Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Smart Women ~ Dumb Choices

I was reading some of the truthful blogs about the scammer diet aka Kimkins this morning and shaking my head. I understand why some members bury their heads in the sand, I really do. If you are insulated in that surreal place where everyone cheers you on and supports you while you struggle with food issues it is so natural to lose perspective. And when you are super hungry every thought becomes a chore.

And when you might venture out to check out the other low carb support sites they can be intimidating and scary. Bulletin Boards take on a high school like flavor of the in crowd, the geeks, the kid no one likes, the bullies, the passive aggressives who pretend to be your friend, and it is so easy and comforting to scurry back to your safe haven.

I danced around a few places when I started my serious journey to health and fitness a few years ago. I lurked at LCF and always felt like an outsider, an intruder that no one would pay attention to. I still feel that way. But the wide range of opinions on things that matter to me in my weight loss journey helped me much more than a narrow perspective tightly controlled and choreographed. I didn't see it then but I do now in hindsight.

I avoid the playground with it's bullies, know it alls, posters with 50,000 posts who rule the roost and unconsciously or deliberately belittle. I focus on that which matters to me. I seek out the words of the intelligent, the kind, the successful at finding their own weight loss path and sticking to it or changing it as needed. The ones who have honestly walked the walk and share honestly.

Honest is not a word that can be attributed to Kimkins or to Heidi Diaz. No matter what tune she sings now. No matter how she is spinning the haters and liars. She is a bad person. She is dangerous.

I know many of the current members have found support in the membership there in spite of who runs the site. I hope they have found sanity in eating and have collected info so they do not find themselves lost without their network like the hundreds of banned.

There have been so many warnings of this but I think it bears repeating. It makes me sad.

OK some new links, thanks to WildAngel!

mariasol: Kimkins Boot Camp

So Heidi, you say that you don’t promote laxatives…….. MJR’s-Duck Squad

Kimorexia: Blame the Fraud, Not the Victim

What drew me to Kimkins? The Art of Toad Swallowing

Coffey To Go: How *****y Are You?

Thank You EzineArticles Kimkins Scam

Medusa: THE KIMKINS STARVATION DIET: ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA NOT ONLY AFFECT WOMEN...

Award Ceremony To Be Scheduled Soon! HoneyBee’s Blog

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pickles: White Rice Hangover

Willa's Notebook: The People Who Hang On to KK

Anti-Kimkins Blogs of Note: Kimkins Scam Kimkins Controversy - Kimkins Scam

Kimkins Keeps Me Crying, Are All Articles Innocent? Kimkins And Other Affiliate Marketing Nightmares

Kimkins–Affiliate Marketing Diary of a Mad Housewife

when is kimkins not kimkins? 2big4mysize’s Weblog

Kimkins Diet Review: Eating and Shopping for Whole Foods

My Hindsight Fashion Sense Kimkins Controversy - Kimkins Scam

Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit: Following the Kimkins Class Action Lawsuit

Wouter limits ~ a fake blog about a real scam

8 comments:

mariasol said...

Thanks. You did a very good explanation of my members would stay at Kimkins. What I can't figure out is why so many of them rally around Kimmer. Even if they feel sorry for her, how can they justify supporting a fraud?

Anonymous said...

Hey Ocean. Glad to see you blogging. Thank you for the link, especially to the Wouter thing, which links to the AffiliateScams blog.

Best wishes,
your fans at Yucky's

Medusa said...

Wonderful post, Ocean. For many, it's difficult to understand the mindset of the Kimkins members but you explained it beautifully.

And thanks so much for the link to my blog. I really appreciate it.

My blog: Medusa

BamaGal said...

Great post Ocean.

I think alot of it boils down to our need for validation and acceptance in life. Everyone needs a sense of belonging.

That being said, it still does not explain the open support of so many members of Heidi herself. Tat is what is so mind boggling to me.

OhYeahBabe said...

Wonderful post, Ocean. It really pays to shop around and choose your support circle carefully. You need to find a place where you fit in; where people will support you in good times and bad, even when it means they have to tell you hard things; where people will not censor you; and where people will not damage you. It needs to be a safe place. Kimkins is not a safe place.

Thanks for your thoughtful post.
OYB
My blog: Kimorexia

Unknown said...

Outstanding post Ocean on why do smart woman stay in bad situations. In this case it is the kimkins.com boards that appear to be the safe haven, but in actuality it is the place that is causing the harm by encouraging the behavior.

Here are these women that have a bad relationship with food and are looking for a way to get lose weight. What they end up doing is swapping one bad habit for another.

The site promotes laxative abuse, starvation calorie levels and basically set a person up for a eating disorder.

Its like going a person who is trying to stop drinking beer, so they go to a bar and have gin instead. Sure enough they stop drinking beer.....

It is very sad and like you pointed out it is not due to lack of intelligence. It has everything to do with the person being vulnerable at that particular time and the disordered eating mindset just sets in.
I hope that Kimkins.com is shut down before more are harmed.
Thank you for the link!
HB

HoneyBee’s Blog
I Am Not Ready To Make Nice with Kimkins

Kat said...

Thanks for keeping the dangers of Kimkins out there and the links are priceless!!

Anonymous said...

thank you for blogging about why smart folk would still be inside the kimpound.

thanks for the link to my blog too.

I hope you know everyboidy felt the way you did when they were looking for a place to park their self for their battle with carbs and weight. Nobody jumps in a site, well maybe a very few outgoing folk do, but they are few and far between feeling like an insider. It takes courage to say "hey I'm fat and need help shedding my weight, can I play with y'all?" just as it does in any social situation to be the new kid in the group.

Hang in there and be yourself and those with similar views and likes and dislikes will find you too. Afterall you got a great message to share too.