The Cookie Diet - Review by a Registered Dietitian

There are at least three companies who sell various versions of The Cookie Diet:  Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet (by a physician from Miami, Florida who has been marketing this cookie program since the 1970's); The Smart For Life Cookie Diet (which boasts organic cookie ingredients, and also has both a medically supervised and a 'home' version plan) and the Hollywood Cookie Diet, so named because of all the celebrities who supposedly followed this diet.  The latter has the most nutritious "cookie" ingredients which include 10% of the daily value for iron in each cookie, and 20% of the daily value for Calcium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C.

The way the diet works is you have one "cookie" at each meal time and snack time to total four to six cookies a day (depending on your plan) for a daily calorie intake from the cookies of 500 calories.  Then you balance out the day with a healthy dinner consisting of lean protein and vegetables.  Your own healthy meal can have over 500 calories, and your daily intake will still be less than 1200 calories, a level at which most anyone can lose weight rather rapidly (about two pounds each week).

The idea of meal replacement dieting has been around for a long time.  Some are in the form of shakes, some frozen pre-prepared dinners, some offer bars in different flavors.  The diet works in several ways:

1) You are taking in a low calorie level so you burn more energy than you eat and the result is weight loss.

2) You do not have to make any decisions about what to eat: the cookie, meal, shake or bar is simply there for you to open and eat.  This is helpful for many people who do not have the time, energy, or willpower to plan every meal and will end up eating the first thing that sounds good to them (drive through, vending machine, buffet--you get the picture) on many instances, thus failing at their weight loss attempts.

3) The diet works partly because of taste fatigue--when you are presented with the same food day after day you start losing your taste and your desire to eat.  This makes dieting and weight loss a little easier because if you stay on the regimen, you are a little less interested in eating. 

The diet can also tempt people to stray from the plan because it becomes boring.  And this, like any other diet, will only work for as long as you can stay on it!

Nutritionally, Dr. Siegal's cookies are not very good for you.  They have 2% or less of the daily value for vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron.  Lucky for you, Dr. Siegal's company also sells a vitamin and mineral supplement to assure you remain well-nourished!

And what about the cost of these cookie plans?  Most of these cookie diets ship the products to you (you pay for the shipping) at a pricey $60 per week.  I have a recommendation for a healthier and more cost-effective plan.

First, have a breakfast bar and fresh fruit for breakfast every day (most breakfast bars are fortified with vitamins and minerals and many include a few grams of fiber).

For lunch, choose a diet frozen meal.  There are hundreds of varieties among several brands to choose.  This way you can enjoy a delectable lunch every day whether you like Asian cooking or pasta dishes, turkey or chicken, sauteed vegetables or  old-fashioned green beans.  For an afternoon snack a low fat yogurt in one of a hundred flavors will nourish you with calcium and riboflavin and keep you satisfied until dinner time.  Then it's time for your own "sensible meal". 

This plan with real food will help you meet the guidelines and recommendations for vitamins, minerals, balance, and variety.  You can eat fruits and vegetables and whole grains and dairy products.  The calories: about the same as the cookie diet (approximately 500 before your healthy dinner); the cost--about $20 less than the cookie diet... and that doesn't include your "no shipping" savings.

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