The Cookie Diet is a popular weight loss diet that has been around for over 40 years. It appeals to customers worldwide who want to lose weight quickly while still enjoying sweet treats. The diet claims to help you lose 11-17 pounds (5-7.8 kg) in one month by replacing breakfast, lunch, and snacks with nine Dr. Siegal brand cookies every day, in addition to one meat and vegetable dinner. This article provides a complete overview of the Cookie Diet, including its benefits and downsides.
What is the Cookie Diet?
The Cookie Diet is a weight loss diet that was developed in 1975 by former bariatric physician Dr. Sanford Siegal. He developed the cookies in his private bakery to help his bariatric patients control their hunger and stick to a reduced-calorie diet. The diet attributes the appetite-reducing effects of the cookies to a secret blend of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein.
Prior to being available online in 2007, the diet program was sold in more than 400 medical practices in South Florida. The Cookie Diet is kosher and vegetarian-friendly but unsuitable for vegans, as well as those who must avoid gluten or dairy products.
The "10x Formula" and Phases of the Diet
The Cookie Diet has two phases: weight loss and maintenance. The weight loss phase is based on a principle called the "10x formula." During this phase, you’re allowed to consume nine Dr. Siegal cookies per day, as well as a healthy dinner comprising lean meat or fish and vegetables.
The eating plan is spaced out as follows:
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- Breakfast: 2 cookies
- Morning tea: 1 cookie
- Snack: 1 cookie
- Lunch: 2 cookies
- Afternoon tea: 1 cookie
- Snack: 1 cookie
- Dinner: 250 grams of lean meat or fish and vegetables
- Snack: 1 cookie
Each cookie provides 52.5-60 calories, and the dinner should provide 500-700 calories. In total, this adds up to approximately 1,000-1,200 calories per day. There are no strict guidelines on how to prepare the dinner, though it’s ideal to cook the meat and vegetables in a way that keeps the calorie content low, such as baking, broiling, roasting, steaming, or sautéeing. It’s claimed that this will reduce your risk of feeling hungry, as well as boost your metabolism. However, research suggests that smaller frequent meals do not significantly affect metabolic rate, compared with fewer larger meals.
In addition to the meal and cookies, dieters are advised to take a multivitamin supplement and drink eight glasses of water per day. Exercise is not necessary during this phase, as dieters are already in a large calorie deficit. However, you may perform light exercise if desired, such as a 30-minute walk up to 3 times per week.
Once you have achieved your weight loss goal, you can move to the maintenance phase indefinitely. The weight maintenance phase is as follows:
- Breakfast: egg and vegetable omelet and berries
- Snack: 1-2 cookies in between meals
- Lunch: 250 grams of lean meat or fish and vegetables
- Snack: 1-2 cookies in between meals
- Dinner: 250 grams of lean meat or fish and vegetables
- Optional snack: 1 cookie if needed
In addition to the eating plan, it’s encouraged to drink eight glasses of water per day and perform three 30-40-minute sessions of moderate to advanced exercise, though there are no specific exercise guidelines.
Potential Benefits of the Cookie Diet
There are several potential benefits to following the Cookie Diet, primarily related to weight loss.
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Weight Loss
First, it should help you lose weight, regardless of your current weight and gender. On average, to maintain weight, men and women need to consume 2,500 and 2,000 calories per day, respectively. Reducing these daily amounts by 500 calories should contribute to an estimated 1-pound (0.45-kg) of weight loss per week.
Considering that the Cookie Diet provides just 1,000-1,200 calories per day, it should contribute to an even greater weekly weight loss. Although studies have shown mixed results, some research has found that full or partial meal replacement plans may result in greater weight loss than conventional low calorie diets.
Cost-Effectiveness and Convenience
Furthermore, the Cookie Diet is relatively cost-effective and convenient, as the cookies are pre-made and dinner is the only meal you need to prepare each day.
Still, there are currently no long-term studies on the Cookie Diet and weight loss, so more research is needed to assess its effectiveness and compare it with conventional reduced-calorie diets.
Downsides and Risks of the Cookie Diet
Though the Cookie Diet should help you lose weight, it has several significant downsides.
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Unnecessarily Restrictive
The diet does not factor in your specific nutritional needs, which are influenced by factors like your starting weight, age, height, or muscle mass. In addition, it’s highly restrictive and provides too few calories.
For healthy and sustainable weight loss, it’s recommended that women eat no fewer than 1,200 calories per day, and men no fewer than 1,500. Given that this diet restricts calories to 1,000-1,200 per day, it falls below these guidelines.
What’s more, though this significant reduction in calories may result in overall weight loss, research shows it could likewise lead to significant muscle loss.
Reliance on Processed Foods
Another downside of the diet is that it relies on processed foods and multivitamins to make up for the lack of real food. Moreover, due to its restrictiveness, following the diet could make it difficult to reach your daily needs for nutrients like fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin B12.
On the contrary, the best foods for weight loss and optimal health remain whole foods like vegetables, fruits, protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats, which are all nutrient-dense and have synergistic effects on your health.
It’s also important to note that the maintenance phase doesn’t provide guidance on how to make healthy long-term dietary changes to keep the weight off without relying on the cookies.
Dietary Restrictions
Lastly, the Cookie Diet is unsuitable for people following a vegan, dairy-free, or gluten-free diet, as the cookies contain milk and wheat.
The Story Behind the Diet and Its Founder
The cookie diet was the brainchild of Dr. Sanford Siegal who back in 1957 had so many overweight patients in his practice that he decided to do something about it. He knew the secret to weight loss, which of course is no secret. You have to severely restrict calorie intake. The problem is to find a low calorie diet that is healthy and that people can stick to. That would be the Holy Grail of weight loss.
Siegal claimed that he found a regimen that worked. He concocted a diet that allowed people to eat six special cookies containing a total of 500 calories every day followed by a 300 calorie dinner. The cookies are formulated from common grains, mainly oats, rice and wheat, and contain a secret blend of amino acids that Siegal claims reduce the craving for food.
Cookie Wars and Legal Battles
Dr. Sasson Moulavi, a physician who also specialized in weight loss liked Siegal’s game and thought it could zoom to new heights with proper promotion. And he was just the man to do it. He made Siegal an offer whereby he would set up a series of weight control centers based on the cookies that Siegal would supply. They would split the profits.
By 2006 the relationship has soured with Moulavi accusing Siegal of supplying sub-standard cookies. They split, with Moulavi starting up his own business, The Smart for Life Cookie Diet. He developed his own secret recipe because Siegal had never revealed his; to this day it sits in a bank vault, to be opened by Siegal’s son on his death. In 2008 Moulavi’s company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the company somehow still carries on, as does Siegal with his original cookies. The cookie wars are in full swing.
Matt Siegal: The Rollerblading CEO
Matt Siegal, the rollerblading CEO of Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet, has been seen gliding around Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. He's known for jumping curbs and weaving in and out of traffic on his evening excursions.
Siegal, who’s openly gay, isn’t just a neighborhood curiosity - he’s also a serial entrepreneur. While attending the University of Maryland in the early 1990s, he co-founded several software companies that eventually merged to form a multi-national, NASDAQ-traded firm that today employs more than 500 people in the D.C. area. In 2007 Matt decided to use his skills to turn his father’s success in South Florida into an international phenomenon.
Matt still rollerblades in Dupont and enjoys some of the perks of his successful business. He has met lots of interesting people due to the popularity of the cookie diet among celebrities as diverse as TV’s Snooki, comedian Joan Rivers and football star Kris Jenkins.
Media Coverage and Celebrity Endorsements
The Cookie Diet has received significant media attention over the years. Josie Raper, who lost a significant amount of weight on the diet, landed on the cover of People magazine. Celebrities such as Denise Richards, Jennifer Hudson, and Kelly Clarkson have also reportedly tried the Cookie Diet.
Expert Opinions and Concerns
While the Cookie Diet has helped some people lose weight, some experts see flaws in the diet. One expert stated, "There is no credible evidence that the Cookie Diet actually helps people lose and maintain weight loss over a long period of time or that there is any health benefit from doing this."