SIMEONS' PROTOCOL & THE DANGEROUS hCG DIET

Kate, author of the blog, This Is Not a Diet, recently brought to my attention Simeons' Protocol and the dangerous hCG diet.

In part, this is what Kate wrote in her email to me:

"I'm really interested in helping people who need to lose weight do it the right way- through moderate eating and exercise. I really hate fad diets, crash diets, and diets that make you buy products or make unrealistic claims.

As a person who has recently lost a lot of weight, I spend a considerable amount of time on a calorie counting diet website and I've noticed a really freakish trend this last month.

It's called "Simeon's Protocol" or the hCG diet. Google it and you will find nothing but ads. Google "hcg dangers" and you will find nothing but ads. It's very disturbing. This is a "diet" that asks people to inject themselves with a hormone (hcg), which is a banned substance, and then tells them to eat 500 calories a day for 43 days. The next phase is to gorge yourself for some period of time before returning to the starving-yourself phase.

Here's what Diet Scam Watch has to say:

Diet Scam Watch - hCG"

Kate's written a compelling post on this starvation diet here:

Dangerous Diet of the Day - hCG & Simeons' Protocol.

Diets in Review is also warning of the dangers of the hCG diet:

"You won’t see me promoting quick fixes or fad diets anytime soon. But every once in awhile something comes along that seems so dangerous I have to call it out. That’s why I’m going to help reveal the truth behind the HCG diet."

Read the entire Diets in Review article here:

HCG DIET: Look Elsewhere for Weight Loss

Please take a moment to read Kate's post, Diet Scam Watch's warning, and the Diets in Review post.

Be forewarned that if you embark on this starvation diet, you will suffer serious medical consequences.

Thanks again, Kate, for the heads up on this dangerous starvation diet. Much appreciated!

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EATING DISORDERS: MARIPOSA, SARAH COGGRAVE'S JOURNEY TO RECOVERY

MARIPOSA

by Sarah Coggrave

"My name is Sarah, I'm twenty-four years old, and I've written a book about my recovery from an eating disorder. It contains a variety of art, writing, photographs, emails and diary entries that chronicle my journey and the process of putting together and publishing the book has been a therapeutic experience in itself."

Description

Mariposa is a vivid, colourful and comprehensive account of Sarah Coggrave’s recovery from an eating disorder. Her art and writing paint an eclectic picture of a complex individual trying desperately to wrestle free from the evil voices inside her head.

The book follows Sarah’s journey through hospital and then a specialist clinic as she totally transforms and rebuilds her life. Throughout she reflects with startling insight on the root of her problems and confesses her innermost thoughts and feelings. We hear the eating disorder speak...it is deafening in the beginning. However eventually it fades to little more than an inaudible whisper as Sarah finds her own voice.

About the Author

Sarah Coggrave was born on a September afternoon in 1985. She grew up in the rainy depths of the Peak District, cycled the cobbled streets of Cambridge as an undergraduate, started (but never finished) training as a police officer in Manchester and studied Criminology as a postgraduate at the University of Sheffield.

After a brief flirtation with floristry Sarah now wants to forge a career in mental health. She likes to dabble in lots of things; music, art, creative writing, psychology and nature. Alongside this somewhat bizarre existence she is also recovering from an eating disorder and rediscovering her love of chocolate.

Book Extract

Once upon a time, there lived a little girl called Sarah. Like lots of little girls and boys she had a little pot belly. A tummy that she proudly thrust forward in an effort to appear bigger, taller, smarter, older.

But the bad tummy wouldn’t go away. In fact it grew as fast as she did. Sometimes she punished it by not feeding it. She enjoyed denying it breakfast, sometimes lunch too, and listening to it moan and growl in feeble protest. Other times she didn’t care and she stuffed it with chocolate and crisps. Then it felt enormous, like a great burden to carry.

Soon the little girl was no longer so little. She was an adult, and yet her belly still worried her. What if it continued to grow even though she herself had stopped? She ran, she swam, she lifted weights in the gym. She starved, she binged, she punched it. Then she gave it less, and less, and less. Then she overfed it, and used her fist to empty it before it had even begun to comprehend what was going on.

One day that little girl, no longer so little, or so innocent, sweet and kind, saw her tummy for the first time. It was flat as a pancake, in fact it only ever been magnified in her mind’s eye. She admired it, and imagined the day when it would swell to a huge size and grow new life inside it. For that little girl learned that her tummy represented life. She needed to feed it and care for it, and most of all, love it for being a part of her.

This is the story of a little girl who lost her way.

Sarah's book is available on the link below as an ebook:

Mariposa


The paperback will be out later this year.

Please take a moment to visit the Facebook group:

Facebook

Congratulations, Sarah, on your recovery and the release of your book!

Link:
http://chipmunkapublishing.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1528

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THE LIGHTERLIFE DIET, STARVATION, AND ANOTHER DEATH...

A picture of LighterLife founder, Jackie Cox, in all her finery

(and this is not a pre-weight-loss picture)

It should really be called "The Loss-of-Life Diet."

Deaths are mounting, and terrible side effects of this starvation diet are being felt by many who follow it.

The Lighterlife diet is eerily reminiscent of the Kimkins starvation diet.

Any diet program which recommends its followers eat no more than 500 calories a day is not only scandalous but deadly. Many of those who followed Lighterlife and Kimkins now suffer from eating disorders, and other major health problems.

Like Lighterlife's founder, Jackie Cox, the Kimkins diet was developed by the morbidly obese Heidi Diaz, aka Kimmer.

Heidi Diaz (aka Kimmer) who never followed her own diet, but that didn't stop her from telling others to starve themselves

And here are the women who tragically died while following the Lighterlife diet:

Samantha Clowe:

Samantha and her fiancé, Andrew

34-year-old Samantha Clowe collapsed at her home in Leeds, UK from heart failure in June of 2009 after following the LighterLife diet for 11 weeks.

Samantha weighed 17st 6 lb (244 lbs) when she started the diet, and had lost three stone (42 lbs) by following the strict plan, desperate to be slender in time for her wedding to fiancé, Andrew Smith.

Jacqueline Henson:

Jacqueline and Brian Henson on their wedding day

Jacqueline & her grandson

"Jacqueline Henson, 40, was ‘over the moon’ when she shed 11 and a half pounds in the first week on the Lighter-Life diet, which involves drinking four litres of water a day..

‘Jacqui was told by the slimming consultant that the more water she drank the more weight she would lose.

'It wasn’t made clear to her that you had to spread the drinking through the day.’

A post mortem examination revealed Mrs Henson died from swelling of the brain caused by saturating the body with too much water. "


Matilda Callaghan:

Matilda Callaghan, 25, died in January 2006 after losing 10 stone (140 pounds) in six months on the Lighterlife diet.

A post-mortem found Matilda died from heart arrhythmia – when a heartbeat is not allowed sufficient time to ‘recover’ and the next beat interrupts.

For six months Matilda lived on only 500 calories a day, 1,500 less than the recommended daily amount, and was drinking between four and six litres of water daily.

~~~~~

So, so sad. All these deaths, and Lighterlife continues to thrive and Jackie Cox keeps raking in the money. Scandalous.


To read the full stories on Samantha, Jacqueline and Matilda, click these links below:

Jacqueline Henson

Samantha Clowe

Matilda Callaghan

And here's a great article on Lighterlife's founder, Jackie Cox:

Jackie Cox, The Obese Woman...



Rest in peace, Samantha, Jacqueline and Matilda.

For more information about Kimkins and Heidi Diaz, click here:

Mariasol

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ANOREXIA & BULIMIA: THAT DOWNY HAIR IS CALLED "LANUGO"

Amy Winehouse (note lanugo on her face)

Lanugo on an anorexic/bulimic woman



Posted in an online journal:

"I swear these hairs on my neck are spreading. I've got a rash of little hairs! They're growing longer at the back of my neck, now, too.

I'm fuzzifying."

It's called "lanugo," which is fine hair that grows all over the body in an effort to keep it warm when the body of an anorexic and/or bulimic lacks enough fat to accomplish this.

Lanugo is just one of the many consequences of anorexia and/or bulimia:



"A body suffering from anorexia nervosa is denied the nutrients it needs to function normally. To conserve energy, the body slows down its processes, causing a range of serious medical problems.

Heart: Abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure, which means the heart muscle is changing. The risk for heart failure rises as the heart rate and blood pressure levels sink lower.

Bone: Reduction of bone density, which results in dry, brittle bones.

Muscle: Muscle loss and weakness.

Kidneys: Severe dehydration, which can result in kidney failure.

Energy: Fainting, fatigue and overall weakness.

Hair and skin: Dry hair and skin; hair loss is common. Growth of a downy layer of hair called lanugo all over the body, including the face, in an effort to keep the body warm. "

National Eating Disorders Association
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

TO READ MY EARLIER POST ON LANUGO, PLEASE CLICK HERE:

WARNING TO ANOREXICS: LANUGO IS NOT PRETTY

LINKS:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080419.wthinNEW0419_2/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/
http://www.faqs.org/health/images/uchr_05_img0508.jpg
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/he/wmnimages/pdr/fgnt0903.gif

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THE DEADLY KIMKINS DIET: STARVATION IS NOT PRETTY...

Jan

This poor woman looks like death warmed over. "Jan" is the latest Kimkins diet "success story." Jan is on her way to an early death.




Note she has lost most of her hair, her skin is sallow, and her face is becoming skeletal.

It's beyond comprehension that people continue to follow the Kimkins starvation diet, ignoring all the evidence that the diet's founder, Heidi Diaz aka Kimmer, is a morbidly-obese admitted fraud and liar, who is being sued in civil court by former Kimkins members. And word is Federal charges are pending against her.

Heidi Diaz/Kimmer caught on film by the PI, Robert Charlton, evidencing she was not the svelte woman she was purporting to be on her website

Heidi Diaz at her Court deposition

The many faces of Heidi Diaz / Kimmer

The picture on the left is Heidi Diaz...the other pictures are fake "after" pictures she used on her Kimkins website to show her incredible weight loss...incredible, all right.


For the latest updates on Kimkins and Heidi Diaz/Kimmer, check out Mariasol's blog here:

Mariasol

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PRO ANA / MIA: "NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS THIN FEELS"

I stumbled upon the following on a pro-ana site last night. It's the stuff of nightmares.


"01. You will be FAT if you eat today, just put it off one more day.

02. You don't NEED food.

03. Fat people can't fit everywhere.

04. Guys will be able to pick you up without struggling.

05. You'll be able to run faster without all that extra weight holding you back.

06. People will remember you as "the beautiful thin one".

07. If someone has to describe you, they'll say "oh she weighs like 90, 100 lbs".

08. Guys will want to get to know you, not laugh at you and walk away.

09. Starving is an example of excellent willpower.

10. You will be able to see your beautiful, beautiful bones.

11. Bones are clean and pure. Fat is dirty and hangs on your bones like a parasite.

12. If you eat then you'll look like those disgusting, fat, ghetto and trailer-trash hookers on Jerry Springer.

13. The models that everyone claims are beautiful, the spitting image of perfection, are any of them fat? NO!

14. Too many people in the world are obese.

15. People who eat are selfish and unrealistic.

16. Only fat people are attracted to fat people. Do you want pigs to like you because you are one of them.

17. Anyone can have "inner beauty" but few can earn real beauty, inside as well as out.

18. You'll be able to move as quietly and skillfully as a spider.

19. Only thin people are graceful.

20. If you slap a fat person you can see a shockwave ripple over their skin. That's disgusting.

21. Do you want people to say "for gods sake get off me you're crushing me!!!" or "you are sooo light" ???

22. Underweight aka perfect body.

23. Ballerina? or beanbag?

24. I want to be light enough so a helium balloon could lift me and carry me to the clouds.

25. I want to walk in the snow and leave no footprints.

26. Starve off the parts you don't need. They're ugly and they drag you down.

27. Nothing cant be fixed with hunger and weight loss.

28. Saying "no thanks" to food is saying "yes please" to THIN!!!

29. Fat people are so huge, yet people look away from them as if they don't exist.

30. The only time people do notice a fat person is when they get in the way of that beautiful thin girl walking by (ok that sounds really horrible i know.)

31. Have you ever seen a person NOT notice a walking skeleton.

32. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

33. Is food more important that happiness in life? I think not!

34. Eating is conforming to everyone else's expectations.

35. When you start to get dizzy and weak you're almost there.

36. Hunger is your friend and it won't betray you like food.

37. Food is mean and sneaky. It tricks you into eating it and it works on you from the inside out making you fat, bloated, ugly and unhappy.

38. Think of anorexia as your secret weapon.

39. If you can name one reason to be fat, I'll name a million and one to be thin.

40. Thin people look good in ANY kind of clothes.

41. Food rots your teeth.

42. Puffy cheeks, double chins and thick ankles-- aren't attractive.

43. Fatty areas stretch and sag as you get older.

44. Ever seen the arms of a fat person wave hello or goodbye?

45. Eating little to nothing saves you money!

46. The average (middle class) American wastes OVER $8,000 a year on FOOD ALONE...it goes in one end and out the other. That sure is a lot of fat! No wonder so many Americans are obese and overweight!

47. Fat people make their country look bad.

48. Big people sweat more and they smell bad.

49. Fat people die earlier.

50. You'll be the envy of all the other girls.

51. All of the guys will want you.

52. You're less likely to get food poisoning.

53. You won't be exposed to all the chemicals and pesticides they put in food today.

54. You won't get sweaty on hot days.

55. The word fat will only apply to you in a sarcastic way.

56. No one wants to see a fat person dance.

57. Beauty Queen? or Dairy Queen?"

If you're pro-ana/mia, please take a moment to read this post:

BULIMIA KILLS.....WARNING! GRAPHIC PICTURES

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WHY THE MAGIC CHICKEN DIET DIED...

(Click screenshot to enlarge)

(Click screenshot to enlarge)

Bonnie Luper, Founder of the Magic Chicken Diet

Well, from all appearances, the only people barely sustaining life on the Magic Chicken Diet are Bonnie and her sock puppets. The forum is dead as a doornail and Bonnie is MIA, as usual.

I'd wager the reason for its failure to catch the dieting world by storm is the main staple of the diet: chicken...and canned chicken, to boot.

Now, canned chicken tops my list as one of the most disgusting things imaginable. It's right up there with tripe, tongue, and sweetbreads.

For those who do enjoy a hearty lunch of canned chicken, I thought you might be interested in this little news item.

A question was asked by Toronto's Kirsten Thompson in the Globe and Mail this past week regarding "mechanically de-boned chicken."

Here is John Matthewson's response:

Mechanically de-boned chicken, he writes, is where "the meat is not cut off the bone using the traditional methods. Think of it as a horizontal hydraulic press. In the case of mechanically de-boned chicken, the raw material, usually the backs and necks," is compressed by two powerful pistons in a cylinder that contains many small holes.

"The soft material, which is the meat, is extruded through the holes, collected and used in food products while the compressed bone is dropped out of the bottom of the machine and rendered."

Now, how gross is that? No wonder Bonnie's finding it difficult to whip up enthusiasm for her "magic" canned chicken diet.

If you look at the screen shots above taken today of the Magic Chicken website, you'll see there are still red "x"s where the pictures of her members' "Success Stories" should be. Who are her success stories? Why are they so reticient in allowing their pictures to be posted on her site? I'm willing to wager there are no success stories, ergo no pictures.

And, Bonnie, I'm still waiting for an answer as to what happened to all of your excess skin. If you had plastic surgery, which I highly suspect (not that there's anything wrong with that), at least be truthful about it. And what about the rumour circulating that you had gastric bypass surgery? So many questions, and no forthcoming answers.

My previously-posted questions to Bonnie can be found here:

CHICKEN LADY ! BONNIE LUPER ! IS THAT ANY WAY TO TREAT A LADY ?

Hope to hear from you, Bonnie, so we can finally put this mechanically de-boned magic chicken to rest. RIP

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