Christin's story/Kimkins will be the 5:00 news tonight

[CarolynF]

Hi,

Christin's story will be on the 5:00 news on KVUE (ABC) in Austin tonight..

The rest of the world can see it on the net at News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | KVUE News

Yippee!!

[CJane]

Awesome!

[CarolynF]

Video is up. It's a good one.

[emily1965]

They never said a word about the scam. Didn't even mention the name of the site or mention Kimmer.

[CarolynF]

No..I think they didn't want to give her any more publicity than necessary in case somebody would actually join KK, but you could see the website..

[lisabinil]

The last 2 paragraphs mentioned Heidi Diaz and the lawsuit.

[MLE777]

I live in Austin and watched it. They did show the name of the site and even had a quote from "Heidi Diaz" at the end. They warned about how dangers diets you find online can be and reminded people to do a lot of research when picking out a diet to drop holiday weight. Christin did a great job and looked really good. Her kids are adorable.

[CarolynF]

Originally Posted by MLE777

I live in Austin and watched it. They did show the name of the site and even had a quote from "Heidi Diaz" at the end. They warned about how dangers diets you find online can be and reminded people to do a lot of research when picking out a diet to drop holiday weight. Christin did a great job and looked really good. Her kids are adorable.

Thanks..Emily

[LoriWants2Lose]

Christin is such a classy young woman.

[Mavis]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

No..I think they didn't want to give her any more publicity than necessary in case somebody would actually join KK, but you could see the website..

I'm willing to bet that if anyone who is seriously overweight, and never knew anything about the controversy surrounding the diet, would go on the diet based on the fact that everytime Christin goes on tv it is mentioned how much she has lost in such a short time.
I know if that were the case with me, I would do the diet based on that in order to finally be free of the excess weight.
It's giving hope, in a sense, to the hopeless if you catch my meaning.

[JuliaL]

Mavis - I hope you're wrong, and people are not so desperate that they would risk losing their hair, having heart problems and possibly needing kidney dialasys(sp?) to lose weight.

I do agree that they should have included more information about the scam that Heidi Diaz perpetrated with her website. After all, most people joined after seeing Heidi's supposed before and after pictures, which turned out to be fake.

[Mavis]

Originally Posted by JuliaL

Mavis - I hope you're wrong, and people are not so desperate that they would risk losing their hair, having heart problems and possibly needing kidney dialasys(sp?) to lose weight.

I do hope that I am wrong but there might be people out there who are that desperate to lose weight. It is a pretty big world after all.

[Silver Spice]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Hi,

Christin's story will be on the 5:00 news on KVUE (ABC) in Austin tonight..

The rest of the world can see it on the net at News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | KVUE News

Yippee!!

I didn't find the story. Could you please see if it's still available?

[Norm]

Experts: Beware of following Internet diets | News for Austin, Texas | kvue.com | Top Stories

[Tooter]

Originally Posted by Mavis

I'm willing to bet that if anyone who is seriously overweight, and never knew anything about the controversy surrounding the diet, would go on the diet based on the fact that everytime Christin goes on tv it is mentioned how much she has lost in such a short time.
I know if that were the case with me, I would do the diet based on that in order to finally be free of the excess weight.
It's giving hope, in a sense, to the hopeless if you catch my meaning.

At least they would have a fair warning. If anyone would want to do it after finding out about all that, I don't feel sorry for them.

My Sister is like that. She has had the Stables in the ears, seen a hypnotist, the Cambridge diet, Phen-Phen, Went to a re-hab for obese people, Tried Smoking, Did nutrisystems Etc... The only good thing about that is people like that don't stick with anything too long. The move on to the next Quick fix.

I had warned her OVER and OVER again about Phen -Phen and she wouldn't listen to me. When it came out on the news I called her. "Oh", she says, I only did that for a week.

Will some people still do it? I'm sure there are, but it won't be the amount of people that would do it without be warned. The good thing is that they will be properly warned about the dangers and the fraud.

[ItsTheWooo]

I have a hard time feeling sympathy for Christin. I'm sorry but a woman her age ought to know bad things can and will happen if you eat like 500 cals per day.
IF she had an eating disorder I might be able to feel a bit of sympathy ... her motivation seemed to be to get thin as quickly as possible be damned the consequences.
After my weight loss, I had some issues with an eating disorder, my weight dropped to 104 (I'm over 5'5) and even then I would NEVER eat that little, because I KNEW the consequences were dire. Every time I ate I felt pretty guilty and disgusting, but I still ate (occasionally I wouldn't, but most of the time, I would). Sorry, I find it very difficult to feel sympathy for her. There was no reason for her to make that choice, other than the fact she wanted quick easy weight loss. That's what she got, so why is she complaining now?

Really, what is there even to feel sympathy for? She suffered no ill effects. Loss of menstruation and hair loss are expected when you lose weight very quickly. It happened to me, too, and I was doing it with atkins without self starvation (when I struggled the MOST with my eating disorder, I was actually reasonably weight stable; while I was losing weight, I did not have overwhelming, intrusive thoughts or feel that obsession and irrational thinking about fear of being fat or wanting to be thinner, emaciated better).

IMO, it's like she just wants attention...

Between her and jimmy moore, amazing how all of these people who profited from kimkins finanically and emotionally (attention) find a way to continue to do so after the fact. That jimmy moore is the most ridiculous of all. Here is a man who made money hand over fist, promoting kimkins, now he sits around all day self righteously blasting her and the diet. What a joke. (Even more of a joke is the idea that jimmy moore ever did kimkins to begin with; the man hasn't restricted a calorie in his life).

[AllieCat0817]

I don't think Christin wants sympathy. I think she is trying to prevent other chicks from doing what she did, and trying to help the people who are doing it now to get out of it.

[ItsTheWooo]

I believe that restricting calories can be a reasonable and safe way to lose weight but only if done reasonably and safely. That is to say, if all you are allowing yourself to eat is lean protein, that's not reasonable or safe. Duh.

It's entirely possible to lose weight as effectively as Christin, eating much more than she did. When you eat 500 calories per day (I believe that's the figure?) you don't get much more of a benefit in terms of weight loss speed, than you do eating, say, 1200. I mean you might lose slightly faster on the 500 cal diet, but the risk of health problems and rebound binging is so much greater that it's not worth it. And, of course, these calorie levels assume a young healthy persons' metabolism (an older person with a slower metabolism might not needs as much food so they maintain on 1600 cals, so 1200 isn't going to be very fast loss for them...)

I just don't understand why people have to be ALL OR NOTHING about this. Either they eat whatever, or they eat 300 cals per day. Either they MUST eat 10 carbs per day, or they're eating a huge bowl of cereal.

I guess it's all part of the diet mentality. People don't really get that it's possible to change the way you eat, so they can only lose weight by doing things that are explicitly for weight loss (because eating any other way besides the "normal" way that produces obesity doesn't seem possible).

[ItsTheWooo]

Originally Posted by AllieCat0817

I don't think Christin wants sympathy. I think she is trying to prevent other chicks from doing what she did, and trying to help the people who are doing it now to get out of it.

I guess that's true but it seems kind of hypocritical of her, on one hand she goes around talking about how happy she is being thin, but then on the other hand she tells everyone not to do what she did? Huh? Sorry if I am less than convinced her motivation is to warn people.

It's like a smoking advertisement, with the surgeon general's warning below it.

[LowCarbSleepyToast]

Originally Posted by Mavis

I'm willing to bet that if anyone who is seriously overweight, and never knew anything about the controversy surrounding the diet, would go on the diet based on the fact that everytime Christin goes on tv it is mentioned how much she has lost in such a short time.
I know if that were the case with me, I would do the diet based on that in order to finally be free of the excess weight.
It's giving hope, in a sense, to the hopeless if you catch my meaning.

I think you're right. I watched ..well whatever morning show it was on, I forget, on You Tube. Honestly I started to think more about trying kimkins. Not seriously, of course, I do want to be healthy. But the horrible self destructive, self punishing bit of me that made me TRY to be anarexic/bulemic after a health class about it in 10th grade was very intrigued. Of course I am a grown woman now and am NOT going to do that. But there are definantly some that are not to this point yet.

[2big4mysize]

actually she suffered more then just loss of hair and menstruation and is under the care of a cardiologist now. She also struggled with weight gain when she came off the kimkins low cal diet.

She went in believing all the 34+ success stories posted on Kimkins. com were real and factual and not fake made up people Kimmer inveted with pictures she stole from bridal and groom sites. She believed those statements about fat folk having all the fat and cals their bodies needed as long as they were over weight on kimkins .com were factual cause if they were lies of course they would be challenged and corrected. She ask questions along the way when she encountered difficulties with the plan and Kimmer coached her with bad nutrtional advice. She herself was ask to do the WW article and promised financial reward by Kimmmer for doing PR for the plan and site.

Itsthewoo I don't know if you have been inside the kimkins . com site but all posts regarding any ill effects were deleted, any warnings about eating very low cals low fat low carbs were also deleted as fast as they appeared so there were not signs any one doing the program was having any ill effects. There was Kimmer boasting she had shed 193 pounds in 11 months and had not lost her hair nor had ANY midical issues and that red dress pic was posted there along with Kimmer flooding the site with posts to "quit Cheating" for folk eating more then she felt they should. Christin has emails from kimmer telling her to cut her cals even lower when she stalled her weight loss while already eatting cals below 800 cause according to Kimmer there was medical proof if you were over weight you had all the fat you needed. And She isn't the only one who got that advice from Kimmer. Now Kimmer et al have scrubbed the kimkins site of all Kimmer posts saying to eat cals that low fat, that low cal, and other bad medical advice she gave like the daily dose of laxatives to keep things moving. No one who raises any questions about the safety of the plan nor posts tweaks to improve the nutritional quality of the plan other then the resent Tippytoes cycling with Atkins and her 800 cal min is still allowed to post in the forums! The list of the banned members for doing just that is amazing.
The only way to inform folk thinking about doing the plan is for folk who have done it and have suffered from it to be brave enough to go on TV and the net and post about it. Kimmer fake blogs with the russian brides are still up on the net just google kimkins and see for yourself. If Christian, HBGal, Deni and Becky who all shed their fat following the program and the folk in the facination topics hadn't done so there would still be thousands for folk finding those russain brides and grooms sucess stories and thinking WOW if they look like that after losing the weight it must be safe and I will try it. And those 500 cal plans would still be posted along with Kimmer telling the person who posted their fit day with those 500 cals to cut them even lower.

I for one am very thankful Christen is couragous enough to do the AntiKimkins PR news stories and didn't just fade into the background with her weight gone.

[JuliaL]

Originally Posted by ItsTheWooo

I guess that's true but it seems kind of hypocritical of her, on one hand she goes around talking about how happy she is being thin, but then on the other hand she tells everyone not to do what she did? Huh? Sorry if I am less than convinced her motivation is to warn people.

It's like a smoking advertisement, with the surgeon general's warning below it.

Woo, I think that's a pretty cold attitude, especially coming from someone who understands what it's like to have an eating disorder. Christin fell for a scam perpetrated by someone who claimed to have lost a huge amount of weight in a very short time, safely. Kimmer posted fake before and after pictures, and constantly cited "evidence" that eating less than 500 calories per day is safe and effective.

I find it ironic that you, of all people, would be so judgemental about Christin when the real key to why she fell for this scam is that she bought into the idea that she was overweight because she was not strong enough to starve herself. I've seen many posts you have made about this issue - that overweight people are made to feel bad about themselves, when in fact they are not weak and lazy, but have a metabolic problem caused by eating too many carbs. Kimmer used this very theme to con overweight people into buying her program at $60 a pop. She told people they ate too much, and basically they were fat because they weren't strong enough to starve themselves. Now you're going to condemn someone who bought into that?

Your post about Christin reflects the very attitude you've campaigned against on this board - you're blaming the victim.

[JuliaL]

Really, what is there even to feel sympathy for? She suffered no ill effects. Loss of menstruation and hair loss are expected when you lose weight very quickly. It happened to me, too, and I was doing it with atkins without self starvation (when I struggled the MOST with my eating disorder, I was actually reasonably weight stable; while I was losing weight, I did not have overwhelming, intrusive thoughts or feel that obsession and irrational thinking about fear of being fat or wanting to be thinner, emaciated better).

What's your point? Are you trying to say that because you suffered similar side-effects of rapid weight loss that it's safe? You consider hair loss and lack of menstrual cycle ok? I think Christin is trying to say that if you are suffering these side effects you should eat more and slow down your rate of loss. I think that's good advice.

The point of Christin's story is don't believe everything you read online. Just because someone says they've lost a lot of weight doesn't mean they really have. And don't blindly follow the advice of self-proclaimed online diet gurus. Research the person behind the advice.

Woo, I know you are a very smart person, and I appreciate the time you take to post on this board, but I have also read your profile, which says that you are a 25 year-old nursing student, so with all due respect I would not take your advice over my doctor's. Christin's story is a warning to everyone who reads online health advice and takes it at face value. Do your research, check out who is behind the keyboard before you spend your hard-earned money or jeopardize your health. To brand her as merely an attention-seeker is unfair.

[Tooter]

I love ya Woo, but I agree with JuliaL on this. Christin is kinda damned if she does and Damned if she doesn't. I think she is doing the right thing in warning people and sharing her experience and I think this is her motivation.

[MomToEli]

Originally Posted by emily1965

They never said a word about the scam. Didn't even mention the name of the site or mention Kimmer.

They do, towards the end of the article (or is that "artical"?). They say it is fraudulent and it is the Kimkins diet. They also name Heidi by name and quote her as saying the diet is safe. But the health expert warns it is NOT safe.

I agree it may cause desperate people to check it out and they may even buy into it. I can't imagine being that desperate. But, then, I can't imagine being desperate enough to commit suicide, either, and some people (my late dh included) feel that desperate, too. So, who knows. But at least people will have been warned. Those sounding the alarm are not responsible for the response - only for delivering the message.

Christin, you are a brave lady to put yourself out there for all to see. It is hard when the negative consequences are not the ones people can see on the outside at this point.

[wackytobeme]

Originally Posted by Tooter

I love ya Woo, but I agree with JuliaL on this. Christin is kinda damned if she does and Damned if she doesn't. I think she is doing the right thing in warning people and sharing her experience and I think this is her motivation.

ITA

Originally Posted by ItsTheWooo

I guess that's true but it seems kind of hypocritical of her, on one hand she goes around talking about how happy she is being thin, but then on the other hand she tells everyone not to do what she did? Huh? Sorry if I am less than convinced her motivation is to warn people.

It's like a smoking advertisement, with the surgeon general's warning below it.

Sounds like you think that in order for Christin to have any credibility, she's going to have to gain the weight back.....I sure hope it doesn't come to that, but I expect learning how to maintain her loss is more difficult than had it been lost on a healthier plan.

[Silver Spice]

The links did not work for me. Both take me to a registration page, which I don't want to register just to watch the video.

I feel very stron