Why the fascination with Kimmer? #6

[MidwestMommy]

Originally Posted by serenity_aus

You know I was just looking at Celeste's b/a pics and I was wondering. They do really look like the same person, so i was wondering if perhaps she'd lifted them off a diet site.

I have been looking on WLS sites at before/after pics to see if i can find any of the ones posted on the Kimkinski site but haven't found any yet

[wifezilla]

Hey Blue,

Way to go on completely missing the point. You are comparing apple to orangutans.

[HoneyBee2]

Originally Posted by Violet Skye

I have to wonder about Bud and Al's pics (besides wondering whether their last name is actually Bundy ) - I honestly can't tell which one is the "Before" and which one is the "After". As for Angela, one sigh that there's been some tinkering is the fact that her wristwatch is worn on her left arm in one pic and her right in the other. I don't know anyone who is inconsistent about which wrist they wear their watch on, unless they have a carpal tunnel splint on the usual arm.

My new rule of thumb is to not take as seriously any first post from someone who comes in, guns a-blazin', to give this thread and its posters a lecture about board manners. I am confident that the mods will let us know if/when we have crossed the line, and I respect any judgment calls that they make.

I also want to comment about the phenomenon the Fascination thread has become. I have never had the opportunity to be involved so directly in something which has had the potential to change many lives in a positive way. We have shone the light on a massive fraud that was not only affecting their wallets (bad enough...) but was also affecting many peoples' health. Money is a renewable resource, for most of us. Health may not be. When I read the posts which dealt with the loss of a parent, I imagined the same posts being replicated by the family members of Kimkins dieters. The difference would have been that many of the lost parents would not have lived to as ripe an old age. I think of all the kids cheated out of that much time with their moms, and I have to conclude that yes, the end does justify the means.

You caught the watch thing too on Angela. I noticed it because I was attempting to see her watch then noticed the different arm.

I know what you mean about Al and which is before and which is after. I think him sitting down was supposed to hide any little 'belly' he had and so that was his after. It is how I can look slim when I am driving my car.

Another point about AL's pic is the outlet. Calianna on the other boards pointed out the non-american looking electrical outlet behind Al and Mariasol said that that it is "from Northern Europe; Germany, Scandinavia, France. Not England and likely not Southern Europe (even though they have a mix there)".

[Diana]

Originally Posted by Violet Skye

If serenity's montage hasn't gotten you laughing so hard that your abs hurt, click here! Now!

OH Gawd... my sides hurt that is too funny!!!!

[AmyJuli]

Hey, Honeybee2... this has been bugging me and I just have to ask. Why is the font in some of your posts HUGE? In other's it's normal? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Diana]

Ok I gotta run for the day... I am sure I'll have a million posts to catch up on...

I am still cracking up over the Youtube one!!! LOL

[sallyk]

Originally Posted by Debrat3

I have been a member of this board and Kimkins. I first seen her here on this board and was quite impressed with her knowledge. Call me stupid but I really thought this women knew what she was talking about and truly cared about people. I thought she was a well put together person and had all her ducks in a row( excuse the pun). I hadn't really been going on her site much this summer but just lately noticed a change but I had NO idea what was going on until a couple days ago. I AM TOTALLY FREAKING!!!! Please tell me I am not the only person who is stunned? I feel so stupid so used and abused. I too lost 30 some pounds on K/E and I was losing lots of hair every day in the shower. I had blood work done because of heart palpations which I thought was due to my thyroid. I fell off the diet due to immense hunger. I could not understand why everyone said they weren't hungry and when I would lower my calorie to 300-400 a day like some said would even make you less hungry..... I could only take it for so long. DUH... I am the kind of person who is honest and I guess I trust people. I would of NEVER of thougth kimmer to be a fraud in a million years. It makes me nervous about trusting anyone and I love the support on a bb. I am to the point I don't even know how to low carb. I am so confused on how to eat this way and had been so scared on eating too much. I do feel like I have been brain washed to kimmers way of thinking. I need some guidance here. I would like to know how to do low carb the correct way to see results and be healthy. How can a person like Kimmer live with herself? Does she not have a soul? I would never intentionally hurt anyone, & and it makes me ill to know she has affected peoples health and thinks OH WELL.... I am having a hard time with this. Please tell me I am not the only one here who is in shock over this?

[2big4mysize]

Originally Posted by regandy

Has everyone seen this?

Kimmer on Technorati

speaking of which HoneyBee2 do our links got to kimkins. com or are those pics stored somewhere so we are not boosting her rating every time we look at the possible fake folk?

[Melly]

Too many pages to catch up on

Missi expect a call today for a "Reader's Digest" version to update me

[JuliaL]

2.. In all the scam mongering and exposes that have gone on across the Internet in the past few months, no one has really addressed whether there exists any credible science to support the oft repeated claims of the diet being "dangerous" or "life threatening". Actually, all that rhetoric reminds me a lot of what Atkins people complain about or are subjected to over at LCF. It smacks of diet-guru duelling. The nay-sayers have been circling kimkins for quite a while now and must be overjoyed at the discovery of the fake photos and an overweight kimmer. Still, none of the debunkers have yet fronted the scientific evidence that the diet is dangerous.

The diet IS dangerous and can be life-threatening. That is not rhetoric, that is fact. There is plenty of scientific evidence to support the "oft repeated claims", and anyone who is ignoring that evidence simply has their head in the sand.

To find scientific evidence that very low calorie diets are dangerous only requires knowing how to use Google. Here's the abstract from one study I found within minutes:

ABSTRACT: We studied the cases of 17 individuals who died suddenly of ventricular arrhythmia after prolonged use (median 5 months) of very low calorie weight reduction regimens consisting entirely or largely of protein. The deaths appeared to be independent of type of medical supervision received during the diet, daily dosage of potassium supplementation, and biological quality of the protein product used. Factors common to all cases were marked obesity at the onset of dieting, prolonged use of extremely low calorie diets (approximately 300 to 400 kcal daily), and significant and rapid weight loss. Our review of available electrocardiograms and pathological specimens revealed a pattern of cardiac changes previously described in starvation. We conclude that use of very low calorie weight reduction regimens should be curtailed until further studies determine what modifications, if any, can insure their safety.

This appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Kimkins is a very low calorie diet - no one can dispute that, and the admins backpedaling now by saying there are no calorie restrictions does not change anything. Kimmer often recommended eating less than 500 calories per day and told people who ate as much as 1,000 calories per day (less than the daily recommended amount for people who want to lose weight) that they were weak and implied they were "sissies". I saw that here, on this board, even before she ever started her own website.

5. So kimmer turns out to be overweight. My personal view is that kimmer did lose all the weight using kimkins and has subsequently regained it. This diet has worked for me many times, and has worked for many, many people, despite the hysteria of ex-kimkin'ers claiming detrimental health effects, so it probably worked for her too.

Any diet that you have to do many times by definition doesn't work. Permanent weight loss is the goal, not serial starvation.

[serenity_aus]

Originally Posted by Violet Skye

If serenity's montage hasn't gotten you laughing so hard that your abs hurt,

Who's responsible for that little gem..

[mousepie]

I have been wondering if this diet works so well. Why has Kimmer/Hedi never used it?

How can she claim she wants to help people when she hasnt been able to help herself?

Does she get some kind of sick thrill out of knowing her followers are getting sick, while she eats sugar cookies with sprinkles.

[SandraBB]

Originally Posted by LISAinTN

Attention all past and present Kimkins affiliates!

On October 3rd, I emailed Heidi to ask that she pay me my affilate fees. They were only $45.00 because I had removed her banners from my website earlier in the month. I received an email from her in which she said they were paid by the 5th and she would ask them to do mine first. Thirty minutes later, I received an email from a "Brad Johnson" the supposed current affiliate manager. He told me they were reviewing my account for payment and that I needed to include my Social Security # for payment! Ummm, yea...sure. Do I have stupid written on my forehead? Like I'd give her my SS# so she can run off to Venezuela and become ME! LOL I wrote "him" back saying I received all my previous payments without the SS# and that with all the KK controversy going on, I would NOT be giving them my SS#. Of course, the 5th came and went and no payment. So, I wrote Heidi back this morning telling her what "Brad" said and that I would appreciate her having them pay me today. Here's what I received back.

"Hi Lisa,

The computer will not allow payment until your earnings reach the minimum $45.00 and there was a refund yesterday which subtracted an earned commission. Your current balance is $29.98.

It's your choice to not provide a social security number. Kimkins will send this email to the IRS with your name and address so they can contact you for the information.

Kimmer"

Was she threatening me with the last paragraph?? LOL Here was my final response to her:

"Kimmer,

Yes, please do forward it to them, since they already have my SS#, so they can contact me. I have a lot I'd like to tell them, myself.

Lisa"

So, now all of a sudden, a refund was posted to my account the day after I ask for payment? She's going to refund me right into the red until I owe her money. LOL

To get to main point of my post. If you know anyone who was or is a Kimkins affilate, PLEASE have them go into their accounts and first take a screen shot of what they are owed by Kimkins. Then have them change their contact information. Since the new site upgrade, there is a place in the affiliate accounts that asks for an SS#. I had never filled it in. This morning, I went in to delete my account which cannot be done. So, I changed all my contact information, name, address, phone number, etc. to bogus information. Exampe, I just put a single letter for both my first and last name, 123 "I Don't Think So" for the address and 123-456-1234 for the phone number. Just something to fill in the blanks so you can update it. PLEASE pass this around to people you know and feel free to continue reposting it off and on in this forum and any others. As a disclaimer, I am not accusing Heidi of anything, but with the present controversy, I think we all would agree that we would not want her or her employees to have our personal contact information, let alone our SS#'s. Since we KNOW there was no Vanessa, I'm sure there is no Brad either. Thanks for your help in advance.

Blessings,
Lisa

If she's running the program legally or is taking the advice of a lawyer, she will require all affiliates to fill out a W-9 which requires your SSN. If she pays any affiliate more than $600 of the course of the year, it is required. Most companies require that you provide this info upon signing up, though some will pay you until you hit the $600 mark then it's over until you comply. At the end of the year, she has to send you a 1099-MISC with your earnings, which you file with your taxes. Affiliate earnings are not tax free, it's like self employment income. Kimmer then files a 1096 with the IRS in January to report what she paid to you, and the IRS requires that she she includes your SSN.

She has to report what she paid the affiliates, otherwise the full amount is considered income for her and is taxable. The IRS will know how much money she's raked in, PayPal will automatically report her considering the large amount of money that has passed through that account. If she ends up being charged with fraud, perhaps her chances of an audit might increase

I agree that giving out your SSN is not a good idea, but you have to give her some sort of legal ID number. You can apply for a TIN (taxpayer id number) online or by phone and receive it in less than a minute. You can give her that number safely and without fear she'll steal your identity.

[rianleeann]

OK, I don't have time to read all the other pages of this thread, so I don't know if it's been mentioned, but has anyone talked about the fact that all the Kimkins members got an email on this past Thursday saying this:

Kimkins is now under new ownership. The website will continue business as usual and the planned site upgrades are almost complete.

The Kimkins Affiliate program is growing rapidly and we thank our affiliates for their enthusiastic support. Kimkins will soon welcome their 1000th affiliate!

Exciting new support resources will be announced very soon for Kimkins members. I will be an adviser and members who want to ask weight loss questions can email me at AskKimmer@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who has written incredible emails & PMs of support and understanding.

Is there any news on who the new owner is, or is this just BS like everything else on that site?

[2big4mysize]

2.. In all the scam mongering and exposes that have gone on across the Internet in the past few months, no one has really addressed whether there exists any credible science to support the oft repeated claims of the diet being "dangerous" or "life threatening". Actually, all that rhetoric reminds me a lot of what Atkins people complain about or are subjected to over at LCF. It smacks of diet-guru duelling. The nay-sayers have been circling kimkins for quite a while now and must be overjoyed at the discovery of the fake photos and an overweight kimmer. Still, none of the debunkers have yet fronted the scientific evidence that the diet is dangerous.

seems they only read the fscination topic. the diet as written was discussed in great detail with the science of why it was too low in EFAs fats proteins and cals in this topic Building a healthy WOE (if possible) based on Kimkins
I recommend all former kimkins.com followers read it so you can know the changes you need to make to your WOE. there are very serious long term medical issues folk doing the plan as written will be encountering as Christin is discovering.

[tiggerr]

Originally Posted by HoneyBee2

And I bet you got the mentos picture didn't you tiggerr.

I need to look at it some more, it was late.

[lynnjp]

Just read about Kat's Mom and felt that I must let you know that I am so sorry-please know that my thoughts and prayers will be with you and your family
Now to you detectives here Your dedication to finding the truth is beyond AMAZING!!!!

[teri f]

Originally Posted by JuliaL

The diet IS dangerous and can be life-threatening. That is not rhetoric, that is fact. There is plenty of scientific evidence to support the "oft repeated claims", and anyone who is ignoring that evidence simply has their head in the sand.

To find scientific evidence that very low calorie diets are dangerous only requires knowing how to use Google. Here's the abstract from one study I found within minutes:



This appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Kimkins is a very low calorie diet - no one can dispute that, and the admins backpedaling now by saying there are no calorie restrictions does not change anything. Kimmer often recommended eating less than 500 calories per day and told people who ate as much as 1,000 calories per day (less than the daily recommended amount for people who want to lose weight) that they were weak and implied they were "sissies". I saw that here, on this board, even before she ever started her own website.


Any diet that you have to do many times by definition doesn't work. Permanent weight loss is the goal, not serial starvation.

Thanks Julia. Excellent post!

[losingjusme]

Originally Posted by Violet Skye

If serenity's montage hasn't gotten you laughing so hard that your abs hurt, click here! Now!

[HoneyBee2]

Originally Posted by regandy

Has everyone seen this?

Kimmer on Technorati

You know what regandy that just opens up a whole new can of worms doesn't it?
Those who have issued a cease and desist letter to Kimkins now have to worry about how she has posted their stories and connection to kimkins all over the internet. Thank you for posting the link so others are aware at what is still out there.
Kimmer is like some weight loss/success story pimp!

[HoneyBee2]

Originally Posted by rianleeann

OK, I don't have time to read all the other pages of this thread, so I don't know if it's been mentioned, but has anyone talked about the fact that all the Kimkins members got an email on this past Thursday saying this:
Is there any news on who the new owner is, or is this just BS like everything else on that site?

To my knowledge there has been no mention of the new owner from the kimpound. Kimmer did state at kimkins that she will still be available by gm to answer questions but I think it was done in hopes to take some of the heat off kimkins. You know like we would all just sit down and quit typing and shut up if Kimmer was not the figure head with kimkins. Yeah that will happen......

[LISAinTN]

Originally Posted by mrsmenopausal

How do you all keep your place after replying to a post? I keep finding things in people's replies that I didn't read the originals of. Somehow I'm not getting back to where I left off even by using the drop down in the top of my browser to return to what I thought was the page I was on. What tricks do you all use to keep from missing things?

ETA AACCCKKK!! I can't fix my typo in the heading of the post. sigh.

After I make a post, I just push my back button twice and it takes me back to the post I was replying to and then I can keep reading. There's probably an easier way to do it, but it works for me. lol

Blessings,
Lisa

[robsrib]

Don't know if anyone has "caught" or mentioned this yet, on the bottom of KK Newsletter #7 Heidi is soliciting funds for her foster kids:

Christmas Jewelry Sale!

A Kimkins member is having a fundraiser to sponsor Christmas for my foster kids. Please click this link to see how you can buy a gift for yourself or for a loved one and have a portion of your purchase contributed to the fundraiser:

*****************





Email orders to **********@hotmail.com with Kimkins Fundraiser in the subject line. Thank you!