Kimkins Controversy - Kimkins Scam

FAQ Stands for Frequently Asked Questions

I have recently relocated. I hate moving, but one minor benefit is that I am no longer blocked from the Kimkins Website. My rate of posting on this blog is a pretty clear indication that I am lacking in the Fascination with Kimmer department. I was finally bored enough to go in for a fresh look today. A page that struck me a very misleading is the FAQ. I suspect that the most frequently asked questions are actually the ones that get people banned.

A Legal Cliché…

He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.

Heidi Diaz is officially without representation now that her lawyer has stepped away from the proceedings. I have been out of the loop for too long to offer any worthwhile commentary. Check out these blogs for some suppositions, predictions and explanations…

Kimtanic

Kimorexia

How Many Testimonials is TOO MANY ?

According to arindamchakraborty.com, you can have too many testimonials. I can’t view Kimkins.com, but I noticed an item on Google directing me to view ALL 719 TESTIMONIALS. One of the most successful websites in the weight loss niche has ZERO testimonials. Fatloss4idiots.com relies more on effective advertising.

Kimkins.com seems to be set up so that a handful of testimonials are randomly called up from the database to display on the front page. The top one showing on the google cache of the homepage reads as a story of failure before it is truncated. Given the fact that Kimkins is a dishonest marketing of a seriously flawed diet, it’s not surprising that the testimonials leave a bit to be desired. Hey, at least there are a LOT of them

Alcohol

There is anecdotal evidence and some hearsay that Heidi Diaz struggles with alcoholism. Her recent blog post about alcohol speaks volumes by saying almost nothing at all. There are carbs in alcoholic drinks. That is true, but there is also alcohol. Alcohol is a mind altering and addictive substance. If there is one aspect of this woman that gets my unadulterated sympathy it is the drinking.

For people without issues related to alcohol (extending to family members as well), consider drinking 1 glass of red wine several days per week. It has been shown to benefit blood cholesterol ratios.

Anti-Kimkins Blogs of Note: Jimmy

I’m guessing that about 0.2% of the people that end up reading my title will react by thinking to themselves Jimmy who?

Jimmy is a low carb weight loss success story who went on to become a pro blogger and the host of a vibrant free low carb community. He has a lot of personality.

Jimmy spent months as a Kimkins affiliate and drew harsh criticism for a part of that time. His audio interview with Kimmer (who at that time was not admitting to her identity as Heidi Diaz) was a defining moment of this saga. I think you can pinpoint the moment when he stopped giving Kimmer the benefit of the doubt. He asked her if the picture of the woman in the red dress was, in fact, her. She said it was, in a tone of voice very much like the one that Heidi Diaz would later use to say No Comment to Chip Yost. The popularity of the audio interview with Jimmy Moore meant that thousands of people had absolutely no doubt that Heidi Diaz was Kimmer as soon as she spoke on camera. Surprisingly, Kimmer continued to deny being Heidi Diaz for some time after that.

My Hindsight Fashion Sense

Doubts.

Many people who looked at the success stories last year on Kimkins.com had doubts. Some people who were in contact with Heidi were treated to the kind of back stories that um, are generally considered unmakeuppable. When I look at all those Russian Bride pictures now, I find it hard to believe that anyone could have swallowed the whole farce. The majority of them are wearing clothing and makeup that, while not bizarre by any means, are not typical of Americans in the 21st century. I guess the craftiness of the fraud involved placement and cropping. This reminds me of the Jessica Seinfeld book about getting your kids to eat their vegetable through clandestine methods.

The lady in the red dress that was supposed to be Kimmer would be comparible to Jessica Seinfeld putting a cherry TOMATO on top of a sundae and serving it to her kid.

Anti-Kimkins Blogs of Note: Kimkins Scam

The blogger over at Kimkins Scam is quite a task master. Heidi Diaz and various affiliates have promoted the Kimkins website in a lot of different corners of the internet. Much of this effort can be swept away with a few well written complaints. There are various links and instructions related to this effort on Kimkins Scam. It is part of a broader effort to have the Kimkins site cease to exist.

The blog also has most of the Russian Bride Pics in one convenient location.

Is Kimkins a Cult?

We generally associate the word cult with religion, but the definition is actually broader than that. Wikipedia describes a cult as a cohesive social group devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream. So, yeah, I think you could argue that Kimkins is a cult.

I think the one saving grace with Kimkins is that its devotees are not in the physical care and control of their leader. I recently read some anecdotal information from an anti-kimkins blogger who knows some people who are still following Kimkins. The impression I got was the some Kimkins defenders who argue that it is a safe and viable diet actually cheat regularly on their diet.

Heidi is Blogging up a Storm

The Blogspot blog authored by ‘Kimmer’ is probably the most active and relevant ‘affiliate’ blog left. There is a lot of well constructed new content there. I am not being sarcastic, I really think it is a well designed and well written blog. There is even a comment or two on the blog. They are both from people who mysteriously address their comment to somebody other than Kimmer, as if they mistakenly think it was posted by someone else. Both commentators also created a Blogger account near the time that they made their comment on Heidi’s Blog. Not surprisingly, they are both very positive comments.

There is no way know if Heidi wrote the comments herself, but it seems plausible.

Is Kimkins Unstoppable?

I can’t help but grumble over the fact that all of this could have been stopped over a year ago when myself and others tried to discuss Kimkins’ fake Success Stories photos

This quote from Anti-Kimkins dates from early October of 2007. The author’s complaint is related to deletion of posts on LCF that criticized Kimmer and her business practices long before a concerted effort resulted in exposing the fraud. The fact is that Heidi Diaz was and is a relentless and innovative manipulator of people and she could easily use her skills and the forum rules to full advantage. One can assume that she actively portrayed criticism and doubt as ad hominem attacks. I don’t disagree with the quote, but nobody KNEW until the PI pictures were taken.

I was going to wait until October of 2008 to make a post about this quote, but I actually do think that Kimkins will be gone by then.