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Scarsdale Diet was one of the most popular diets during the 1970s, which was based on the best-selling diet by the cardiologist Dr Herman Tarnower, which promised 20 pounds (9kg) of weight loss within 2 weeks. For its massive claims, extreme restrictions and "quick fix" ideology, it has met tremendous criticism from the medical community.
Though the Scarsdale diet seems very promising for its major claims on weight loss, we may wonder if this diet works, or whether it has negative effects on our health. In this article, we will try to find out about the benefits and downsides of the Scarsdale diet, so that you can come to a concrete conclusion before taking up the diet.
What is The Scarsdale Diet?
The Scarsdale diet came as a two-page diet sheet, created by the dietician Tarnower and published in his book "The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet" in 1979 to help patients lose weight and improve heart health.
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The diet allows the individual to consume around 1,000 calories every day, which should be 43% protein, 22.5% fat, and around 34.5% carbs, regardless of age, weight, sex, or amount of daily physical activity.
Since this is way less than an average person's daily calorie intake, the individual is allowed to drink water, or a cup of green tea if one feels hungry.
This diet completely forbids the consumption of snacks and even some healthy foods such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, avocados, beans, as well as lentils. Tarnower passed away one year after the publication of this book, hence the questions raised by health experts on its extreme restrictions were never answered.
The book too is no longer in publication for its promotion of eating patterns that can be injurious to health. But still, the main rules of this diet include eating a protein-rich diet, with the consumption of only 1,000 calories in a day, with a list of a limited variety of foods, to be eaten only to reduce hunger.
You must drink at least 950 mL of water per day, around 4 cups, and are allowed to enjoy black coffee, plain tea, or diet soda whenever necessary. Tranower allowed the program to be intended to last for 14 days and then should be transitioned to the Keep Slim program.
After the Scarsdale Diet, the Keep Slim diet allows one to eat the earlier banned foods such as bread (only 2 slices max per day), baked goods occasionally, and only one alcoholic beverage per day. This diet is slightly more flexible and allows the individual to slowly increase the calorie intake.
Scarsdale Diet: What To Eat And What To Avoid?
Since only a limited amount of calories is allowed to be consumed in this diet (only 1,000 calories), it becomes very necessary to monitor the amount of consumption and stick only to the approved foods.
What To Eat:
The foods that this diet allows us to eat are:
1) Fruits: Fruits are easily digested and are very low in calories. Grapefruit is a good option while other fruits include apples, grapes, blueberries, cantaloupes, lemon, lime, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, plums, starfruit, strawberries and watermelon.
2) Wheat and Grains: This diet prevents every kind of grains and cereals except for protein bread in measured quantity.
3) Eggs: Both yolks and egg whites are allowed to be consumed as per this diet, just it should be prepared plainly without any kind of oils, butter or other fats.
4) Meat, Poultry, and Fish: All kinds of lean meat, including lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, etc are allowed to be consumed while in the Scarsdale diet.
5) Nuts and Seeds: Only six walnuts are allowed to be consumed on occasion during this diet regime.
6) Herbs: Most kinds of seasonings, including herbs and spices are permitted to be consumed while being in this diet.
7) Dairy: Products with very low fat, cheese slices, and cotton cheese can be consumed.
8) Beverages: Beverages such as tea, water, and black coffee without sugar can be consumed as well as diet soda with zero calories.
Things To Avoid:
The Scarsdale diet involves a very strict diet regime, that involves eating less than 1000 calories in a day which is significantly lower than the necessary average human consumption. This diet strictly forbids a variety of foods, some including healthy ones such as sweet potatoes, avocados, beans, and lentils, while this diet plan doesn't mention specifically the reason why these foods are prohibited.
Full-fat dairy including fatty milk, yogurt and cheese should not be consumed. Foods made out of wheat and grain products, such as breakfast cereals, cookies, doughnuts, pancakes, pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and all flour-based products are prohibited.
Fast foods, frozen foods, highly processed meats, and junk foods are to be avoided along with fruit juices, sweets and desserts with additional sugar. Most of these foods that are prohibited are high in carbs and fats, which leads to additional weight gain.
Does the Scarsdale diet help in weight loss?
The Scarsdale diet mainly claims that it can help you lose 20 pounds (9 kg) in two weeks. It is because of the strict restrictions on foods that mainly consist of lean meats, eggs, low-fat dairy, green leafy vegetables, and some kinds of fruits. Also, the diet only permits the individual to consume only 1,000 calories in a day, which is very much below the recommended calorie intake for an adult.
This diet of eating with calorie deficiency results in weight loss, as you are consuming more calories than you consume. An average adult male is supposed to consume 2,000-3,000 calories in a day, while a woman should consume 1,600-2,400 calories in a day. While an individual is supposed to consume only 1,000 calories in a day, he is almost in a 1,000-2,000 deficit in calories.
To compensate for this drastic decrease in calories, the body begins to use its fat, muscle, and glycogen stores to produce energy. The body stores carbs in the form of glycogen, which mainly consists of large amounts of fats.
During the Scarsdale diet, as the body uses up glycogen and muscle stores, it consumes the carbs, releasing the water which results in a dramatic drop in body weight.
Additionally, this diet recommends that 43% of our daily calories come from protein. High protein is known to promote weight loss and muscle gain added up with structured exercises. Due to this, you will most supposedly see a noticeable amount of weight loss in your body. However, this massive drop in calorie intake in a short amount of time can have negative effects on health with extreme food restrictions, and you are likely to gain more weight once when you stop following the diet.
Though the Scarsdale diet can help you lose weight in a short period, however, medical experts say that sudden dietary restrictions and rapid weight loss are harmful to health. The Keep Slim maintenance program is comparatively safer and is slightly more flexible. However, one should consult a medical professional before going through such kind of extreme diet regime and it is always wise to decrease your calorie intake gradually over a while.
If you really want to lose weight, you should adopt a healthy lifestyle habit, that includes eating healthy foods, added up with regular exercise and stress management. This will help you to lose weight, tone your body, and improve your mental health while also keeping you away from all the negative health effects.
