Just Say No to Fad dieting!

(I am shocked this was considered a diet)

Fad Diet du Jour

By Mary_RD on Nov 03, 2009 12:00 PM in Dieting & You

At the risk of sounding unprofessional, I think fad diets are a hoot - in a cynical way. A book, a plan, a pill, a drink, whatever.... Fad diets provide (false) hope for a quick fix, not lasting change. They involve the complete suspension of normal life for as long as they last. Many are dangerous when extended, but who can make it past the first few days? And, what's more, they give people something to talk about. And so, without further ado, meet the Fad Diet du Jour.

The Cookie Diet

For two days in October, the Cookie Diet ranked in Google’s Top 20 Search Terms. (It even beat out the Balloon Boy.) For whatever reason, including a good PR team, Dr. Siegel, inventor of the Cookie Diet, appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America with Josie Raper, a woman who lost 120 pounds on The Cookie Diet was on the cover of People. And then next day, the Cookie Diet was mentioned in the New York Times. Suddenly, everybody had to have The Cookie Diet!

To follow The Cookie Diet, an individual eats six hulking, earthy cookies and one “real” meal a day. One cookie has 90 calories, and total daily calorie intake ends up being around 1000 - too low for good nutrition. The cookies are designed to control hunger and provide some missing nutrients (but not all). The diet guarantees a 10-pound loss in 30-days. And who doesn’t like to eat cookies?

But, really, would you think that cookies the answer to the problem of obesity? Fad diets take people further from, not closer to their lifelong goals. This might be a good time to review How to Spot a Fad Diet. If you answer YES to any of these questions, assume you have spotted a fad:

• Does the diet emphasize a fast weight loss instead of realistic expectations?
• Does the diet prescribe specific food combinations, rigid menus or limiting food choices?
• Does the diet promise success for everyone instead of tailoring the program to individual needs?
• Does the diet rely heavily on meal substitutes or miracle foods?
• Does the diet say you don't have to exercise or make lifestyle changes?
• Does the diet make indiscriminate use of supplements?
• Does the diet author or provider have dubious credentials?
• Does the diet have bizarre quantities?

Unfortunately, The Cookie Diet failed. But then, The Cookie Diet has already fallen off the radar screen. Healthy cookies are fine - just not six a day, everyday.