Mmmm, cookies. Who does not love cookies? They come in any shape, color and flavor imaginable. Without a doubt, there is a cookie tailored to the needs of even the pickiest of eaters. These delightfully evil treats are a key contributor to the obesity epidemic in the world today. When somebody, a doctor in this case, comes up with a diet based around the cookie, it’s going to get the attention of every cookie lover looking to lose weight.

As a result, the aptly named “Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet” has received a great deal of media attention. No doubt you have heard of it. Now it’s my turn to review the Cookie Diet and whether it should used in the spirit of eating every three hours, or avoided entirely.

Dismissed it Because of the Name

The first time I heard the phrase “Cookie Diet” was a few years ago. I immediately tuned out after hearing the phrase. Back then, I was an obese man still trying to figure out how to lose weight. The idea that a diet can be centered on cookies was outrageous to me. I tuned-out and forgot all about the Cookie Diet, that is until a review of the Cookie Diet popped up on the blog Lazy Man and Health.

About the Cookies

Dr. Siegal chose cookies because he was looking for a snack that was portable, durable and does not require refrigeration. It really is a good idea if you can get your head around that your diet will consist mostly of cookies.

These are not your traditional cookies consisting of large amounts of sugar, chocolate or peanut butter. The Lazy Mandescribed the cookie as nothing more than a “nutrition bar”. I agree with that assessment in the sense that the cookies Dr. Siegal is pushing are not traditional cookies, but I do believe them to be cookies in the sense they are a round, flat-ish and baked product.

I have not personally sampled these cookies, but there is some indication that they probably don’t taste great. There is very little information on their web site. Most useful information is scattered throughout the Cookie Diet Blog. One snippet caught my attention:

If you’re serious about finding truly delicious cookies, or weight loss through magic and miracles, then you probably aren’t serious about doing what is necessary to achieve a healthy and sustainable weight. If that’s the case, you might want to wait until you’re ready. The last thing you need is another diet failure.

Wow. Dr. Siegal indicates if you are looking for a deliciouscookie, you are not serious about losing weight. I agree that one needs to be in the correct mindset in order to lose weight, but he can’t blame people for asking if his cookies taste good. People want the Cookie Diet to be about eating the tasty and unhealthy cookies that we know and love. Maybe Dr. Siegal should have called the diet the “Healthy Cookie Diet”. But if he had done that, his sales would be much lower.

The blog goes on to say “Delicious foods make people overeat and get fat“. I generally disagree. I’m more from the camp that believes having unclear goals and not eating enough calories on a diet will lead to overeating because of a starvation response. I will concede that in a general sense, it’s difficult to eat only one delicious cookie. I’d rather have 2.

Are the Cookies Healthy?

Possibly. There are numerous references to these cookies containing some amount of protein. If they don’t taste ”delicious” then there is probably a limited amount of sugar, if any. The Cookie Diet web site does not provide any information about the nutritional content of its products, which includes drinkable shakes. I’d imagine there is a nutritional label located directly on the product packaging. If anyone has access to one of these labels, please send me the information and I will update this article.

The site does indicate you will eat six cookies a day and they will total about 500 calories. My college education allows me to conclude the cookies are just around 83 calories each. With so few calories there is likely little fat and sugar in the product. There may also be good starchy carbs in addition to the protein in their secret cookie formula.

I don’t think Dr. Siegal is including protein in the cookie for the benefits protein provides, but rather protein has been known to make a person feel fuller and more satisfied. It makes sense that if you are only going to give someone 80-85 calories to last them a few hours, giving them protein may help that person feel less hungry than if you were to give them the same calories in carbohydrates or fat.

Even with the limited information, some might determine the cookies can be called “healthy” based on the fact there are only ~83 calories. There is little chance of gaining weight on these cookies; you would be hard pressed to gain weight even if you scarfed your entire day’s supply in one sitting.

What the Diet Really Involves

The goal of the cookie is to provide a very small number of calories to keep your stomach from shriveling up like a prune during the day. From what I gather, the cookies are only there in an attempt to keep you from eating anything else during the day. I can imagine followers tearing into their 83 calorie cookie as if they were on crack struggling to get their next hit.

The real food comes in the evening when you get to have a 300 calorie dinner consisting of “six ounces of lean chicken, fish or turkey and one cup of non-starchy, green vegetables“, according to the Cookie Diet Blog. This 300 calorie dinner will be your primary source of nourishment for the entire day, and there are no cookies for dessert.

I can’t argue with that type of dinner, it is a good balance of lean protein and fibrous carbohydrates. My problem is a dieting person will have to go hungry (even with the cookies) during their most active hours, which for most people is the morning and afternoon.

Realities of the Cookie Diet

The Cookie Diet is an intriguing idea, but I feel it suitable for a very small number of people. Here are my conclusions about the diet: 

In my opinion, I believe the cookie diet to be more about selling cookies under the disguise of a diet, rather than the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The Cookie Diet is not a lifestyle. The Cookie Diet web site is only pushing cookies and does nothing to educate their customers about weight loss. I had to piece together tid-bits of information scattered around their site just to get an idea of what the diet is about. Perhaps they include some dietary information with their products, but it would seem to me that is something they would mention on their site.

Obviously, I do not recommend the diet. There is no reason to starve while losing weight. Take the Cookie Diet dinner, which does not include cookies, and eat it four or five times a day. You won’t be so hungry and you’ll probably be at a calorie deficit.

Have any of you tried the Cookie Diet or known someone that has? Were they successful in losing weight and keeping it off?

Everyone I know that has made the attempt to start a diet that involves eating every three hours has the same complaint: “I cannot eat that much food!” It’s very difficult for them to eat 350 calories worth of health food. They often gasp at the idea of eating another meal in just three hours time. It’s weird to think the same person might rather eat a 1200 calorie plate of pasta in a single meal.

I’ve been there too. The first steps into eating five or six meals a day often left me feeling over-stuffed, wondering if this diet is really some sort secret way to get us all to hate the idea of eating food, so we don’t eat so much later on. Rest assured there is nothing shady going on.

Here are some suggestions to make those meals a bit easier chow down.

Eat Foods With Higher Calorie Density

While healthy foods in general have lower calories, there are some with very low calorie density and others that are packed with calories. For example, 4oz of food “A” may have 35 calories while food “B” may have 140 calories. Both foods are a natural source of carbohydrates, but you would have to eat a full pound of “A” to get the same amount of calories as in 4oz of “B”.

If you are having a hard time eating your entire meal, perhaps you can look at trading out some of the food for something with the same amount of calories, but with less physical food to eat (higher calorie density).

Drink Less Fluids

Drinking a large amount of fluids may not be your problem, but that second or third cup of coffee in the morning right before your second breakfast can make you feel full and unable to eat your planned meal. Try drinking less before or during your meal to see if that makes a difference in how much you can eat.

Eat Faster

Our mother teaches us that it’s bad table manners to scarf down our food (queue the sound of a vacuum cleaner). If you took your time eating five or six meals you could easily blow four or more hours every day doing nothing but eating. No thanks. This diet plan calls for us to pick up the pace a bit.

One common “trick” to lose weight is to eat slower. In my opinion this only applies when eating high calorie processed foods that are not good for you. Eating slow can be detrimental when you are first starting to eat on a three hour schedule. If you eat your food in less than 20 minutes, you should be able to beat the signal to your brain that your belly is full.

Change How the Calories are Distributed Between Meals

Perhaps you are hungrier in the afternoon than in the morning? If you find that eating all of your third and fourth meal is easy while you cannot seem to eat all of your first or second meal, you may want to move the calories around.

Take some of the calories from your hard-to-eat meals and put them into your easy-to-eat meals. This may provide the balance you need. Just be mindful not to overload any one meal, as you could have too many calories for that time of day. Spread things out evenly as possible when first starting out.

Temporarily Cut Back on Calories

Only as a last resort should you consider cutting back your calories to make your meal easier to eat. However, for some this may be the only option. I recommend preparing your meal as you originally planned with all of the calories. Eat as much as you possibly can and take note of how much food is remaining. Each day, try to eat a little more so the amount left over is smaller. Before too long, you should be able to consume all of your required calories.

Relax! You Won’t Get Fat

From my observations, this may be truer for women than men: The worry if you eat that much food you will only make yourself fat. This reaction is probably more common for those people trying to lose weight. It feels odd to eat more food and stuff your belly with food when trying to lose weight. As long as you planned your calories you should have nothing to worry about.

Stay the Course

To my surprise, after a couple days of forcing myself to eat the food described in my meal plan I could comfortably eat the entire meal and was looking forward to my next feeding. Your body will quickly adapt to this new lifestyle. You only have to give it a chance. Stay the course!

Did you feel like a beached whale when starting to eat every three hours? How long did it take for you to get to a point where eating your meals became easy?

This is the seventh article in the Get Started Eating Every Three Hours series that outlines how to start eating every three hours and the benefits of such a diet.

Not long after I first started my diet of eating every three hours, I nearly gave up because it seemed most of my time was spent cooking for the next meal. In order to successfully maintain such a diet I needed to look past the next meal and start thinking ahead to the coming days.

When eating every three hours there is always another meal around the corner, so it makes sense to minimize the amount of time spent in the kitchen. Get in the habit of cooking several days worth of food at one time whenever possible.

Choose which day(s) to cook

As with the day you chose to do your bulk shopping, select a day where you will set time aside to cook the food you will be eating during the week. Depending on the type of food and storage options available, you may not be able to cook for the entire week. In those instances you may have to schedule another cooking day mid-week.

I usually do my cooking on Sunday. This is the least busy day in my schedule and it seems logical to stock up on cooked food as close to the work-week as possible.

Come up with a process

To make this chore painless as possible, come up with a cooking process that works well for you. Here is how I go about cooking my chicken:

I then wash the pans and do the same thing for any red meat I have planned for the week; normally I don’t eat much red meat so there is not much to cook.

From there, I move on to vegetables. I usually buy Birds Eye frozen veggies that allow you to steam them right in the bag using the microwave. In my personalized food log, I get three servings of veggies out of each bag. I cook a total of three or four bags. After each bag is done I’ll dump the contents onto a platter, divide into three smaller piles (my portions), then I place each portion into a vacuum seal bag and seal them up.

If I have a whole turkey breast, I’ll slice it up into 4oz portions and vacuum seal those too.

I also eat a lot of fish, but I purchase the salmon precooked and divided into 4oz portions. If I didn’t have that convenience I would take the time to cook my salmon on my designated cooking day.

All of this may seem like a lot of work, and in the beginning it certainly is. Once you get into the routine and develop your own process, this should take no more than 90 minutes. It will save you hours of time during the coming week having this food already prepared.

Do you have any tips-and-tricks to save cooking time?

This is the second article in the Get Started Eating Every Three Hours series that outlines how to start eating every three hours and the benefits of such a diet.

In the previous article, I talked about the benefits of eating healthy food every three hours. Now we’ll take a look at some of the handy kitchen items needed to ease your passage into a healthy lifestyle. Many of you will already have most of these items, while others with a sparse kitchen may not.

To eat every three hours effectively you must store prepared foods, quickly create meals, and easily transport your meals; all while minimizing your kitchen chores such as dishes. The following are the items I have personally found useful.

Vacuum Sealer

The vacuum sealer is quite possibly the best kitchen invention since the refrigerator. Not only is this product good for storing raw foods, it is great for storing cooked foods; which is how I recommend using the product.

When preparing yourself five or six meals a day, you must cook food in advance. This is especially true during the work-week. The vacuum sealer provides the means to cook your food in advance (more on that in another article) and safely store the meals for the coming week. 

Vacuum sealers come in a variety of models. I personally have experience with the FoodSaver V2040, and highly recommend it since it has put up with months of abuse in my busy kitchen. There are many other vacuum sealers on the market and some are less expensive than the FoodSaver. There are models from Rival, Oliso, Toastess, and Kenmore®. I cannot personally recommend those products because I have not used them, but they may work fine. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for!

Kitchen Scale

In order to eat healthy, you must face the fact that you will be counting calories, among other things. With some foods, calories will only be given for a specific weight regardless of how much food is provided in the package. This is where a good kitchen scale is essential.

When shopping for a kitchen scale, make sure you get something that is digital. Avoid products that use spring-loading to determine weight as they are always inaccurate. For me, the most useful kitchen scales offer display read-outs in either ounces or grams. Some nutrition labels offer portions in grams, and others in ounces. Having a kitchen scale that can display both saves some conversion headaches.

In my opinion, a kitchen scale is not an optional appliance when you are regulating your diet. Buy one right away!

Plastic Containers

Unless you like to return home every three hours when it comes time to eat again, you will need some method of taking a meal or two with you while out on the go. Plastic containers are the obvious choice when transporting food.

There are many brands of plastic containers available. The best bang-for-your-buck will be a container set that will include different sizes. If there is a specific plastic container not included in the larger set, you can often purchase them separately.

When shopping around, I encourage you to play with the containers in the store. Do the lids seal on properly to the container without easily popping off? Can you squeeze the container a little and have the lid not come off? Can you hold it upside down? It really is a buzz-kill to have a meal container pop open in the car or in your bag.

Some brands have locking lids. These are great, but they are also more expensive. Having one or two of these is good for the times when you need to take a liquid with you, such as milk or soft items like applesauce. The locking containers with a rubber seal are required to keep liquids in their container. Put fluids in any non-locking type container and there will be leaks.

Make sure your containers are microwave and dishwasher safe. Not all of my meals need to be heated up, but it is very nice to toss the container in a microwave and eat directly from the plastic dish. Classy!

Feed Bag

When going to work or running errands around town, you may have to take up to three meals with you. Depending on how you separate food in your plastic containers, you may have eight or nine containers coming along for the ride.

Find or buy a “feed bag” dedicated to the job of transporting your food containers. I use a cheap backpack, but any type of bag with handles will work fine. Some people like to use leftover plastic sacks from the grocery store. However, a bag with multiple pockets is nice because you can carry extra stuff like plastic utensils, napkins, toothbrush, and mints. Always having these extras with your containers avoids you eating like a dog from your plastic dish in public places.

Miscellaneous 

There are several miscellaneous items necessary to eat every three hours that are useful.

You should be stocked up on plastic forks, spoons, and paper plates. Eating five or six times a day will leave you constantly washing dishes. Make use of the disposable alternatives. Save the pretty plates for guests.

I find that most food will not spoil during the day if sealed in a plastic container. If you are paranoid about such things or carrying something that you must keep cold, cold-packs may be necessary. Simply keep a couple of these in your freezer and toss one into your feed bag on your way out the door to keep your food cool. Good for the summer months!

I will discuss bulk cooking in a later article, but having more than one frying pan allows you to cook large quantities of food at once when preparing for the coming week. Not a requirement, but having an extra large pan does save cooking time.

I’m sure there are items I left out, but this list comprehensive enough to get anyone started eating healthy food. What else do you think would be handy for the Eat Every Three diet?