Say Goodbye Carbs, Hello Protein With Italy's Own Low-Carb CiaoCarb Cookies

CiaoCarb High-Protein Cookies now available at CarbSmart

Some of the very best high-quality low-carb products aren't made and manufactured in the United States. Unfortunately, the big low-carb "craze" that swept across America in the early part of this decade with all their low-carb impostor products ruined the reputation of some truly great companies who made some remarkable foods for your healthy low-carb lifestyle. Meanwhile, low-carb companies are thriving with some rather amazing products overseas.

You'll recall the UK-based GoLower nut bars thriving when they were imported into the U.S. for the first time in 2006 and they went on to become the fastest-selling new product in the history of low-carb retail giant CarbSmart. Now the folks at CarbSmart are ready to launch an equally exciting product in 2008 imported directly from Italy to the American low-carb consumer for the first time.

The product is called CiaoCarb Cookies and they are very low-carb, protein-packed morsels of healthy goodness that taste absolutely fabulous! I don't know if you've ever tried any other "low-carb" cookies before, but most are absolutely disgusting, fall apart and crumble when you try to hold them, and leave you wondering if you'll ever get to enjoy this sweet treat again. After trying these CiaoCarb Cookies for myself, I can tell you cookies are back and I'm hooked!

With a full 10g of protein in each cookie packaged in pairs, you can use these as a perfect pre-workout power-up snack, breakfast replacement, or anytime you want a little something healthy and delicious to eat. Best of all, the net carbs are so negligible (less than a third of a net carbohydrate in each cookie!) that it's virtually ZERO carbs!

Of course, these CiaoCarb Cookies are sugar-free which makes them PERFECT for diabetics and look and taste like a crunchy gourmet cookie you would purchase in Italy. Available in Almond, Chocolate, Coconut, Coffee, Lemon, and Orange (my personal favorite!) flavors, these cookies have just 95 calories each and are sweetened with a blend of maltitol, Splenda, and ACE-K. Although I'm not usually a fan of maltitol in low-carb products, I was pleasantly surprised that these did not bother me like some other products do. With less maltitol, there was little to no reaction. AWESOME!!!

This is very likely gonna be CarbSmart's 2008 breakout product of the year, so order your own stash of CiaoCarb Cookies today. They are available EXCLUSIVELY at CarbSmart right now, so go ahead and give them a try. You will no doubt LOVE these cookies as much as I do and CarbSmart will stand behind their quality 100%. If you don't like 'em, then CarbSmart will take care of you. But you WILL eat these up!

I'd love to hear your feedback about these innovative low-carb cookies directly from Italy, so try 'em and lemme know what you think! ENJOY! :D

Low-Carb Chocolate Chip-Macadamia Nut Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cool off during the dog days of summer with this yummy low-carb treat!

Who among us doesn't remember the days when we'd take two cookies and smash our favorite flavor of ice cream in the middle to eat when the temperatures outside were blistering like they are right now? Yep, we sure did and it was a great way to cool off. Unfortunately, it wasn't so good on the waistline.

Nowadays, we're eating better than we used to because we're livin' la vida low-carb (RIGHT?!) and we're shunning the sugar in our diet, too (RIGHT?!). Because of that, I'm happy to share an absolutely amazing low-carb chocolate chip-macadamia nut ice cream sandwiches recipe compliments of our friends at Low-Carb Connoisseur.

The cookies are from Big Train and I LOVE LOVE LOVE these. They taste just like toll house cookies and you'll NEVER believe they are low-carb. I was quite impressed. And the macadamia nut ice cream is the icing on the proverbial cake, so to speak. You won't want to go overboard with these, but they can be a nice oasis to beat the heat of that last blast of this summer scorcher! ENJOY! :)

LOW-CARB CHOCOLATE CHIP-MACADAMIA NUT ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

COOKIES
1 (8-ounce) package Big Train Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
1 Stick butter, at room temperature
1 large egg

MACADAMIA NUT ICE CREAM
3 cups heavy cream
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup NOW Xylitol sugar substitute
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Singing Dog Organic vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Mac Farms macadamia nuts

1. For the cookies: Mix according to package directions, adding the butter and egg. Portion the dough to make 20 cookies. Bake and cool following the package directions; set aside.

2. For the macadamia nut ice cream: Pour heavy cream into a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a low boil, stirring often so the cream does not boil over. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, place eggs, egg yolks, sugar substitute and salt. Using either a hand mixer or a whisk, beat together until thickened and smooth.

4. Using a ladle, remove about a cup of the hot cream from saucepan and gradually whisk into egg mixture (this tempers the eggs so they wont curdle). Whisking, pour tempered egg mixture into remaining cream in saucepan.

Place over medium heat and whisk until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into a clean bowl, whisk in vanilla and almond extracts; let stand until custard is completely cooled to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours. Refrigerate 2 hours, until well chilled, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

5. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions. Add chopped macadamia nuts 15 minutes before freezing process is complete.

6. To assemble sandwiches: Arrange 10 cookies, top side down, on work surface. Using an ice cream scoop, working quickly, place 1/4 cup ice cream on each cookie. Top each with another cookie, bottom side down. Wrap each sandwich well in plastic wrap and place in freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours (ice cream will be soft) or overnight (for firmer sandwiches). Can be stored in the freezer up to 1 month.

Servings: 10
Prep time: 40 minutes
Bake/Cook time: 25 minutes

Calories: 422
Fat: 37g
Protein: 7g
Total Carbohydrates: 20g
Fiber: 5g
Net Carbs: 15g

The Real COOKIE DIET Doctor Exonerated, Shares Samples Of Famous Weight Loss Cookies

Over a half million people have gone on the COOKIE DIET™ to lose weight

You've probably seen the ads like the one above while you have been surfing around the Internet about this new diet plan that claims you can eat cookies to lose weight. It's called the Dr. Sanford Siegal's COOKIE DIET™ and it has seen phenomenal early success in a national marketing campaign that has far exceeded the expectations of most market analysts within the diet industry.

Actually, I first blogged about the COOKIE DIET™ two years ago when this rather unique weight loss plan caught my attention for the first time. My initial reaction was one of incredulity that a diet based on cookies could be any help at all to those seeking to lose weight and get healthy.

My biggest concern was the fact that people had no idea what was in these mysterious cookies that were supposed to be "nutritious, filling, hunger-suppressing." That bothered me along with several other questions at the time. So I decided to contact Siegal Weight Management for myself to get the answers I was looking for.

Unfortunately, the response was quite cold from a man purporting to be the COOKIE DIET™ doctor named Dr. Scott Greenburg. He gave me the most apathetic and cranky responses to my concerns accusing me of spreading "misinformation" about HIS diet citing seven "facts" where he felt I got it wrong about his program.

Again, I was simply asking him to answer some simple questions, but he instead chose to evade my quest for information about the ingredients in the cookies, the sugar content, total carbohydrates, protein, and fiber, etc. His snotty response was that "anyone who calls our office can have access" to this information.

So I needed to call him rather than e-mail him, eh? This dude is a real piece of work! The telling sign to me that he was trying to hide something was when I asked for a sample of the cookies to tell my blog readers about how they taste.

"We do not mail samples of cookies for you to taste," Dr. Greenberg declared.

I was left perplexed and confused about why this man trying to promote a diet based on cookies would be so belligerent towards someone like me who simply had a few legitimate questions and concerns about this unorthodox diet plan. At that point, I totally dropped it and moved on.

But then a couple of months ago, I received correspondence from Matthew Siegal, President and CEO of Dr. Siegal's Direct Nutritionals, LLC who wanted to apologize for the way his company was represented to me back in 2005.

"Dr. Scott Greenberg is not the "Cookie Diet Doctor," Siegal explained. "Dr. Greenberg had nothing to do with the creation of the Cookie Diet; he was merely an employee of a former sub-franchisee (called Smart For Life) of Dr. Sanford Siegal who created the Cookie Diet in 1975."

Siegal went on to explain that the business relationship with this former franchisee had ended in 2006, although the REAL Cookie Diet Doctor had to take the matter to court to have them stop using his trademarked names. A federal court recently ruled in Dr. Sanford Siegal's favor and completely exonerated his good name in the process.

Additionally, Siegal was kind enough to send me some samples of his cookies to try for myself and examine the nutritional content as I had originally requested in 2005. In other words, there was nothing but respect for my request and I appreciated the gesture since I merely wanted the truth to be shared about these cookies.

For the record, I have now tried these cookies in the COOKIE DIET™and read the full list of ingredients and nutritional label. Although they are indeed very delicious (especially the banana--LOVED 'EM!), moist, and hunger-satisfying cookies, I cannot recommend these to people who are losing weight on livin' la vida low-carb because the carb counts are much too high.

Here are the ingredients as found on the package of oatmeal raisin cookies:

WATER, GLYCERIN, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, CRISP RICE (RICE, SUGAR, SALT, MALT), OATS, SOYBEAN OIL, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, RAISINS, MILK PROTEIN, VINEGAR, MODIFIED PALM OIL, BROWN SUGAR, BEEF PROTEIN HYDROLYSATE, EGG WHITE SOLIDS, WHEY, CANE SUGAR, WHEAT FLOUR, LEAVENING (SODIUM BICARBONATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, CORNSTARCH, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM SULFATE), WHEAT BRAN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SALT, CINNAMON, NUTMEG, FD & C YELLOW #5, CALCIUM PROPIONATE (PRESERVATIVE).
ALLERGY WARNING: CONTAINS MILK, EGGS, SOY, AND WHEAT.

As for the nutritional label, here's the pertinent information:

Serving Size: 1 cookie (24g)
Servings Per Container: 6 cookies
Calories: 90
Total Fat: 2.5g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 150mg
Total Carbohydrate: 11g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 5g

I was a bit surprised at how low the fiber and protein in these cookies were since they are supposed to ward off hunger. There are many other sugar-free products out there with much higher protein and fiber to keep you satisfied for hours.

There was also a sample daily diet menu on the packaging to follow:

Consult your doctor before starting any diet. Your doctor may have reasons why you should not be on a diet, or why one diet may be more appropriate for you than another. Under his or her direction only, follow these or alternative steps as directed by your doctor:

1. Eat six Dr. Siegal's COOKIE DIET™ cookies a day, not at fixed times but when needed to control hunger. Have one cookie and a glass of water and wait fifteen minutes. If still hungry, eat a second cookie. You should not need a third.

2. In addition to six cookies (which provide about 500 calories), eat one reasonable dinner containing about 900 calories (or a different amount as directed by your doctor).

3. To maintain flavor, this product is not fortified with vitamins or minerals. IMPORTANT: You must take a multivitamin as prescribed by your doctor while using this product as part of a calorie-restricted diet.

4. Drink about two quarts (8 glasses) of water or diet beverages every day.

So, it looks like this COOKIE DIET™ is in essence a low-calorie, portion-control diet. If a low-carber were to follow this diet and count the net carbs in just six of these cookies, that would quickly add up to 54g with just the cookies. That many carbs will kick you out of ketosis and the principles of low-carb living will not be in effect.

You may or may not lose weight this way, but I sure wouldn't want to just have cookies for the rest of my life for breakfast, lunch, and snack. However, I don't see having one or two of these in low-carb maintenance every once in a while as a bad thing if you prefer not to eat high-sugar or artificially-sweetened cookies.

I'd like to publicly thank Matthew Siegal for his generosity in allowing me to review his company's products openly and honestly. He was a true gentleman and should not be judged based on the actions of those who previously misrepresented his company in the past. I for one have a greater respect for this company today although I do not subscribe to the COOKIE DIET™ itself.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Sanford Siegal's COOKIE DIET™ and think it might work for you, then visit their web site and check it out for yourself.

Girl Scouts Finally Have A Sugar-Free Cookie

Now the Girl Scouts offer a sugar-free cookie called Little Brownies

Give yourself a big pat on the back because I think we may have had an influence with the decision makers at the Girl Scouts after something I blogged about last year. Long-term readers will remember this blog post I wrote in January 2006 about Girl Scout cookies and how they were teaching little girls that it's okay to push a product that is loaded with sugar and excessive carbohydrates.

I said a few more things in that post that stirred the pot a bit, but the basic theme of my column was about encouraging them to come up with a sugar-free cookie for diabetics and people on a low-carb diet to enjoy since we can't or don't want sugar in our food.

Last year they heralded the fact that they removed the trans fats from their cookies (which I applaud them for doing), but I asked them to take their initiative to make healthier cookie offerings one step further by removing the sugar.

Here's what I suggested:

Why don't they offer some SUGAR-FREE versions? I was disappointed in the politician-like answer provided by the Girl Scouts organization regarding concerns that both diabetics and low-carb supporters have with their cookies:

"The ingredients and nutritional elements of all cookies are listed on the order forms and the side of the cookie box so those concerned about carbohydrates can make informed choices. For more information, check the bakers' Web sites."

I did that and it wasn't a pretty story. As we have already seen from the carbohydrate totals, you're pretty much out of luck when it comes to eating Girl Scout cookies if you are staying committed to livin' la vida low-carb. This clear lack of concern by the Girl Scouts disturbs me and it should you as well.

That's why I urged my readers at the time to e-mail the Girl Scouts directly with their concerns regarding the absence of any kind of Girl Scout cookie for diabetics and low-carbers and to encourage them to make a sugar-free cookie available next year.

Apparently, they listened to us! :)

Here's a statement released about the demand for sugar-free cookies:

"In response to consumer requests received received by the hundreds of thousands of Girl Scouts who visit with consumers each year during Girl Scout Cookie Season, we have worked diligently to produce great-tasting brownie treats while eliminating the sugar content."

YEAH! WOO HOO! Party time! Can you tell I'm excited?! :)


Little Brownies are the first sugar-free Girl Scout cookie

To meet the demand of sugar-free consumers, including diabetics and low-carbers, the Girl Scouts commissioned one of their vendors Louisville, KY-based cookie manufacturer Little Brownie Bakers to come up with a delicious, bite-sized chocolate cookie without the sugar. The result was a brand new sugar-free cookie called Little Brownies.

I came across these cookies just yesterday when the local Girl Scouts troop were parked directly in front of my local grocery store selling away to the people passing by. When the cute little energetic girl asked me if I would like to buy a box of cookies, I responded, "Do you have any that are sugar-free?" She surprised me when she enthusiastically retorted, "Yep, we sure do!"

This took me back a little since I hadn't heard that they made a sugar-free cookie beforehand, so I asked the adult who was with her if she knew what the cookies were sweetened with and if they tasted good or not. She didn't know about the sweeteners, but she let me look at the box with the ingredients list. Also, they were also very curious about how they tasted and opened up a package to try. I was offered one to try for myself.

When I first bit into it, I was bracing myself for that disappointing "wang" you get when you eat something low-quality that is sugar-free (generally made with inferior ingredients). But, to my delight, these "brownies" were remarkably tasty and actually resembled a real cookie, but without the sugar. WHOA!

Don't let the name Little Brownies fool you, though. They're not soft and chewy like a brownie would be. But these are still minature cookies that had flavorful little chocolate chips in them, too! If you have a hankering for something chocolately and sweet, then this would certainly be your fix.

As I was licking my tongue around in my teeth enjoying this new sugar-free Girl Scouts cookie, I continued reading the label. A serving size of 4 Little Brownies gives you 130 calories, 8g fat (4.5g of saturated fat), 2g protein, and 18g total carbohydrates. Of course, although there is no sugar in these cookies, they do have some sugar alcohols and fiber in them. There are 4g sugar alcohols and 1g fiber for a net carb count of 13g.

This is not a completely terrible option for people who are livin' la vida low-carb at a little more than 3g net carbs per cookie (but you wouldn't want to eat more than 1-2 of these if you are in the earlier stages of your low-carb weight loss plan). I'd still prefer to see them try to get rid of the flour as the #1 ingredient to make them even lower in carbs and still taste just as delicious. There are ways to do that, but this is a VERY good start on their part! KUDOS!

What about the sugar alcohols, you ask? Well, with only 4g for 4 cookies, that's just 1g sugar alcohol per cookie. Unless you down the whole box at one time (which is quite possible if you aren't careful because they taste so good!), you should be okay. For those of you who are wondering, the Little Brownies include a blended mixture of a little bit of all the popular sugar alternatives: polydextrose, maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, ACE-K, and Splenda. There is no aspartame in these cookies (Thank God!).

Incidentally, that listing of sweeteners is in order of most to least--sucralose (Splenda) was dead last as usual. But don't you know they heralded the fact that it is "sweetened with Splenda." No, it's actually MORE sweetened with everything else. Nevertheless, for all intents and purposes this cookie has not been a problem for me even after having 4 at one time. That's my personal limit despite the temptation to eat more than that.

Each 5.5-ounce box of Little Brownies sugar-free Girl Scout cookies contains around 22 cookies and they are designed specifically for people with diabetes and who are watching their sugar intake. Just be sure to stay within the portion size and you should be fine whether you are a low-carber or diabetic. Ask your healthcare professional if you have any specific concerns about eating this product.

By the way, here's the complete ingredients listing:

Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B12], folic acid), vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean, cottonseed and/or palm oils; coconut oil; TBHQ and citric acid to preserve freshness), semisweet chocolate (maltitol, chocolate [processed with alkali], cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural flavor), polydextrose, cocoa, maltitol, sorbitol, contains two percent or less of isomalt, gum arabic, natural and artificial flavor, maltodextrin, cocoa processed with alkali, malted barley flour, whey (milk), salt, chocolate, caramel color, leavening (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda), soy lecithin, modified corn starch, acesulfame potassium (ACE-K), sucralose (Splenda).

Has anyone else tried these new sugar-free Little Brownies from the Girl Scouts yet? If you did, then what did YOU think about them? I'm really interested in your feedback, questions, and concerns so please leave a comment.

Maybe you want to share a compliment with the Girl Scouts about their new cookie offering for diabetics and low-carbers this year. It's a bold move on their part considering virtually every food company in the United States is completely ignoring the diabetic and low-carb market of consumers right now. I highly encourage you to let the Girl Scouts organization know how much we appreciate their efforts to cater to our desire to enjoy cookies without the sugar.

E-mail them and let 'em know what you think!

3-5-07 UPDATE: A registered nurse was concerned about what she believed was my endorsement of these Girl Scout cookies in an e-mail to me today.

Hi Jimmy!

I applaud your weight loss efforts and your success in doing so. However, I am very concerned about your excitement about Girl Scout Cookies having aspartame and artificial anything in it!

I feel that Americans would be much better off eating "real food" instead of all this additive-laden junk that is so widely advertised. I am also very concerned about children ingesting all of these chemicals.

I hope that you find it in your heart to start researching these chemical additives before you applaud them. And don't just take the company's word for it either.

I was a huge Diet Coke drinker and now know that I was terribly addicted to it! This was 3 years ago right before being diagnosed with CNS lupus. Aspartame is a neuroexitotoxin and just isn't a good thing for any living creature.

I hope that you think long and hard before you applaud such efforts of businesses who are only making money off of poisoning the population. This is why studies have been suppressed as they have. Too much money is being made in the sweetener industry.

I wish you the best, Jimmy!

THANKS so much for your e-mail and expressing your concerns about my apparent "excitement" over the new sugar-free Girl Scout cookies. But I think you were mistaken to think I was endorsing this prouduct.

I could not agree MORE with your assessment about aspartame. It is something I have hit hard and hit often in my writings and I STRONGLY urge my readers to avoid it at all costs.

Sure, I still support Splenda, but I am vehemently opposed to sugar alcohols like maltitol as well as NASTY-tame. My column was more an applause to the Girl Scouts and their cookie manufacturer for moving in a POSITIVE direction. Sure, it would be great to have the kids eating more whole foods, but the reality is they're not gonna do it overnight.

I'm a big believer in incrementalism, so sugar-free, low-carb options to popular foods like Girl Scout cookies is what truly excites me because we can get them to start thinking about eating healthier and healthier. It's a lesson I wish I had learned when I was their age.

Again, THANK YOU for sharing your comments! I'm right there in agreement with you. :)

Dixie Diner Creates Low-Carb 'Good Cookies'

Dixie Diner now has ready-to-eat low-carb cookies

One of the hottest line of low-carb products in 2007 are from Dixie Diner. This company has firmly established itself as a leader in the low-carb industry by providing healthy and delicious low-carb foods for your dining pleasure. In fact, if you haven't taken advantage of their recipe contest where you can win $1,000 cash yet, then click here to learn all the details about it!

I'd like to introduce you to the brand new ready-to-eat low-carb cookies that Dixie Diner has introduced to the market this year. I had the opportunity to try these cookies for myself this week and I wasn't expecting them to taste much better than flavored cardboard. It's nothing against Dixie Diner, but most packaged low-carb products are just plain disgusting.

But not the Dixie Carb Counters Everyday Gourmet Good Cookies which contain only 2g net carbs per cookie. They come packaged with three mouthwatering and surprisingly soft treats that are gluten-free with no sugar alcohols or polydextrose and are all-natural.

Featuring four rather unique flavors, including Cinnamon Apple, Island Lime, Orange Ginger Chocolate, and Peanut Butter, you won't be able to resist these delicious and nutritious cookies made from wholesome low-carb ingredients, such as almonds, egg whites, whey protein, coconut oil, real fruit, and so much more.

There are no fillers or junk in these cookies which are sweetened naturally. When I didn't see Splenda or ACE-K in the ingredients list on these cookies, I was bracing for them to taste terrible. But nothing could have been further from the truth. They were really awesome and I will certainly buy these again and again.

If I was disappointed with anything about these cookies, it would be the fact that they didn't have a chocolate chip (my favorite!) or white chocolate macadamia nut flavor. Perhaps if these sell well, they will consider other flavors like these.


Dixie Carb Counters brand also makes low-carb cookie mixes

However, if you like getting in the kitchen and baking up your own fresh, hot cookies, then Dixie Diner also makes outstanding low-carb cookie mixes in various flavors, including Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Coconut Macaroon, and Ginger.

So go ahead and give these Dixie Carb Counters Everyday Gourmet Good Cookies and the mixes a try for yourself!

'The Cookie Diet' Doctor Avoids Answering Questions About Weight Loss Program

After posting my previous blog entry entitled "Don't Lose Your Cookies With This Mystery Diet," I sent a link to it to the Siegal Medical Weight Management e-mail address. I received a message back within an hour stating that they were having trouble accessing my blog (how hard is it to type in livinlavidalowcarb.com in a web browser?!) and that they "would like to make sure that (my) description of (their) program is accurate."

"We are more than just a cookie," proclaimed Dr. Scott Greenberg. He suggested people visit his web site for more information, which I provided in my original e-mail.

But I again sent an e-mail to Dr. Greenberg asking him to respond to my specific questions about "The Cookie Diet." I believe they were very legitimate questions to ask so that prospective patients know what they are getting themselves into.

Dr. Greenberg sent back a scathing e-mail rebuking me for publishing "misinformation" about "The Cookie Diet."

"I will open and say that you should do more research on a program before posting misinformation on your website. It is not professional to make assumptions about the Siegal Medical Weight Management program without a thorough investigation of the facts."

What "misinformation" are you referring to, Dr. Greenberg? I passed no judgment on "The Cookie Diet" except to say that I have some real questions about it before I can comment on it fully. That was one of the reasons why I sent the questions to you so the answers could be revealed and we could all learn more about this interesting diet.

But then Dr. Greenberg went on to list 7 "fact" statements about his philosophy on weight loss and dieting as if to lecture me on something I must not know anything about. Let's deal with each of these "facts" one-by-one:

"Fact #1: This program has been used to treat more than 600,000 patients over 35 years. The longest patient has been followed consecutively for 27 years and has maintained her weight loss."

I never said people didn't lose weight on "The Cookie Diet," Dr. Greenberg. It is not necessary to get all defensive about your method for helping people lose weight. I'm happy for those 600,000 patients since 1970 who have found success eating cookies to control their weight. More power to them and may God bless them with many years of healthy living. That's my goal for anyone who is overweight or obese, no matter which plan they use to get there.

"Fact #2: The 'Atkins' and other low-carb approaches do not teach portion control nor help the patient learn to eat for hunger. Many low-carb diets actually teach the patient that they can eat large quantities of low-carb food and not gain weight. This is why many people will rapidly regain the weight lost on these programs. The Siegal cookie teaches the patient a healthy behavior of eating for HUNGER, and recognizing what it feels like to be satisfied. As you know, many people who gain weight do so for emotions, stress, PMS, or depression and eat at times when they are not hungry."

Now we're getting somewhere. Dr. Greenberg hates livin' la vida low-carb plain and simple. This is not surprising considering he has been indoctrinated in the philosophy that low-fat/low-calorie/portion-controlled eating is the ONLY way to lasting weight loss and weight maintenance. Guess what, Dr. Greenberg? I don't have to portion control my meals on the low-carb lifestyle. I can eat as much or as little as I desire. It's that kind of freedom to eat while STILL losing weight that makes livin' la vida low-carb so attractive to so many people.

His philosophy is like the people who wrote this book and they think everyone should have to suffer with eating tiny little meals until they get so hungry they just give up trying to lose weight entirely. This is not good. The only reason peopl would "rapidly" gain weight following low-carb is if they stop monitoring their carbohydrate intake. As long as you stay on the program, it is very effective at keeping your weight under control. I couldn't have lost 180 pounds and kept it off this long if it didn't work, Dr. Greenberg!

"Fact #3: Our patients lose 12-15 pounds per month. Those that do not are MEDICALLY evaluated for metabolic conditions and are then appropriately treated. We have many patients, especially women, who cannot lose weight on any other program, but do so on ours after appropriate medical treatment."

Again, I am happy for the success people have had on "The Cookie Diet" and I wish those who try it the very best at losing and keeping their weight off for good. But the same can be said about livin' la vida low-carb. People have success on it when it becomes their lifestyle change. If something can be implemented as a permanent way to eat for the rest of your life, then I encourage people to do that. For me it was the low-carb lifestyle and for others it may be "The Cookie Diet." But people need to find SOME way to make it happen for themselves.

"Fact #4: We do not publish the ingredient list on our website, but it is furnished in the office for anyone to see. Crest toothpaste or Coca Cola do not list ingredients on their sites. Anyone who calls our office can have access to the list of ingredients, amount of protein, fiber, etc.... Generally speaking our cookies have 80 calories each, and have a specific blend of proteins and amino acids that naturally suppress the appetite. While the cookies are 80 calories, they have a satiety index of 240 calories. IE they make you feel as full as a 240 calorie meal. Coke, on the other hand, has 220 calories, but a satiety of only 80 calories."

Why so secretive about the ingredients, Dr. Greenberg? If you are not ashamed of these miracle weight loss cookies, then why don't you post what's in them on your web site. The Crest and Coke examples are straw man arguments because you can find these in your local store and read the ingredients for yourself. But not with the cookies in "The Cookie Diet." You have to call or sign up for the program before you are even allowed to know the nutritional information. Isn't it funny how I asked in my previous post about the fiber, sugar and carbohydrate content of these cookies and Dr. Greenberg simply avoided answering my simple questions about his product? Sure he tells me they have 80 calories (I don't care about calories) and they are high on the satiety index (again, didn't ask about that). What does he have to hide by not being forthcoming about the nutritional content of these cookies? Inquiring minds want to know.

"Fact #5: A boring diet: This program has its advantage as being simple. Our patients do not weigh food, count points, or have to plan numerous meals. They eat their 6 cookies throughout the day and eat a dinner of a protein (chicken, fish, turkey, lean meat, etc...) and vegetables. If you look at major weight loss studies published from places such as Harvard and Yale, patients need to lose weight rapidly to stay committed. When someone is losing 12-15 pounds per month, feeling better, looking better, and seeing parameters of health such as blood pressure and cholesterol improve, they are hardly bored. The dropout rate of our program is under 10%, and virtually all of our new patients come from word of mouth referral."

While "The Cookie Diet" may be simple because the cookies are ready to eat every single day, I still think having to scarf down six cookies a day, every single day, every single week, every single month, for every single year will DEFINITELY get boring. And they think the Atkins diet is boring! Yikes, I'd be pulling my hair out if all I could eat were these mystery cookies day after day. For a great way to "lose weight rapidly," I highly recommend livin' la vida low-carb which delivers on this point. I lost 30 pounds the first month and 40 MORE pounds in the second month. It was an unbelieveable feeling to see the weight coming off that quickly and motivated me to eventually reach 180 pounds lost. I was not bored doing this despite the naysayers. If people can stick with "The Cookie Diet" and allow their weight loss success to excite them enough to continue on with it, then more power to them. Who am I to stand in their way?

"Fact #6: The doctor supervision is not a 'gimmick.' Your statement is highly insulting, and we have dedicated professionals trained to treat obesity, a medical condition. If doctors were not needed for weight loss, then the average loss of the typical commercial programs would be far greater. A recent JAMA article compared the Zone, Atkins, Weight Watchers, and Ornish, and the average weight loss after a year was about 6 pounds."

Well, I still think "The Cookie Diet" is indeed a "gimmick" because it makes people think they can eat cookies and lose weight which is only partially true. If you are insulted by this assertion, then you really should get thicker skin. In the debate over weight loss methods and nutrition, low-carbers know what it is like to be ridiculed for our lifestyle choice. It just comes with the territory. Dr. Greenberg should expect the same or even worse scrutiny with "The Cookie Diet."

As for needing doctors, I agree they can assist their patients in weight loss. Mine even converted from being opposed to low-carb before I started my weight loss and has now become a full-fledged believer BECAUSE of my weight loss success. As for the JAMA article about weight loss on various diet plans, I sincerely doubt someone who stayed committed to the Atkins program wholeheartedly for a full year would only lose 6 pounds. I'm not buying it, Dr. Greenberg and neither are my readers.

"Fact #7: The taste of the cookies is fine.... our shakes are good too. We do not mail samples of cookies for you to taste, we run a medical program, and patients get to taste the cookies during their initial visit. If anyone is still skeptical, we offer free consultation."

Am I supposed to take your word that "the taste of the cookies is fine?" I must ask again, why is Dr. Greenberg avoiding answering the questions that have been posed to him? If he believes so strongly in "The Cookie Diet" as the cure to end weight loss forever, why is he afraid to have an object third-party give honest feedback about how the cookies taste? What the heck does a "free consultation" have to do with how the cookies taste? Are these questions I asked of Dr. Greenberg that difficult to answer?

Dr. Greenberg concluded his e-mail by characterizing "The Cookie Diet" as "the most successful, longest established, medically supervised" weight loss and weight maintenance program available today.

"Please do more research on the facts before publishing misinformation," he wrote.

I think I have made it very clear that I did not miss any of the facts. But I still have a lot of questions that were left unanswered. What are the ingredients? What is the nutritional content of these cookies? Do they have sugar or sugar alternatives in them? How can we know these cookies actually taste good if you are unwilling to let people try them who do not want to commit to your program? How much do the cookies cost?

None of these questions were answered by Dr. Greenberg because he is apparently afraid his honest answers to these questions would prevent people from trying "The Cookie Diet" for themselves. Here's a grand opportunity for him to market his program to the public and he's not interested in sharing these "facts" with them. This is very telling if you ask me!

Dr. Greenberg got in one parting shot about my personal weight loss by stating "it takes 2 years to reset the brain's set point for weight."

I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean, but I guess he is assuming I haven't made it with my own weight loss yet. And I have admitted that many times. I do not think I have accomplished anything until I can keep my weight off for at least three years. That means I need to make it until January 1, 2008, which will be the 3-year anniversary of my 180-pound weight loss. But that doesn't mean I don't have a right to pen my thoughts on the subject of weight loss until then.

"The Cookie Diet" may sound like an innovative way to lose weight, but these nagging questions I guess will continue to go unanswered because Dr. Greenberg doesn't deem them relevant for people to know. What is it about the cookies in this program that Dr. Greenberg is keeping from the public? I guess we'll never know.

8-6-07 UPDATE: A VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE to this story has taken place, so please click here to read all about it.

Don't Lose Your Cookies With This Mystery Diet

Can eating six cookies a day really keep the weight away?

The strange and crazy ways people use to lose weight never ceases to amaze me in this day and age of professional dieting. Everybody has their own theory about what the best way to lose weight is, myself included. But how many people do you know are trying "The Cookie Diet."

I am not kidding you! There is actually a diet out there claiming it will help you lose weight by eating their cookies. It was developed by the Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Siegal Medical Weight Management to give participants a way to "lose 12-15 pounds per month," according to the front page of their web site.

In fact, this story about a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania man who lost 120 pounds by eating six "nutritious, filling, hunger-suppressing cookies per day" on "The Cookie Diet." Then he would eat a "sensible dinner" at the end of the day.

Am I the only one who has some lingering questions about this "diet" plan? In my attempt to research the ingredients in these so-called "nutritious, filling, hunger-suppressing cookies," I was unable to find any information about it. NOTHING! How much fiber is in these cookies? Do they contain sugar and if not what sugar alternatives are used? Most importantly for someone who is livin' la vida low-carb, what is the carbohydrate content of these cookies? It greatly concerns me that this information is concealed from the public because there's no telling what they're putting in these cookies to make you lose weight.

Plus, talk about a boring diet, this one takes the cookie (LOL!). People always complain to me how boring Atkins and other low-carb programs are. But having to eat cookies day after day after day for the rest of your life to manage your weight does not sound enjoyable at all. Sure, getting to eat cookies will be novel for a few days, but you will begin to hate those cookies in very short order. I'd love to know the dropout rate of "The Cookie Diet."

Then, what is a "sensible dinner?" Is that low-fat? Low-calorie? Portion-controlled? Or perhaps even low-carb? Nobody knows because again there is nothing about it on the web site. The silence is deafening! Are people just supposed to trust Dr. Siegal and his staff?

And what about the taste of these cookies? Sure, the flavors are oatmeal, chocolate, and coconut, but do they taste good? If you can't tolerate cookies, then what about the soup or shakes they offer? Are they going to deliver on the all-important issue of taste? The unanswered questions greatly concern me as someone interested in seeing people get their weight under control.

While participants in "The Cookie Diet" are "medically supervised" with periodic counseling, examinations, and blood tests, I cannot help but think it is just a gimmick to get people to buy these cookies which, by the way, do not have a price tag on them. How much am I going to be shelling out for these magic diet cookies? They come in containers of six for a day's serving, but at what cost? Sure if they can help you lose weight and keep it off it shouldn't matter what the cost is, but not printing that information on your web site makes me very skeptical.

There are just too many unanswered questions about "The Cookie Diet" for me to give an objective opinion about them. Perhaps if some of my questions could be answered and/or if I could personally try these cookies for myself I could give you more feedback about them. I will contact Siegal Weight Management to see if they would be willing to provide this information to me.

You can contact them yourself by sending an e-mail to siegalcookiediet@aol.com. Let me know if you get a response from them.

8-6-07 UPDATE: A VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE to this story has taken place, so please click here to read all about it.