Why the fascination with Kimmer?

[tom_912]

Amy you did nothing wrong, you were only following what you thought was the truth.

[dointhis4me]

WOW!! What an emotional thread this has been and I haven't even read all of it. I am so thankful for what I have read though because I was headed down the wrong path with the thought of losing lots of weight fast. I have a history of binging not so much purging but more so starving myself and then binging, it's been a constant struggle for me since preteen years. I've been doing Atkins since April and I can honestly say I love it, feel great, never feel deprived, love the food, was eating well and LOSING weight, it was pretty much effortless. Well I started coming over to this section of the board looking around and the old me started coming back, well if cut back even more I can lose even faster. So on Monday I started using Fitday to watch my calories, I was aiming for 1500...by yesterday I went to bed depressed because I had exceeded 1200 and I wanted to stay around 1000, and then if that worked well I was going to lower it even more. I was obsessing, thinking about food all the time, it was so exhausting and depressing. Luckily that just started this week and I found this thread and I have come to my senses. Thank you all so much...I am fighting tears as I type this

[Tippy Toes]

Just to clear some fog, I never did Kimkins for longer than 2 weeks at a time and most cases went months between. I have edged the pounds off little by little this way since Atkins quit working. Took me more than 3 years. For me, Kimkins was the BEST! Yes, nothing else, and I mean NOTHING ELSE works at this point. Someone mentioned being "worried about me" but I haven't done a real Kimkins round in a long time till this week. And for 3 days... First weight I lost in ages and it was just 2.5 lbs. I have never abused her plans and the only time I ever felt I was starving is before I found Kimkins on Atkins Fat Fast. Just to clear the record. I stopped trying to lose weight simply cause this is the magic number. Yeah, I still see fat but like someone else said, I take my jeans out of the dryer too and have no idea how I fit in them. Nothing to do with Kimkins... Just me.

[SoHappy]

I'd never read the "Ask Kimmer" thread so I picked a page at random and somebody was asking Kimmer the following:


[Wow, that's great. How did you feel after 45 days of not eating or did you eat broths as I see some do? I know you're not a big water person so you fasted with mainly diet sodas? I'm just wondering how it would feel after not eating for so long.]


And here is Kimmer's response:


[Believe it or not, after you stop eating for a week you don't think about it much. After two weeks, it feels normal not to eat.

Why?

We spent an extradinary amount of time food shopping, putting groceries away, prepping, menu planning, cooking, cleaning the kitchen, washing dishes ... and when you take all of those food related activities away, you're literally forced to take a hard look at yourself.

This is when most new fasters quit, around day 4. Mentally they're freaking out. They're sure they're starving. They miss their dear friend, "food", and food addiction is a very strong habit to fight.

OK, without food what am I? Who am I? If something bad/good happens and I don't celebrate or commiserate with food, what else on earth can I do?

You take a whole new look at yourself. Until you go through it, you don't know what I'm talking about.

The energy high is incredible.

Detox is a lulu, but you thank your body for doing what it does best, establishing priorities and taking care of business.]


OMG!! After two weeks of not eating it FEELS NORMAL NOT TO EAT?????? And she says the energy high is incredible. I'm thinking this is close to "starvation euphoria". That actually is not considered good.

[jayed]

Holly -- I'm so glad this thread has helped you.

Amy -- There's nothing to forgive! You have always been helpful and supportive...and sane with your advice. Give yourself a break.


Julie

[ixtapacheryl]

Originally Posted by SoHappy

I'd never read the "Ask Kimmer" thread so I picked a page at random and somebody was asking Kimmer the following:


[Wow, that's great. How did you feel after 45 days of not eating or did you eat broths as I see some do? I know you're not a big water person so you fasted with mainly diet sodas? I'm just wondering how it would feel after not eating for so long.]


And here is Kimmer's response:


[Believe it or not, after you stop eating for a week you don't think about it much. After two weeks, it feels normal not to eat.

Why?

We spent an extradinary amount of time food shopping, putting groceries away, prepping, menu planning, cooking, cleaning the kitchen, washing dishes ... and when you take all of those food related activities away, you're literally forced to take a hard look at yourself.

This is when most new fasters quit, around day 4. Mentally they're freaking out. They're sure they're starving. They miss their dear friend, "food", and food addiction is a very strong habit to fight.

OK, without food what am I? Who am I? If something bad/good happens and I don't celebrate or commiserate with food, what else on earth can I do?

You take a whole new look at yourself. Until you go through it, you don't know what I'm talking about.

The energy high is incredible.

Detox is a lulu, but you thank your body for doing what it does best, establishing priorities and taking care of business.]


OMG!! After two weeks of not eating it FEELS NORMAL NOT TO EAT?????? And she says the energy high is incredible. I'm thinking this is close to "starvation euphoria". That actually is not considered good.

How long ago did she post this response? OMG not a good plan to follow! I just read somewhere that it can really screw up your electrolytes....

[beautifulme]

NO seriously I do.

And this is my STORY.
I really was getting annoyed with this thread,and decided not to come back to it.It was getting waaaay to creepy 4 me.
I am happy that I came back to it today.I am sitting here crying releasing lots of hurt,and pain because I see me in soo many of the stories.
I sometimes want to starve myself
I ALWAYS hate looking in the mirror.
I feel ashamed when my sons look at me crazy because I am eating a different dinner than them
Most of the time I avoid places,people,and situations because I ASSUME that everyone is looking at my fat.
None of my clothes fit,and sometimes I pick fights with loved ones to avoid going out.
I HAVE thrown up before.I have abused laxitives before.
I OFTEN AM HAPPY when I see a person that is bigger than me enter the room,cause then I won't be the fattest.

I AM AHAMED to admit the next 2 but....
LAST week I made out with a girl at a party because I was not the head turner that I usually am and I needed "attention" from the guys.(nothing wrong with that but I am not gay).
AND TODAY...I skipped most of my sons graduation party because I felt so fat and NASTY.I told him I was in the back of the auditorium.This is the worst of them all.I HAVE LOST A MEMORY...and I feel bad.

Sometimes I eat(BINGE) until 11:59..ain't that crazy......

Thank U all 4 sharing,and reading this..IT WAS NOT EASY.
But I feel much better.

MY CONFESSIONS.

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by ixtapacheryl

How long ago did she post this response? OMG not a good plan to follow! I just read somewhere that it can really screw up your electrolytes....

She posted this near the end of her "Ask Kimmer" thread here at LCF. She posted this on 6-7-06, just over a year ago.

[ixtapacheryl]

Holly: I am soooo happy for you and your decision to follow a safe plan. You will do great on it.

Tippytoes: Congrats on claiming goal! Don't you feel like shouting it from the mountain top?

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by centralpa

Okay folks, here's one for you ... A story in today's New York Times ... about a company executive ... a do-gooder in fact ... who maintained an alter ego in a popular b-board for 7 years. During this time ... this founder blasted the competition ... and championed his own company.

Sound familiar? Nope, not talking about ours truly. This story is about the co-founder of Whole Foods.


In response to another posting, titled, “Hey John — I mean Rahodeb,” he wrote on June 10, 2003: “Another person who thinks my name is John (Mackey)! Well if you really believe I’m John Mackey you should probably pay more attention to what I say on this board. I would be the ultimate Whole Foods Insider!”

But Rahodeb showed little respect for Wild Oats and its former chief executive, Perry Odak. In a Feb. 24, 2005, posting, he wrote, “Perhaps the OATS Board will wake up and dump Odak and bring in a visionary and highly competent C.E.O.”

At the same time, he wrote glowingly and anonymously of John Mackey.

“I like Mackey’s haircut. I think he looks cute!” Rahodeb wrote on April 28, 2000.

“You must not patronize any of WFMI’s stores,” the writer continued, using Whole Food’s stock symbol. “Tatoos, piercings, unusual dress and interesting haircuts are everywhere in the stores. In comparison, Mackey looks like a model for Brooks Brothers!”

That is really interesting. It really looks like someone kept records of things that this guy posted, obviously thinking he actually was who he said he wasn't. For that reason, I am glad that Kimmer's posts are still here and can't be removed by Kimmer. I think the history they have here could be useful one day.

[ixtapacheryl]

Originally Posted by SoHappy

She posted this near the end of her "Ask Kimmer" thread here at LCF. She posted this on 6-7-06, just over a year ago.

I know when you lower your carbs you do lose your appetite but I never went for weeks on end eating nothing.

[Sharis]

Originally Posted by cleochatra

I totally agree!

This is about us, but (and I have a big butt) we're also discussing the danger of an unsound crash diet.

Just because we're all adorable and sexy and own our own problems doesn't mean we abandon trying to help others and make sure a nation of people doesn't fall prey to potentially lethal advice.

Long-term, love ourselves and love each other. Short -term, be very concerned. Teenagers now have access to this plan and it will now probably be making the rounds as the latest and greatest crash diet on and off of the pro-ana boards.

We don't have to drive a GREAT car to fight for truth in the automotive industry. We're talking about safety and about consumers. This is bigger than ourselves to a great degree. When something is dangerous, it's dangerous.

And this is dangerous.

I am fighting this for my daughter and for her friends. Women, we are empowered and enabled. We don't have to be bamboozled. And when we are, we sure don't have to remain silent.

And for this thread, I applaud the sisterhood. For so many reasons.

I guess my point is that instead of focusing on getting rid of all the crash diets and people who support them why don't we focus on getting rid of whatever it is that drives us to be drawn to them in the first place. They would not exist if not for us and our flawed perceptions, beliefs, fears and self-loathing. Get rid of Kimkins and another one springs up right behind it. It's a never ending cycle. Crash diets have existed forever and will continue to exist forever unless we get to the root of the problem which lies inside each of us. If we heal ourselves the sick and twisted things we are drawn to lose their appeal.

It's kind of like the "just say no to drugs" or sex or whatever that we tell our kids. Um, doesn't work that well. What works is empowering our kids to feel so good about themselves that those things have little appeal and certainly no power of them.

As well, what good is it to just keep someone away from the crash diet when they are still in so much pain? If our fear here is how so many desperate people are being taken advantage of and made sick by crash diet charletons then just telling them to "just say no" does little to solve the real problems but only suggests to them that if they "white knuckle" it long enough everything will be o.k. That never works. A far better solution it seems to me is to heal the heart and mind and let the body follow.

Again, it seems to me that all the emotion surrounding the original idea of this thread isn't about Kimkins or Kimmer herself but what she represents. Now that these stories are coming out it's so clear to see that so many people were responding to years of past hurt, pain and sickness. Kimmer and Kimkins is mearly the symptom. The problem lies elsewhere. Until we can acknowledge and address that I see the cycle of hurt and destruction continuing.

[tyler43836]

Originally Posted by beautifulme

NO seriously I do.

And this is my STORY.
I really was getting annoyed with this thread,and decided not to come back to it.It was getting waaaay to creepy 4 me.
I am happy that I came back to it today.I am sitting here crying releasing lots of hurt,and pain because I see me in soo many of the stories.
I sometimes want to starve myself
I ALWAYS hate looking in the mirror.
I feel ashamed when my sons look at me crazy because I am eating a different dinner than them
Most of the time I avoid places,people,and situations because I ASSUME that everyone is looking at my fat.
None of my clothes fit,and sometimes I pick fights with loved ones to avoid going out.
I HAVE thrown up before.I have abused laxitives before.
I OFTEN AM HAPPY when I see a person that is bigger than me enter the room,cause then I won't be the fattest.

I AM AHAMED to admit the next 2 but....
LAST week I made out with a girl at a party because I was not the head turner that I usually am and I needed "attention" from the guys.(nothing wrong with that but I am not gay).
AND TODAY...I skipped most of my sons graduation party because I felt so fat and NASTY.I told him I was in the back of the auditorium.This is the worst of them all.I HAVE LOST A MEMORY...and I feel bad.

Sometimes I eat(BINGE) until 11:59..ain't that crazy......

Thank U all 4 sharing,and reading this..IT WAS NOT EASY.
But I feel much better.

MY CONFESSIONS.

I'm so sorry you're going through thisThat must have been so hard for you to say. I'm glad you did though! I hope seeing that in print makes you feel empowered! That was a tough thing to admit!

[cleochatra]

Sharis-- that is where we differ (and that's ok). You take the Rousseau approach and I take the John Locke approach. You feel that through education the world becomes a better place eventually, and I think it has to start now, and with this generation, and through immediate action. I've always been a bit of an impatient revolutionary, though. I'll be the earliest one to my funeral fighting for the right of dead people to have better urn sayings. I want mine to say, "Does this urn make my ash look big?"

So much to do, so little time.

Great post, and I applaud your beliefs and your approach. I think our combination makes for a winning team. Like Susan B Anthony and Stanton. Only with better hair. I've never liked the Quaker hair.

[cleochatra]

{{{{beautifulme}}}}} You're the snazzberries.

[beautifulme]

And THanks Tyler43836..That was very hard to post but I do feel better..

Thanks everyone for being so open and honest..who's next?

[Tooter]

Originally Posted by beautifulme

NO seriously I do.

And this is my STORY.
I really was getting annoyed with this thread,and decided not to come back to it.It was getting waaaay to creepy 4 me.
I am happy that I came back to it today.I am sitting here crying releasing lots of hurt,and pain because I see me in soo many of the stories.
I sometimes want to starve myself
I ALWAYS hate looking in the mirror.
I feel ashamed when my sons look at me crazy because I am eating a different dinner than them
Most of the time I avoid places,people,and situations because I ASSUME that everyone is looking at my fat.
None of my clothes fit,and sometimes I pick fights with loved ones to avoid going out.
I HAVE thrown up before.I have abused laxitives before.
I OFTEN AM HAPPY when I see a person that is bigger than me enter the room,cause then I won't be the fattest.

I AM AHAMED to admit the next 2 but....
LAST week I made out with a girl at a party because I was not the head turner that I usually am and I needed "attention" from the guys.(nothing wrong with that but I am not gay).
AND TODAY...I skipped most of my sons graduation party because I felt so fat and NASTY.I told him I was in the back of the auditorium.This is the worst of them all.I HAVE LOST A MEMORY...and I feel bad.

Sometimes I eat(BINGE) until 11:59..ain't that crazy......

Thank U all 4 sharing,and reading this..IT WAS NOT EASY.
But I feel much better.

MY CONFESSIONS.

I'm so proud of you for sharing that. Guess what hun, it's "Healing time" and it starts now because of what you just shared. That's a huge step. You feel better because now that you shared it, it doesn't have as much power over you.

[Sharis]

Originally Posted by cleochatra

Sharis-- that is where we differ (and that's ok). You take the Rousseau approach and I take the John Locke approach. You feel that through education the world becomes a better place eventually, and I think it has to start now, and with this generation, and through immediate action. I've always been a bit of an impatient revolutionary, though. I'll be the earliest one to my funeral fighting for the right of dead people to have better urn sayings. I want mine to say, "Does this urn make my ash look big?"

So much to do, so little time.

Great post, and I applaud your beliefs and your approach. I think our combination makes for a winning team. Like Susan B Anthony and Stanton. Only with better hair. I've never liked the Quaker hair.

Well I agree with you completely that there are things we can and NEED to do now! No question. I just hate to see us JUST putting bandaids on such clearly open, bleeding wounds instead of cleaning them out and letting them heal. There is a cancer among us and while cutting out the tumor is a start, the cancer is still there unless we do more to clean it out of the system or the tumor will reappear. It definitely needs to be a two-pronged approach though so I think we are more closely in agreement than not.

[sallyk]

Originally Posted by beautifulme

NO seriously I do.

And this is my STORY.
I really was getting annoyed with this thread,and decided not to come back to it.It was getting waaaay to creepy 4 me.
I am happy that I came back to it today.I am sitting here crying releasing lots of hurt,and pain because I see me in soo many of the stories.
I sometimes want to starve myself
I ALWAYS hate looking in the mirror.
I feel ashamed when my sons look at me crazy because I am eating a different dinner than them
Most of the time I avoid places,people,and situations because I ASSUME that everyone is looking at my fat.
None of my clothes fit,and sometimes I pick fights with loved ones to avoid going out.
I HAVE thrown up before.I have abused laxitives before.
I OFTEN AM HAPPY when I see a person that is bigger than me enter the room,cause then I won't be the fattest.

I AM AHAMED to admit the next 2 but....
LAST week I made out with a girl at a party because I was not the head turner that I usually am and I needed "attention" from the guys.(nothing wrong with that but I am not gay).
AND TODAY...I skipped most of my sons graduation party because I felt so fat and NASTY.I told him I was in the back of the auditorium.This is the worst of them all.I HAVE LOST A MEMORY...and I feel bad.

Sometimes I eat(BINGE) until 11:59..ain't that crazy......

Thank U all 4 sharing,and reading this..IT WAS NOT EASY.
But I feel much better.

MY CONFESSIONS.

Wow, what you say is probably true for a lot of us. Esp. the part of someone coming into the room heavier.

[jokath]

Originally Posted by cleochatra

I totally agree!

This is about us, but (and I have a big butt) we're also discussing the danger of an unsound crash diet.

Just because we're all adorable and sexy and own our own problems doesn't mean we abandon trying to help others and make sure a nation of people doesn't fall prey to potentially lethal advice.

Long-term, love ourselves and love each other. Short -term, be very concerned. Teenagers now have access to this plan and it will now probably be making the rounds as the latest and greatest crash diet on and off of the pro-ana boards.

We don't have to drive a GREAT car to fight for truth in the automotive industry. We're talking about safety and about consumers. This is bigger than ourselves to a great degree. When something is dangerous, it's dangerous.

And this is dangerous.

I am fighting this for my daughter and for her friends. Women, we are empowered and enabled. We don't have to be bamboozled. And when we are, we sure don't have to remain silent.

And for this thread, I applaud the sisterhood. For so many reasons.

Well said Jamie...

[cleochatra]

I agree, Shari! Very much so.

I don't like band-aids, but I do like affecting some change while slow change is happening. Like the people who want to see this blown wide open, I do, too. Not due to any of the pettiness some are accusing, but because I never thought this would become so hugely insane and whoop--here it is.

I see so many women on this thread who battle eating disorders and I think, "Great Caesar's Ghost. This is going to multiply thousandfold if this madness doesn't stop."

It's a seemingly harmless fad taken to extremes to vindicate dysfunction. I can work to make certain that girls of the future know they are worthwhile advocates for themselves and for those arounbd them too weak to do anything. At the same time, today, I can also affect positive change in trying to stop the glorification of a crash diet.

Low-carb living is a positive lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle, and I resent it being used for cheap profit and financial gains to the detriment of all of us and injuring the possible health of many people.

Just when strides could be made for healthful living and knowledge of eating a whole and heralthy lifestyle, Mr Chocolate candybars/ low-carb bakery blogger had to start twisting the lifestyle. Then when he jumped into the wave of crash dieting to try and undo some of his poor food choices, he's sending a new and equally bad message.

Well, goldarnit, I'm freaking sick of these idjuts undoing the good that's been done due to their selfish whims and their desire for ego and monetary fulfillment over the good of the cause.

You'll never see Linda Sue sell out. People like her keep the movement strong, positive, and based on paying it forward. People like her are the face of the movement that need to be put out there.

Not Kimorexic and her sidekick chocolate bagelblogger.