The Evolution of the Cookie Diet
In 1975, Dr. Siegal came up with a low calorie weight loss plan while exploring different methods of managing hunger for overweight patients attending his medical office in Miami, Florida. During his research for a natural way to suppress hunger, Dr. Siegal created an amino acid blend that he found was capable of prolonging the desire to eat. This formula was part of his original oatmeal raisin cookie that was provided to his patients to consume. 6 cookies a day along with vegetables and a lean meat for suppertime would be all that is required to lose between 12 to 15 pounds during the first month according to Dr. Siegal.
With his success, Siegal opened up more practices and created the cookies for his patients and several hundred other doctors. But for most of the programs 30 odd years of history, it was not available to the public. From 2002 until 2006, the cookies were sold through a weight management center franchise, until the partnership ended. Then Siegal launched a national marketing campaign offering the product to consumers online, by phone and in stores. According to Dr. Siegal, over 500,000 people have tried the diet.
Nutrition Facts
At the time of writing this, there are 5 different flavors available: oatmeal raisin, chocolate, blueberry, banana, and coconut. Each cookie contains 90 calories, 2.5g of fat and 5g of protein. The instructions for the diet are to consume 6 cookies a day which will total 540 calories. They also contain small quantities of iron and calcium. Ingredients include: wheat, flour, milk, eggs, sugar and other ingredients typically found in baked goods. The proprietary amino acid blend remains a secret.
Dr. Siegal’s program grew to incorporate weight loss shakes. The shakes do include the proprietary amino acid mix and do provide the hunger alleviating advantage. The shakes contain 140 calories, twelve grams of protein, nine grams of sugar, and one gram of fat.
Dr. Siegal also released a few books and added other products to the line-up which include water, a multivitamin, and green tea. It is important to note that only the cookies and the shakes contain the hunger suppression amino acids.
Price & Comparison
Each box contains seven bags of cookies and each bag contains 6 cookies which is enough to last for one week. Each box costs sixty dollars so a 1 month supply will run roughly two hundred and forty dollars. The shakes and the cookies cost about the same and when compared to other MRP (meal replacement programs) such as Medifast and Nutrisystem (which run $300 to $350 a month respectively) they are a little more affordable. Although the cookies are a little cheaper, the program is still expensive when taking into consideration how much healthy groceries can be purchased for $240.
Customer Feedback & Warnings
The overall consensus is that the cookie can help most people lose weight. Medical experts and dietitians, however, argue that anyone can lose weight when the program being used offers 1,000 daily calories or less. Medical experts also agree that a daily caloric intake of 1,000 calories or less is too low and considered unsafe due to potential side effects. The cookie diet also lacks variety which makes it challenging for people to continue the program for an extended period of time. With almost no veggies or fruits (for the exception of the portions eaten at dinner) this program makes it very difficult to maintain nutritional guidelines. Some consumers complained how difficult it was to transition from the cookies back to regular eating habits.
Ernesto is a motivated diet critic looking to get the word out on what works and whats whack! Use the following URL to learn more about the smart cookie diet or check out other meal replacement diets
Things To Look For When Choosing A Gym
Tags: Flavors, cookie diet, 5g, Diet Nutrition
