Heidi? Is that you?

Searching for "elle journal on low carb"? From a Comcast IP in Corona, California? How's the court case going?

I got a screenshot ;)

Elle

Poll!

I'm told that everyone's favorite discredited diet guru, Kimmer of Kimkins shame will be posting her alleged latest stats on April 30, and it's supposed to be "really good." Given that she claimed, back in November when she admitted that she was not a svelte Russian Bride but was in fact morbidly obese, that she would make "goal" by her birthday, this would pretty much HAVE to be good, especially since her stated weight loss to date has been less than spectacular. It's something like 62 lbs in the last five or six months, which isn't bad, mind you (if it's true, and since this is a self-reported number from a known liar, I tend to doubt it), but it represents an average loss of 10-12 lbs a month*, pretty far from the "turbo weight loss" that Kimkins promises.

So, I thought it might be fun to do a little poll to see how many of us can accurately guess what she'll say she's lost since the last time. As far as we know, she claims to weigh about 256 lbs right now. How much weight will she say she's lost since the last time she reported her stats? Look over to the left menu bar and cast your vote!

Elle

* Again, 10-12 lbs a month is actually a very good loss, representing as it does between 2-3 lbs per week. That's how much most people should be losing. But, according to you-know-who, her diet should whip off the weight much, much faster. And in fact, some people did lose twice that much on Heidi's "diet." Along with their hair, heart function and health, of course. One wonders why Heidi hasn't had the same success, since she claims it's so easy to follow, safe and effective and all.

The Truth Starts There

Ducky's back! (ETA -- not THE Ducky, but a group of Ducks. My bad!) The first post on the "new blog" deals with a PM exchange between Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer and a misfortunate Kimkins customer.

Kimmer's advice is so full of errors that it's hard to know where to start. That nearly every last bit of Kimmer's "advice" is erroneous is no surprise, given that Kimmer has no medical and/or scientific background, and to date has not managed to successful employ her own plan to lose weight as rapidly as she's always claimed it works.

Here's my favorite -- Kimmer states that a feeling of being lightheaded is due to too many carbs. I presume she means that the customer in question is experiencing reactive hypoglycemia. Given that this person is also saying she's eating under 500 calories when this lightheaded feeling happens, I'd love to know how Kimmer can decouple potential reactive hypoglycemia (virtually impossible on less than 20 g carbohydrates) from STARVATION LEVEL CALORIC INTAKE?

Elle

Welcome, Madame De Leon!

Another anti-kimkins blogger has joined the ranks. Let's give a big welcome to Madame De Leon and her new blog, Kimkins-Free! She has a great primer on the whole Kimkins mess, definitely worth a read!

So many wonderful new bloggers, so little time :)

Elle

Rebounding

I just read a post from Avenuegirl about her ongoing recovery from Kimkins. This post describes a dilemma common to all those who have tried Kimkins and (thankfully) lived to regret it -- once you stop starving yourself, you begin to regain some of the weight you've lost, and since Kimkins does not now, and never has had any kind of maintenance program, you're left at loose ends.

The obvious answer is to go back on Atkins or try another plan that works for you. However, that's a simplistic answer which doesn't really address the underlying problem -- you're not just switching plans. Most of you are, in reality, recovering from an eating disorder.

As someone who is in recovery from a eating disorder (bulimia), I can tell you that there's more to this than just picking another low-carb plan and following it. Recovery encompasses different emotional and physical milestones. I'd like to talk a bit about the latter.

Once you have stopped the active behavior, which is always starvation in some form, your body will need some time to rebound. This, unfortunately, almost always involves a weight gain of some kind. Think about it -- you've taken your body to a state of total or near starvation and all of a sudden you've begun to reintroduce various nutrients and electrolytes your body has been deprived of for quite some time, which often results in fluid retention. Furthermore, your body is quite naturally going to try and hoard whatever you eat in the form of stored body fat in an attempt to stave off the starvation it's become used to.

This could be termed as a "rebound effect." A Pinch Of Health has a good post up giving some information on this, as does Mariasol. The hardest thing to face, when you are recovering from an eating disorder, is that you are going to gain some weight. This applies not just to 70 lb anorexics but also to normally-weighted or even overweight bulimics. The good news is, you can repair the damage done to your metabolism, and you can go on to lose weight in a healthy, sane way once that happens.

One way to look at this is to appreciate it for what it is -- your body's natural repair mechanism at work. Once everything is working as it should -- once all those blood vessels and muscle fibers and organs systems have what they need -- you can begin again, choosing a plan that enables you to lose weight safely and one which offers a realistic maintenance plan that will keep you fit and healthy for life.

Elle

Redemption

I got on the scale this morning, for the first time since returning from Albuquerque and my wild "planned cheat" and usual return to Induction levels.

Damage undone! Mostly. I'm up one pound from my usual weight, but that's no big deal, particularly since The Curse of Eve is due to put in an appearance in the next few days or so.

One pound is nothing, given how even just a pint of extra water weighs a full pound. It doesn't seem that way to many people, especially those who are desperate to lose weight, but really, I don't worry very much about small fluctuations like that. In general, I don't worry about it until I see what I consider to be a true increase in my weight -- for me, that's about five pounds.

I must admit, it took me a while to get to where I really stopped worrying about those 1-2 lb increases, but I'm glad I did. Focusing on those minor gains can really mess with your head, and it sets you up for some pretty destructive thinking -- thinking that can lead to behaviors like starvation and laxative abuse. Thinking that makes you a target for diet scams, such as Kimkins.

Elle

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

The Fascination Threads rolled over to #16 last night, and the first post, by LCF admin Tom contained the following warning:

"As a reminder, please be respectful of dissenting views and please avoid personal insults of others - including the subject of these threads. Thank you."

Okay.

I'm not sure what I think about this. My initial impression was that LCF was afraid of some kind of litigation on the part of Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer of Kimkins. If that's true, then I hate to tell them this, but that's really locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen. There's a multiplicity of posts, nearly all of which are cached in Google, containing lots of personal insults towards Kimmer.

What I'd like to know is, what constitutes a personal insult as far as Kimmer goes? Calling her a liar? She is an admitted liar, after all. Pointing out that she's morbidly obese and questioning her recent weight loss claims? Again, she is morbidly obese and given her actions, has an absolute lack of credibility when it comes to reporting her weight loss success.

I don't dislike Kimmer because she's overweight; truly, that has nothing to do with it. Morbid obesity is not a character flaw, but lying for years and years about having lost 198 lbs in 11 months and being a slim size four with perfect skin and hair is indicative of a less-than-stellar character. Especially when you capitalize on that lie to scam people out of their money.

To me, anyway.

Elle

All's Quiet on the Western Front

It's been a slow week on the Kimkins front. As far as I know, anyway, I haven't waded through the last four days of posts on the Fascination Threads. There was a very long post by someone named Sam, who states that internet polemic is a hobby. The post basically dissected the lawsuit and the motives behind it.

While most of Sam's statements were incorrect, and while it's easy to dismiss such posts as mere trolling, they are important. Probably 90% of the people who are either directly involved in or follow the Kimkins saga agree on the major points, but agreement doesn't automatically equal 'right.' 'Sam' is a newcomer, but there are several people who have raised objections to various tactics and statements made in the course of this whole mess.

It's also easy to dismiss these people as net nannies, but you know what? I think it's important that we listen to them. Yes, their delivery could often use some work, and no one appreciates a drive-by lecture, but every so often there's a good point buried in that scolding. If, as I firmly believe, we've got the truth on our side and our actions -- whatever they are -- are in fact justifiable, then we should be able to justify them when challenged to do so.

Just my $0.02.

Elle

Ketosis and Protein Scavenging -- NOT the Same Thing!

I mentioned this over on Low Carb Friends, but I'm repeating it here because I think it's important.

The cardiologist (on the Insider Exclusive segment) said several things that were just not correct. Chief among them was lumping in ketone bodies with protein scavenging.

Ketone bodies are a byproduct of fatty acid metabolism. It is chemically impossible for them to be generated from protein catabolism.

Protein scavenging occurs as part of an effort by the body to supply energy by way of glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis.

One of the many problems with the Kimkins Diet, and possibly where the cardiologist was confused is that when you are taking in no carbs AND no fat, you basically force the body to consume muscle. Yes, you are also metabolizing fat, but fatty acid metabolism is a wildly inefficient process -- witness the ketone bodies, which are basically bits cleaved off the fatty acid chains that can't be further broken down.

So, the body also turns to gluconeogenesis for fuel. But, fuel is only part of the reason -- you're constantly breaking down muscle and building it back up again as part of the body's natural efforts to maintain itself. It needs amino acids, essential amino acids to do this. If it's not getting it in the diet, it will get it from the large muscles. As with everything, the body conserves life -- you can live with atrophied leg muscles but you can't live without cardiac muscle or the smooth muscle which lines your blood vessels.

If you're in a starvation state, you will almost certainly be in ketosis. BUT, you will also be scavenging your own muscle at the same time. I think that's what the doctor was trying to say, albeit not very well. I wish they'd get their ducks in a row, as it were, before they said things like this. The truth is the strongest weapon we have against Heidi, mistakes like this just bolster her argument that the "experts" are wrong.

Some of them may be wrong about some of this, Heidi, but you're wrong about all of it.

Elle

The Media Blitz Continues!

Things continue to go from bad to worse for everyone's favorite discredited diet guru, Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer of the Kimkins Diet Fraud. Insider Exclusive has a segment featuring everyone's favorite lawyer, John Tiedt. The link is currently down while the website moves, but there's an abbreviated version embedded below.

As soon as the full version is up I'll work on a transcript of it for those of you who can't watch it for whatever reason.

Elle

When I was a child, I thought as a child ...

... And then I grew up, and stopped thinking like a child. But that's just me.

When I was a kid, my brothers and I had a game we called "Whomper Sock." This action-packed activity consisted of stuffing a tube sock with other socks, and the person who was "it" chased the others around our basement, trying to hit someone else with the Whomper Sock. If you were hit, you were then "it." Hours of fun!

And then we got older and stopped playing with socks. But apparently, some people (*koff* Singinglass *koff*) continue to think and act like children and play with socks even well into their purported adult years.




Apparently, Kimkins admin Singinglass created her own sockpuppet, LittleSina over on Low Carb Friends, something verified by the admins. LittleSina posted a bunch of stuff about how to find Singinglass's webpage and some other stuff. Looks like someone is not getting enough attention in her everyday life!

Grow up, Drama Queen. This isn't a game.

Elle

Smarten up!

Mariasol has a great post up today about one of the Kimkins admins, titled "Singinglass in the Spotlight." Mariasol raises some very good points, but I'm going to take it one step further.and ask the following question:

Singinglass -- are you stupid?

Look, I don't know you, and if Jesus loves me as much as everyone says He does, I'll never know you. But seriously, smarten up!

You work for a fraud. You know you're working for a fraud. Connect the dots, dummy, this means you are at serious risk for being held liable for that same fraud as well! Not to mention any criminal proceedings -- and don't rule that out -- that may arise from this.

Why are you still there? Did Heidi tell you that you have nothing to worry about? Well, maybe you should step back and take a good look at the situation. Clearly Heidi's legal skills are every bit as specious as her diet advice.

Whatever she's paying you, if anything, whatever you get out of being an admin at Kimkins, it's not worth what is very likely to happen to you as a result of your association at Kimkins.

Seriously. Wake up, smarten up, and get out.

Elle

Kimkins Lawsuit Update ...

... to be found over on the Kimkins Lawsuit page!

Here's the precis of the situation: The judge denied Heidi's motion to quash the Writ of Attachment (see Mariasol's explanation of what such a writ is). This is a good thing. I'm not a lawyer, but it suggests to me that the judge thinks there's a good reason to keep Heidi's sticky fingers off those ill-gotten assets.

Beyond that, the lawsuit needs your help. Below is a list of things needed to help the lawsuit, from the Kimkins Lawsuit page.

Here is a list of the items we need in order to continue the prosecution of our case:

1.) All Kimkins.com screenshots containing false testimonials by Kimmer;

2.) All Kimkins.com screenshots containing false testimonials by anyone other than Kimmer;

3.) All Kimkins.com screenshots wherein the use of laxatives was advised;

4.) Any and all rumors about the Kimkins diet advocated by Heidi Diaz or any of her alter egos (e.g., Jessica Alba lost weight on Kimkins);

5.) All instances wherein Heidi Diaz used an alter ego/another name to acquire assets;

6.) Any evidence implicating Delaney Deaver in engaging in fraudulent conduct or ratifying fraudulent conduct of Heidi Diaz;

7.) A copy of any letter, email, or any other document sent to Heidi Diaz/Kimkins.com complaining of an adverse event or injury as a result of the Kimkins diet.

If you have any of this, head over to the Kimkins Lawsuit page and forward it along!

Elle

This just in ...

The Writ of Attachment against fraud extraordinaire, Kimkins Founder Heidi Diaz, stays in place for now!


:)

Elle

Happy Court Day, Heidi!

It's March 21, 2008. Do you know where your favorite discredited diet guru is?

I know where mine probably is. She's either sweating it out in a court room in Riverside County, California or she's holed up in the house she bought with her ill-gotten gains, scarfing sugar cookies and sucking down Captain Morgan and Diet Coke, wondering if the judge will free up her assets so she can continue to scam people desperate to lose weight and/or buy her poor (adult) boys beds to sleep in. Not to mention her desire to continue to feed her sugar cookie/Captain Morgan habit.

That's right, today is the day when a judge decides whether or not to quash the writ of attachment against Heidi Diaz and Kimkins. Butter my butt and call me an Oopsie Roll if that judge actually quashes the writ of attachment in its entirety. There's the remote possibility she may allow some of that income to flow back to Heidi, in the form of a receivership of some kind. But given the fact that Heidi has a pretty-well documented history of lamely trying to conceal her assets, I'd be pretty surprised if the judge freed up everything.

But, we'll soon find out, I'm sure. Happy Court Day, Heidi! What are you wearing? Red?

Elle

I'm alive ...

It has been an interesting, not to mention busy, few days.

I'll post about Monday's events later on tonight. Suffice it to say, Grant Leader appears to be making a career out of surprising me. I got a detailed, and in some ways TMI, explanation as to all the crazy that's been thrown my way as well as another apology. And I'm getting my office, next month some time.

Now all I have to do is find a couch to move in there. That group of offices is tucked away behind a hallway and a lab, and they all have solid doors. Thus, I can nap with impunity.

I also need to post some Kimkins related thoughts too, AND I need to finish a story for my other blog which has been languishing for, oh, I don't know, months. And I have a couple assigned pieces to finish as well.

Gah.

But, next week is Spring Break here at Hell U. And you know, as frickin' crazy as Academia can be, there are some benefits. Like Snow Days and Spring Break, neither of which I'd get off if I worked in industry. I'll enjoy them while I can.

Elle

Par for the course

I've been reading Amy B's Blog, and first of all, let's all pray/think good thoughts for her son Philip. Hold him and his family up to the light. Philip needs all the prayers and good thoughts he can get right now, though he is blessed beyond measure with a wonderful mom.

Amy's love for her son stands in stark contrast to the "love" another mother has for her own children. Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer has involved her youngest son in her scam. At a recent deposition this son claimed to know nothing, but there's at least one piece of email evidence that says otherwise. Sad.

And, of course, Heidi's now doing what Heidi does best -- trying to tarnish Amy's reputation amongst the kimkinites. Amy, if anyone there believes anything Heidi says -- well, they were just never your good friends to start with.

Elle

Kimmer's Las Vegas Schedule!

As reported over on Low Carb Friends, Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer and her merry band of mostly Sockpuppets are planning a road trip to Vegas. LCF seems to have altered their rules, so you may have to register/log in to see it, but the post is here (thanks to jo2621 for this amusing little nugget). It's reproduced below (in red) and shows the proposed schedule with my comments in black as to what will actually happen:

"I've got ideas for meet & greet activities depending on how many people go and what we all want to do. Depending on when people arrive, so far I'm thinking:

July 18-20
Friday, 6-8 pm: Meet & Greet (drinks or casual buffet?)

Friday, 2 pm. Kimmer contacts one of the other members to explain she will not make this event, as the car broke down. No worries, though, it'll be fixed in a couple of hours, and she'll arrive very early the next day, just in time for the ...

Saturday, 10 am: "We Finally Meet!" Brunch (we'll vote on the hotel)

Saturday, 10:12 am. Kimmer calls one the four other live human beings who are attending the Vegas outing. Unfortunately, Kimmer will not make the brunch as she choked on a package of corn nuts er, some chicken broth on the drive over. Thankfully, Kimmer manage to save herself, but she's at the hospital now, making sure everything is okay. No worries though, they're almost done checking her and she will certainly arrive in time for ...

Saturday, 7 pm: Girls "Little Black Dress" Night Out (see a show or special event?)

Saturday, 6:30 pm. Kimmer calls in again. It's unbelievable, but just 150 miles outside of Las Vegas, Kimmer went into a diabetic coma! Thankfully, it happened right as she was passing a hospital. Kimmer is fine, but those silly doctors want to keep her overnight. She'll leave first thing in the morning, and with any luck she'll make it for the ...

Sunday, 10 am: Farewell Brunch (optional, depending on flight schedules)"

Monday, 2:00 am. Kimmer emails everyone who attended. Where was everybody? She arrived at Circus Circus right at 10 am and ... oh, snap! She just looked at the schedule and realized that everyone was meeting at the Bellagio! She's such an airhead! Oh well, the trip was a great success and she can't wait to do it again next year!

Elle

Welcome, Magicsmom!

There's a new blogger on the block, our very own Magicsmom from Low Carb Friends. Her new blog is called Magicsom's Musings. Let's all go pay her a visit and leave her some comments as a welcome to the club. Don't forget to add her to your blogrolls too.

Her first post is titled, "If a fat girl screams in the forest, does anybody hear it?" and it's very well done. It's about her saga with Kimkins, and my favorite line in it is, "Someone coined the term "Kimkins" to describe Kimmer's amalgamated diet plan that was a little bit Atkins and a whole lot anorexia."

So very, very true.

As more and more people share their Kimkins stories, the world at large gets a better and better picture of the craziness and shenanigans that is Kimkins. Magicsmom, don't beat yourself up about this. You weren't the first to be fooled by Heidi Diaz, and sadly, you won't be the last either.

Elle

Welcome, Amy B!

And congratulations on your escape from the Kimpound. ;)

Amy B is a new blogger. While her blog, thus far, deals with you-know-who, I won't call Amy an anti-kimkins blogger. That's for her to decide. We're just glad she's out. Right now, she's sharing those parts of her story she feels comfortable relating. What she tells, how much she tells, and who she tells is entirely up to her.

As to what she's related so far -- well, it shouldn't be a surprise, and yet, I was shocked. This is the tale of a master manipulator and an object lesson in why Captain Morgan and internet activities do not mix. I guess when you're busy hiding ill-gotten assets and covering your considerable rear end it's hard to remember which intemperate and thoroughly moronic email you've sent to whom even without the alcoholic haze getting in your way.

You know, I've often referred to Heidi as "intelligent' but I may have to reassess that. Anyone with the brains and common sense God gifted the average goat with would have known better than to commit to email phrases like, "No more talk about your hair. You have hair so stop talking about it. It cannot be falling out that much" and "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."

That's some pretty tough talk from a hairless, diabetic, overweight woman who couldn't lose weight on her own plan. Especially one who was being sued at the time this email was sent for being a lying fraud whose diet was causing hair loss and medical issues. Then there is her latest ill-advised attempts, in concert with a pack of equally stupid accomplices, to dig up what she perceives as 'dirt' on some of the lawsuit principles. Even if there were dirt to be dug, it wouldn't matter. Ted Bundy could be part of this lawsuit and it wouldn't do a thing to change the facts of the case against her.

ETA: Prudentia made a good point in the comments -- Heidi and her mouth-breathing cohorts may be digging dirt in an attempt to scare some of the lawsuit principles into dropping out. If that's true, she's even dumber than I thought. That's witness tampering, and it is a felony.

None of this, of course, matter to her. She's backed into a corner and she's desperate. Booting well-loved members from the Kimpound, especially members who have been on the receiving end of her particular brand of nastygrams may be her dumbest and most desperate move yet. And I'm willing to bet, this will prove to be her ultimate undoing.

Elle