The Scarsdale Medical Diet is a strict one, but if you follow it exactly, then you’ll get weight loss results like never before! And the good thing about it, is that it’s only for 28 days, so as long as you can make it through two weeks of difficult dieting and then two more weeks of less difficult dieting, then you’ll be able to reap the benefits of some serious weight loss.
The Scarsdale Diet, established in 1979 by Dr. Herman Tarnower (from Scarsdale, New York) and Samm Sinclair Baker, is a low-carb, low-calorie diet. While it only allows about 700 calories a day (an amount that will ensure weight loss but that some doctors deem as a bit too low to be healthy), it’s not as anti-carb as some of its competitors like the South Beach Diet or Atkins which don’t allow for any fruit. The Scarsdale Diet sets out a very rigid food plan, but there is a good amount of variety built into it. The fact that you can eat grapefruit, fruit salad, protein-enriched bread, carrots (usually not allowed in a no-carb diet),
After two weeks of strict eating, the Scarsdale Diet sets out an altered, more generous “Keep Trim” plan, and recommends alternating between on and off periods until desired weight loss is achieved.
Pros: You WILL lose weight. Calorie intake is so low that it would be next to impossible not to drop at least a few pounds in the first few weeks, more likely 10-20 pounds.
Cons: It’s not really enough calories to be considered healthy. And the Scarsdale Diet doesn’t encourage any long term better-eating habits or exercise, so there’s a good chance you’ll gain the weight right back.
The Scarsdale Diet was extremely popular in the 1980s and was more popular in the south of France then anywhere else (I’m not sure why). And like all diets, the Scarsdale Diet comes with a serious scandal: Just one year after his book was published, Dr. Tarnower was murdered by Jean Harris, his Virginia-based lover. Undoubtable, it led to the popularity of his diet.
