Dr. Herman Tarnower first published his Scarsdale Diet book in 1978. Dr. Tarnower was a cardiologist who recommended the diet to his patients to help them lose weight prior to surgery or to reduce their heart disease symptoms. Almost 30 years later, the diet remains in print and people across the world use it to lose weight. Because the diet involves eating very few calories for a period of seven to 14 days, then taking two weeks off the diet, you must be committed to the diet to experience success.
Drink Plenty of Fluids
The Scarsdale Diet heavily emphasizes eating high-fiber vegetables and fruits. These foods can be good for your digestive system, but if you are unaccustomed to eating a high-fiber diet, you can experience side effects like constipation and bloating. One way to reduce this is to drink plenty of fluids. While the diet itself advises drinking at least four glasses of water, tea, coffee or diet soda each day, increasing this amount can help fiber move more easily through your intestines, reducing the incidence of diet-related constipation.
Keep Snack Foods On Hand
The Scarsdale Diet allows snacks of sliced carrots and celery sticks only -- although radishes and cauliflower can be substituted -- between meals to satisfy cravings. Because curbing your cravings is integral to a successful diet, it's best to buy these vegetables in advance. Purchase snack-size plastic bags and rinse and chop the vegetables into serving-size portions. Keep them on hand wherever is convenient: in your bag, at your desk at work and in your refrigerator at home.
Season When Possible
The Scarsdale Diet can be very bland and requires that you limit the addition of sauces to your foods. The bland diet can affect your ability to stick to your diet or leave your taste buds wanting more. To increase your satisfaction with the foods, keep Scarsdale-approved seasonings on hand. These include herbs, pepper, lemon, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard, ketchup and salt.
Chew Food Carefully
While the Scarsdale Diet is very low in calories, Dr. Tarnower maintained that you can feel fuller if you practice mindful eating: chewing each bite carefully and thoroughly. When you sit down to a Scarsdale meal, such as broiled fish, a tomato and lettuce salad and a grapefruit, take your time chewing each bite. This gives your stomach time to send signals to your brain that you have food in your stomach and are becoming full.
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