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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Another Plea to Kimkins Members

Well, I'm back from New York... and I feel like I need to blog about my experience on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet...

First of all, I want to tell Delaney (Singinglass) that I am concerned for her. We didn't have the opportunity to really talk at all in person... just a few minutes backstage after the show... but my message to everyone who is still on Kimkins goes to Delaney as well. I know how important it is to you to lose the weight. I know how good it feels to finally see that scale moving down. I know how hearing about "the controversy" makes you feel defensive and nervous in the pit of your stomach. I was once in your exact position. I know that the "pressure" from the "opposition" is frightening... because it's scary to think that someone might take away your "only hope". I know that the tactics they use are so over the top sometimes that it makes it easy to "roll your eyes and blow them off". I also know that somewhere deep down inside you might be feeling the smallest twinge of "what if this is true?", and that as soon as you feel it.. you push it away as quickly as possible because answering that question would be admitting that you might have an eating disorder or an addiction.
It's natural to want to "quiet" any negative feelings that pop in.. especially when the Kimkins diet and support site are constantly bombaring you with "Feel Happy... This is Great.... Wow.. No Hunger.... Hooray.. Scales down again... No negativity!!!!" Heidi and everyone else at Kimkins will tell you that negativity will make you gain weight. Negativity will only hurt you in the long run. Stay positive... no matter what!!! Why? Because it's easier to "get drunk and ignore the pain" than it is to deal with your pain in the healthy way. I believe that we are given negative emotions for a reason. I believe that even feelings of guilt (what have I done to my body? how could I have told people to join??) and feelings of shame (I can't believe I listened to that conartist... I had good intentions all along, so ignoring that handfull of hair in the shower was the right thing to do) and even fear (I'll never lose the weight if I don't do it this way) are God given emotions.. and we need to face them because they are only there to help us. Ignoring these "negative" things only helps us on the road of denial. Ignoring the messages that those feelings are sending us makes us deaf to the dangers ahead, and blind to the giant STOP SIGN they are each holding.
Most of us who are overweight... have gotten that way because we turn to FOOD to quiet the negative emotions. How many of you are now completely IGNORING the negative emotions instead?

All of us who are overweight are stuck in this pattern:
Feel Bad... Eat... Feel Better... Gain weight.... feel bad... eat.... feel better... gain weight...Feel Bad etc etc

Kimkins taught us
Feel Bad.... SMILE... USE KETOSIS... lose weight... feel better... Feel bad... use ketosis DON"T EAT.. lose weight. feel better... Feel bad??? what.. no.. not ever... we don't eat....... we refuse to feel bad.

I see a problem with Both situations don't you?
Maybe we need to look more at the "feel bad" part... and realize that it's okay to feel bad. It's not something that needs to be fixed... it's simply a part of life and it has a purpose.

Maybe we need to listen to whatever the "feel bad" is trying to tell us. Food didn't shut it up for long... and losing weight will only shut it up until you run out of fat and then start to lose your hair, your muscles, your energy, your metabolism, your brain connections, your concentration, your memory, your common sense, your integrity and perhaps even your life.

Kimkins might be selling a weightloss plan that works... but I'm here to tell you that you lose much more than weight on this diet.

Stop ignoring the negative... face it, and gain the opportunity to know in your heart that you are worth so much more than a crash diet that will only set you up for either future failure... or major health problems.

Well.. I guess this post ended up being more of a message from my heart to anyone who is still on the Kimkins plan.
I will post tomorrow... the "replies" I didn't have time to give Jeannie on the show. :)


5 comments:

Amy Dungan said...

Great post Deni! I do hope others will listen. I've been through the whole array of emotions you have described. None of them are fun.. but they are all necessary. We need another coping mechanism..somethiing other than food. When we find what works for us, I'd venture to guess that our unhealthy relationship with food will die off. ((HUGS)) to you my friend!

Becky said...

Well done, Deni!I think you captured the heart of the matter. I, too, know all those emotions and all those thoughts.

Kimkins is alluring because it can give a sense of being in control over food, for the first time ever for many of us. But, that sense of control can quickly become its own addiction, which is the main reason so many still defend and protect it so vociferously, in the face of all evidence to the contrary. Like you said, Kimkins teaches us to replace one unhealthy pattern with another unhealthy pattern. It does NOT teach us to have a healthy relationship with food.

I fear for the struggles many will find in maintenance, trying to eat well without the benefit of 'deep ketosis' and seeing the scale go down any more, without the rigid structure and support, and with the now-added burden of a damaged metabolism.

It is what many former Kimkins dieters are facing already, and what the current followers will face soon enough.

It is EXACTLY exactly why Kimmer herself never even reached goal, and quickly regained, and ended up even heavier than before. The body's need for good nourishment can only be denied so long. Kimkins is a set-up for binging and rebounding.

It is no accident that there is almost NO ONE there, including Kimmer, Tippy or SingingLass, who has reached goal and maintained it successfully any length of time doing Kimkins.

Jeannie pitched Kimkins as TEMPORARY, just for weight loss. Yet, the same day, Kimmer said she regained because Kimkins only works if you stick with it for maintenance.

I think those who lose to goal on Kimkins will find themselves stuck at low calories for the rest of their lives, or face serious regaining. There is no other maintenance plan that has been proven to work there yet.

Sue said...

Its a real shame that Atkins and low carb has any association with Kimkins. Ketosis was seen in a really bad light on the show which was a shame. Yes, ketosis can make you less hungry but it doesn't make you starve yourself hence why people can stall on Atkins or any other low carb programme.
Deni and Christin you guys looked great and conducted yourselves very gracefully. I don't think I would have been able to sit next to Jeannie without wanting to bop her on the nose!
Singing Lass was worrisome. I know TV puts on a few pounds because she didn't look like she had lost 100 pounds.

2BIG4MYSIZE said...

thank you for working so hard to inform the public and the low carb community about the scam at kimkins.con
and the people behind it.
2BIG
2big4mysize’s Weblog

2BIG4MYSIZE said...

I know you have been able to move forward with your life and didn't want to raise the kimkins.con specter in your current posts but I hope you know how much your hard work to help stop the scam paid off yesterday in the court room for all the folk who Kimmer scammed and Thank you.