The Cookie Diet

That's the sh**'s flying.

Ryan,

I happen to concur with most of your analyses, but you should go away and take TJ with you. Are you getting some weird erotic kick out of annoying people on this site? You may be legitimately trying help, but you are coming across as a bully…a frat boy who wallows in a self-created specter of machismo superiority. Informing people about their prospects for failure seems to be a fetish for you. Jennifer from PA is obviously an intelligent woman and understands the implications of what she’s doing. She’s developed what looks like an excellent long-term game plan to deal with any future weight-gain. So, when you get to your cubicle, find yourself a site more suitable for your weight-loss philosophy. You’re wasting space on this site.

Jennifer from PA,

I think Ryan likes you. He says he has a fiancée. But, anyone who can consistently go to the gym twice a day can’t possibly have any meaningful personal commitments. He’s smart. I would guess that he’s a graduate of a top 20 college. He’ll probably wind up with an MBA from an ivy in the next couple years-people with his intelligence level need to do more that read code all day. And he’s in decent shape. ‘Make nicey with him if he keeps posting.

JimmieMac: I realize that I can be a tad brusque. I actually derive no pleasure from this board though. Quite the opposite; it makes me want to bang my head against a wall sometimes. I do it because I care. I do realize Jennifer's got her head together more than the others on this diet.

I get done with work and my workouts and get home always before 6PM. I require little sleep compared to most (4 to 6 hours), so I have plenty of time for personal things. You were close; my school was ranked 24th in that Top 50 thing they put out every year. That was 4 or 5 years ago though, so I don't know how it ranks now. However, my school is either first or second every year for the program I was in. I have no interest in an MBA or any other graduate studies though. I've had enough of academia, for now at least.

Hello all~
I actually am not going to eat these cookies anymore. I have had enough of them. If anyone wants to buy them off of me, let me know. They are the Siegel ones notthe newly baked ones. The packages are sealed and have never been touched. Yesterday I ate Total cereal for breakfast and made sure that it was measured correctly to equal about 400 calories with skim milk. 3 hours later I had a 100 calorie snack which were those little crackers with the cheese ( it has the little red stick included that you spread the cheese onto the crackers). Not the healthiest thing but oh well. I had a veggie burger for lunch on a whole wheat bun with tomato onions and lettuce and a small side salad. Three hours later I ate some grapes. Dinner was 3 hours later and I ate grilled chicken breast on a regular kaiser role and some potato salad. This morning I woke up did 30 minutes of cardio. I am not against the cookie diet because I know it works however I am trying a new approach to see how it works. I love the feelings I get after I exercise....... wish me luck all:)~

I have been on the cookie diet since March and am down 33 pounds..I am a little concerned now that Dr Seigal won't supply his cookies to the Smart for Life clinics (anyone know why?) Are the new cookies good and do they work the same way? I find the cookie diet easy to follow. My appointment for the new cookies is tomorrow and I hope I am not disappointed.

Nancy: I started last week, and only have had the "new" cookies. They are fine, yet I have nothing to compare them to. I am down about 7lbs my first week.

You say you've lost 33lbs since March which is about 6 months .. did you follow 100% since then?

Went for my 1st week weigh in .. down 8 lbs!

Congrats to Tova,Nancy,and good luck to Jennifer in PA.
I'm still on the road to success and weighed in today.
I'm down another 5lbs this week. 36lbs total since July. I'm doing my excercise and having fun.
I came to this blog to make friends with other cookie dieters and those who are understanding.....not to hear negativity lectures.
The new cookies haven't reached my Braintree Ma. clinic yet but I'm looking forward to the taste test! They say the soup is way less sodium so you can have it more often.
hey Miami Babe...how ya doing?! Well anyone that wants to talk off the blog ...email me ..Yetta@rock.com

Tova
I actually started the end of March so its been 33 pounds in 5 months... the first 4 I was a great follower, the past month I have eaten ice cream and such.. end of summer, you know.. anyway, I didn't gain back. Got my new cookies today.. taste test showed them to be more dense and a little drier but they will be fine..didn't get the soup yet.. maybe next time.
Does anyone use the Walden Farm products with the program?
btw, I am excited to be on this blog as I love this diet and think it'll be motivating to have others to share with..

Nancy ... put the cookies in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, does wonders for them. Especially the chocolate ones. I used the Walden Farms dressings (been using them for years). I have bought the chocolate, caramel and marshmellow toppings. Great on top of a warmed cookie. Caramel on the oatmeal raisin tastes like a cinnamon bun; caramel and marshmellow on chocolate .. close your eyes and think it's a sundae! I use just a thin layer .. sometimes a layer of each or 2 of them on.

Deb ... that's a great weightloss. I have stayed on the program 99.99%. I say that because I might have had an ounce or so more of protein that I should one night, and I had a jello before dinner one day.

One question I keep forgetting to ask the center ... is the protein weight raw or cooked????

I am taking it one day at a time and so far 8 good days!

I'll give the cookies a turn in the microwave and see if that does help.. I love the Walden Farms products.. especially the blueberry and strawberry spread.. warm over an oatmeal cookie taste so good..
I thought we were allowed sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles?

Nancy - I haven't tried the jams. Next I will. They told me I could have 1 or 2 if necessary sugar free jellos after dinner. Nothing said to me about the popsicles. I am finding the each person I see tells me something a little different, so perhaps each center does also!

I'm not crazy about the "new and improved" cookies. When I had my last consult they told me they switched because of problems with the other cookies being dry and having a shorter shelf life. These things taste like something that would have a long shelf life (ie, they don't taste like real food) but they are a good bit dryer than the Siegal cookies. Anyway, I guess they will do for now, but they have that nasty chalky taste like a cheap Walmart protien bar... I don't know how long they will continue to be palatable while eating them 6 times a day, every day. While the Siegal cookies didn't taste good enough to serve to guests, somehow they never seemed to become unpalatable. These new ones have a texture and taste that is very familiar and one that I fear will become revolting after about a month.

Jacob
I thought the new cookies seem heavier and yes drier.. I tried the banana ones yesterday and as the day went on the taste was better, I thought.. I did put one in choc and marshmellow walden farms products and that one was delicious.
The only one I liked from Seigels was the Oatmeal Raisin one, I couldn't stand the other two flavors.
Not sure which flavor I am trying today but I got one of each so I could sample all the flavors.

Hi

The only new flavor that I don't like is the Pina Colada. It seems as though my own scale hasn't moved in 2 days and I have been 100%. What are your experiences after the 1st week. My 1st week was so motivating because I lost 8 lbs and each day saw the scale move.

i began this cookie diet 3 months ago and lost 30 lbs but now i find it so boring that im begining to add small portions of fruit,,ect peanut butter and my weight loss has slowed down to 1lb a week and i still have 25 more lbs to go.sigh!

Hi Everyone,

I go for my second weigh in today, but I didn't follow the program Sat, Sun or Monday (went away and forgot the damn cookies). I'm hoping to have not gained weight and would actually be happy with a 'stay the same' day.

I'll post again later with my results, let's keep the fingers crossed.

Quick Question, has anyone found the Walden Farm products in any grocery store chain? I've only found a handful of the dressings and I don't want to pay $5 for them at the center.

Lainey

I have used the Walden Farms products for awhile. I am in South Florida and Publix carries salad dressings. Haven't found the other items. I know you can order online. Haven't checked the prices!

I just checked the website ... new flavors of dressings that they don't have at the center! They are 3.99 and then of course shipping and handling ... the price of 3.99 is about what I spend in the grocery stores.

They carry Walden Farm products at the ShopRite (usually $3.50) here in NJ.. I agree the $5. is too much but if you can't get them cheaper at the grocery store its worth having them to stay with the cookies..

Tova~
Do not be discouraged at all. Weight comes off in spurts. I noticed my first weigh in I lost 6 pounds in 10 days. What they go by in the Centers is what you lose in a full month. My friend lost 10 pounds her first week and then for her second weigh in she only lost 1 pound and was not happy. The third week she lost another 5 so it seems like every other weigh in you lose more. Keep on doing whatever it is you are doing and your next weigh in will be better.

Please let me know how "smart for life weight loss centers" are different from "cookiethin.com"? How do I know the cookies all have the same nutrition and calorie count as Dr. Siegels? From what I gather his are only available in Florida. This is an expensive venture so I want to make sure I am not sold a story...thanks

Hey everyone~

Starting tomorrow I am going back to eating the cookies. I want to get to my goal weight and by eating the cookies is easy to do. I dont like spendingthe money however I know this program works. Once I get closer to my goal weight.... I will then go back to eating. I have to lose about another 36 pounds and I woul like to get the fat off rather fast than slow......

Hi everyone,

Well, I gained .5 pound last week (that's what I get for forgetting my stupid cookies at home and then figuring, what the heck, when in Rome *LOL*). Anyways, back on the program. I just stopped at a store called My Low-Carb Life in Danvers. They carry a lot of the Walden Farms products. I just bought three different flavor dressings ($3.99 ea), a chocolate sauce ($4.25) and a Raspberry Spread ($4.05) and a Strawberry Sauce ($3.99) ... cheaper than the center, so I'm happy.

They are still selling the 'old' cookies as the 'new' cookies will not be in until next week. My first week on the program I actually got to have a few of the 'new' cookies. The banana was good and the chocolate was also good. They seemed the same to me.

Good luck to all and Jennifer in PA glad to have you back :) What changed your mind?

Lainey

Hi Lainey~

Yes I deviated from the plan that I was going to do. I wanted to eat right and do the exercise thing but I have a good amount of cookies left and I figured what the heck... Lets get back on the horse and loose the weight fast. Once I lose maybe another 20, I will stop and go back to my original plan. I called my center today and they are shipping me 3 packs of chocolate chip, banana and blueberry. I am tired of the other flavors and am looking forward to mixing them up. When I would get my cookies, I would split them all up into sandwich bags and eat three of each anyway because eating the same kind all day wasnt appealing to me so I look forward to incorporating the new ones:) I did so good the first 10 days and thats because I did it 100% strictly by the book. I will have 20 packs total and after I run out, I will go back and see the doctor but not until I am just about out of cookies. I will weigh myself tomorrow AM and than weight myself after a week and see what the scale says. Maybe I will be brave and not weigh myself until 2 weeks. Who am I kidding???? I cant even go three days without weighing myself. Wish me luck and dont stress about gaining a half a pound. You know that you can lose another 5 in a week or so:)

Jennifer in PA,

I hear you about the scale ... I swear there are days that it is screaming out my name to come play. I tried the Blueberry ones too, they were pretty good. I had convinced the center to give me a few 'freebies' 'cuz I had twins *LOL* and twin-skin to lose.

I have about 30 pounds that I want to lose on this plan and then it's Weight Watchers Here I come.

Hope everyone else is doing well. Enjoy the cookies!!

Lainey

Update… in my last post I was commenting on the chocolate cookies… since then I have tried the banana and the blueberry and was much more satisfied with those. They didn’t have that nasty chalky cheap protein bar taste like the new chocolate ones have. Only time will tell how they stack up to the Siegal cookies (which have proven themselves for 30+ years) but if I were going on taste alone, I would say I was very pleased with the blueberry and pleased with the banana. I haven’t tried the pina colada… I will get around to it… but it just sounds nasty. As for the new chocolate, I wouldn’t even feed them to the birds for fear that dead birds would start dropping from the sky with their intestines blocked by those dense rock like fake food cookies. Next time I will get all blueberry and banana!

Ryan,

With all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about regarding the cookie diet and loss of lean muscle mass. If you look at the nutritional content of the cookies they are extremely high in protein and the dinner meal consists of a large portion of protein as well. The purpose of this high dose of protein during the day is to avoid loss of any muscle mass. The cookies were developed by Doctors.

No offense but I am willing to trust a bariatric physician who specializes in weight loss to monitor my diet. All of the Doctors and medical staff at the clinics I've been to are extremely professional and it seems like safety is a major priority for them. They monitor BMI and body fat percentage once a month.

The reason they don't want anyone excerising during the diet is because people are only on 800 calories a day. If you mix low caloric intake with increased physical activity, you may actually gain weight because your metabolism goes into starvation setting. The smart thing to do is follow the diet the way its explained by the Doctor. When you get closer to maintenance, they start bringing in moderate excersise and by the time you hit your goal weight, excercise is a part of your lifestyle. And they counsel you the whole way through. When you get closer to your goal they start giving you recipe and snack ideas for keeping the weight off. They have maintenance handbooks that help with suggested excercises and continuing the good eating habbits. And I still go in once a week to see them and weigh in and check my blood pressure even though I'm not on the cookies anymore. They are with me every step of the way. A lot more than any personal trainer I ever hired.

I don't know about what anyone else here thinks, but the eating habbits I learned during the cookie diet are the best habbits I can imagine. I eat absolutely no refined sugars any more, I eat high protein, lots of vegetables, and I learned to eat small meals through the day instead of 3 giant meals. My primary care Doctor says I am in the best health she's seen since I was 19 years old and it's because of the weight loss. She's referring her patients to the cookie diet because it's actually healthy. I lost 58 lbs in 4 months and I'm not a diabetic anymore!

I think the new cookies taste WAY better than the old ones did. I wish the new ones had been around when I was still doing the diet. I was a patient at the smart for life centers in the Tampa area and they are awesome. They only charge $4 for their walden farms products which is about what it costs at Publix but Publix never has as much selection as the centers I went to.

Anyhow, I just wanted to point out to everyone here that you will be losing fat, not muscle. The entire premise of the diet is to rapidly burn fat off by making your body use it as the energy source. That is why patients get so much protein on this diet...to KEEP mustlce.

-Jenny from Tampa

Ugh, here we go again. While the protein does give a protective effect against catabolism, it does not deter it. You can only lose about 2 pounds of pure fat a week unless you are heavier than 200 pounds. It's just a limit for your body, whether or not you use ketosis.

While I agree that having a high protein diet is good for preventing muscle loss, a calorie intake as low as 800 calories a day will still cause it, simply because it sends your body a profound signal. This is especially true if you're male and have a significant amount of muscle mass to start with. At least they're not feeding you 800 calories of carbs.

At the end of the day, starvation still boils down to starvation. Believe me, your body has no problem ejecting muscle mass. Muscle mass burns calories, and so your body will get rid of it so you'll live longer in case of famine.

It's not that I don't think this diet is completely idiotic or unfounded. However, setting the calories per day at 800 for what seems like anyone who walks into this diet concerns me. There's no way I could maintain my muscle mass on 800 calories a day. If they would change the calorie intake based on starting lean mass and incorporated exercise from the start, I could support this diet. Can we just leave it at that?

Like I said, you have no idea what you're talking about Ryan. If you actually spoke to one of the dozens of physicians who administer this program, they would explain to you just how wrong you are. It's not just about low calories it's about what you are putting into your body while you're on the program.

This diet does not target muscle mass, it targets fat. BMI monitoring is pretty clear that I haven't lost muscle mass in my 4 months on the program. My BMI went from 35 to 23! I'm down almost 20% in body fat too! If I was losing only 2 lbs of body fat per week then those numbers wouldn't be possible so you are obviously wrong about what you are saying.

This diet is neither idiotic or unfounded. It has been around for many many years and hundreds of thousands of patients have done it. It's not a fad, one of my best friends is a personal trainer and a nutritionist. He had a chance to talk with my smart for life physician at a local event. He's totally on board with it now that he understands the science behind it and the make-up of the cookies.

The cookie diet isn't supposed to be long term, it's supposed to help you lose weight and learn how to keep it off. If you can't support it, that's your choice but you've never done this diet or even talked to one of the doctors. This diet is for obese people, not for people who have 5 lbs to lose. This diet is also not for men with a "significant amount of muscle mass". I can't imagine why a man with a significant amount of muscle mass would need this anyway. This diet is a way for big people who aren't in very good shape to lose the fat. You're treating it as if it's a diet that people are supposed to stay on for their entire lives. That's not the case at all, it's a diet for people to lose a lot of weight fast and learning how to keep it from coming back.

My primary care doctor has studied it in detail, she wouldn't be referring obese people to smart for life unless she felt the diet is medically safe. That's the bottom line. I'll take my doctor's recommendation any day of the week.

BMI monitoring says nothing about your muscle mass.

"It's not that I don't think this diet is completely idiotic or unfounded."

Sorry, accidental double negative. The "don't" shouldn't be in there.

You may note above that I said if this program could guarantee no loss of muscle mass, I might even consider trying it myself. If they've really and truly found some weird trick that allows you to break the 2-pound per week barrier, then sure, go for it. I seriously question that, but I guess anything's possible. However, a high-protein diet alone shouldn't be able to do that. This leads me to believe there's something special in those cookies. Perhaps safe, perhaps not.

Finally, I'm going to assume by BMI monitoring you actually meant body fat percentage monitoring. What did they use to test your body fat percentage? Hydrostatic weighing? Calipers?

Ryan~

Be nice! You were keeping calm with this:)

LOL.... good luck to everyone on this cookie thing!
Just be careful with adjusting back to normal foods.
I started again today and cant wait to lose this fat and be a hot momma again.

Really? I thought I was being nice. I think if anyone's being aggressive, it's Jenny from Tampa. This is interesting though; someone's actually claiming that you don't lose muscle mass on it. I want to see if this is true. If there was a way to break the 2 pounds (or 1%) of fat per week barrier, the bodybuilding world would be very interested in it. It's one of the limiting factors in how much we can accomplish in a given amount of time.

Jenny from Tampa~

Kudos to you and your weight loss! Isnt it great to know that you are in the best shape since you were 19 years old!!!! No more diabetes too! Thats great! Do you ever have anything like cheesecake or sweet related?

The "old" cookies were created by Dr. Siegal in the 70's and have been used to treat 500K people since then. This is public information that is well documented in the media year after year.

According to the various websites with the "new" cookies, the products were created by "board certified bariatric physicians". When were these products created? What are these physicians' names? What is the track record with their products? I can't find any articles on anybody who has ever lost weight on the "board certified bariatric physicians"' cookie diet but I find article after article on success with the "Siegal Cookie Diet".

Although I have been aware of and kept track of the Cookie Diet for over 20 years, the first I heard of these "board certified bariatric physicians" who developed a cookie was several weeks ago. Coincidentally, this was around the time that I heard the Siegal cookies were no longer going to be used in clinics outside of South Florida. I think anyone using these new products should seriously consider such questions.

The new cookies have a nutrition label and the old cookies never did... I think the new cookies satisfy me as much as the old cookies.. I just hope I still have the same good results with the new ones.

NANCY~

How long have you been eating the new cookies? Have you had a weigh in since you started with them?

UPS should be dropping the new ones off to me at my home today:) Cant wait to try them:)

Jennifer
I just started eating the new cookies this week.. I rarely weigh myself at home.. I go to the clinic every other week so I won't know how I am doing for another week.
You get them shipped to you? How often do you go to the clinic/doctors?