Live Life Team
The Scarsdale diet was created by Dr. Herman Tarnower in the 1970s and promises an ambitious pound-a-day of weight loss. The backbone of this weight loss plan is a low-calorie two-week plan which must be rigidly followed by dieters.
The Scarsdale diet tells participants exactly which foods they should eat and in what order, and dieters are admonished not to vary any elements. Tarnower dismissed most commercial diets of the time as too complicated and slow-paced for most dieters to comprehend and follow.
Tarnower’s meal plans consist of a carefully balanced protein, fat, and carbohydrate allowance (P-F-C) which is designed to enhance the body’s fat-burning potential and put it into a safe state of ketosis. Tarnower recommended that dieters stay on the plan for two weeks and then switch to a maintenance plan which is somewhat less calorie restricted. The maintenance plan has a long list of off-limit foods such as desserts, potatoes, pasta, dairy fat, and sugar.
Most dieticians and nutritionists consider the Scarsdale Diet a fad diet since weight loss is likely to occur but most dieters will quickly gain it back when they are not actively following the proscribed diet plan. It is also considered too rigid and monotonous for most dieters to stick to on a regular basis. For example, breakfast each day consists of black coffee or tea, half of a grapefruit, and a slice of toasted protein bread. Most dieters are unlikely to be able to eat this type of breakfast almost indefinitely without growing bored and “cheating” on the diet plan.
