Envision a diet where you can snack on cookies all day long and still lose weight. There is a weight-loss program that calls for exactly that, but we’re not talking about Chips Ahoy or Pepperidge Farm cookies. Dr. Sanford Siegel, who runs the Siegel Medical Group, has created a diet on which patients consume six cookies made of amino acids and one low-calorie meal a day. Patients must first undergo a health screening which costs well over $200.  

The total calorie intake is just 800 per day, with 500 of those calories coming directly from the high-protein cookies. The protein in the diet cookies, which are made in Siegel’s bakery, acts as an appetite suppressant, staving off hunger. Some of the ingredients include whole-wheat flour, oats and rice. Dinner consists of a lean protein such as chicken or turkey and a salad.

By following the Cookie Diet, patients stand to lose an average of 15 pounds a month.
However, it’s not by cookies alone that followers lose. More than half of Siegel’s patients are prescribed appetite suppressants. An additional 25 percent are put on thyroid hormones to speed up metabolism. In addition, you’ll fork out $7 a day in cookie costs, along with a monthly fee of $125. 

An 800-calorie a day diet is hardly healthy. While you will lose weight, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to maintain such a loss or the eating habits it requires.