Advantages and Disadvantages of a Cookie Diet

Pros and Cons of Eating Diet Cookies to Lose Weight

Aug 18, 2009

Cookie diets are again popular as a quick way to lose weight, but is eating diet cookies a healthy weight loss diet? Find out the pros and cons of a cookie diet.

Adults who want to lose weight quickly may turn to meal replacement diets to meet their goal. One type of meal replacement plan making a comeback is the cookie diet. Although there are advantages to following a cookie diet, there are also disadvantages with this popular weight loss method.

How the Cookie Diet Works

The most well-known brands of cookie diets are the Smart for Life diet, the Hollywood Cookie Diet, and Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet, which is thought to be the earliest cookie diet created. These cookie diets vary in cookie ingredients and meal plans; however, the core of these plans is eating diet cookies as meal replacements.

Low in carbohydrates and calories, diet cookies are designed to replace breakfast and lunch and are said to help control appetite. Dieters eat 4 to 6 cookies per day and eat a “sensible” dinner of a lean protein and vegetables. Total calorie intake depends on which cookie diet plan is followed, but calories range between a total of 800 to 1,200 calories per day. While some cookie diets require medical supervision, others offer only online resources.

Since cookie diet plans are low-calorie and low-carbohydrate, most cookie dieters will lose weight. A loss of just 10 percent of one's body weight can result in better overall health, including lower cholesterol and blood pressure and reduced risk of developing certain diseases.

Instead of worrying about meal planning, cookie dieters have the convenience of just eating a cookie or two for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. In addition, the only decision that has to be made is what flavor of cookie to eat and what to have for dinner, so a cookie diet provides the structure and convenience that some dieters need in order to lose weight.

Some cookie diets provide medical supervision. Since the total calorie intake can be extremely low, having a doctor monitor progress is beneficial.

Disadvantages of Cookie Diets

Because some cookie diets restrict calories to 800 to 1,000 calories per day, dieters may feel deprived and become at risk of binge eating, and like any meal replacement plan, many dieters will regain weight after resuming regular eating habits. Another risk of so few calories is muscle loss.

Eating only cookies and one meal per day can become monotonous, which may lead to boredom and dieters falling off the program.

Eating so few foods throughout the day does not provide all of the recommended daily vitamins and minerals. Creators of these cookie diets suggest taking a multivitamin to make up for the lack of nutrients; however dieters may need to take a fiber supplement as well. The Institute of Medicine recommends 25 grams of fiber per day for women and 38 grams for men. The Smart for Life cookies, for example, contain just 1.5 grams of fiber per cookie. Four to six cookies per day would only provide 6 to 9 grams of fiber, and even with a cup of vegetables at dinner, dieters may only get 12 to 14 grams per day.

While cookie diets may offer quick weight loss, the disadvantages of eating diet cookies can outweigh the benefits. Those who wish to try a cookie diet plan should first seek out the advice of a physician or nutritionist.

The copyright of the article Advantages and Disadvantages of a Cookie Diet in Weight Loss Methods is owned by Jennifer Murray. Permission to republish Advantages and Disadvantages of a Cookie Diet in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.