When I set out to research the Kimkins Diet I was astonished by the tsunami of negativity about this low carb, low calorie diet. Based on my research I am inclined to agree that it is a very dangerous diet that can only be effective in the short term as it’s most likely to morph into a ketosis diet which I can tell you from personal experience is NOT advisable.
The creator of this high protein low carbohydrate diet is a woman named Heidi Diaz who had the online handle of "Kimmer", hence the name of the diet. She claimed that once upon a time she weighed 318 pounds, although this claim was later in dispute. According to her claims, she tried every diet in the world, blah, blah, blah – until she discovered her famous Kimkins diet. This is one of the many low carb diet plans like Atkins, Stillman and Protein Power.
How To Follow The Kimkins Ketosis Weight Loss Diet
The diet is:
High protein
Low in carbs – virtually no carbs at all
Low in fat
There’s nothing very revolutionary about any of that except that it has possibly less carbs than almost any diet plan in existence. There are high protein low carb diets that acknowledge the power of fiber and create a ‘fiber allowance’ that can allow more carbs in the diet because higher fiber foods count for less – meaning you can eat more of them – and thus create an "effective carb count". The Kimkins’ plan makes no acknowledgement of this subtle reality. To the Kimkins folks, a carb is a carb. The point is, of course, to force your body to burn fat, instead of carbs, for energy.
Kimkins claims to be vegetarian-friendly but that’s sounds like a really tough order to me. Sure, I cheat from time to time, but I’ve been a vegetarian and then vegan for 20 or so years and there isn’t any way to avoid carbohydrates. In fact, veggies and fruits are the quintessential carbohydrates!
The calorie restrictions are beyond a safety level. In fact, participants are advised to reduce their calories to as little as 300/day, which is definitely not safe and is counter-productive for health. The advised food is so restricted that temporary starvation is the result.
Hogwash Alert: one of the claims against Kimmer is that she “isn’t a medical professional”. These are the charges that the “experts” always raise against one of us normal people who try to share our experiences with others. There is no one whose weight advice I would rather hear about than a Formerly Fat Person! What use is the lab tech, living his life in nutritional theory, rather than actual experience, compared to real life?
It’s important to note, though, that it doesn’t seem that Kimmer actually lost the weight she originally claimed to have lost. In fact, based on the picture below, I am sure she didn’t. In general, though, the attempt to denigrate the non-expert doesn’t sit well with me.
Serious, SERIOUS Problems With This High Protein Low Carbohydrate Diet
First of all, the claims of Heidi Diaz of extremely weight loss are extremely doubtful. Here is the picture that supposedly ‘proves’ her weight loss:
This picture is a fake!
I’m no expert but I do know my way around photo imaging and this is almost certainly the same picture that has been altered. Notice the same clothes, same posture. Let’s face it … if months went by while you lost weight, you wouldn’t reappear in the exact same clothing, the exact same hairdo and the exact same expression.
The original pictures showing the supposed weight loss were removed after great negative publicity. The diet got its explosive growth from an article in Woman’s World magazine but the negatives weren’t far behind.
There have been a host of lawsuits against the Kimkins founder and her diet. Some of those who used her diet [who have called themselves "survivors"] have claimed to develop multiple medical problems, including hair loss and a heart rate below 40 beats per minute, which is frequently a symptom of anorexia and is obviously cause for concern,
This is a ketosis diet, but ketosis is no joke and should NOT be encouraged.
The Kimkins is still functioning, but supposedly has a new owner who is remaining anonymous. If you go to the site you will discover that they also recommend lap band and weight loss surgery which is extremely serious and not to be taken lightly.
Our Evaluation Of The Kimkins Low Carb Dieting: F-
Is Kimkins a healthy low carb diet? No way in this world. This is a disaster in every possible way. If you are seeking a high protein low carbohydrate diet South Beach is an example of one that is better. We think that these are very flawed sorts of diets but many like them. So use wisdom and avoid this disaster.
Check our diet reviews on popular eating plans
Lucky Joestar says
Of course that’s not a healthy low-carb diet. The healthy low-carb diets are high, not low, in fat. Forget all about the “artery clogging fat” boogeyman. Dietary fat doesn’t clog your arteries.