If you’ve been reading my weight loss blogs, many of you know that I am generally against diets that exclude complete food groups and I’m against diets that are radical. Kimkins does both. There are several concerns about the Kimkins diet and I’m not an expert. I also feel like I should tell you that I do not have personal experience with Kimkins. I’m writing this article based on research that I’ve done. I am not saying that you would not lose weight with the Kimkins diet. However, there are many diets that you can lose weight on–that doesn’t mean they are healthy. Here are a few of my concerns regarding Kimkins.
Who is Kimmer?
Kimmer designed the Kimkins diet. Kimmer has declined to give her real name and although she claims to have lost over 200 pounds on the Kimkins diet, she has declined to give proof of that weight loss. She has also refused to meet for interviews in person and so she remains a very elusive figure. She is not a nutritional expert nor is she a health care professional. In interviews given via phone or online, she has dodged questions about the nutritional content of her diet, and even seems unaware that her diet may be dangerous.
What are the problems with the diet?
The diet is very low in essential fatty acids, fiber and other things that our bodies need to thrive. A multi-vitamin is recommended. In lieu of fiber or even fiber supplements, Kimmer recommends taking laxatives. This is an extremely dangerous practice if done on a regular basis. The diet is also extremely low in calories and is essentially, by nutritional standards a starvation diet.
Other unconfirmed problems. . .
There also seems to be some problems with Kimmers herself. The membership that you pay for is a lifetime membership giving you full access to the website and all it’s features for life.
However, members have been banned for disagreeing with her. Also, she tends to encourage those on a very low calorie diet to keep going and has blamed members for not being strict enough when they don’t lose up to a pound a day. On the one hand, you could consider this the plain old fashioned rumor mill. On the other hand, reports from banned members and people who have suffered the ill health consequences of following the diet are popping up all over the internet.
The Big Red Flag
The big red flag for me is that nothing has been scientifically proven. There have been no studies showing that Kimkins works for long term weight loss nor has she herself offered physical proof that her diet works by showing up in person. There never will be a scientific study either because having subjects participate in a diet that contains as little as 500 calories per day is unethical.
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