Kimkins NOT Better Than Gastric Bypass

Everyone connected with this Kimkins scam is well aware of that glaring title: Better Than Gastric Bypass. What a crock. Every time someone questions Kimmer about how low the calories in her plans are—she immediately spouts off some garbage about gastric bypass surgery. Like this junk she had to say in her interview with Jimmy Moore.

J: Well, and a lot of people are concerned about losing weight fast, uh, I know you have an answer for that.

K: The, the idea of losing fast, that is the entire purpose behind gastric weight loss surgery. (J: Right.) And we all know that insurance companies don’t wanna pay, they don’t wanna pay anything, they will fight you over pediatric visits. But they are very willing to shell out forty thousand dollars for weight loss surgery, because that’s much cheaper than anything they’re gonna run up against for all of the complications for being obese. That includes diabetes and all of those complications including limb amputations. Kidney failure. Heart disease. High blood pressure. Following, following anything less than (several?___?) hundred calories a day, that we’ve heard, you know, for a million years, there’s nothing wrong with that.

J: I’m sorry, following how many calories? I couldn’t hear you.

K: I’m sorry. Following the usual mantra of around 1200 calories a day (J: Uh huh.), there’s nothing wrong with going lower than that. And what happens on Kimkins because of ketosis, is that you naturally lose your appetite and then your body draws on fat stores. Which is why the fat is there.

Well actually no, that is NOT what is behind gastric bypass surgery. Bariatric surgery is performed because it is currently the best treatment option for producing lasting weight loss in obese patients for whom nonsurgical methods of weight loss have failed. It is a last ditch effort to improve the health of many people. All of which have to undergo a battery of pre-surgical evaluations. Plus they must have several co-morbidities to go along with a BMI>40, such as type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, or heart disease. It usually requires up to a year of preparation before surgery is ever done. It is to be a combination of restrictive and malabsorptive procedure. The restrictive portion makes it where you can not eat much at one time. Most have a history of binge eating. Then the malabsorptive portion is exactly like it sounds, it decreases the amount of food that is absorbed.

J: Well, let me move to the next question, because this is another one that is really a big concern by a lot of people, and it goes back to the calories thing again. “How is your plan different from those very low-calorie anorexic diets?” Explain your, you were explaining to me earlier that 1200 is probably too many calories, because we’ve always been told that that’s the minimum we should be at though. What is your philosophy about why it is healthy to eat, say, 800, 500, 400 or even lower than that, calories in a day?

L: OK. Well, first of all, regular Kimkins has no calorie limit. (J: Neither does–) Members eat as much lean protein as they want (J: Right.), up to four USDA-sized servings of vegetables a day. Our rule for fats is “as much as you need for your menu”, which can vary widely. Um, some people need a lot of cheese, they’ll have a little bit slower weight loss, we do have two options that are lower-calorie including Boot Camp, but that’s portion controlled and (___?) option which is automatically calorie and portion controlled. But anorexia is a psychological disorder where a person sees themselves as fat although they’re at a normal or below-normal weight. Um, someone who chooses to eat low-calorie isn’t anorexic. Otherwise the thousands of patients who have undergone gastric weight loss surgery with the post-surgical 500 calories a day would classify as anorexic and they’re not. The Kimkins diet focuses on non-fatty proteins and up to four servings of nutrient-dense veggies with the best results of course coming from the leafy green types. (J: Right.) Now. If you take a basic weight watchers or Jenny Craig daily menu, take out the starches, take out the potatoes, the rice, the bread, the pasta, what’s left? Kimkins. Now is adding that stuff back healthier, just to reach a minimum calorie level? Come on.

No reputable bariatric clinic comes close to having their patients eat 500 cals/day. This is complete and utter nonsense. I never got below 1000 even in the first few months post op and I eat around 2000 cals/day now.

The surgeon constantly cautions you, to make sure you are eating enough. Also that the weight should take 2 years to come off. Also these patients are followed very closely by a licensed practicing surgeon, a nutritionist, a psychiatrist, an ENT doc and their own PCP. Who the same hill is on Kimmer’s staff….certainly not anyone with any type of medical degree.

Prior to having gastric bypass, patients are counseled on the effects of the first few months of rapid weight loss. We are told you will be tired, that our hair will fall out, we may have gall bladder problems, our hormones will go wacky. Any of this sound familiar to you Kimkins supporters??? We are also told that this will diminish after the pouch heals and we are able to take in more calories. We are also encouraged to get in no less than 70-80 gram of protein each day. Also to eat frequently, every 3-4 hours. Even if you lived off the protein shakes only and never ate anything. Your calorie count would be over 1000 calories.

The first question the surgeon has when you hit a stall is—”how much are you eating” and usually replies–”up your calories”. What are the Kimkins people told? Well it goes something like this: you are eating too much, cut your calories, you don’t want it bad enough…..

So all you people out there who bought into this scam because you were thinking of having gastric bypass surgery. STOP. Don’t do it.

Gastric bypass surgery is major surgery. It effects you for the rest of your life.

BUT…..it is still better than Kimkins.