ss_blog_claim=ded1032afe4804d8c786343d92d4da42 Low Carb Weigh Of Life: My take on the Kimkins Controversy

Thursday, September 13, 2007

My take on the Kimkins Controversy

I am aware of what is being said about the Kimkins Controversy and I want to take this time to give you my take on what is being said. I have read reports of hair loss, extreme fatigue and illness, and other horrible side effects, but then I have heard great stories of extreme weight loss with no side effects. I can tell you that since I started, I only had a small amount of sickness due to SNATT but it was over in just a couple of days. As far as the reported overuse of laxative, I think that is a personal choice. I take a vegetable laxative when I need it, but this is not every day.

There have been numerous claims that the Kimkins diet is unsafe due to extremely low calorie intake and low fat guidelines. There are three different versions of the Kimkins Diet: Kimkins, K/E, and Boot Camp. K/E is basically just lean meats and eggs, Boot Camp is an extremely regimented plan that specifies that you should stay in the 500 calorie range and still get 30 minutes of cardio daily. Kimkins is a mixture of lean meats, eggs, green leafy veggies and a few other items in moderation. I had my doctor look at the Kimkins plan, and he said that it is a VERY HEALTHY WAY OF EATING. This is basically what he has been telling me for years, but I didn't have the ability to actually follow it until I found the Kimkins website and all of the great people there. I occasionally do the K/E plan as a way to kickstart my diet, but I do not stay on it for more than a week at a time. With the Kimkins plan, I am allowing myself very small amounts of cheese and or nuts in an effort to get some good fats into my diet. This was a recommendation by my doctor, strictly because he wants me to keep my calorie content in the 900-1100 range.

As far as who Kimmer is, I really don't care. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. She had the savvy to put her plan into action, she put together a great website and has helped thousands of people lose weight that have tried basically everything before. The forum alone is worth the money that I paid to join, but the added benefit of the great recipes, and comraderie of fellow dieters is priceless.

I do not care to argue over who is right or who is wrong, but I just wanted everyone to know my thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting something positive about Kimkins! You are awesome, girl. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm only anonymous cuz i just dont wanna join another website. THANK YOU!! this is a great post and i feel the same way!
Lori

Anonymous said...

How come you have stretched your before picture? To make you look heavier?

Dena said...

I did not intentionally stretch my before picture, when I posted it on the side it was automatically stretched to fit the margins. Negative comments like that are exactly why I posted my thoughts today. I am proud to say that I have lost 30 pounds and I am extremely proud that people are commenting on my loss every day.

Jimmy Moore said...

CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss! I appreciate the sentiment of your comments and certainly applaud you for finding what works for you.

But as someone who has sincere concerns about the health implications of the plan as prescribed by Kimmer, I hope and pray you continue to research and learn about the low-carb lifestyle in a way that will not just shed the pounds but also keep your health intake for many years to come.

We have an excellent group of people at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum who are in the midst of or have already been successful at low-carb weight loss. I lost nearly 200 pounds in 2004 and have kept it off ever since. We only want to see others do it safely on proven plans.

Godspeed to you as you continue down this journey and please don't hesitate to contact me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net if you ever have any questions or comments about the low-carb lifestyle. Take care! :)

Dena said...

Jimmy, I really apreciate your comments and I will continue to visit your site on a regular basis. I know you express true concern for me and all of the other Kimkins members, but I can assure you that I feel 100x better than I did before starting my Kimkins journey. I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis, so I got in this situation due to medication used to treat my symptoms. Since joining Kimkins, many of my symptoms have really subsided especially the painful swelling in my feet and ankles. I still have bad days, but they are not as bad as before. I can really see a difference in the swelling when I fall of the wagon and start adding sugar and carbs back into my diet.

Kitch Witch said...

Sunegrl Excellent Info Girl!!~
I am favoriting your blog and will link it to my own. Don't let annonymous names get you down. For each one annonymous you will find thousands of other slimming faces backing the way you feel. Keep up the good work and drop by and see me some time!

Dena said...

Thanks Weightless, I will add a link to your site as well. What a great idea to link to fellow dieters.swea

Anonymous said...

At first I did not care who Kimmer was just like you. I was losing weight, but then I realized that I really was modifying her diet so that I was eating in a way that was healthy. Most of her plans are not as healthy as they seem. There reaches a point when you need to have a good look at what you are supporting. Do you want to be supporting someone who set up the website only thinking of making money for herself, and not really caring about the outcome of others? Just because you did not get sick, does it make any difference at all that so many are? It starts to be a matter of values..your own values. Mine no longer would let me continue to support the action of this type of individual. I know that you all think that it is just jealousy and meanness going on, and I previously thought this as well. I can now see that it is the concern of others, and they might not always display that in the right way...but it is concern. It is concern for others that "might" get hurt. It is concern for how low carb is getting a bad reputation. It is a concern that a con artist can make money off from the innocence of other people and eventually flee. You should really think about the entire situation. You can lose weight in a healthy way without supporting someone who really does not care about you or anyone else on that site. I wish you well.

Anonymous said...

http://winningweight.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html

http://the-journey-on.blogspot.com/

http://www.openbench.blogspot.com/

Please read these blogs from these wonderful people and past administrators and think things over. If you can understand what is going on, please share them with others.

Anonymous said...

I've enjoyed reading here. I'm a Kimkins follower too and have had no side effects, no problems, and I feel great!

It is nice having another space to come to for discussion and support. Hope you will continue blogging about your success! Your loss is inspiring! I have bookmarked your site.

Sarah

Dena said...

I appreciate your concern, but I also understand that we are adults and we have the right to choose what diet we are going to follow. It's just like all those stupid diet pills that many of us have tried before that didn't work, but this actually does work. Most of those diet pills were not created by doctors and are not FDA approved, but we still took them and unfortunately some people may have had negative side effects. In some cases, people have died from taking over the counter diet medications but the worst that I have heard about with Kimkins is hair loss, fainting spells, and TOM problems. That is when it is time to listen to your body and stop if those problems are occurring. I am not having any of those problems, nor have I had them since I found Kimkins.