Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

After the "cookie diet" story aired on NBC10 on Tuesday night, I wrote an e-mail to Cherie Bank, who does the "HealthWatch" segments, and told her I felt it was irresponsible.

Here's my e-mail:

I thought it was a terrible idea to feature the so-called "cookie" diet on the Health Watch, making it seem like a viable weight loss plan. Although you did include feedback from one doctor, you failed to acknowledge that this "diet" is basically starvation. People who eat only 800 calories a day will not be losing just fat. They will also be losing essential muscle mass and impairing their health. It is irresponsible to run a positive story on this diet, which is akin to being anorexic. A much healthier diet, and nearly as effective, is the Weight Watchers diet. My friends who are on this diet have lost an average of 1 to 2 pounds a week, are eating a balanced diet and get enough nutrition and enough calories in a day to lose weight safely. Why don't you do a story on positive weight loss methods that won't harm the dieter?

Surprisingly, even though I'd clicked the box on their web form that said a response wasn't necessary, I did get a response from her, a very thorough one, at that. Here's what she wrote:

Dear Alyce,

This "cookie" diet is part of Seigal Weight Management, a diet that's been around for 30 years. Everyone on it is given a complete medical exam followed by monthly exams and there have been no reports of serious medical problems.

Everything is run by M.D.'s and the cookies aren't Oreo's they are proteins and amino acids that suppress your appetite. This is not even a "very" low calorie diet. It's considered "low" calorie. So while I agree with you Weight Watcher's is the way to go, you've got to admit, The Cookie Diet is an intriguing subject. And maybe on second blush you will also admit, it is medically sound.. just not for you. (or me)

Thanks for writing Alyce.
Best Wishes,
Cherie Bank
NBC10 News

This e-mail did address some of my concerns about the diet, by emphasizing the fact that it is supervised by medical professionals. I still wondered, however, how many responsible doctors would put someone on such a severe diet unless that person was in desperate need of losing the weight for medical reasons. The women featured on this story looked like just normal women.

I wrote back to her, thanking her for her reply and telling her that since January 2000, I have lost nearly 70 pounds in a very unglamorous way, primarily by watching my intake and by increasing my exercise, and that recently I've participated in Weight Watchers and have been pleased with the results.

Further, I suggested that she do a follow-up story in a year and find out how well these women were doing. Of course, I know from having once been a reporter that you tend to get overwhelmed with the immediacy of breaking news and may forget to follow up on stories.

Surprisingly, in another very polite reply, Cherie Bank said that she will try to follow up on those women and thanked me for the tip. She said, "I can tell you were a good newspaper woman," since I'd mentioned that I had once been a newspaper reporter and therefore could understand why the story was intriguing.

And I can understand why the story interested a reporter. When something sounds too good to be true and yet leads to provable results, it is, indeed, worth a look. But I still think it would be good if health programs would do more to emphasize healthy ways to lose weight. We are bombarded with so many mixed messages in this culture. Just about everybody is unhappy with something about themselves, and they want a quick fix.

But more often than not, the quick fix is not permanent because it doesn't lead to lifestyle changes that will lead to long term health. Through Weight Watchers, for example, you learn to eat a variety of foods and to watch portion sizes. Because it's a flexible plan, you learn to read labels and make choices to balance out your intake so you can have an occasional treat. Such practices are essential to lifelong health.

Who knows? Perhaps my words will have an impact, and Cherie Bank will do more stories on healthy ways to get in shape. There's no quick fix to being healthy, but once you learn how to do it, that way of life becomes easier and easier until it's second nature.

More on this issue:

February 9, 2005 - Cookie Starvation

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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