She has been the public face of the Kimkins diet scam over the past few months and even went on national television late last month to defend the indefensible–a diet fraud that we now see runs as deep as the lies told by its creator Heidi Diaz. But now Jeannie Battinger wants to tell her side of the story and answer the tough questions, so that’s what I’m allowing her to do today in my exclusive interview with the woman known as “Tippy Toes.”
Does she make a convincing argument for her actions and behavior since becoming the spokesperson for Kimkins? Does she sound contrite and sorrowful for the actions she caused others throughout this process? Is there anything she could possibly say at this point that would convince those she has hurt to even remotely put their trust in her again?
YOU will be the final arbiter who decides truth from fiction after reading her answers and drawing your own conclusions. She says some things that a lot of people will not be happy with while admitting there were mistakes made and errors in judgment she made as well. This is Jeannie Battinger raw and unedited sharing what’s on her heart right now just mere days after making the decision to sever ties with Kimkins and Heidi Diaz forever.
Her words now speak for themselves.
1. Today we have with us here at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog someone who has become somewhat of an enemy in the low-carb community because of her association with the woman who was behind the Kimkins diet scam–Heidi Diaz. As the public spokesperson for Kimkins over the past few months, Jeannie Battinger–aka Tippy Toes–has attempted to keep up the appearance of normalcy regarding the Kimkins diet even as a class action lawsuit is moving forward against Diaz and questions over her true identity as well as many of the so-called “success stories” remain.
Thank you for joining us today Jeannie and for being willing to share your story with me and my readers about your previous relationship with Diaz and the Kimkins diet and to talk about why you recently decided to sever ties with Kimkins altogether. When the whole controversy started coming out about Diaz, aka Kimmer, and the pictures of her were out there, why did you decide to go and work for her when it was obvious to so many people at that point that she was both a liar and a con artist? Why would you want to align yourself with someone of such low character?
I gave Kimmer the benefit of doubt and I was wrong to do so. I really wasn’t convinced that she was the heavier woman in the pictures. But I thought even if she was her crime was obesity. Because I know too well what obesity is and how life-destroying it is, I could not fault her for this possibility. And she kept insisting to me over and over that she was not Heidi Diaz. I do have a certain respect for people’s privacy on the web and I did respect her decision to remain anonymous. Now, you asked why I wouldn’t believe what was so obvious to so many? Simple, Jimmy. I read lies in that thread all the time and that makes it very difficult to sort the truth. My blog today has some recent examples. So it isn’t that I wanted to align myself with such a low character…I was not convinced she was.
2. It was one thing to be excited about a diet plan that you believed in, but yet another thing entirely to become an employee of a company that you knew was based on a lie. Heidi Diaz has since been found to be a morbidly obese woman who has not lost 200 pounds as she claimed. Since she is not a doctor or nutritionist nor does she have one who endorses the Kimkins diet plan as written, why do you continue to support that diet in particular even now?
If you are eating more fat and calories than the Kimkins plan calls for, then it’s not the Kimkins diet–it’s probably closer to Atkins instead. And if you weren’t ever following the Kimkins diet strictly, then why did you take the job as spokesperson? Don’t you think the PR person should be able to support the Kimkins plan 100 percent without any need for alterations to it?
I did not know the company was based on a lie when I took the job. The worst remote possibility was that she could be obese and I didn’t see that as a huge crime. The possibility that she was indeed an obese woman made me feel pity for her. In fact, I will say being obese does not mean you don’t know HOW to lose weight.
So why do I continue to support this plan now, even with no medical endorsement? Because I stalled out on Atkins after losing only 50 pounds. I still had over 50 to go. I tried other plans, EFGT and more. But the bottom line is I could not lose any further weight on those plans. Then I tried Kimkins and presto–fat be gone.
I honestly believe that the Kimkins plans could have offered hope to even the most metabolically resistant…The plans do work. I have lost 68 pounds doing Kimkins to date. Perhaps eating more calories and fats is not the way Kimkins diet once was but she did allow me to make those tweaks and I felt it made the diet healthier. I have always felt that Kimkins diet should be able to make positive changes and be allowed to do so.
3. One major area of concern was when people began getting banned from their “lifetime membership” to the Kimkins web site and you became the default scapegoat for many of these. Were you indeed personally responsible for banning members or was it others as well? If it wasn’t just you, then provide the names of those who were doing the banning?
Also, why were people banned for a “terms of service violation” when they clearly had not committed one and how many of them are there? By the way, how many people are actually running the Kimkins business? Is it just Heidi Diaz?
Every admin can ban and so can Kimmer herself. I cannot list all admins who could ban as many came and went at the blink of an eye. Currently SingingLass, Kimmer and Gary can ban or at least could when I left. I did ban a small handful and I mean 4 or 5 people. They were on a mission and had clear intent of being banned for going out in a blaze of glory. I did not go into other web sites to look for offenders but other admins did. And I’ll not throw them under the bus for taking orders from Kimmer. They did the job that was assigned.
I know nothing of the TOS bannings that were not clear. But again, no one had to ask me if they could ban a person. They didn’t have to ask Kimmer either. So I don’t know. I also have no idea how many were banned in total. I also don’t know how many people run Kimkins. Kimmer told me she sold out too. Now I see this was not true. Believe it or not, she hid things from all of us too.
4. You signed on to work for Kimmer/Heidi at Kimkins AFTER much of the controversy was already out there for all the world to see following the departure of Becky, Christin, and Deni–three major admins who decided to leave after opening their eyes to the truth. Did you really think you could actually defend the indefensible once the truth started getting out there? Do you wish you could take back everything you did after being informed that Heidi Diaz was a liar?
I had no idea what the real truths were at the time. And I was not convinced of anything people told me. I am funny about these kinds of issues. If someone today told me Jimmy Moore is a bad person I would disregard that until I saw it for myself. For me it is a dislike of participating in gossip–particularly hurtful gossip to a fellow human being. And sorting lies from truth is still a challenge because BOTH exist to this day on these very issues.
As far as wishing things would have turned out differently, well of course I do. But Jimmy, I just can’t regret helping people
learn how to do Kimkins in cycles and I cannot regret preaching more calories. I think I helped many people in these ways. And helping them seems far more important to me than Heidi. Yes, it came at a huge price for me. But you know what? Kimkins members are worth it. And I miss them all so much. I hated leaving them. There are days I am tempted to go back to them. But I know I cannot and it is hard.
5. Just before you decided to leave Kimkins, you appeared on national television defending the Kimkins diet on FOX-TV’s “The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet.” If you had a chance to go on that show again, would you use the opportunity to recant your previous stance? Was Heidi pleased with your television appearance after you seemed to be putting Kimkins in a bad light with your comments? Was your encounter with Christin and Deni a positive one?
I have learned more things about Heidi since the show. I regret that new members may sign on and not have a home for long. To do all over I would NOT have accused Christin and Deni of setting poor examples. And Heidi and I both knew upfront what I was walking into. She was not mad at me for what I said at all and I was not kicked to the curb for it. And it brought in a lot of sales.
Every time Christin went on TV it brought people to Kimkins. Meeting Christin and Deni did surprise me. I found myself wanting to be friends and take a better look at their stories and stances. I hugged Christin and said I wished her well and that I didn’t want her to be sick.
6. On that show, you noted that the Kimkins diet had gone through some recent changes, including now calling for 800 calories consumed daily as a minimum. Where did you get that number and did you realize that is still well below the 1200 calories needed for basic basal metabolism? Were you pressured by Kimmer/Heidi to deny any references to low-calorie intake on the show although many Kimkins members reported consuming less than 500 calories a day?
I read a brochure at my doctor’s office concerning low calorie diets. The medical profession has deemed that less than 800 calories a day is indeed starvation. I asked my Doctor and she confirmed it. So I decided Kimkins should not be LESS than 800 calories and looked for ways to increase the levels even more.
I am all for 1200 calories a day and then some if the person can still lose weight. I was not pressured by anyone before the show. I researched old posts at Kimkins and saw for myself what moderators told others. Those people now have made me understand that it was Kimmer who instructed this behind the scenes. I very much regret blaming staff for following orders from their boss.
7. You have come under fire, some probably justified and some not, from the members of the low-carb forum community Low-Carb Friends and you haven’t backed down from them either as you faithfully defended Kimkins. Some have said you made threats against members of Low-Carb Friends which brought on a lot of bad blood between you and them. Do you regret threatening members of Low-Carb Friends when many believe you had no reason to?
Would you like to offer a public apology to them and others you may have harmed by your behavior towards them over the past few months? And knowing what you know today, and seeing what you’ve seen, do you currently hold any grudges against the members of Low-Carb Friends? How do you feel about the work they have done and continue to do in their pursuit to shut down the Kimkins web site?
I had reason to believe one member there was contributing to and responsible for the Ducky blog. I do regret sending her an email saying I knew it was her and to pull the blog before I exposed her. That was the threat. I acted in haste and should not have and to her I do apologize for the email.
And I have had problems at LCF since Atkins quit working for me and I chose to do the Kimkins diet instead. In fact, every problem I ever had there, Kimkins was attached. Do I hold grudges against some there? Yes. People who do not know me, have never known me or encountered me at all are running on hearsay. They say they read my postings and find me mean.
While I have made 3 or 4 mistakes in posts I wish I could take back, there are hundreds and hundreds of posts showing me helping others. I even buy Atkins books and mail them to those in need at my own expense. And I have always been glad to help others. My posts are nice and cheerful and I am NOT what they say I am. The BS makes it hard to sort the truth.
And posting about my husband and that I said this and that is mostly lies or twisted versions of my attempt at being funny. I challenge anyone to this day to show where I mentioned anything bad about him at all. True we had a few spats and I whined…well, we have been together for a very long time. He is and always will be the love of my life and Low-Carb Friends will never divide us.
They can search for his email all day long and tell him whatever they want. He knows exactly what is happening to me and why and he isn’t too happy with Low-Carb Friends. But he is VERY happy with me. Our marriage is rock solid and will remain that way. You asked me if I am upset with LCF for trying to close Kimkins. In a way I am because there are a lot of wonderful people there who may lack support. But, now knowing what I do (learned much from the class action lawsuit attorney John Teidt) I see some justification to their cause.
And before I forget, I want to comment on Jeanessa. We may not have been on the same side of the fence before but I think you have shown an enormous amount of class with your actions. I wish the rest of my critics would pay more attention to you and learn. And I want to thank you for not being a nasty, gossipy person. You have a cause and you never lost focus nor were you sidetracked by the gossip pit. That is class.
8. So what was the actual turning point for you, Jeannie? How far did Heidi Diaz have to go before it was too far for you to stick around? When did you decide that it was time to get out? What did you know and when did you know it with regard to the fraudulent activity happening at Kimkins? Do you know how many people are still at Kimkins as of the time you left? Do you know how many people have joined Kimkins in the last few months since you took over for Christin as the public spokesperson?
And I have to ask this question because I know it’s on the mind of many people reading this interview right now: If the Kimkins assets hadn’t been frozen as part of Diaz’ legal woes and you were still being paid, then would you still be the spokesperson today?
The turning point was having given her a chance to come clean and she couldn’t/wouldn’t do it. I was thrilled she had admitted being Heidi and thought she had a chance to make things right. I recruited the husband/wife team on the front page and I did see that while the wife lost about the same as Heidi, Heidi appeared 100 pounds less. And there were more lies I finally was able to see for myself. Lies that came from her own deposition in conflict with emails to me. It was this and the realization after reading parts of her deposition that I fully began to understand just how much trouble she was really in.
The Russian Bride thing was the first fraud I saw aside from thinking she could be Heidi and we were ALL horrified. I do not know how many members are at Kimkins now nor do I know how many new ones came since I was there. Another admin can see new membership welcome emails but I could not. That ad
min told me sales spiked when Christin went public. But not everyone who joins posts so it is hard for me to say.
If Heidi’s accounts were not frozen, would I still be there today? Well, the fact that it takes some pretty serious accusations for a judge to do this has much to do with my answer. If her assets had not been frozen then there may not have been merit to this case. Some don’t know this but I was willing to stay on for free and did so. So yes, I would have stayed without being paid if there was no problems. It wasn’t all about the money. It was the legal trouble. And the legal trouble was from the fraud. That I cannot handle nor wish to be a part of.
9. Now that you have gotten out, are you willing to cooperate with the ongoing legal investigation against Heidi Diaz? I noticed you recently created a blog to help tell your side of the story about this whole Kimkins fiasco, but you stated it was only going to be temporary.
If you are committed to exposing the Kimkins diet fraud to the world like Becky, Christin, Deni and others have, then why wouldn’t you want to keep it up at least until the web site is shut down for good? Are you going to actively denounce and warn others about the inherent dangers of attempting to do the Kimkins diet?
Yes I am working with John Teidt. In fact, I am waiting for some paperwork from him now and am very willing to give him anything I have which may help his case. I pulled the original content from my blog (see the original post here) as I learned it offended some people. I think I should have left it up but was trying to do the right thing.
I now see that yes, people will be offended as we sort the real truths. I don’t think my blog will help shut down Kimkins though as I do believe the diet can be used safely and is effective. I also believe no one should go on ANY diet without medical supervision and this includes Atkins as well as Kimkins.
10. THANK YOU so much for being with us today, Jeannie! It takes a lot of guts and courage to answer these kinds of questions and I’m so thankful for your willingness to share openly and honestly about this. What would you like to say to SingingLass and the thousands of others who are still at Kimkins to help them see the light NOW before the Kimkins site is shut down for good in the very near future? Is there anything encouraging you’d like to tell them to offer guidance about what to do about their weight loss and health efforts when that happens?
SingingLass, you know how I feel about you. And I respect how you feel about Kimkins diet and the site. I feel the same way. I know we tried and did make Kimkins plans better and safer. But there are legal problems coming your way, not from what you have done but from Heidi’s doings. She will not be able to pay for an attorney to represent you and I am so afraid you will need representation. But I understand why you stay.
I wish I could have too and I miss you and the others more than you will know. I will always have a place in my heart for you. Anytime you feel like emailing or calling me you can. I know you are in a tough spot. I wish I could share what John Teidt has shared with me but I cannot. You will learn it all soon enough. Even if you want to stay, if he does contact you, please do cooperate. He really isn’t after us–he wants her.
But if he has to steamroll over us to get her he will. And for other members, please stay safe and don’t do crazy extremes to the diet–even if Kimmer says she does. You should all see your doctors anyways–everyone on a diet should no matter what diet. Listen to your doctor and always be honest. I have shown the diet of original Kimkins to two doctors now and one prefers it to Atkins. The other gave me a list of supplements to buy and take and had no problems either.
You can maintain a Kimkins loss. But you don’t have to try to lose 100 pounds overnight either. And I miss you all. Gather emails of friends and form a buddy system. I do think the doors are closing. And I want you all to have my email if you want to stay in touch–contact me at baitingerjeannie@yahoo.com.
Incidentally, Jeannie insists she is NOT behind the new Magic Chicken Diet and she believes it is possibly Heidi Diaz trying to reinvent Kimkins again under a new name.
