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The Kimkins diet was founded by Heidi Kimberly Diaz, a 49 year old woman who became extremely popular after apparently losing a whopping 198 pounds.

Both the Kimkins diet and Heidi Diaz, however, have come under some intense scrutiny recently, with the former being called a scam and the latter a fraud.

Is there any truth to either accusation?

What is the Kimkins Diet?

The Kimkins diet is based around very low intakes of fat, calories and carbs. Heidi Diaz allegedly lost 198 pounds in just 11 months after taking the Atkins diet she was on and modifying it to suit her own needs. Diaz frequented some online dieting sites and word of her amazing weight loss spread in no time at all.

This most likely prompted Diaz to market her diet. Having gained the nickname of Kimmer on the sites she visited she chose to modify that to her needs to and so the Kimkins diet was born.

After setting up a website, Kimkins.com, she then began charging membership fees to anyone who would sign up to share her weight loss ’secrets’. This story was picked up by Women’s World magazine who ran an article that led to a large number of new members. Some reports I came across estimate that these memberships have netted her around $2,000,000 in revenue.

The Kimkins diet itself is modified from the Atkins diet. The main differences being that Diaz has severely cut back on carbs and fat. Also, the recommended calorie level is 700 which is below the level many medical practitioners would recommend in order to maintain good health.

The Kimkins Diet may be dangerous

If you surf the net you will find many sites about the Kimkins diet. Most of those that oppose it talk of members being advised by Kimmer to restrict their calorie intake even further, down to the range of 500-600 calories per day.

Apparently, Kimmer advocates something called ‘SNATT’ which means Semi Nauseous All The Time. It would seem that she equates a person’s body telling them they are ill and lacking in good eating habits with being on the right track with her diet. Another significant problem with this diet would seem to be constipation for which laxatives are recommended.

There are also many, many other health concerns that can be brought about by following such a low calorie diet. These include potential kidney problems, diarrhoea, fatigue, weakness and a whole host of other issues.

Is the Kimkins Diet a scam?

The answer to that question is probably dependent upon whether it works or not, and with what ill effects if any. In addition to the problems noted above, there have also been reports of excessive nausea, ending of menstruation and hair loss so I guess the side effects are what you might call severe. As for whether or not the diet works in terms of weight loss, I think that could be subjective - I think the success you are likely to have with it would depend on how ill you are prepared to get to achieve it.

Doesn’t sound too enticing to me.

Is Kimmer a fraud?

My research showed that Heidi Diaz is being referred to as a fraud for more than one reason.

Firstly, her amazing weight loss is supported by ‘before and after’ photos. Critics say that her after photos are not of the same person and may even be of multiple different people, some as young as 20. Another site I found shows photos taken by a private investigator which seem to quite clearly show Kimmer as being someone who had gained weight rather than lost any. This discrepancy over her weight may explain why she is quite reclusive, even declining to meet her own members.

Secondly, Kimmer claims to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children and also claims to foster a large number of children. For these reasons she claimed she was donating all membership fees to a fund for said foster children as they grew up. The problem in this instance would seem to be that her local CASA office says she hasn’t been employed there for some time and neither has she been a foster parent for several years either.

Conclusion

As ever, it is hard to be certain that what you read online is the truth. However, in this case my conclusion is fairly clear. The Kimkins diet, to my mind, appears to be extremely dangerous and Kimmer is not someone I would trust.

People who are overweight often spend years unsuccessfully trying to shed the pounds to achieve a weight they are happy with. Unscrupulous people know this and take advantage of people who are often extremely desperate to find something that will be the answer to their prayers.

Some dieters really are looking for something that is too good to be true and so to them I say look out for signs of a diet scam.

Verdict : The Kimmer Diet is a SCAM. Moreover it looks dangerous and should be avoided at all costs if you value your health. I would also give Heidi Diaz, aka Kimmer, a wide berth too.