Dr. Siegals Cookie Diet - Diet of Cookies

There seems to be a new diet out there called the DR. SIEGAL COOKIE DIET. Apparently you can eat 6 cookies and a dinner a day and loose weight. The math works, I just wonder how healthy 6 cookies as your meals throughout the day is. Whatever happened to Breakfast being the most important meal of the day. On the Cookie Diet, your breakfast is a cookie.

Can You Shed Pounds on the Cookie Diet?

Developer Swears by Decades of Results, Other Docs Warn of Nutritional Hazards
By ELISABETH LEAMY, VANESSA WEBER and JESSICA HOFFMAN


At 28 years old and 240 pounds, Josie Raper knew she had to make a change to live a healthier life.





"It's not so easy for me," Raper of Gilbert, Ariz., told "Good Morning America."

"I would rather eat cupcakes than eat veggies and go to the gym."

After trying dozens of pills and programs that didn't work, she found Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet online. Six months later, her size 24 frame was down to a 6.


"When I started the Cookie Diet, there was no splurging or sneaking little snacks," Raper said. "I was very strict and, to make sure that I could stay on the diet, I started the Monday of Thanksgiving so I got through every single holiday without snacking or caving in to my cravings."
Her success story landed her on the cover of People magazine.

Celebrities such as Denise Richards, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson also reportedly tried the Cookie Diet.

Here's how it works: You eat six specially developed diet cookies with water throughout the day, not as set meals but whenever you feel hungry. Then you eat an approximately 500-calorie dinner of lean protein and vegetables.

Dr. Sanford Siegal developed the diet after years of treating obesity patients. The No. 1 factor that wrecks diets is hunger, he said, so he wanted to create a product that would control that hunger.

"It started with a formula of amino acids that I put together," he said. "But, then, I needed a vehicle for it and a cookie was an obvious vehicle; something people like. Ladies carry it around in their purse. It doesn't require refrigeration. And Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet was born back there in 1975."

The very low, 1,000-calorie diet is designed to take weight off fast, the South Florida physician and author said.

"I know from experience that if the weight loss does not come up fast, they give up the diet," he said. "And, therefore, you don't accomplish anything."

But some experts see flaws in the diet.

"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," said Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

The Cookie Diet is missing good nutrition, he said.

"I am concerned that if someone were to follow this over the long term there are many different nutrients that they would be missing that you would normally get by eating regular food," he said.


Cookies Under the Microscope
"Good Morning America" sent the cookies to a lab to see if they matched the nutrients listed on the label and, yes, the cookies are what they say they are.

But experts say what they are isn't sufficient.

"My response is that I have treated over a half million patients over a 34-year period with Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet," Siegal said. "I have yet to see the first case where anyone suffered any ill effect from eating a low-calorie diet. It just doesn't exist."

Obesity, he said, is much riskier than a very low calorie diet and that Cookie Diet customers take a daily multivitamin to assure good nutrition.

He never intended for the Cookie Diet to be a long-term program, he said.

But Raper, for one, has been on it for two years and doesn't know if or when she'll stop.

She's a size zero these days and no longer needs her fat pants.

Agave sweetener - the new sugar

I just stumbled on some info about Agave nectar as a sweetener. Unlike Aspartame and all the other crap, this is natural. Actually made from the Agave cactus (Same as tequila) and is quite abit sweeter than refined sugar. Here is some info I dug up.


Only recently has Agave come into use as a sweetener, north of Mexico. It has a low glycemic index level and is a delicious and safe alternative to table sugar. To learn about the Glycemic Index Level CLICK HERE. Unlike the crystalline form of fructose, which is refined primarily from corn, Agave Nectar is sweet in its natural form and is therefore much easier for the body to process and use.





This nectar does not contain processing chemicals. Even better, because it is sweeter than table sugar, less is needed in your recipes and meals.

It can be most useful for people who are diabetic, have insulin resistance (Type II, non-insulin dependant) or are simply watching their carbohydrate intake.



What is the Glycemic Index?
Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or (GI) describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels - is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss.

Glycemic Rating of SUGARS (G.I)

Agave Nectar 27
Safe For Diabetics <55
Honey 83
High fructose corn syrup 89
Sucrose 92
Glucose 137
Glucose tablets 146
Maltodextrin 150
Maltose 150

What are the Benefits of the Glycemic Index?


Eating a lot of high GI foods can be detrimental to your health because it pushes your body to extremes. This is especially true if you are overweight and sedentary. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals.

Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance
High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise


How to Switch to a Low GI Diet?

You don't need to count numbers or do any sort of mental arithmetic to make sure you are eating a healthy, low GI diet.

The basic technique for eating the low GI way is simply a "this for that" approach - ie, swapping high GI carbs for low GI carbs.

Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
Reduce refined sugars and artificial sweeteners
Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
Use Basmati or Doongara rice
Enjoy pasta, noodles, etc Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing

Weider Hoodia - cut the crap

OK, so maybe the title is a little brazen. Thing is, I got up a little earlier this morning and found myself fairly hungry before breakfast. So I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try one of the Hoodia pills everyone was talking about.




I should preface this by saying my weight issue has more to do with a lack of activity. I generally do not over-eat I just need to get out to keep my metabolism up.
I took the pill a 2 1/2 hours ago with a glass of water. So far, I am still as hungry as I was before. I looked at the bottle and it states guaranteed pure from South Africa, however nothing about a quality guarantee. Interesting.

exercising in the winter

Now that the rain is here (for 10 more months) the thought of going for a morning walk has become less appealing. Good news is, there is a local community centre with a pool and exercise bikes right around the corner. I also picked up one of these exercise bikes and love it.





I also joined a Kundalini Yoga class and love it



This is a great way to beat the winter Seasonally adjusted disorder (SAD) blahs that are so common in the rainy climates. So how does everyone else cope?

Should Employers Be Able to Charge You for Being Overweight

Something I found online.

Any thoughts?


Overweight? Prepare to Pay Up

Should Employers Be Able to Charge You for Being Overweight?
By TORY JOHNSON
Aug. 10, 2007




With health-care costs rising, some large employers are taking radical new steps to cut corners: They're charging overweight employees a fee if they don't slim down.
It's a strategy companies have used for years with smokers, which has many people wondering whether these heavy-handed employer tactics are a sign of things to come.
It's not necessarily the wave of the future. While controlling costs is paramount for any business, the happiness and morale of its work force are also quite relevant. There are many people who believe that when employers start requiring weigh-ins and cholesterol checks, they've gone way too far.
So the issues of employee loyalty/satisfaction and privacy concerns, combined with some serious legal challenges, given the protection afforded to employees in the Americans with Disabilities Act  which says that employers can't discriminate on the basis of health  will be cause for concern among employers before they rush out to adopt this stance.
It's no secret that skyrocketing health-care costs are of concern to employers and employees alike. Each of us is paying for it, and our bosses are too. We'd all like to save money. But it's more than just obesity and smoking that contribute to those enormous premiums, which leads to several questions.
How far can  or should  an employer go? Do you penalize an employee with breast cancer because her treatment costs are astronomical? What about someone with a brain tumor or a skin disorder? Do you monitor alcohol intake to determine whether employees are showing up hungover and therefore aren't as productive as sober people?
Reward Versus Punishment
In theory, anything an employer can do to help its work force to be healthy is great and should be perceived as great  often a blessing in disguise  even if it is motivated by business needs, not necessarily the health and welfare of its people.
That said, there are many critics who say punishment through financial penalties is not a sound solution  and that rewards are often much more successful. Not only do incentives boost morale, but they achieve the desired results. Not long ago we focused on companies that were investing in health and wellness programs and challenges  and the management was thrilled with the results.
In fact, a recent survey found that when major corporations took the time to measure their return on investment for health and wellness incentive programs, more than 75 percent said it was greater than breaking even.
Slippery Slope?
Many critics worry that employers could get too familiar with our private lives and our personal relationships. And indeed many already are. Last month we introduced "Good Morning America" viewers to the growing trend of workplace chaplains  on-site clergy who minister to employees, mainly about personal issues that range from marital woes to coping with a family member's illness.
There are other companies that are now introducing forms of marriage counseling. The theory is that when your home life is a wreck or you're worried that your spouse is cheating, you bring those fears to work and it impacts your performance. So it behooves an employer to offer on-site seminars on improving relationships and maintaining healthy marriages  because happy individuals make happy employees.
But in the end, most people say the buck's got to stop somewhere with a healthy balance between controlling costs while allowing employees to maintain their personal privacy as well.
Tory Johnson is the workplace contributor on "Good Morning America" and the CEO of Women for Hire. Connect with her at www.womenforhire.com
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

Diet Pills... The good the bad and the Ugly...

I know I have my opinions but of course there may be others. Any experiences anyone would like to share?

Michelle

Good Morning

It is just after 6AM and I am up. I just finished taking a walk around the block. Since loosing all this weight I have been feeling so much better about myself. I know I still have a ways to go and this battle with obesity is far from over but I do feel good and that is what is important.





Since this is such a new Blog, I figured I needed to promote it a little bit so after talking to a web person I know I decided to post a few free ads on Craigslist. After all a community isn't a community without people in it. If you have just stumble upon this, welcome and thank you for coming. Please feel free to contribute, and tell others. The more the merrier.

Love

Michelle

Welcome

Good Morning,

My name is Michelle and I was fat.... OK so I still struggle with weight issues, however I am over the biggest hump of it all.
Aside from the effect my weight had on my mobility and of course the social stigma us plus sized women go through, the part I really hated the most was all the Bullsh!t advertising and false hope mongering of these psuedo professionals. So many drugs, so many diets, From Atkins, Weightwatchers, Jenny Craig, LA Weightloss, Hoodia, and various other forms of speed - Come on people, the weight problem is not in my wallet... in fact it is rather Anorexic as far as wallets go - My purse on the other hand :)




So now onto the purpose of my rambling. Since overcoming the largest part if my weight loss I realised there needs to be some community support out there. Not the false kind which offer drug store solutions to lifestyle issues or those who pretent to care - so long as you pay for a membership. I'm talking about real support, support that comes from the heart without expectations of pecuinary reward. Yes I have a weight problem, yes I am dealing with it, no I don't want to empty my wallet any further for some false profit.

So let's talk. This is a blog to share experiences, successes and shortfalls. What has worked for you and what hasn't. Come on men and women together, lets unite and fight the battle of the bulge together.

Michelle

PS I always hate it when programs and people state statistics. Yes I have lost a substantial amount of weight. I will not go into the exact figure because it is all relative. All humans are unique, as are their metabolism's. A number is just a number, how you feel is the important part and I FEEL GREAT!!!