Many would-be weight losers are counting on it. As Abby Ellin is reporting in this week’s ThursdayStyles section, the cookie diet business is booming, endorsed by celebrities like Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson. The cookie diet plans consist of several cookies and one meal a day totaling 1,000 calories or less. Ms. Ellin writes:

The popularity of cookie diets is hardly surprising in this culture of quick fixes. Who wouldn’t want to exert the minimal effort to get long-lasting results? “The Cookie Diet is very appealing, because it legalizes a food — the cookie — that is banned from most weight-loss programs,” said Jenni Schaefer, author of “Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love With Life.” “The diet gives people a false sense of control, simplifying balanced nutrition into one food: the cookie.”

But what is really in those cookies? How much do they cost? And if you lose weight on the cookie diet, will the pounds stay off? To find those answers and more, read the full story — “A Few Cookies a Day to Keep the Pounds Away?” — and then join the discussion below. Have you tried the cookie diet?

We all know the best way to lose weight is stick to a healthy diet, work out, and eat in moderation, but that certainly doesn’t stop the public from trying the fads. As far as I’m concerned the best cookie diet is the one where you don’t eat them!