Christin Sherburne leading a lawsuit against the Kimkins diet
Most people who have been following my blog for any length of time over the past year already knows about the Kimkins diet scam and the ongoing class action lawsuit that has been brought up against the diet's founder Heidi Diaz, aka "Kimmer." One of the leading voices against Kimkins now is a woman who was featured on the front cover of Woman's World magazine in June 2007 touting her 100-pound weight loss in just five months. But a series of strange events involving Diaz and some potentially life-threatening health complications opened up her eyes to the dangers of the Kimkins diet scheme.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 163:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 163 [29:56m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Christin Sherburne takes us through this up-and-down journey over the past year when she was in support of Kimkins because of her incredible weight loss on it and then to her fervent opposition to this diet plan that threatened her health and is harming the lives of real people even to this day. I've been privileged to get to know Christin over this past year and met her in February this year on our first annual low-carb cruise (she'll be coming on the cruise in January 2009 as well!). She really is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
In the podcast, Christin opens up about those confusing days following her experience as the Kimkins cover-girl when she became the public relations spokesperson for the diet, how she ran into a brick wall when she asked Heidi Diaz/Kimmer to answer some of the questions that had been swirling around the Internet from concerned onlookers, the role Laura Dolson played in helping her see the fraud this diet and its founder is, her unending determination to expose this scam wherever she can to help protect others from falling victim to it, what's happening with the class action civil lawsuit and potential criminal lawsuit against Heidi Diaz, and the positive things that have come out of this entire ordeal that are impacting her life today.
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So what did you think about Christin Sherburne? Regardless of your stance on the Kimkins diet, did Christin convince you one way or the other? Share your thoughts about today's interview in the show notes section of Episode 163. Check out more from Christin Sherburne by visiting her at her LivinLowCarbDiscussion.com page as well as her inspirational "The Journey" blog.
Come back next week for a highly-requested two-part follow-up interview with Dr. Keith Berkowitz who will answer a slew of questions that came in following my first podcast interview with him a few months back about the subject of "reactive hypoglycemia" while on a low-carb diet. If you sent me a question about this, then tune in on Monday and Thursday to hear it answered by Dr. Berkowitz. THANKS for listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
The notorious Woman's World magazine Kimkins cover story
It took them eight months to do it, but Woman's World magazine has FINALLY acknowledged the cover story they did on the now-notorious Kimkins diet contained some "inaccurate information" from and about the founder of the low-fat, low-calorie, starvation scheme--the lying and manipulative Heidi Diaz.
Ever since a private investigator released photos of a morbidly obese Diaz back in September 2007, literally thousands of concerned readers have flooded Woman's World with letters and e-mails begging them to print a retraction of their June 2007 story featuring the Kimkins diet prominently with two real people--Christin Sherburne and Deni Huttula--and a fake photograph and story of Diaz who referred to herself in the magazine as Kim Drake.
Christin Sherburne and Deni Huttula have repudiated Kimkins
Although Heidi Diaz alleged to have lost 200 pounds, it was one big lie and it took a class action lawsuit deposition for her to admit that after many months of speculation following the private investigator's shocking photo discovery. In the meantime, some of the most ardent former supporters of this diet have been speaking out about how the Kimkins diet program has negatively impacted their health and even got a local television station in Los Angeles (KTLA-TV) to pick up the story in October 2007.
Despite this, Woman's World was eerily silent.
But then the Kimkins diet fraud was given a nationally-televised audience for the first time in November 2007 when it was featured on FOX-TV's "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet" where Christin and Deni shared their concerns about Diaz and the ultra-low-calorie diet plan she was pushing on the members of Kimkins who joined as a result of the Woman's World story. They warned that this diet simply promoted "anorexia" and should be avoided.
Even still, Woman's World did nothing.
The public spokesperson for the Kimkins diet at the time was a woman named Jeannie Battinger who severed ties with the organization in response to her own concerns about the now-exposed Kimkins founder. Even as Battinger was trying to defend the indefensible during her appearance on "The Morning Show," you could tell she knew that something was awry. Her resignation took place about a week after the show aired.
A statement from Woman's World Magazine. Please accept our apology. We at Woman’s World pride ourselves on finding inspiring diet successes to share with our readers every week. That's why we were so distressed to learn that Kim Drake, the founder of Kimkins.com, gave us inaccurate information about herself and her weight loss. Though the article appeared several months ago, in our June 12, 2007 issue, and nutritionists assure us the diet information we provided was accurate, we deeply regret having shared with you a story we can't stand behind. Your trust means everything to us, and we want to bring you the very best magazine we can, each and every week.
All I can say is IT'S ABOUT TIME!!! Considering all the preponderance of the evidence that had previously come out in the eight months since the story was published, it should not have taken this long for action to be taken. They are now asking for people to e-mail them at dearww@bauerpublishing.com if they have any concerns or questions about this decision.
According to our friends at Kimkins Scam, the retraction will appear in the March 4th issue and will be on newsstands the week of February 25th. The skepticism of the Kimkins Scam author about this is difficult to argue with or ignore.
"Now, you know this retraction will be buried way back in the back, in itty bitty letters. Just CYA...that's all it is...CYA."
She's right! But at least they took SOME kind of action to right this wrong that set in motion a flood of new Kimkins members to the web site to be sucked in by a professional scam artist who is still bilking members out of $80 even today (it used to be $60 before that $40 before that $15 before that $10...is it gonna cost a hundred bucks next, Heidi?!). If you're even thinking about joining this web site, don't waste your money.
There are plenty of FREE low-carb support groups like my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum, Low-Carb Friends, Active Low-Carber forum, The Low-Carb Cafe forum, Eating Low with Amy, Atkins All The Way, and MANY MANY MORE (my apologies for leaving some out...but there are a BUNCH of 'em)! The point is you don't NEED to pay money to get the support you need in your low-carb lifestyle. You can glean all the helpful support and information you need to get started right livin' la vida low-carb by relying on the collective wisdom of those of us who have been eating this way a while. We're ready to help you on this amazing journey to lose weight and get healthy, so hop on board one or more of these sites today to get started!
I think we should all e-mail Woman's World at dearww@bauerpublishing.com to thank them for stepping up and doing the right thing. Yes, it took them a long time to do it, but at least they did it and printing a retraction takes a lot of guts for a magazine to do. They don't like getting a story wrong, so let's encourage them and share how much we appreciate the courage they have taken in doing this. Perhaps you can send them your story of success by livin' la vida low-carb if they want to talk about REAL success the healthy low-carb way. Ladies only please! :D
The Kimkins fraud on full display on "Good Morning America"
As I shared with you last week, ABC News has been very interested in doing a story on the Kimkins diet scam that has fooled tens of thousands of people into falling prey to an unsafe and potentially dangerous anorexic nutritional scheme while lining the pockets of a morbidly obese woman named Heidi Diaz with millions of dollars. They are looking for people who have been harmed by Kimkins to appear on camera as part of their investigation. If you have a story you'd like to share with them, then please use this contact form to send the details of your experience to an ABC News producer.
In the meantime, the Kimkins diet scandal was exposed to a nationwide audience on Sunday morning when ABC-TV aired a segment about it on the weekend edition of their popular television news magazine "Good Morning America." You can read the column about this segment by clicking here and then watch the video featuring Kimkins diet victim Christin Sherburne and class action lawsuit attorney John Tiedt.
Momentum for this new national television bombshell investigation about the Kimkins diet scam has been building for months thanks in part to the grassroots investigative work of various anti-Kimkins bloggers and specifically an ever-growing thread at the popular online forum web site Low-Carb Friends, who I recognized in my list of Top 10 Low-Carb Movers & Shakers Of 2007 for the fabulous work they have been doing to spread the word about this crooked diet imposter.
Because of their efforts, a series of in-depth news stories came out on Los Angeles-based KTLA television in October 2007 revealing video of a 300-pound Diaz for the first time to the shock of so many former Kimkins followers. Then in November 2007, the Kimkins diet scam was featured on FOX-TV's "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet" with Christin Sherburne and Deni Huttula (both of whom were featured in Woman's World magazine as Kimkins diet success stories in 2007) warning people about the potential health dangers of this diet pitted against the then-spokeswoman Jeannie Battinger and current Kimkins employee Delaney Deaver. Since that show aired, Battinger has resigned from Kimkins, although she still supports the flailing nutritional plan.
Deaver, on the other hand, is still fighting tooth and nail in defense of this program which she says has helped her shed 100 pounds. She was interviewed by ABC News on the "Good Morning America" segment and made some rather asinine comments justifying her own use of the Kimkins diet. It's pathetic that anyone at this point would be willing to put themselves out there as a supporter of a diet that we now know was created by a morbidly obese woman with no health or medical background and is unsupported by any doctor, nutritionist, or health professional. NOBODY respectable in the weight loss and health industry is touching this thing with a ten foot pole!
And while we're talking about Deaver's role in the ongoing Kimkins saga, I have to state the obvious--is she REALLY the BEST spokesperson for how well the Kimkins diet works? With all due respect to her 100-pound weight loss on Kimkins, with "no faster diet" available to her on the planet why is she still so overweight? I'm not meaning for that to be judgmental or mean-spirited, but I seriously question whether the Kimkins plan is really doing what Deaver claims it is doing for her. Just wondering.
There's quite a lively discussion in the comments section about this story and I encourage you to share YOUR comments with ABC News to encourage them to continue looking further into the Diaz Diet Disaster known as Kimkins! Too many innocent people are getting harmed by this scam that now asks unsuspecting would-be dieters to shell out $80 for access to the ultra-low-calorie diet plans. It's disgusting and even further exposure on a show like 20/20 or Primetime is certainly in order.
Here is the comment I left about this story:
Kimkins was created by a morbidly obese 300+ pound scam artist named Heidi Diaz who has been known to perpetrate frauds on innocent victims in the past. She has no regard for the people she is harming and is attempting to bilk millions of dollars out of unsuspecting would-be dieters. What she is doing is disgusting and I applaud ABC News for digging deeper into this scandal that is harming the health of people like Christin and others who have been sucked in by the allure of a "fast" weight loss plan. As someone who has lost 180 pounds on a truly healthy and proven diet plan, I encourage people to be smart about what they choose to shed the pounds and get healthy.
Get the word out and don't be afraid to share YOUR story with ABC News. You may be hurt and don't want to get involved. But think about all those people you could be helping by preventing them from signing up with a disgusting diet scam like Kimkins. Don't you wish someone had prevented YOU from trying it? Let's band together to help right this wrong and make Heidi Diaz pay for the pain she has inflicted on so many.
This was what Christin's vehicle looked like after the accident
I have always been a strong believer in the concept of helping someone out in their time of need. It is one of basic tenets of human nature to rally behind and support someone who has fallen prey to unfortunate circumstances. We've all had those times in our lives when the unexpected event suddenly happens and that's when you truly have the opportunity to see this on full display.
Right now, that need is with friend and fellow low-carb blogger Christin Sherburne and her family. On New Year's Day, Christin and her husband Brian along with their two children ages 2 and 4, were driving back to their home in Round Rock, Texas from a family gathering when they were involved in a horrific three-car pileup. As you can see from that photo at the top of this post, this was no simple fender-bender. It was life threatening.
But God's angels were certainly watching over Christin and her family because they all survived and none of them sustained any broken bones. The children were fine (Praise God!) and Brian who was driving received his share of bumps and bruises. But it was Christin who received the worst of the injuries with a concussion, swelling and bruising to her brain, a cut on her right eye, and severe bruising across her entire body. It really is a miracle she survived this, but Christin's faith is strong and she believes the Lord spared her life.
And let's not forget Christin has already been through her fair share of stressful health issues in recent months. After falling prey to the Kimkins diet scam in 2007 and appearing on the front cover of Woman's World magazine, Christin began having health problems with heart palpitations because of the dangerous starvation diet which led her to begin passionately warning people in a video plea about the dangers associated with Kimkins. She also bravely appeared on national television to share her side of the story about what Kimkins did to her.
In fact, she's so committed to exposing the lies and deceit of Kimkins diet founder Heidi Diaz that she published this new blog post on Monday even while she's still lying down in a hospital room bed! Here she is thinking of others not wanting them to fall victim to a diet fraud like she did all the while she is in the midst of fighting for her own health. It's this selflessness about Christin that makes her so special and I'm very proud and honored to know her as my friend.
Although she is expected to fully recover from her injuries over time, the medical bills are beginning to add up. Even before this accident happened, Christin and her family were struggling somewhat financially. She had taken on a side job waitressing to help supplement the family income and it was taking a toll on her. Since the accident, now she can't work at all and these hospital bills are expected to run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Yikes!
Here's where WE come in. I realize that most of us aren't even close to being rich by any stretch of the imagination, so I would never ask you to give hundreds or even thousands of dollars towards a cause like this. But regardless of the financial situation you are in, we can all contribute SOMETHING to help this dear woman and her family as they go through what could have been a fatal event.
Whether you know Christin personally or if this is your first time hearing about who she is, I ask you to participate in this fundraising drive to help her. She needs to focus on getting better right now and and not worry about how they're gonna pay the bills. Your contributions would certainly go a long way in bringing her and her family the much-needed peace of mind as they go through this. I could not imagine if my wife and I were involved in a similar car accident. It would be devastating!
So, what can we do? How can we help this family? Here are some simple instructions about how you can make YOUR contribution to the Sherburne family:
1. Go to PayPal.com 2. Click on the "Send Money" link 3. Enter bsherburne@dellmail.com next to the "To" 4. Enter your e-mail address next to the "From" 5. Enter your donation next to the "Amount" 6. Mark "Service/Other" next to the "For" 7. Click on the "Continue" link 8. Fill out the payment information 9. Pay with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express 10. Click on "Agree & Continue" for final confirmation
Let's all do this RIGHT NOW and flood this family with a much-needed financial blessing today. I just sent my donation to them and I encourage you to give generously from the abundance of blessings you have been given. If you can give $100 or more, then that would certainly help them out tremendously. But even a $50, $20, $10, $5, or $1 gift would add up if we all participate.
There are thousands of readers like you who visit the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog on a daily basis, so it wouldn't take very long to get them a substantial cumulative donation if EVERYONE participated to get Christin and her family the money they need to take care of these medical bills. And I encourage you to share about this genuine need with your church, your co-workers, at your blog, on your favorite forum--EVERYWHERE you can think of to get the word out! They need us and we would want the same thing done if it was our family going through something like this.
THANK YOU for the generous outpouring of support that I know you are going to give Brian, Christin, and the kids to help them through this troubled time. Strengthen my belief in the strong spirit of charity that I feel exists within the heart of every man and woman who is reading this right now. Let's rally around this good cause and provide a glimmer of hope for some remarkable people.
After you donate, come back here and share in the comments section below that you did and provide any comments you'd like to share with Christin and her family. I know this will be an encouragement to them and uplift their spirits during this time. God bless you guys for what you are gonna do. Let's step up to the plate! :)
Now, with Christmas and New Year's resolutions coming up soon, she has planned a special "How to Overcome Sweet Holiday Temptations" program coming up on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 3:00pm EST featuring four top low-carb bloggers, including:
If you need strength and tips for overcoming the sugary temptations of the Christmas holiday season, then you won't want to miss this special show. THANK YOU to Connie Bennett for inviting us to be a part of this yuletide special!
Kimkins Diet Scam Shared On FOX's 'The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet'
For anyone who still buys into the weight loss scam known as the Kimkins diet, today had to be a really bad day for you. As I previously blogged, this low-fat, low-calorie starvation diet scheme had a pretty rough day today. While the perpetrator of this diet fraud was sitting in a Corona, California courtroom with her attorney facing civil charges of misconduct alleged in a class action lawsuit, her public relations spokeswoman was hemming and hawing her way through an embarrassing performance on the national FOX program called "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet."
That would be Jeannie Baitinger, aka TippyToes, who actually dropped some pretty big bombshells on the show today, including confirming that the creator of the Kimkins diet Kimmer is in fact Heidi Diaz (just revealed during a phone conversation a few days ago to Jeannie and in this post today on the Kimkins web site, although it has been well-known for over a year), that she is indeed 300 pounds again, that the Kimkins diet is an ever-evolving plan, and that no doctor is currently endorsing the diet publicly (although she claimed that a "bariatric specialist" would be making a decision about joining up with Kimkins following the show). You could tell a lot of CYA was happening today and the hosts weren't buying into it.
The following is the entire appearance by former Kimkins dieters Christin Sherburne and Deni Huttala, both of whom did a fabulous job of talking about the dangers of the Kimkins diet. There was also a nutritionist (that Jeannie kept calling a "nutritionalist") and an internist on the show who made some pretty damning points against this awful diet (although the doctor got in a rather misleading comment about ketosis that was 100% WRONG!). Nevertheless, the overall result of the show was extremely positive for those of us who have been warning about this diet.
Watch these four segments NOW:
Go leave comments and rate the video segments at YouTube for each of these so we can help spread the word to other uninformed potential Kimkins dieters. Here are the links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
1-31-08 UPDATE: Get the lowdown on all the latest happenings with the Kimkins diet scam by clicking here.
