The Cookie Diet

Sounds like fun! Eat cookies and lose weight? Count me in! Actually, its not quite that simple, of course, and it turns out that there is much more than just a cookie involved in this diet. Created more than thirty years ago by Florida based thyroid specialist Dr Sanford Siegal, the Cookie Diet, or as he prefers to call it, the One Meal A Day Diet, has been effective in helping hundreds of private patients in his clinics.
The Cookie diet is basically a medically supervised extremely low calorie diet, with a daily intake of around 800 calories for an indefinite length of time. Patients are given a complete check-up, including lab work and medical history before starting to diet, and have access to a private doctor for the duration of the diet, with regular weigh-ins and consultations.

The emphasis is on appetite suppression, and this is where the cookies come in. Apart from being high on low glycemic index products such as oatmeal and wholemeal flour, the cookies, which are baked exclusively for Dr Siegal's clinics, contain an amino acid mixture well known to suppress appetite. Dieters eat six cookies whenever they feel hungry during the day, instead of meals, and eat an evening meal composed of lean meat or other protein source and a cup of vegetables.

But what if you're still hungry? On an 800 calorie daily diet its hard to believe that even amino acid rich cookies can be enough to stop real hunger pangs developing after a few days, and the fact is that about 60% of patients are prescribed extra appetite suppressing medications by Dr Siegal. Being a thyroid specialist, he also addresses thyroid function, and according to his statistics 25% of his patients receive thyroid boosting drugs.

Looking at the nutritional value of the Cookie Diet, including the cookies, it is obvious that there are a few problems here. 800 calories is very restrictive, and it will be hard to get all the vitamins and minerals recommended as the RDA. Dr Siegal says that vitamin supplements address this problem, and that his patients stay on the diet for months with no ill effects. He estimates that three out of four patients lose 15 pounds a month, and says that quick weight loss is important psychologically, helping patients to stay on track.

Some dietitians claim that the amount of carbohydrate in the diet is well below minimum recommended levels and that not enough fiber is ingested for healthy digestion, to which Siegal replies that this isn't a permanent diet plan, and does little harm in the short term.
After enough weight is lost, a maintenance 1200 calorie diet helps dieters stay at their ideal weight in the long term, and they can stop eating the cookies, which according to some patients, are not really very tasty, although they are available in several flavors, including chocolate.
One problem with this plan is that it seems to be rather one sided, and doesn't really include exercise and general lifestyle advice. The other thing to be aware of is that it is one of the most expensive diets available today, although this may give some dieters added incentive to lose weight!