ConsumerAffairs.com Exposes Kimkins

In the recent Take Down Kimkins Challenge, one of the many sites we contacted was ConsumerAffairs.com, a Web-based consumer news and resource center. Due to the many complaints filed, they decided to take a more in depth look at Kimkins and Heidi Diaz. Resulting in an in depth article, Kimkins Diet Rolls On Despite Founder’s Excess Poundage.

In the course of investigating, they attempted to contact Heidi for comment. While she failed to offer a comment, she did provide them with full access to the Kimkins site. None of what they found was any surprise to me. Nor probably to anyone who is even remotely familiar with this whole saga.

Here is what they had to say about the diet itself:

“It’s not just low fat, it’s low everything,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News medical contributor and Associate Professor of Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. “It’s a starvation diet, pure and simple. If someone has an underlying medical problem and then begins this starvation diet, they are asking for trouble.”

Although the current Kimkins diet recommends a minimum of 800 calories per day, there are no maintenance plans and it’s basically a one-size-fits-all diet.

“It’s disturbing that this is basically a one-size-fits-all diet,” said Jennifer Ebelhar, a Registered Dietitian Instructor at Saint Louis University. “Some women might need 1200 calories and a man might require 4000 calories. You’ll certainly lose weight on a starvation diet, but you will never be able to maintain the weight loss.”

Ebelhar checked the calories for what Kimkins calls the most popular diet, the “Boot Camp.”

“I randomly chose food combinations on the list and couldn’t even reach 800 calories daily,” she said.

They even compared Heidi to Kevin Trudeau:

“I don’t know any dietician that would recommend this diet,” Ebelhar said.

“I second that,” said Dr. Siegel. “I wrote a book about false fears, but the Kimkins diet is truly something to fear. The only other person that I know that gives more false medical advice is Kevin Trudeau.”

I would have to say the most fascinating part of the whole piece has to be this:

Our time on the Kimkins website showed that many people didn’t care that many if not most of the claims were bogus. It was a cult atmosphere, with people attacking anyone that dared speak against Heidi and her diet. And although the membership fee is supposed to pay for a lifetime membership, we spoke with numerous people who had been banned from the site.

So I guess, I’m really not the only one who thinks Kimkins is a cult…..