Half-Baked Cookie: Weight Destroyer

It sounds like a dieter's food fantasy come true: eat cookies all day long and watch the pounds melt off.

But while Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet may result in quick weight loss, it's nutritionally unsound and can even result in weight gain, experts say.

The 1,000-calorie a day regimen, which celebs like Jennifer Hudson, Denise Richards and Kelly Clarkson have reportedly tried, according to ABC News.com, is scarily low in fresh produce, nutritionists say.

Cookie Diet followers drink water and eat six specially developed 90-calorie cookies a day, followed by a 500-calorie dinner of lean protein and vegetables. Many report great success.

Josie Raper told "Good Morning America" that she went from a size 24 to a size 6 in six months, following his plan.

"When I started the Cookie Diet, there was no splurging or sneaking little snacks," the Phoenix woman told "Good Morning America."

I was very strict and, to make sure that I could stay on the diet, I started the Monday of Thanksgiving so I got through every single holiday without snacking or caving in to my cravings."

Raper has reportedly been on the Cookie Diet for two years, and hasn't regained the weight.

(She's a size zero and doesn't need her fat pants, she told ABC News.com.).

Weight loss experts say the Cookie Diet's basic flaw is that it does not help dieters to retrain their eating habits.

"If you lose weight through diet and exercise alone and don't change anything else in your life, you are probably going to gain the weight back," says registered dietitian Anne Fletcher, author of "Thin for Life" and "Weight Loss Confidential."

"When you don't deal with the underlying reasons for why you're overeating, you're definitely more likely to gain weight."

The diet also worries Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Program at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, because it lacks good nutrition, according to ABCNews.com.

"I am concerned that if someone were to follow this over the long term, there are many different nutrients that they would be missing that you would normally get by eating regular food," he told "Good Morning America."

Cookie consumption as a weight-loss strategy is just another fad diet, says Dr. Stuart Fischer, who wrote "The Park Avenue Diet."

"Every study shows that when people change foods only and rely on that to lose weight, they have a 95% failure rate. This diet relies on sweets but to lose weight you need to forget what sweet tastes like. When you lose your sweet tooth, you are about a quarter of the way toward success."

Dr. Sanford Siegal developed the cookie diet in 1975 as a way to treat obese patients. He told ABC News he has treated more than half a million patients with the diet and that there is less risk of obesity in the very low-calorie diet. .

"I have yet to see the first case where anyone suffered any ill effect from eating a low-calorie diet," he told ABC News.

"It just doesn't exist." But Fischer says the diet is so low in calories that followers won't have the energy to exercise, which he says is important for heart health. And, he says, staying on a cookie-heavy diet results in a rebound phenomenon.

"The body goes into a starvation state," Fischer explains. "And it holds onto every morsel and calorie until the person's weight goes higher than it was before."

Wrestling Legend Dies

There's a scene in the film "The Wrestler" where Mickey Rourke's character, Randy "The Ram" Robinson, cuts his forehead during a wrestling match to ramp up the gory effects.

George Albano drew parallels to the film Wednesday, recalling how his iconic older brother, Louis Albano, cut his head with a razor hundreds of times to earn a "few extra bucks" as a professional wrestler.

"He loved wrestling, but it was the most abusive profession you could imagine," said George Albano, principal at Lincoln Elementary School in Mount Vernon. "It's a hard way to make a living."

But for all of "Captain Lou" Albano's showmanship - his signature long beard, rubber band piercings and screaming rants on TV - his brother remembered Wednesday a devout man who carried rosary beads in his pocket and drove extra slow for the sake of children.

"I remember the kinder and gentler side of him," he said. "My dad died when I was 13, so Lou became my second father. He was someone who would never, never not help someone."

Albano died at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday in his Carmel home surrounded by his wife of 56 years, Geraldine, and his family. He was 76.

He suffered a series of health ailments over the years, including heart valve replacement and more recently a stroke following hip replacement surgery, his son, Louis Albano said.

"A lot of his complications were from wrestling," his son said.

Albano began his wrestling career in 1953 and rose to international fame, mostly as a manager, with the then-World Wrestling Federation, now called World Wrestling Entertainment.

He appeared in the first Wrestlemania at Madison Square Garden in 1985 and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996.

"World Wrestling Entertainment was saddened to learn of the passing of one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," a statement on the WWE Web site read.

In the 1980s, he paired with Cyndi Lauper, appearing in several of her videos, including "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "She Bop."

George Albano said the two met on a plane ride to Puerto Rico. They would work together to help bring professional wrestling to the mainstream, most notably with the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection," various events bridging wrestling with the music industry.

Albano and Lauper also traveled the country and raised millions of dollars for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation through the U.G.L.Y (Understanding, Generous, Lovable You!) Bartender Contest, said Albano's son, Louis. Albano was the chairman of the foundation and became involved in the cause after his sister-in-law's brother was diagnosed with the disease, said Louis Albano.

Albano would parlay his wrestling and pop culture fame into acting, appearing in several films and TV shows, including "Miami Vice" and Brian DePalma's "Wise Guys." He also served as the main character of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show."

"As successful as he was, he never changed," Louis Albano said. "He always wore his flip-flops and Hawaiian shirts. He kept us very grounded. He knew being regular was important."

For those who may have missed him in the ring, Albano could often be found on the small screen as a cable television pitchman promoting many local businesses in Putnam County.

In 2006, the Steven P. Driscoll Memorial Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police honored Albano with a lifetime achievement award for community service.

Lodge President James O'Neill said the event, a police versus fire department boxing match, included several worldwide boxing champions who were excited to meet Albano.

"He was very community oriented. Everyone was always so happy to see him," O'Neill said. "He had a very colorful life, and we felt that impact in Putnam County."

Albano was born in Rome and was the oldest of five children. His father, Carmen Albano, was a doctor and his mother, Eleanor, a concert pianist.

Albano grew up in Mount Vernon and attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, where he was in the first graduating class. He was offered 32 football scholarships and went to the University of Tennessee before enlisting in the U.S. Army.

Albano is survived by his wife, four children and 14 grandchildren.

A wake will be held at Balsamo-Cordovano Funeral Home from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, 15 Church St., Carmel. A funeral Mass will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. James the Apostle Church, 14 Gleneida Ave., Carmel. Interment will follow at Rosehill Memorial Park in Putnam Valley.

The family is asking that donations be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.