Cookie Diet Offers Weight Loss ... And Raisins
Diet Founder: Many Patients Lose 15 Pounds Per Month
If you're trying to lose weight, the last thing you'd expect to be able to eat are cookies. But a diet that's catching on in South Florida lets you do just that.
It's called the cookie diet, and it has been getting a lot of attention lately, even though it's been around for a while.
The man behind the recipe, the bakery and three weight loss centers in South Florida is Dr. Sanford Siegal (shown at left).
While they don't quite taste like tollhouse cookies, the pastries come in oatmeal-raisin, coconut and chocolate flavors. They are made in Siegal's bakery in Miami and available only to patients in Siegal's clinics (five Siegal Medical Group locations in Florida and one in Montreal.)
"Well, I hate for it to be called the cookie diet," Siegal said of his diet. "It is a diet that uses a cookie as an adjunct to losing weight."
Here's how it works:
Dieters eat six of the special cookies per day whenever they are hungry, followed by a low-calorie dinner.
Siegal created the cookies -- and the diet -- 30 year ago. He says the ingredients he chose are natural but effective.
"We have whole-wheat flour, we have oats and rice ... but this is not what creates the hunger-suppressing effect," he said. "The hunger-suppressing effect is really created by the protein in the cookie, and it is a mixture of what is (sic) called amino acids."
When NBC 6's health and families reporter Diana Gonzalez interviewed Siegal, the interview was shot by NBC 6 cameraman Jeff Barnes. Barnes said he was so intrigued by the diet, he decided to try it for himself.
"Listening to (Siegal), you know, I just want to get the weight down," Barnes said.
Barnes (pictured at left with Gonzalez) is 6-foot-5-inches tall and when he started the diet, he weighed almost 300 pounds.
Gonzalez asked Siegal how much weight Barnes could expect to lose in a month.
"Someone who is totally compliant, does everything we tell them to do, follows an 800 calorie diet; they lose about 15 pounds a month," Siegal said.
Before getting started, Barnes had a medical screening that included checking for diabetes, a blood test and an electrocardiogram.
During the day, Barnes ate oatmeal-raisin cookies in the news truck. At night he ate chicken or turkey with a salad and vegetables for dinner.
After just two weeks, Barnes said he lost more weight than most patients lose in a month: 21 pounds to be exact.
"I think the diet, at least for me, is working very well," Barnes said.
The cookie diet is not without controversy. Between 50 and 60 percent of patients who use it are also prescribed appetite suppressants. Another 25 percent are prescribed thyroid hormones to boost their metabolism.
Dr. Jennifer Marks, an endocrinologist at the University of Miami, said the medications could cause problems.
"These medications also cause your heart rate to increase, really all body functions to become more metabolically active, which in some cases may not be a good idea," Marks said.
And some medical experts say the diet's 800 calorie limit is too low.
University of Miami nutritionist Gwen Enfield questions the safety of such a drastic diet.
"People are going to have different caloric needs (and) you are going to put a person who needs more calories -- (like) a larger male with more muscles active -- at more risk by so severely limiting your caloric intake," Enfield said.
But Siegal says that has not been a problem for his patients.
"Remember, we have been doing this for a long, long time -- many, many years -- and we virtually have no problem with people eating an 800-calorie diet," Siegal said.
Barnes' job keeps him on the go, including carrying heavy equipment. The cookie diet hasn't slowed him down, he says.
"I don't feel hungry, I don't feel tired," said Barnes. "I just feel a little muscle fatigue once in awhile from carrying this thing (his camera), and I feel pretty good."
Maggie Garcia is also on the cookie diet.
"The experience at the beginning was hard," she said. "I'm not going to tell you it was easy."
But after 10 months, Garcia said she lost 85 pounds.
Once patients reach their goal, they no longer have to eat the cookies.
Barnes said he still has a way to go, but by the third week he had lost a total of 26 pounds.
"I don't know whether it's abnormal or normal, but my goal is like 70 pounds altogether," said Barnes. "And I'm about a third of the way there, almost."
The cookies cost $2.50 a day. An initial medical exam costs $235, and then there's an $88 monthly fee.
Barnes said it was worth it.
On Thursday, he reported that he had lost a total of 33 pounds in four weeks.
The Siegal Medical Group has the following locations in Florida:
Medical Offices:
10661 S.W. 88 St., Miami, FL 33176
4801 S. University Drive, Davie, FL 33328
900 W. 49th St., Hialeah, FL 33012
For information about the program, please call: (305) 256-5643
190 Glades Road, Suite E, Boca Raton, FL 33432 (561) 338-3999 Program also available in: Naples, FL
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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The man behind the recipe, the bakery and three weight loss centers in South Florida is Dr. Sanford Siegal (shown at left).
While they don't quite taste like tollhouse cookies, the pastries come in oatmeal-raisin, coconut and chocolate flavors. They are made in Siegal's bakery in Miami and available only to patients in Siegal's clinics (five Siegal Medical Group locations in Florida and one in Montreal.)
"Well, I hate for it to be called the cookie diet," Siegal said of his diet. "It is a diet that uses a cookie as an adjunct to losing weight."
Here's how it works:
Dieters eat six of the special cookies per day whenever they are hungry, followed by a low-calorie dinner.
Siegal created the cookies -- and the diet -- 30 year ago. He says the ingredients he chose are natural but effective.
"We have whole-wheat flour, we have oats and rice ... but this is not what creates the hunger-suppressing effect," he said. "The hunger-suppressing effect is really created by the protein in the cookie, and it is a mixture of what is (sic) called amino acids."
When NBC 6's health and families reporter Diana Gonzalez interviewed Siegal, the interview was shot by NBC 6 cameraman Jeff Barnes. Barnes said he was so intrigued by the diet, he decided to try it for himself.
"Listening to (Siegal), you know, I just want to get the weight down," Barnes said.
Barnes (pictured at left with Gonzalez) is 6-foot-5-inches tall and when he started the diet, he weighed almost 300 pounds.
Gonzalez asked Siegal how much weight Barnes could expect to lose in a month.
"Someone who is totally compliant, does everything we tell them to do, follows an 800 calorie diet; they lose about 15 pounds a month," Siegal said.
Before getting started, Barnes had a medical screening that included checking for diabetes, a blood test and an electrocardiogram.
During the day, Barnes ate oatmeal-raisin cookies in the news truck. At night he ate chicken or turkey with a salad and vegetables for dinner.
After just two weeks, Barnes said he lost more weight than most patients lose in a month: 21 pounds to be exact.
"I think the diet, at least for me, is working very well," Barnes said.
The cookie diet is not without controversy. Between 50 and 60 percent of patients who use it are also prescribed appetite suppressants. Another 25 percent are prescribed thyroid hormones to boost their metabolism.
Dr. Jennifer Marks, an endocrinologist at the University of Miami, said the medications could cause problems.
"These medications also cause your heart rate to increase, really all body functions to become more metabolically active, which in some cases may not be a good idea," Marks said.
And some medical experts say the diet's 800 calorie limit is too low.
University of Miami nutritionist Gwen Enfield questions the safety of such a drastic diet.
"People are going to have different caloric needs (and) you are going to put a person who needs more calories -- (like) a larger male with more muscles active -- at more risk by so severely limiting your caloric intake," Enfield said.
But Siegal says that has not been a problem for his patients.
"Remember, we have been doing this for a long, long time -- many, many years -- and we virtually have no problem with people eating an 800-calorie diet," Siegal said.
Barnes' job keeps him on the go, including carrying heavy equipment. The cookie diet hasn't slowed him down, he says.
"I don't feel hungry, I don't feel tired," said Barnes. "I just feel a little muscle fatigue once in awhile from carrying this thing (his camera), and I feel pretty good."
Maggie Garcia is also on the cookie diet.
"The experience at the beginning was hard," she said. "I'm not going to tell you it was easy."
But after 10 months, Garcia said she lost 85 pounds.
Once patients reach their goal, they no longer have to eat the cookies.
Barnes said he still has a way to go, but by the third week he had lost a total of 26 pounds.
"I don't know whether it's abnormal or normal, but my goal is like 70 pounds altogether," said Barnes. "And I'm about a third of the way there, almost."
The cookies cost $2.50 a day. An initial medical exam costs $235, and then there's an $88 monthly fee.
Barnes said it was worth it.
On Thursday, he reported that he had lost a total of 33 pounds in four weeks.
The Siegal Medical Group has the following locations in Florida:
Medical Offices:10661 S.W. 88 St., Miami, FL 33176
4801 S. University Drive, Davie, FL 33328
900 W. 49th St., Hialeah, FL 33012
For information about the program, please call: (305) 256-5643
190 Glades Road, Suite E, Boca Raton, FL 33432 (561) 338-3999 Program also available in: Naples, FL
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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