Scarsdale Medical Diet

The Scarsdale Medical Diet is named for the New York City suburb of Scarsdale, where physician Dr. Herman Tarnower ran a medical clinic. Dr. Tarnower created the Scarsdale Medical Diet in the 1970s as a means to help overweight patients experience weight loss to improve their health. The diet is a time-based, very low-calorie diet that involves following a strict meal plan for two weeks, then switching to a modified plan for another two weeks, then back to the strict diet if you still need to lose weight.

Philosophy

The Scarsdale Medical Diet's philosophy is focused on the idea that many patients who need to lose weight aren't successful because diets are complicated or difficult to follow long-term. By requiring a two-week commitment at a time, Dr. Tarnower intended for the diet to be easier to follow. By eating a unique ratio diet of 43 percent protein, 34.5 percent carbohydrate and 22.5 percent fat and about 1,000 calories per day, Dr. Tarnower claims you can stimulate a weight-loss process called ketosis. Ketosis causes your body to burn stored fat, which can result in weight loss.

Day 1 Meal Plan

The Scarsdale Medical Diet features a limited meal plan for 7 days. During week two, you repeat the menu from week one. The diet does not allow for substitutes. If you get hungry between meals, you can snack on carrots and celery. On day 1 of the diet, you eat one-half a grapefruit, 1 slice of whole-grain toast and coffee without sugar or milk for breakfast. For lunch, you can have canned tuna with a salad and oil-free dressing along with a coffee. For dinner, you can eat roast lamb without fat and a salad with lemon and vinegar dressing. You also can have coffee with dinner.

Additional Restricted Meal Plans

During the remaining 13 days of the diet, you rotate through different meal choices, including sliced deli meats, grapefruits, sliced tomatoes and fish. You should not, however, prepare these foods with butter, sugar or other food preparations that contain fats. Restricted foods include sugar, potatoes, pasta, full-fat dairy or desserts.

Warning

While your low calorie intake may lead to weight loss, nutrition experts say this is unlikely to last. Judith Stern, R.D., Sc.D., the Vice President of the American Obesity Association notes that any strict, rigid plan that limits what a person can and cannot eat will help with weight loss. However, this type of diet takes away variety, which means you'll lose weight, but it won't likely stay off. Restricting your calories this much also can lead to unwanted side effects like fatigue and muscle weakness because you are not taking in enough calories.