When I tell people that a box of cookies led to the creation of The New Lean for Life, they often think I’m joking. But it’s true.
In 2012, one of our Lean for Life patients returned from a vacation in Paris with a gift for me—a box of gourmet dark chocolate European tea biscuits. One bite and I agreed with her that were incredibly delicious. But why, you might wonder, would someone who had reached her ideal lean weight on our program, bring me—the CEO of the nation’s largest medically supervised weight loss system—a box of cookies?
Let’s just say this was no ordinary box of cookies. They were Europe’s number-one brand of gourmet diet cookies, and not only were they just as delicious as she’d promised, they were also formulated based on groundbreaking findings from the world of brain and satiety science, incorporating special nutrients known to enhance satiety and reduce hunger without sacrificing taste. Basically, they were engineered to accelerate weight loss while allowing you to eat the foods you’ve come to love. To say I was intrigued would be an understatement.
I soon discovered that the cookies were the brainchild of Reginald Allouche, a French diabetes and weight loss specialist, one of the world’s foremost nutrition experts, and founder of KOT, the top brand of gourmet diet foods in Europe. I contacted Dr. Allouche, and when I learned he would soon be traveling in the United States, I invited him to visit our headquarters in Southern California.
When we met, I told him how much I enjoyed his products. He told me how much he enjoyed the original Lean for Life book, but suggested that after 17 years, the book was in serious need of an update. (I guess those references to “audio tapes” were a dead giveaway!) We quickly discovered that we share the same philosophy about healthy eating and how food can impact the body—for both good or bad. We also share a passion for getting that message out to as many people as possible.
The seed was planted and our relationship blossomed. Dr. Allouche and I eventually decided to collaborate. We spent months developing a new manuscript that incorporates the latest science-based strategies, Lindora’s 43 years of clinical experience, and Dr. Allouche’s research—as well as a touch of the French joie de vivre.
The end result? The New Lean for Life!