Not Just Cookies – Dinner Recipes are Critical

Siegal’s version of The Cookie Diet emphasizes a very structured dinner plan as well as only eating cookies throughout the day. In Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet Book he describes many meal options, but the core of the plan suggests that you eat 6 ounces of meat, and a cup of vegetables for dinner each day. Since red meats are higher in fat, Siegal suggests that you avoid those if possible. To hold you over until dinner you are required to eat 6 weight loss cookies the rest of the day. Between the cookies and the dinner most dieters will consume about 800 calories a day on The Cookie Diet.

Does the Miracle Cookie Diet work?

The question many people ask is whether or not the cookie diet actually works. This question is a little bit more complicated than that. Of course if you consume 800 calories a day you’re going to lose weight, if you can stick to this strict diet you are going to shed pounds quickly. Dr. Siegal’s advertisements say you can lose 15 pounds a month, which seems to be believable. The reason why so few people succeed on this diet is that while a cookie diet sounds good in theory, that isn’t all your body wants and needs.

The majority of people who try this diet start to ‘cheat’ within the first 2 weeks. While the cookies are tasty at first, soon you want more. Also, since the dinner recipes are so strict it makes eating out with friends and family impossible. For most of us, our biggest challenge is not eating out so much, and for those of us who struggle with eating out we should not even waste our time with this diet. Another problem many dieters have on The Cookie Diet is that when they change back to their normal diet routine they gain the weight back quickly. When you only consume 800 calories for a couple of weeks your body enters into ‘starvation mode’ and begins to conserve nutrients more. When you immediately jump back up to 1600 calories a day your body isn’t prepared for it and doesn’t fully utilize the additional nutrients you’re consuming.

Cookie Diet Side Effects

In addition to gaining the weight you just lost back, some people who try The Cookie Diet will experience other side effects. Dizziness and loss of energy are the most common side effects of any ultra-low calorie diet. Taking nutritional supplements and vitamins may help alleviate these side-effects, but until your body becomes used to that lack of food you may still experience these conditionals. Additionally the cookies do not agree with everyone, suffers of IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome) may be especially susceptible to diarrhea and stomach cramps. Before beginning this, or any other diet I would highly recommend you discuss it with your physician. Since your nutritional intake will change significantly you may be at a higher risk for disease or illness if you don’t supplement your diet with the proper nutrients. If you take Acai Berries or similar supplements while on this diet you may be at a higher to experience upset stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.

Smart for Life Cookie Diet

The Cookie Diet which has recently caught the attention of the media is the Smart for Life diet. Like Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet you buy a supply of cookies to eat each day to hold you over until dinner. The plans are very similar if you choose the Smart for Life Cookie Diet Lifestyle Program. On this program you’re given cookies and a recipe book, and you can get started right away. On the Smart For Life Medical Program you must live near one of the 11 Smart for Life Centers nationwide. You then go in and work with a physician to guide you through the program. For those who are concerned about the side effects of The Cookie Diet, this plan may be best for you.

If you or anyone you know has had success with, or experienced side affects from The Cookie Diet other readers would be interested to hear about it. Please leave a comment describing your experience with The Cookie Diet so other readers can be well informed about their diet choice.

Since an average 140 lb woman burns 1500 calories in a day without exercising, if she is adds in about an hour of cardio she can easily get her calories burned in a day up to 2400. When she is on this diet this is a result of 2250 calories lost in a day. One pound equals 3500 calories so  a 140 lb woman could easily lose 2 pounds in 3 days. This rapid weight loss technique is very appealing for the speed at which pounds can be shed, and some woman will continue on this diet for weeks.

Using the Watermelon Diet for prolonged periods of time is very dangerous. When consuming only 150 to 200 calories in a day you might as well consider yourself fasting. This minimal calorie intake is useless in sustaining your body, and you will soon lose the energy to exercise, and eventually your body will have difficulty fighting off disease and just maintaining itself. Typically after a few days on the strict version of this diet people will begin to experience diarrhea and bloating since they’re consuming large quantities of water as well. If used for too long this diet may even lead to serious health risks such as hypovolemic shock. As soon as you get off the diet the weight is typically gained back quickly since your body isn’t used to calorie rich food.

A healthier version of the Watermelon Diet requires you to substitute a cup of watermelon for one meal a day. As far as your body is concerned, this is just about the same as skipping a meal. While it can help you lose weight in a pinch, over the long term you will have many of the problems associated with the more strict version of the Watermelon Diet. If you have an event you need to lose weight for the most reliable and healthiest method to lose weight is to plan ahead. Set a goal for yourself two or more months out and identify how many calories you will need to burn in a day to meet your goal.

If you add an extra 30 minutes to your exercise routine each day you will find that you will not only lose more weight than you will on the Watermelon Diet, but over the long term you won’t gain it back. Diet and Cardio alone are not enough if you have a large amount of weight you want to lose. Add weight training as this will increase the number of calories your body burns at rest. Before beginning the Watermelon Diet or another other diet it is important that you consult your doctor as everyone has unique medical requirements, and your doctor is the expert at identifying them and suggesting a course of action that will not only result in you losing weight, but being healthier too.