The first edition of "The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet" was published in 1978. It was written by Dr. Herman Tarnower who worked with obese patients in Scarsdale, NY. It's a very low calorie, low-carb diet that promises rapid weight loss -- up to 20 lbs. in the first month. Because the average caloric intake is about 1,000 calories daily, consult your doctor before beginning the Scarsdale or any other diet.
The Scarsdale Diet is divided into two two-week sections. The first two weeks is phase 1 and called the Scarsdale Medical Diet, or SMD, with a carefully constructed meal plan, which you must follow exactly. Rapid weight loss of up to 15 lbs. occurs within the first two weeks. Then you switch to Keep Trim Eating, or KTE, which allows you to consume more calories, plan your own menus and eat foods that aren't permitted during the SMD phase of the diet. You can repeat this monthly cycle until you reach your desired weight.
SMD Meal Plan
During the first two weeks, you eat a very low-calorie, low-carb diet which allows for just three meals daily -- there are no snacks allowed. It's a very rigid diet with a total calorie count of about 1,000 calories each day. Breakfast could be coffee with artificial sweetener, but no dairy products, one-half a grapefruit and a slice of whole-grain toast without butter or other spread. Lunch may be an unlimited amount of lean meat, sliced tomato and coffee or tea, or tuna salad and another one-half a grapefruit. Dinner could be broiled fish or a lean pork chop with a green salad and more tea or coffee. In addition, you are encouraged to drink at least four or more glasses of water daily.
Keep Trim Eating
After two weeks on the SMD, you're be allowed to create your own meals, eat a wider array of foods and consume slightly more calories. Weight loss should continue, but not as quickly as in phase 1. It's important to consume more calories during this time -- following a very low calorie diet too long may result in your metabolism slowing down, which can stall weight loss. The American College of Sports Medicine states that women need at least 1,200 calories daily to help keep metabolism functioning.
Ketogenic Diets
The Scarsdale Diet is a low-carb/high-protein ketogenic diet. By limiting carbohydrate intake, the body's supply of glucose is diminished. Without readily available glucose for energy, your body is forced to burn stored fat for energy instead. It's important to increase protein intake, to ensure that stored fat, rather than lean muscle mass, is converted to energy. The Scarsdale Diet is different from other ketogenic diets in that it has a lower fat content. On this plan, 43 percent of your calories come from protein, 34.5 percent come from carbs and 22.5 percent come from fat.
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