sherburne that “technically you can get a judgment and sue a person in court, but so what? How would you get your $$? can’t.” However, the exchange ends with an ominous statement by Heidi Diaz regarding possible future litigation. Heidi Diaz told Mrs. Sherburne, “If anything ever happened and you were involved, I am here for you $$$.”

Another attempt to evade collection was a statement publicly made by Heidi Diaz that she was no longer the owner of Kimkins.com. She now admits under oath that her statement was false. On October 4, 2007, Heidi Diaz told members that the Kimkins website was under new ownership. She claimed that she would not be the owner but would merely serve as an advisor. At her deposition, she stated that representation was false. A true and correct copy of the announcement prepared by Heidi Diaz revealing the change of ownership is attached to the deposition of Heidi Diaz as Exhibit 48.

Heidi Diaz admitted under oath to further testimony confirming her plan to dissipate assets. She admitted to making the following statement as “Kimmer” to one of her administrators:

“Unfortunately for this brilliant attorney, he is going to be disappointed to find that there is no pot of gold for recovery in the suit. Heidi collects the revenue, but does not keep it. You can imagine him telling the judge that wants to certify a class action against a housewife? Hehehe.”

Heidi Diaz has also recently formed other companies and a trust. For example, she recently paid a paralegal to form a family trust in which she intends to place assets. However, the family trust is misleading as it uses the name “Beauchamp” instead of Diaz. She formed a company known as Halcyon Web, LLC on September 24, 2007 with the specific intent of transferring all of the Kimkins assets to that company. She has also paid a paralegal to form a company known as Sharp Plumbing, LLC. She stated the company was for her son. However, upon examination she admitted that her son is not a licensed contractor and the address for the plumbing company is merely a P.O. Box. It is the same P.O. Box of Kimkins.com. She admitted that there is no physical business for Sharp Plumbing, but that company is on the internet.


1 California Penal Code Section 531 states: Every person who is a party to any fraudulent conveyance of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, goods or chattels, or any right or interest issuing out of the same, or to any bond, suit, judgment, or execution, contract or conveyance, had, made, or contrived with intent to deceive and defraud others, or to defeat, hinder, or delay creditors or others of their just debts, damages, or demands; or who, being a party as aforesaid, at any time wittingly and willingly puts in, uses, avows, maintains, justifies, or defends the same, or any of them, as true, and done, had, or made in good faith, or upon good consideration, or aliens, assigns, or sells any of the lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, or other things before mentioned, to him or them conveyed as aforesaid, or any part thereof, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART ONE

SUMMARY OF THE DEPOSITION OF HEIDI DIAZ, PART ONE

Who is Heidi Diaz?
Heidi Diaz has been known by the following names: Kimmer, Jennifer Dancer, Brad Curtis, Kimberely Stewart, and Kimberely Drake. She also testified that she was known on the Kimkins.com website as Vanessa, an affiliate manager. She had used the email Vanessa2lucky@yahoo.com. She also used Brandon Diaz name without his permission to receive an affiliate payment. She registered Brandon Diaz as the owner of the Kimkins website without his permission. She then switched the name of the owner to Renee Drake who was the mother of Ms. Diaz. Ms. Drake died in 1970. She has also used her niece’s name, Vanessa Romero.

How did Heidi Diaz Deceive Kimkins.com Members?

Heidi Diaz admitted that she has used false testimonials to promote the Kimkins.com website. Exhibit 2 to her deposition transcript revealed a picture of the alleged founder of Kimkins.com. This picture is the well-known photograph of the Russian woman in a red dress. She admitted that the woman featured in Exhibit 2 as Kimmer is not Heidi Diaz. It is a picture that she obtained from the internet. The text adjacent to the photograph was also false. “Kimmer” did not lose 198 pounds in 11 months as promoted on the website. She also admitted that the woman featured in the picture did not receive a graduate degree in public administration and was not a volunteer court appointed special advocate for abused children.

Exhibit 3 featured another screenshot from the Kimkins.com website that contained the image of the infamous woman in the red dress that was identified as Kimmer. Again, she claimed that the adjacent text was partially false and that the photo of Kimmer was in fact the same photo that she obtained off the internet. On that same page, she admitted that the featured story of Bambi, who purportedly lost 122 pounds was in fact false. She did claim that a company known as Clexus New Media employed an individual known by the name of Aliyar Firat. Mr. Firat reportedly supplied Heidi Diaz with a picture of the woman in the red dress. Mr. Firat stated that he would rather use an actual photo of Heidi Diaz, but Ms. Diaz purportedly did not want to reveal her identity.

Exhibit 4 is another screenshot from the Kimkins.com website. She admitted that the “before” picture was actually Heidi Diaz taken years before the start of Kimkins.com website. She again confirmed that the “after” photo was not her and was a picture she had taken from the internet. The text provided in Exhibit 4 was also false in that she had not gone from 318 pounds to 118 pounds in 11 months.

Exhibit 5 contained four photographs. The first photograph on the top was actually Heidi Diaz, but the subsequent photographs, used in various advertisements for Kimkins.com and designated as Kimmer, were in fact models. She had taken said photographs from other internet sites to be used on Kimkins.com.

She claimed the sole reason for not disclosing her identity prior to November 12, 2007 was to preserve her privacy. However, she admitted that at the time she made the subject misrepresentations, she did not feel her customers, who signed up for lifetime memberships, were entitled to the truth about her personal weight loss success with the Kimkins diet. In retrospect, she did put her privacy rights over that of her customer’s rights to know the truth about the weight loss results of the Kimkins diet.

She also admitted that she used numerous pictures of women from other websites and put these pictures adjacent to fictionalized Kimkins weight loss success stories. She admits that the women featured in the photos marked in Exhibit 50 were not in fact members of the Kimkins.com website and were not on the Kimkins Diet. She stated that the adjacent texts were false, but were predicated on success stories from the Low Carb Friends website that predated the Kimkins.com site. However, she has absolutely no documentation of any of the alleged success stories that were used as a basis for the fraudulent testimonials that were attached as Exhibit 50. Further, she has no witnesses to back up her explanation.

She admits that she knew that potential Kimkins.com customers would rely on her false representations. As a consequence, she claimed that she had offered a full refund for those people who relied on her past misrepresentations.

Official Update on Kimkins Case from John Tiedt

[Note: I haven't blogged in a while, but when John Tiedt sent this and asked us to help get it out where potential class members might see it, I was happy to post it here. If I can learn how to post the PDF link here, I will, but for now this is the best I can do. This is a 44 page document in total, 9 pages of summary of Heidi Diaz' two depositions, plus the referenced exhibits, so I will be posting it in segments. I do not want to try to condense it or explain it, because it is best left as John Tiedt wrote it. So, stay tuned for much more.]

March 13, 2008

VIA EMAIL
To Plaintiff Class Representatives and Potential Class Members
Re: Fenderson, et al. v. Diaz, et al.

Dear Friends:

We have been quite busy with the discovery process and several law and motion issues. The purpose of this letter is to bring you up to date. We were granted authority by the court to take an early deposition of Heidi Diaz concerning limited issues relating to documents, witnesses, and assets. The first deposition was conducted on November 12, 2007 at my office in Riverside, California. The second deposition was taken on January 23, 2008. Some of the testimony and documents produced at the second deposition are subject to a protective order and cannot be revealed to the public at this time. However, it is my intent to file a motion to make certain documents public. At this time, we have no set trial date. A Case Management Conference is set for July 15, 2008. Defendant Heidi Diaz filed a Demurrer to the First Amended Complaint for Damages. A demurrer is a tactic used by defendants to challenge the validity of the complaint. We have already prepared our opposition to the demurrer and we are confident that it will be overruled by the presiding judge. The hearing on the demurrer is scheduled for April 28, 2008. On March 21, 2008, the Court will hear the defendant’s motion to set aside the writ of attachment order. As you may recall, on November 16, 2007, the court entered an order to issue a writ of attachment on certain assets held by Heidi Diaz. Accordingly, the court effectively “froze” certain assets held by Heidi Diaz, such as her home and PayPal account. Our opposition to defendant’s motion to set aside the writ of attachment was filed under seal because it contained confidential information. However, I can reveal that it is our contention that the defendants do not have statutory authority to have the court reconsider its original order to issue a writ of attachment.

Kimkins, via Admin Gary, Still Recommending Very Low Calories

This was just posted at Kimkins this morning, December 11, 2007, by Admin Lasttime4me (Gary).

Note my math and comments below.


Lasttime4me (Admin)

CARBS, FAT and PROTEIN TOTALS/PERCENTAGES

Kimkins a low-carb diet and our goal is to eat 20 or less total carbs each day. The percentage of Carbs will be low compared to Fats and Proteins you eat each day. This should not alarm you in any way.

If you eat almost no carbs or low-carbs, protein and fat will naturally be a very high % of calorie intake, since that is all you are eating. If you added carbs, the protein and fat % would go down, even though the amounts didn't. So, don't worry about ratios.

As for overall totals to shoot for, no exact guidelines. Eat from the food lists, to appetite, no more, keeping carbs always below 20, and fats are low as you reasonably can. This IS NOT a fat-free diet so use fats to make your recipe work for YOU!

Now, once you are well on your way, feeling strong and confident, with good appetite suppression working for you, and just looking to make tweaks, the fastest losses seem to be around 800-1200 cals, 30 - 40 grams fat, 60 - 100 grams protein, 8-12 grams (or less) carbs. But, that is NOT an official rule, nor can everyone want to or need to do that.

Make sure you take your multi-vitamin and drink at least 8 glasses of water or MORE!

I do understand the bind Gary is in. During my time at Kimkins, Kimmer repeatedly ignored and refused requests to elaborate on the diet plans or offer more info to answer the many newbie questions for help and specifics. She repeatedly stated that the diet was simple, and she could not understand why anyone would have trouble figuring it out or need more explanation. She directed the moderators to answer the lost and confused 'newbies', for whom she showed little patience.

(I now wonder whether her refusal to elaborate was because she was too busy marketing for new 'sales' to care about the existing members, or because she deliberately wanted to put her Mods and Admins out on the line for her.)

So, I understand that Gary, Singling Lass, and the other experienced members field the same questions over and over and over, that Kimmer should have answered in her published guidelines and ebook. As they have run into those same frustrations, they have begun to do what previous Admins did, which is to compile a bank of "stickies", permanent posts at the tops of the main forum categories that fill in the gaps and answer the questions that come up all the time. It is helpful for members --- but creates a convenient buffer between Heidi Diaz and her dangerous advice. She can then try to blame the Admins for creating the poor advice she is passing along through them.

Now, let's do the math:

Gary advices 800 - 1200 calories, because that is the latest 'Admin-safe' party line, though NOWHERE in the published diet rules has Heidi/Kimkins changed the actual guidelines to say this. If Heidi REALLY believed and wanted to say that, she could write exactly that into her 'simple' bullet-point paragraph guidelines.

Then Gary goes on to give a fairly generous interpretation of the macro-nutrient levels Kimmer has advised. I (and many others) specifically recall Kimmer saying in a scheduled all-site chat one time that the ideal amount of fat for Kimkins was 20 grams a day, 30 tops, but Gary has bumped that up to 30 - 40 grams of fat.

Likewise, over time, I watched as Kimmer revised her recommended protein intake down, from the "at least 70 - 90 grams" she listed at LCF, to the 60 - 80 she first published at her own site, to no officially listed amount, but frequent posts mentioning 60 g and later 50 g. So, Gary's 100 g of protein is quite extravagant by traditional Kimkins standards.

Similarly, Kimkins states 20 or fewer carbs, but Kimmer has always promoted the idea of even lower carb levels for 'deep, real ketosis' and maximum appetite suppression, with 8 - 12 being a commonly mentioned level.

Gary even advises drinking ample water, which Kimmer herself never did.

So, how does his math add up?
Each gram of protein or carbohydrate has 4 calories. Each gram of fat has 9 calories.

Thus, on the high side, Gary's ideal recommendation has 808 calories:
40 g fat x 9 = 360 calories
100 g protein x 4 = 400 calories
12 g carb x 4 = 48 calories
TOTAL: 808 calories

On the low side, Gary's ideal recommendation has 542 calories:
30 g fat x 9 = 270
60 g protein x 4 = 240 calories
8 g carb x 4 = 32 calories
TOTAL: 542 calories

People can try to bump Kimkins up to higher levels all they want, but the actual guidelines, the math, and the culture Kimmer has created just don't support it. She always intended Kimkins to be very low calorie levels, mainly achieved through very low fat levels. She taught it that way, people learned it that way, and that is the only way to get the fast weight loss results she boasted about in her claims (along with the negative health consequences she denied). That is what Kimkins is, and what it will always be as long as it is Kimkins. That is Kimmer's way.

Frankly, that is the way MANY people at Kimkins (or doing the diet elsewhere) STILL do it, in spite of Jeannie Baitinger's recent efforts to raise the calorie levels. That is why so few post FitDay links anymore --- they do not want it known how little they actually eat.

The only way to meet Gary's stated ideal calories, which are still considered low by safe medical standards, would be to raise fat to 60 - 85 grams. After all, Kimkins cannot raise carbs too much and still be a low-carb diet that claims an extra-deep level of appetite suppression. Kimkins also cannot raise protein too much higher without triggering gluconeogenesis, the conversion of excess protein to glucose.

Adding good healthy fats is the only way to make Kimkins safe, healthy, and adequate.

It also makes it Atkins.

Jeannie Baitinger Leaves Kimkins

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about Jeannie Baitinger, also known as Tippy Toes, who became the PR person for Kimkins after Christin left.

Jeannie has been the center of much controversy lately, with many people questioning her actions and her motives. She defended Kimkins on national television on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, yet freely admitted that the diet and the site had problems.

Those problems have only worsened as Heidi Diaz'/Kimkins legal and financial issues have become more widely publicized. Things are not going well for Kimkins at all, and it is not a good time for anyone associated with it.

Jeannie quietly posted a small farewell message on Kimkins on November 27, saying:

I am taking a computer break for a while. Been fighting with DH over the time I spend here. He wins and he is right (but don't tell him) . So carry on, stay safe and stay over 800 calories and you'll do just fine. I hope to be back online soon. Happy weight loss everyone!

When someone later started a thread asking where Tippy was, Kimmer posted:

Tippy is having problems with DH and computer time.

(A member later posted that it was unlikely Tippy was coming back, since she was posting elsewhere now. That post was quickly deleted.)

Jeannie has not returned to Kimkins. Her Admin status has been revoked.


Instead, on that same day, November 27, Tippy joined eatinglow.com, the forum of former Kimkins Admin Amy/curlygirl, under her name JeannieLynn. Her first post that day read:

I am new here but very familiar with low carb eating and dieting. I just wanted to say hi to everyone! I look forward to getting to know you all.

She posted more over the next couple of days, including a longer post, part of which said:

I too am very glad to find this site. Thank you Amy! I am a KK refugee too. I hated to leave but the drama was getting pretty bad. I will say I lost a lot of weight following Kimkins. She had a good plan. But the plan behind the plan... (shudders) Although lately I saw less of this. The site got a pretty good cleanup in the last couple of months and people are encouraged not to starve. That's a good thing! But I think all the clean up in the world will prove to be a day late and a dollar short for Kimkins site. Too much fraud, which is a true shame since she did have a plan that really does work well for so many. Fraud with herself, the Russian Brides, possibly the new front page pic of herself and so much more. I have to wonder why? What a great way to ruin what could have been the next diet breakthrough. But, what's done is done. There is no changing that now.

People realized JeannieLynn was Tippy, the word got out, and a firestorm ensued. Amy's quiet forum got a spike in traffic, and a spate of posts both supportive and welcoming to Jeannie, and also angry and hostile to her. Others showed ill will to the new members from LCF and elsewhere who had joined to observe or interact with Jeannie. Debate and disagreeableness spilled onto other online low-carb sites.

Jeannie responded in a lengthy post that was humble and helpful in many ways, yet failed to go nearly far enough in making things right in many other ways.

You can read the full text of Jeannie's early explanation on Medusa's blog here

Again, conflict ensued. In the end, Jeannie was banned from eatinglow.com, and her threads deleted, in order to restore peace there.


As opinions about Jeannie, mostly critical, swirled on this topic in various places, I posted this on LCF:

I have to say, as someone who has been there, that it takes some time to sort things out when a person decides to leave Kimkins. That is true for anyone, and it is worse the closer connected to Kimmer a person was.

Someone on the outside cannot know what it was like to be that closely involved.

Nor can we truly know someone else's motives. After all, half the time, we barely know our own, because few things are simple, cut-and-dried. Most of us have some mixed motives, even on our best days.

Even here, where the motive is an admirable one --- to expose Heidi Diaz as a dangerous fraud --- things slip into secondary, mixed motives, whether to express anger, have fun, make friends, make fun, get revenge, pass the time, etc.

I appreciate the efforts of many here who have confronted lies and uncovered truth, because it has borne some good fruit. Many people have done a lot of good work, and a lot of folks can be thankful for that.

I also have to say that at times the methods and attitudes have been woefully counter-productive, and have put off a lot of people who were able to write off the truth that was being said, because it got lost in the middle of off-base speculation and mean-spirited glee that sometimes erupts here.

And, yes, I totally get that and understand it! I have had my moments, too, believe me! It is probably a necessary part of the healing process, and I am not criticizing anyone. I just want everyone to see how it looks from the other 'side'.

When a person has found help and support and friendship and acceptance within Kimkins, and nothing but attack and criticism from outside, it does not make leaving any easier. (And I know, 'nothing' is an exaggeration, but that is how it can feel.)

When a person has had decent intentions and met a lot of smart, good people at Kimkins, they certainly don't want to leave and go to a site that seems to consider all Kimkins people as stupid fools and evil people. (I know that is not the attitude, really, but it can be perceived that way.)

When a person is losing weight and feeling good, really good, maybe for the first time, and opponents characterize Kimkins as a diet of death that will kill everyone, they don't believe it or want to hear it. After all, we all have felt the desperation of being overweight.

And, sadly, people are likely to transfer their good feelings about their weight loss onto the person or place that brought it to them, and ascribe to Kimmer and Kimkins much more credit than it deserves.

Kimmer's absolute specialty is stirring up "us against them" instincts, and using that to polarize and isolate and manipulate and control people. It is what she does. Falling into her web is like falling slowly into a relationship with a charming abuser.

It is NOT easy to break free!

It is harder when there is no welcoming place to go.

Yes, Jeannie should have/could have known she was walking in to support a fraud. She surely will have some explaining and apologizing to do, at the very least, and I sincerely hope she will do it before too long.

But, it does take time to process these things. it is not an instant turn-around, and I think she needs a space in time to sort things out and speak.

That she left means something. We can idly speculate that it is about money, but we do not 100% know that. She may have other reasons, instead of or in addition. Time will tell.

Whatever her motives may have been, she can be a valuable ally in the legal case at this point, and I would hate to lose that possibility because she is too afraid or too offended to be forthcoming with evidence.

In my opinion, it was a mistake for her to post in a public forum too soon, before addressing the whole issue through proper channels.

I hope she doesn't say anything else publicly until she talks to the proper legal people.

And I hope people will reserve comment on her until she does.

Too much is at stake.

There is much I did not say in that post.

For now, I can tell you that I have been in close contact with Jeannie since Sunday, December 2, as has Christin. Christin and I each independently had an inner prompting to contact Jeannie, which we both did. She has responded warmly and favorably to us both. She has told us many things that seem most encouraging and heartfelt.

It is still early in the 'processing' of it all for her, in coming to realize the extent of the situation. I expect she will be ready to say more after a while, though I hope she will not rush things. We need to realize that what she has to say may never be exactly what everyone would like her to say or exactly the way everyone would like her to say it.

What really matters, though, is that she asked me to approach John Tiedt on her behalf, which I did. She said:

I will cooperate with John and am happy to do so. . . .I have some things I know he needs and I really, really want him to have it.

John Tiedt reports that she has been fully apologetic and completely cooperative.

I do hope she is given a chance to follow through with that.


I also hope any other Admins still remaining at Kimkins could find a more open reception, should they also decide to come out.

After all, no one except Kimmer should be the one left holding the bag when it all crashes down, which it must soon.

Whatever their motives, it is much better all around for them to leave than to stay, and the sooner the better.

KTLA News, Part 4

Heidi Diaz, the founder of the popular internet diet, Kimkins, admitted under oath in sworn deposition that her diet was based on a lie, KTLA investigative reporter Chip Yost reports.


Click here to watch the video of the newscast.

KTLA Update

An update on the Kimkins story is airing tonight, Wednesday, November 28, with Chip Yost - KTLA Channel 5 News at 10 p.m. Pacific time.


I will post the video link once it airs and goes online.
http://ktla.trb.com/news/

The REAL Heidi Diaz

(It has been a while since I posted to this blog. Frankly, it got overwhelming, and I needed a 'real world' break. I do have some things saved as drafts, which I will go back and post over the next week or so. [NOTE: Two are now posted below this.] These are eventful times, and I have a LOT to catch up on. However, this latest is too important not to publish.)

Attorney John Tiedt, representing the plaintiffs in the class action law suit against Heidi K. Diaz/Kimkins, took her sworn deposition on November 12, 2007. The depo lasted from about 10:00 am to about 5:00 pm, with a lunch break.

The entire deposition was video recorded. He has now released a screen shot of Heidi Diaz taken from that recording.

She appeared heavier in person that day than she did in the picture that she posted on her site that same day with her so-called 'confession' and 'apology'.

Ironically, she seems to have told the truth when she said red is her favorite color.

Aiding and Abetting --- Tippy Toes' Role at Kimkins

With Kimmer working in the shadows, the new head of site management, Tippy Toes (Jeannie Baitinger), is working energetically to bring legitimacy to the Kimkins site. She monitors other sites to keep up on the information coming out about the problems with Kimmer/Kimkins. However, instead of distancing herself from Kimkins, she is using what she reads as a 'heads-up' of where to concentrate the damage control to cover Kimmer's crimes.

She is doing her best to rewrite history by claiming that Kimkins was never intended to drop below 800 calories, even though too much evidence exists to the contrary. However much Tippy may try to make light of the damage that Kimkins has done, or to blame the members (or former Admins) for dropping calories low, that simply doesn't match the facts in evidence. However, Tippy hasn't been on the site much until very recently, so she cannot really know how it was in her absence. Still, however much she chants the new mantra of "at least 800 calories", the plans as written are the same low calories they ever were. That Heidi is allowing Tippy to de facto 'tweak' her plans or recommend they be cycled with Atkins shows just how desperate she is.

Of course, Tippy herself did not do Kimkins at all as intended, so she may not be the best spokesperson for the plan nor the best judge of its effects. Multiple screenshots of her posts at LCF and at Kimkins make clear that she only did Kimkins (fairly generously, at that) for a week or maybe two at a time, rotating that with Atkins or another plan. In fact, Tippy mixed it up with regular Atkins, the Atkins Fat Fast, with Groves' Eat Fat, Get Thin, and others, switching whenever she would stall out on any one plan, which she did on Kimkins, too. She frequently stated that she preferred Atkins, and even as late as August, shortly before joining the payroll at Kimkins, Tippy recommended AGAINST doing straight Kimkins, saying it would cause a metabolic slowdown and doom maintenance to an extremely low calorie level.

The only time Tippy did Kimkins for a month straight was July, 2006, when she ran a fundraising challenge for 'Kimmer's Kids'. Unfortunately for Jeannie, that turns out to be illegal. Even if Heidi really did have foster kids then, which is in serious dispute, using them in any way for fundraising is against the regulations in California. I believe Tippy was unaware of any fraud or illegality in the fundraiser at the time. However, she has been made aware since then, and chose to remain in Heidi's employ anyway, first saying the money was for Kimmer to use anyway she saw fit (nope - screen shots disagree!) and then saying it would not matter because the money was for adults aged out of the system, not kids.

Baitinger's willingness to overlook inconvenient facts makes her highly compatible as Kimnmer's PR person. In fact, her eagerness to delete all pesky posts and ban all brave posters who dare tell the truth about Kimmer makes her a perfect Admin for these troubled times.

It also makes an accessory after the fact to fraud.

Kimmer broke the law, and Tippy is working hard to help her get away with it.

So, what could motivate Tippy to put herself at risk of civil suit or criminal prosecution like this?

I suppose part of it must be that she really doesn't think it will come to that. My opinion is that she saw this originally as an internet drama between feuding low-carb forums, nothing more. Perhaps she now realizes that this means real trouble in the real world for her. Perhaps it is not too late for her to get out of there.

It is hard to know another's motives, but some things can be surmised from a person's behavioral history.

Tippy was a member at Low Carb Friends weight loss forum, and really did a wonderful job in losing her weight. She worked doggedly and persistently at it, found a way to be successful, and reached her goal weight. That is an incredible accomplishment that not everyone achieves, and she is to be commended for that. As anyone who has lost considerable weight knows, it can be absolutely life-transforming. Tippy was understandably proud of her success.

Some who knew her at LCF say that she wanted to be looked up to as a role model and leader, that she wanted and tried unsuccessfully to get a position as LCF Moderator, and that she had conflicts with the the Mods there.

I don't know firsthand about all of that, but here are my observations.

In early June of 2006, after flouncing out of LCF, Heidi "the Kimmer" Diaz launched her own site, took a lot of people with her, and triggered a hornet's nest of controversy and attention.

On June 12, 2006, Tippy joined Kimkins. She soon was posting all over the place, especially in the busy main areas, welcoming members, posting encouragement, and recommending her own version of Kimkins, which involved higher calories and cycling. She wasn't receiving a lot of positive feedback for her ideas, because the site was new and everyone was excited to do it the 'right' way like Kimmer taught.

Almost right away, Tippy set up a big challenge to raise money for Kimmer's foster kids, which ran through July, 2006.

After that ill-fated debacle ran its course, she joined the Camp Kimkins challenge group in August, 2006. That had been the original Kimkins challenge that had migrated over from LCF, and was the largest and most active at that time.

Tippy also tried to pump up interest in a 'Gathering' of Kimkins folks, and pushed for it to be in Tennessee at the same time and near the same place as LCF's annual pig roast/gathering, so we could 'show them' how it was done. Once again, the other members of Kimkins brushed the idea aside, not ready for a group gathering and more interested in Las Vegas than Tennessee, anyway.

Things were not going Tippy's way, it seemed. She quit posting at Kimkins on September 24, 2006, and went back to LCF.

The next big buzz for Kimkins came when People magazine ran their New Year's edition on people who had lost half their size, with Mary Smith (Cartbabe at LCF and Kimkins) on the cover and featured inside. Mary championed Atkins, and mentioned both LCF and Kimkins. (She has since recanted her support of Kimkins, by the way.)

When the People magazine came out, Tippy suddenly reappeared at Kimkins, where she posted from 12-30-06 to 1-11-07. After the hubbub settled down, she returned to LCF.

The next enormous event at Kimkins was the Woman's World cover and feature in early June.

Sure enough, Tippy returned to Kimkins, where she posted briefly, but got lost and overlooked in the overwhelming flood of new members and new Admins/Moderators.

Meanwhile, LCF was having its own influx of new members interested in Kimkins, so Tippy returned to LCF where she became the resident expert on the new Kimkins forum at LCF for the next couple of months.

Tippy made one post to Kimkins on August 16 (when news got out that I had left) and several more on August 27 (after Christin and Deni left). By September 1st, with the original Admins gone, Tippy was second in command at Kimkins.

Her track record seems opportunistic. Apparently she saw our leaving as her big moment, and rushed into the void we left behind. Heidi's fraud and reckless disregard that drove us away did not deter Tippy. Perhaps she saw it as her chance to grab the golden ring of Admin status that she had sought. Perhaps it was her chance to be a diet guru, helping others by promoting her own version of the diet, now that Kimmer was over a barrel and desperate enough to give in. Perhaps it was her chance to 'stick it' to LCF. Maybe it was some combination of all of the above.

Tippy is a weight loss success, and I give her credit for that. She is cheerful, hard-working, and scrappy. I think she genuinely enjoys mentoring people in weight loss. Frankly, Tippy's diet is better than Heidi's. The site would be safer and more legitimate had Tippy run it from the beginning.

Nevertheless, it is Heidi's site, built on fraud, no matter how much Tippy tries to change that. Heidi's lies will bring Tippy down, too. Heidi probably could not have kept Kimkins afloat these last few months without Tippy. Heidi needed Tippy to hide behind, to cover and clean things up for her, to delete and ban 'troublemakers', to make excuses, to be nice and cheerful and positive, and to give the illusion of business as usual.

That means that, whatever her motives may have been, Tippy has become guilty of aiding and abetting a fraud.

Who's in Charge at Kimkins?

As mounting evidence of continuing criminal fraud and dietary damage has escaped from internet forums and into 'real life' public notice, even Kimmer, who had claimed to be 'completely unconcerned' about it all, has finally had to realize that she is in legal and financial jeopardy. Thus, she recently adopted a new "duck and cover" strategy to try to protect herself and keep the money rolling in.

In an email to members on October 4th, Kimmer announced a 'change of ownership' at Kimkins, and now pretends to be 'gone' from Kimkins. That easily can and will be proven to be completely false.

Why should anyone believe her claim about not running the business anymore, anyway, when she has been proven to lie easily about so many things already, and has freely admitted to using multiple identities for years? After all, the only 'evidence' that she has stepped back is just her own brief emailed statement.

However much she shuffles names and titles and structure, Heidi 'the Kimmer' Diaz is still very much in charge of Kimkins, still perpetuating fraud, and still profiting from every new membership sold. In fact, good authority states that she has been actively posting on the site under 6 or 7 different identities within the last month. [NOTE: Danielle Hauck, wannabefit2, noelle88/Noelle Lawson, Admin, PimpMyDiet, Wonder Woman, and probably dwmcneill] She did take some time off of posting under any for a few days after October 15, when a lawsuit was filed against both Heidi 'the Kimmer' Diaz and the business entity of Kimkins, under any and all aliases.

She has continued to answer questions or comments from her AskKimmer gmail account. People who have emailed supportive messages to her at that address have received this message in return:

I'm still here, but behind the scenes. You can reach me anytime here -- it's just like a PM. No abandonment issues! Everyone still has "direct access". :)

(This statement seems a clever ploy to deflect any possible complaints that she defrauded on her promise of personal coaching for members.)

She also continues to manage and promote the site, by posting testimonials and blog entrees, etc. In typical Kimmer style, one of her most recent blog posts was a stolen cartoon, lifted and used without credit to the author.

Think about it realistically. Who would purchase or otherwise assume liability for a foundering business in a time of scandal and legal crisis like this?
Who, having stepped in to clear up a web of secrecy and deceit, would not then provide full disclosure, introduce themselves, open up communication, calm the members' concerns, and work overtime to correct every bit of wrongdoing?
The notion that the 'new owners' are hiding to avoid exposure by the anti-Kimkins 'haters' is preposterous! That is simply not how legitimate businesses operate.

No, the vague unsubstantiated statement, accompanied by empty assurances, and followed by the banning of anyone who questions the story is very much more of the same Kimmer treatment. Lying and hiding to protect herself while allowing the Admins to do the work, take the heat, and cover for her is very much Heidi's style.

Kimmer had previously discussed in PMs to at least 2 Admins how things might continue to function if she were forced to "leave" for a while. That is all this is ---- a pretense of 'leaving' while waiting for things to 'blow over'. (Not going to happen!)

Some of the less deeply-involved Admins did not know this was coming until the got the same email everyone else did. Just as none of them met the real Kimmer, none of them have met or know anything about the 'new' people, either. However, whether the current Admins know this is a ruse, or sincerely believe Kimmer's story, they are being used, once again, to front for a lie.

Heidi keeps lying, even to her own members, because it's what she does.

The Case Against Heidi Diaz . . .

. . . . Kimkins, and all associated "Does" (meaning aliases, as in John Doe/Jane Doe)

If you would like to see for yourself the extent and nature of the complaints, and the weight of evidence so far gathered against Heidi Diaz/Kimmer/Kimkins, you can access it through a public records search by clicking here.

To log in, enter GUEST in the spot for Operator Code, and leave the password field blank.

On the next screen, enter Diaz as last name, Heidi as first name. (If you do that, it will bring up two cases, the first one being her impending December court date for being in default on student loans, and the second one being this lawsuit.)

and/or enter the Case Number: RIC483005

Scroll down to the last entry, "COMPLAINT FILED FAST TRACK - SUMMONS ISSUED" and click on the little camera icon.

You will be able to download and view 30 pages at a time.
There are 215 pages altogether.

KTLA - Part 3

KTLA Exclusive!!! Internet diet Scam Exposed


In this 3rd installment of his expose' of 'the Kimmer' and the Kimkins diet scam, reporter Chip Yost of KTLA television station in Los Angeles tipped off viewers to some BIG NEWS I have known for some time and had been asked to keep quiet.

In the broadcast on Thursday, October 18, reporter Chip Yost features the fake success stories using stolen 'Russian bride' photos, including Kimmer's infamous 'red dress' fraud.

He leaked news of the rapidly escalating legal challenges facing Heidi K. Diaz (Kimmer) and Kimkins, reported that the lawsuit has already been filed, and that Heidi 'the Kimmer' Diaz will be required to appear for deposition on November 1, 2007.

This is a major milestone in the case against Heidi Diaz/Kimmer, and it is only the beginning of actions that will soon bring a halt to the Kimkins fraud.

To watch Part 3, click here.

The series will continue, as more information surfaces and new developments occur.

I repeat what I said after the last episode, with even more urgency:

Kimkins is winding down, and Kimmer is running out of time.

For any remaining Kimkins members, it is past time to be looking for a new forum to join. This cannot last much longer, and it will not end well.

Kimkins: The Perfect Storm, Part 4

What happens when a deceitful, disordered person promotes effective but defective diet plans which then grow into a dynamic but dysfunctional business?

That confluence forms the perfect recipe for disaster.

The ingredients?
The person, Kimmer/Heidi Diaz
The professional practices of Kimkins
The plans of Kimkins
The plan behind the plans at Kimkins
The people of Kimkins

Now, a look at what has been dubbed the plan behind the plan.

One of the accusations most often leveled against Kimkins concerns what has been dubbed 'the plan behind the plan'. This charge concerns the persistent and well-documented tendency of Kimmer/Heidi Diaz to continually push for very low and even lower and even still lower calories, to promote daily laxative use, and to overlook eating-disordered behavior, all in an effort to see those numbers on the scale move virtually every day.

This was apparently Kimmer's modus operandi at Low Carb Friends (LCF) for years, where the original 'Ask Kimmer' thread is preserved. The trend continued and became even more extreme at the Kimkins site, since Kimmer was essentially unopposed there. In fact, Kimmer's own repeated pronouncements would be perfectly compatible with a pro-anorexia support site rather than any safe and reputable diet support site. Kimmer/Heidi regularly set the standard at 500 - 600 calories per day, and ALWAYS recommended cutting calories deeper when someone was stalled or even simply losing more slowly than desired. This is irrefutable, as many of us can easily document. By doing this, Kimmer formed the culture which inevitably continues to influence Kimkins, no matter what changes those in charge may pretend or promise.

The plans as written are still VLCD, and the 'plan behind the plan' still permeates the culture. In fact, that is the only way that Kimkins can brand itself with its unique selling proposition of "No faster diet. None." The latest ploy is to suggest (*wink, wink*) that everyone get enough healthy fats and a full allowance of vegetables, at least 800 calories daily with cycles of higher calories, plus daily water consumption and daily exercise, plus a full complement of targeted nutritional supplements. With all that, Kimkins wouldn't be Kimkins anymore --- it would be Atkins! And it could no longer promise big losses much faster than the standard 1 -2 lbs. a week that Kimmer has ridiculed so much.

So, is there real evidence of 'the plan behind the plan'? Oh, plenty!!

Did the dieters who developed health problems really 'take it to the extreme' all on their own, against Kimmer's wishes? No way!!

Here are just a few excerpts, out of dozens and dozens of potential examples, with screen shots to back them up:

~~~One member wrote of regularly going almost all day before eating eating anything, and usually taking in 400 - 600 calories a day.

Kimmer replied, "(Name), do what feels right to do. . . . Many of us have to overcome "forcing" ourselves to eat or ignoring when we're "supposed" to eat. Work at it!"

~~~A Kimkins member posted that she was eating less than 500 calories a day, more like 300 calories, but wasn't hungry. She asked if that was enough calories, and if there was no truth to the 'starvation' theory.

Kimmer replied that the body runs fine on stored body fat for all its calories, and gave the equation of exactly how many calories an obese person is carrying with them before they need more fuel. She said, "Want more proof low calories are OK? What about people who have gastric bypass surgery and the very goal of surgery is for them to limit their daily calories to 500! They lose just fine. Any complications are a result of the surgery or pre-existing health conditions brought on by obesity." (Note: this is not correct!) Then, she goes even further and recommends the poster consider long-term fasting, saying Dr. Furhman supervises patients who fast for several months at a time.

~~~ An