The Morning Show had a hot topic of discussion today about the KimKins diet (I am not linking to the KimKins site as I do not want anyone going there thinking that I have endorsed it), a dangerous online diet that seems to promote starvation (600-800 calorie diet) and is run by a deceitful woman named Heidi Diaz (aka Kimmer, aka Kimberly). The Kimkins diet website boast success stories in which people lost substantial weight in as little as 5 months. Unfortunately, they have also experienced severe health problems in the process.

But this post is not about the dishonest Heidi. It is, however, about people like me. People who are morbidly obese are susceptible to these kinds of scams.

I am 341 pounds. I am severely overweight and have been for some time. I wasn’t always. I used to be very fit but always on the high end of my accepted weight range. I gained a lot of weight over the last ten years and am now trying to lose it. But I am frustrated. I am depressed. I am tired of the staring. The under-the-breath comments from my students. The arrogance of the doctors who look at me and assume that I sit at home all day stuffing my face with food. The people who think that because both my husband and I are fat that my daughter must be nutritionally abused. Even my mother, the woman who is supposed to love me unconditionally, has remarked that I would be pretty if I lost weight and that I am too fat to be pregnant. I am disheartened by comments of some people who say that they would rather be without limbs than fat. I hate that when movies want to show that some one is ugly, they make them fat AND dirty. That society says that it is OK for fat people to be treated like dirt. Being fat is the only handicap that is not protected by any laws.

So I can see why this KimKins diet has such a following. You get results. Even the naysayers admit that you will lose the weight. But, you do it through almost anorexic behavior. And eventually, you pay. Your hair falls out. You have abnormal periods. You have heart palpitations. And more.

For people like me, those side-effects may not seem any worse than being fat. Nothing is worse than being obese. And Heidi knows that. She banks on it. She knows that people are forgiving of scams when they are losing pounds by the truckload. And that is the real problem. Not that she is a scam artist but that she was able to get such a following. Her “apology” posted on her site is nothing if not brilliant. She manages to admit that she is a fraud AND make you want to sign-up despite all the controversy:

Dear Kimkins Members,

OK, so it’s time to come clean.

In view of recent events and the feedback I’ve received from members, I’ve decided to set a few things straight. Those of you who know me are well aware I’m a private person and prefer to remain that way. However, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

So, let’s put a few burning questions to rest:

Q: Who is Kimmer?

A: Heidi Diaz

Q: Why the drama, denial and hiding?

A: For the past 10 years it was to avoid an invasion of my own privacy. However, for the past 3 years it was to protect the identity of my foster children. California foster regulations prohibit foster parents from making statements that would identify children as “foster”, even by association. Identifying myself which could lead to my home address or identifying me in public could identify them.

Q: Did you lose 198 pounds in 11 months?

A: No. But I did lose 100 pounds in 6 months. However, since Kimkins appeared on the Woman’s World cover, I’ve been glued to my computer. I’m no different than any of you and I’m well familiar with stress eating or grabbing what’s handy instead of what’s Kimkins friendly.

Q: So you’ve regained the weight?

A: Yes, but I’ve been back on Kimkins for 2 weeks and have lost 23 pounds so far. I gain fast and I lose fast, that’s how it’s always been. I’ll be experimenting and rotating with each option except Cycling because that will be too much temptation for me. I’m a lifelong dieter and I know what a free week (or weekend) will do to my willpower.

Q: What about the model photos in some of the Success Stories?

A: The majority of our earliest Success Stories were from another website and we couldn’t take those with us. We wanted to show visitors the possibilities with Kimkins. So, while we built up our newest batch, I created stories which were a compilation of previous successes that people had shared with me over the past 10 years. We’re extremely proud of all of our members (paid and unpaid) who have experienced weight loss success.

Q: You have been photographed without hair. Did Kimkins do that?

A: Absolutely not. I developed alopecia universalis 23 years ago. It is an autoimmune disease that causes total body hair loss. Our family has cluster autoimmune conditions. Mine are alopecia, hypothyroidism and eczema. Other family members also include alopecia plus type 1 diabetes type 1, multiple sclerosis, lupus, eczema and rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune is when your body attacks itself and destroys certain functions. Most people with an autoimmune condition develop more than one. If one person in a family develops an autoimmune condition, other family members tend to develop them.

Q: What about the people who joined Kimkins because you said you lost 198 pounds in 11 months or because of the success story re-enactments?

A: I offer my sincere apology to anyone who felt misled or joined purely on that basis. That was never our intent. Kimkins will provide a refund and membership cancellation upon request to anyone who joined Kimkins prior to November 1, 2007. Please write support@kimkins.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it by November 16, 2007 and provide your full name, current or former user name, PayPal transaction number and PayPal email address.

Q: What about the people who want to continue with Kimkins?

A: A lifetime membership is lifetime. You’re here and that’s permanent!

In fact, I’m going to be part of the “Watch Us Lose” models on the homepage and will update my stats each week, add updated photos and post in the Kimmer’s Back on Track Challenge. I will lose my weight all over again and everyone is welcome to lose right alongside me. I had baseline medical tests done a few weeks ago and will share both my starting and final results once I reach goal which I hope to be around my birthday in May 2008.

Q: Will we ever meet “Kimmer”?

A: I’m going to do my best. I truly am a shy person who prefers to stay in the background, but a Kimkins Cruise is planned for Summer 2008 and I’ll be there to meet & greet everyone! We will be asking members for feedback on local meet-ups as well so everyone has a chance to meet me and network with other Kimkinites! Support is everything in successful long term weight loss.

Q: Anything else?

A: Kimkins works. I have offered my internet style of Kimkins diet advice for 10 years. It was hugely successful which is why Kimkins became popular. My first 8 years were 100% voluntary and I even turned down gifts. My goal has always been for people to learn the very simple and very effective basics of quick weight loss. This remains our focus today. Anyone who wants a refund and cancellation, please let us know.

Everyone who wants to stick with Kimkins — well, what are you waiting for? Let’s do it! I’ve got, uh … a couple of pounds to lose myself and I could use some support!

Q: What about starting a Kimmer Challenge?

A: Excellent! Let’s do it! I’m setting up the Kimmer’s Back on Track Challenge thread, so come on over and say “Hi!”

I was going to sign up for her plan back in August, but after visiting the site, I was concerned with the lack of information available before paying; never pay for something to find out what it is. Lo and behold, a week later, I came across an article about the controversy. I am disgusted over this situation. I am scared for the men and women who have fallen victim to the greed and capitalism that is America. And at the same time, I want to be one of those who lost the weight and stopped before anything went wrong. That is why diet scams succeed. That is why there will always be people like Heidi Diaz.

*This has been cross posted at my Mom on the Rise blog http://kristinabrooke.org