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The Scarsdale Diet was developed by Dr. Herman Tarnower as a way to lose a significant amount of weight in a short period of time. It is a strict weight loss meal plan that promises participants they will lose at least one pound per day. While many people have boasted significant weight loss with this program it has several disadvantages as well.
The Scarsdale Diet will require that you limit your food consumption to specific amounts of fruits, vegetables, and lean sources of protein. It also promotes the use of herbal appetites suppressants and the use of artificial sweeteners.
This diet is a very controlled program. While there is no calorie counting or portion weighing, you are limited o three meals a day with no snacking between meals. The diet emphasizes avoiding carbohydrates and moderating your fat intake. It encourages high protein foods, vitamins, minerals, herbal appetite suppressants, and plenty of water.
There are some additional regulations that should be followed. For example, alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited. In addition, all salads must be prepared without mayonnaise or oil. All vegetables must be free from butter or margarine. All coffees or teas may be sweetened with an artificial sweetener but no cream can be used. Diet drinks can be substituted if necessary. There is no eating between meals. Furthermore, the Scarsdale eating plan must be followed precisely. While you do not have to eat everything suggested you cannot add anything extra or make substitutions.
This low calorie diet encourages that you drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. The consumption of water will keep your body hydrated and will stimulate your metabolism. It also flushes out your system, which will allow the weight to come off faster.
The Scarsdale diet is most effective if you stay on it for 7 to 14 days. The diet boasts that you can lose 20 pounds by the end of the second week. However, once you stop the rigid diet it is critical to maintain a healthy eating regimen to avoid putting the weight back on.
The Scarsdale diet does not put any emphasis on exercising. It actually encourages dieters over the age of 40 to avoid adding any strenuous activities to their daily routine. The reason exercise is overlooked on this weight loss plan is that the diet provides a minimal caloric intake. This small amount of calories will not provide your body with enough energy to exercise regularly. The lack of carbohydrates gives you body very little fuel to expend on exercising.
Experts agree that the Scarsdale diet is not ideal for individuals that are extremely overweight. It is intended for people who have a relatively small amount of weight to lose, less than twenty pounds, in a small amount of time.
It is also not meant to be a long term weight loss solution. The strict meal plan should be adhered to for one to two weeks, anything longer than that would be unhealthy. Your body would start to feel the effects of the nutrients it is missing and resort to a survival mode. The instinctive defense requires that your body slow down metabolism so that it won’t starve, causing you to hit a plateau or begin to gain the weight back.
In conclusion, while the Scarsdale diet may provide quick results, most experts will agree that the weight lost is mostly water and will be regained quickly when normal eating resumes. Furthermore, though some dieters report positive results, the strict 700-calorie a day diet can be considered too extreme for others. If you are considering this diet it is recommended that you check with your physician first.