Kimkins

A website, promoting the "Kimkins Diet" appeared online in 2006. The diet was created by Heidi Diaz, whom claims to have created it over a period of years, successfully losing 198-pounds in 11-months and maintaining that loss for several years by following her own diet. The website gained popularity when Woman's World published a feature on the diet and its creator in April 2006. Within days of the article, the website signed up thousands interested in the diet.

While the diet is promoted as a low-carbohydrate diet, the menus provided reveal a low-calorie, low-fat and low-everything diet that offers typically less than 800-calories each day, with some menu plans offering 500-calories or less per day.

Soon after the Woman's World article and the explosion of memberships at the website, rumors started to crop up on various websites, forums and blogs claiming that the diet was dangerous, unhealthy and/or that Heidi Diaz was not being truthful about her weight loss. A private investigator was hired by a former business associate and he produced pictures of a 300+ pound woman, suffering from alopecia and morbid obesity. The rumors were confirmed, Heidi Diaz had not lost 198-pounds and was morbidly obese.

Which led to speculation about the pictures that appeared on the Kimkins website that were said to be Heidi Diaz (Kimmer). A large number of individuals online in forums answered that question when it was revealed that a large number of photos appearing on the Kimkins website were taken from Russian bride sites to highlight "success stories" of supposed customers. Within days of the first photo of a non-existent customer success story, the photo that was supposed to be Heidi Diaz turned out to be a woman in Russia.

Soon after a lawsuit was filed as a class action against Heidi Diaz. That suit is still in progress in the Riverside County courts in California. The attorney for the class action is John Tiedt, who is representing the class of individuals in the civil lawsuit. Heidi Diaz has filed a counter-suit against a number of the plaintiffs in the class action and others who used to be affiliates promoting the diet website.

Controversy

Kimkins was chosen as the June 12, 2007 diet cover story for a weekly consumer magazine "Woman's World." Woman's World has since issued a formal apology to its readers for promoting and recommending the diet: [http://kimkinsscam.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/womans-world-too-little-too-late/ see here] [http://www.dietdetective.com/content/view/3255/150/ or here] .

External Links relating to Kimkins

Court Information (Class Action Suit against Heidi Diaz). Search on Heidi Diaz:http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/logon.asp?forcelogon=Y&mcnmgotopage=civildetails.asp&mcnmcourtcode=A&mcnmcasenumber=483005&mcnmcasetype=RIC&system=CIVIL