Intro of the cookie diet

People are always on the look-out for an easy way to lose weight, and for anyone who likes cookies, the Cookie Diet sounds like a Godsend. However, the cookies you will eat on this diet are not normal sweet cookies, but special ones containing amino acids that help to suppress appetite, and are ultra-low in carbohydrate content. If you take up this diet you may be eating 4-6 special cookies a day plus some lean protein and vegetables only. In other words you have to very careful and restrictive of what you eat apart from the cookies.

The original Cookie Diet is attributed to Dr Siegal in Florida, and allows you six of his patented cookies a day plus a protein and vegetable meal, totalling a daily calorie intake of only about 1,000. Many critics have said that this calorie intake is inadequate but Dr Siegal has refuted this, maintaining that no harm has ever befallen a person because of a low carbohydrate diet. In this respect he would seem to be in accord with that other famous weight loss expert, Dr Atkins.

The basic idea was modified by Dr Sasson and promoted as the “Smart for Life” program with apparently a somewhat different recipe for the cookies, and with more emphasis being placed on the need for exercise, a healthy varied diet, and vitamin supplements.

The most recent version of the diet is known as the Hollywood Cookie Diet, which has had a lot of publicity and has been endorsed by several celebrities. The Hollywood Cookie Diet requires you to eat only four cookies a day plus a 500 calorie lean protein dinner. The cookies are available through the internet or from pharmacies without a prescription.

The exact make up of the special cookies is not entirely clear but it seems that they are made of relatively indigestible ingredients like oats, rice and bran, and are therefore high in fibre and low in carbohydrate.

Dr Siegal has maintained that the main reason that dieters fail is because of hunger, and that his cookies help to suppress the appetite to overcome this problem. One wonders if perhaps the same effect could be achieved by eating any kind of oatcake or cookie, rice cake, or light rye crisp-bread. All these foods help to suppress appetite somewhat because they are relatively high in fibre.

There would seem to be no magic ingredient in these cookies but certainly they may help you lose weight if you stick to the accompanying dietary recommendations. It may not be sensible to remain on this diet for too long since there could be a danger of missing out on valuable nutrients only really obtained in sufficient quantities from natural foods like fruit and vegetables. The amounts of these allowed on the diet are not large and a vitamin supplement should be considered whilst on the diet.

The degree of calorie restriction on this diet may be quite drastic for some and it is advisable to check with your doctor before embarking on such a diet.