The Scarsdale diet was devised in the United States. It is a fast food regimen (in fact it lasts only 2 weeks + 2 maintenance) of the high-protein type. Let's find out how it works, what it is possible to eat and the contraindications of this type of diet.
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La Scarsdale diet it was developed in the United States. It is a lightning-type diet high protein (in fact it lasts only 2 weeks + 2 maintenance). Let's find out how it works, what it is possible to eat and the contraindications of this type of diet.
To the list of diets for weight loss defined as high-protein or low carb, of which the best known is still the Dukan, we must also add the Scarsdale diet. This diet was created by the American cardiologist, Herman Tarnower in collaboration with a colleague, Samm Sinclair Baker. Together they wrote down all the details of the diet in the book "The complete Scardale Medical Diet".
Read also: DUKAN DIET: HOW IT WORKS, EXAMPLES, WHAT TO EAT AND CONTRAINDICATIONS
The idea was born following some considerations made on the veterans of the Vietnam war. In fact, the doctor noted that the military had a lower cardiovascular risk. This would have been attributable to the food regime followed in the type war low-calorie and low-fat. We wanted to study a similar scheme also for people who wanted to lose weight.
The Scarsdale diet promises a weight loss of about 450-500 grams per week but one is defined lightning diet as the same creators propose it for a maximum of two weeks only to then continue with a very similar maintenance for a further two weeks before returning to the previous diet.
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HOW THE SCARSDAL DIET WORKS
Ma how does the Scarsdale diet actually work? Like all high-protein regimens, Scarsdale also offers a diet in which proteins clearly prevail, in particular those of animal origin, and carbohydrates are instead strongly limited. The proposed slimming technique is therefore similar to that of the Dukan diet, the Zone diet, the Plank and all the other protein diet variants.
Read also: PROTEIN DIET: HOW IT WORKS, EXAMPLES, ADVANTAGES, CONTRAINDICATIONS AND MAXIMUM DURATION
Avoiding carbohydrates, anyway the body needs, it causes the body to attack the glucose reserves which are found in particular in the liver and muscles, and which are used in cases of urgency, when energy is needed quickly and cannot be expected to get it from new food consumed. The quantity of food to be consumed is not indicated, this is why you lose weight regardless of calories but weight loss is based on the fact of completely (or almost completely) eliminating carbohydrates.
The Scarsdale diet proposes that macronutrients are broken down as follows: 43% protein, 22,5% fat and 34,5% carbohydrate. Breakfast is simply coffee (or tea), grapefruit or other fruit and a slice of protein bread. For lunch and dinner, however, protein foods must be consumed, without fatty condiments, accompanied by vegetables. To keep hunger at bay between meals, you can make snacks based on raw vegetables or use herbal teas that can act on the stimulus of hunger.
In reality, there are very specific rules to follow drawn up by the authors themselves: no substitutions can be made for what it is recommended to eat, It is forbidden to drink alcohol and smoke, as snacks are allowed only carrots and celery, as drinks are allowed coffee, tea and tonic water. As condiments they are accepted lemon and vinegar absolutely no oil, the vegetables must therefore be eaten without any type of fat, as well as the meat from which you must always choose leaner cuts. It is also possible not to eat everything that is proposed but the combinations must remain so and when satiety is reached, you must immediately stop eating.
La Scardale diet can be followed for up to 14 days and as with most other high-protein diets the portions in grams are not established but the combination of foods is established for each day which, in theory, can be consumed at will. Much It is also important to drink a lot.
Summarizing the Scarsdale diet:
• IS a high-protein diet
• It can be followed for up to 14 days
• Portions in grams are not followed
• The proposed food combinations must be respected
• Substitutions cannot be made
• IS it is forbidden to drink alcohol and smoke
• Snacks are based on carrots and celery
• We recommend herbal teas and herbal products that can keep hunger
• Seasonings allowed: lemon and vinegar
• No oil
• Choose lean cuts of meat
• Stop eating immediately when full
• Drink a lot
WHAT TO EAT
As with other high protein diets the Scarsdale diet also has a list of allowed and recommended foods and another instead of foods that should be avoided.
The foods that must be included every day and can be consumed in large quantities are obviously those of animal origin: meat (especially chicken, turkey, lamb, rabbit, veal burger), eggs, fish and low-fat cheese, seasonal vegetables and fruit, coffee and tea. Absolutely avoid potatoes, pasta, rice, pizza, legumes with a high glycemic index (lentils, beans, peas).
In summary, the allowed foods and drinks are:
• Lean white meat
• Lean red meat
• Fish
• Crustaceans
• Lean cheeses
• eggs
• Protein bread
• Seasonal vegetables
• Seasonal fruit
• Artificial sweeteners
• Lemon
• Vinegar
• Purifying herbal teas
• Tonic water
• Coffee
• Land
Those to avoid instead:
• Pasta
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Pizza
• Lentils
• Beans
• Peas
• Butter
• Put
• Oil
• Mayonnaise
• Alcohol
• sugar
• Sweetened drinks
EXAMPLES
But what do you eat in the course of a day following the Scarsdale diet? Here you are an example of a daily weekly menu
First day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: white meat of your choice and tomatoes
Price: lean fish or shellfish, mixed salad, a slice of wholemeal bread and seasonal fruit
Second day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: mixed fruit to taste coffee or tea
Price: low-fat burger with vegetables, coffee or tea
Third day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: fish of your choice between fresh tuna and salmon seasoned with lemon or vinegar, salad, seasonal fruit, coffee or tea
Price: lamb or veal, lettuce, tomatoes, celery and cucumbers, coffee or tea
Fourth day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: two cooked eggs, low-fat cheese, zucchini or brussel sprouts or tomatoes depending on the season, a slice of wholemeal bread, coffee or tea
Price: grilled chicken and seasonal vegetables
Fifth day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: low-fat cheese (e.g. cottage cheese, or cottage cheese) with spinach, a slice of wholemeal bread, coffee or tea.
Price: fish or shrimp, salad, a slice of wholemeal bread.
Sixth day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: mixed fruit to taste, coffee or tea.
Price: chicken or turkey, tomato or lettuce salad, fruit
Seventh day
Breakfast: unsweetened coffee or tea (artificial sweeteners allowed), half a grapefruit or a seasonal fruit, a slice of protein or wholemeal bread
Lunch: chicken or rabbit meat, seasonal vegetables and fruit, coffee or tea
Price: veal with seasonal vegetables
Basically, breakfast always remains the same as well as lunch and dinner, in which the types of meat and fish, cheese or vegetables basically vary according to the variety of the season.
MAINTENANCE PHASE
After following the two week diet you can continue with a maintenance diet (another two weeks) in which you can freely choose the menus to follow, always considering that they are only allowed:
• Lean white meat
• Shellfish fish
• Lean cheeses
• Skimmed milk
• 3 eggs a week
• Seasonal fruit and vegetables
• 2 slices of bread a day
• Artificial sweeteners
• Condiments such as vinegar and lemon, spices
Still to be avoided instead:
• Pasta
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Pizza
• Farinaceous in general
• Fatty meats
• Fatty seasonings
VEGETARIAN VERSION
There is also a vegetarian version of the Scarsdale diet in which animal proteins are replaced with vegetable ones. In particular, the allowed foods are:
• Soy
• Tofu
• Seitan
• vegetable burgers
• legume meatballs
• vegetables
• fruit
• low-fat cheeses
In this particular case you can also add potatoes, a vegetable instead banned in the classic version, and boiled rice in small quantities.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
High protein diets like Scarsdale are at risk of strain the kidneys and liver. Introducing too many proteins, in fact, leads to the production of a lot of uric acid which, if not properly disposed of, can damage the kidneys by forming stones for example (this is why when you start a high-protein diet it is recommended to drink a lot). The wastes of protein metabolism are also difficult to dispose of even for the liver which in the long run can become intoxicated and consequently cause various disorders to appear even in distant areas of the body. People who already suffer from kidney and / or liver problems should therefore categorically avoid undergoing a high-protein diet.
Then there is the possibility that once the high-protein diet with which excellent results in weight loss have been obtained has been interrupted, returning to eating normally may incur the so-called effetto yo-yo, or take back all the lost kilos. Finally, another thing not to be underestimated is the fact that this diet can lead to constipation problems. And a bowel that fails to eliminate toxins well for long periods can lead to various problems.
Among other things, the creators of the Scardsdale diet did not plan to combine moderate physical activity with the proposed diet even if it is allowed. a 30-minute walk at a brisk pace.
The biggest drawback of this, like other high-protein diets, is that of not to instill proper nutrition education proposing instead a low-calorie regime to be kept sporadically and in which the distribution of nutrients is not balanced.
Read also: HYPERPROTEIC DIET: RISKS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS
Among the possible contraindications we therefore remember:
• Kidney and liver fatigue
• Constipation
• Yo-yo effect once the diet is over
• It does not provide proper nutrition education
If you want to follow a high-protein diet always contact a specialist.
THE OPINION OF THE NUTRITIONIST
We asked Roberta Martinoli, doctor and nutritionist, what do you think about the fundamentals of the Scarsdale diet. Here's what he told us:
“This is a historic diet. The book on the Scarsdale diet was published in 1978 by a New York cardiologist, Dr. Herman Tarnower. In the book (The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet) it says… “the Scarsdale diet provides less than 1000 kcal per day of which 43% from proteins, 22,5% from fats and 34,5% from carbohydrates ". Being a highly hypocaloric and basically hyperproteic diet it is associated with rapid weight loss as a consequence of a state of mild ketosis. This diet is also accompanied by two particular principles. One is that of the "two-on, two-off", ie the alternation of two weeks of diet with two weeks of maintenance. This alternation can be repeated several times until the target weight is reached. Once you have reached your ideal weight, the second principle comes into play, which consists in implementing constant weight control. In the event that an increase equal to or greater than 2 kilos should occur, the dietary protocol must be resumed in order to bring the weight back to basal value ".
In essence how is this diet structured?
"IS a strongly taxing diet in which there is no margin to be able to make autonomous choices. There are three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) while in the intervals between meals it is possible to eat only carrots and celery. There is no seasoning except vinegar and lemon. It is necessary to eliminate the visible fat from the meat, to refrain from the consumption of milk and derivatives and to avoid drinking alcohol. The recommended breakfast consists in the exclusive consumption of coffee or tea and citrus fruits (especially grapefruits). Small amounts of protein bread are expected while main meals include meat or fish, lots of vegetables and several grapefruits. In the two weeks off, the impositions become less rigid: in this phase there are two slices of protein bread a day but no pasta and potatoes, no milk and derivatives, no sweets, desserts and added sugars ".
Is this a recommended diet?
“During my career as a nutrition biologist first and then as a doctor I have never suggested this type of diet. I don't like imposing diets, those in which rules of thumb abound, not based on any scientific evidence. Thus, for example, in the Scarsdale diet, people are required to eat carrots and celery between meals. Why shouldn't it be possible to eat fennel? Dr. Herman Tarnower replied to this question that it was just like that. The New York cardiologist probably didn't like fennel. However, I must admit that imposing diets have a certain chance of success in that category of people who find it hard to follow a diet based on self-control and moderation. In general, in these people, fidelity to the meal plan is low. However, when they are told that if they do not follow the instructions to the letter by replacing even one of the ingredients, the result is compromised then they are able to give the best of themselves. I call it "the magic formula syndrome" and Herman Tarnower was not the only one to exploit it because it is the basis for the success of all tax diets. I like, every time I compare myself with the various topics concerning nutrition, to go and peek in the scientific bibliography and the only article on the Scardsale diet dates back to 1982. The title of the article, published in Journal of Clinical Psychology, is "The effect of increasing initial weight loss with the Scardsale Diet on subsequent weight loss in a behavioral treatment program ". I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the full text of the article but the title gives me an opportunity to reflect. The Scardsale diet promises a daily loss of half a kilo. The rapid initial loss is undoubtedly encouraging especially in those who have to lose a lot of kilos. The task of a good nutritionist is, however, to give the best advice by pursuing not so much the goal of rapid weight loss but rather that of a persistent result. The story of Herman Tarnower unfortunately ends with a sad news story. He dies at the hands of Jean Harris with whom he had been in a relationship for 15 years. The woman was convinced that her partner was cheating on her with her secretary and taken by her jealousy she killed him. Herman Tarnower was at the height of his success. In just one year he had managed to sell 5 million copies of his own book.
Why mention this unfortunate ending? Because this is why the Scarsdale diet is stuck in 1978. Curious is the fact that in the same year an article by the scientists Jackson and Pollock was published in the prestigious British Journal of Nutrition. The authors developed an equation, still in use, to predict body density. Knowing body density means knowing the amount of fat mass and lean mass. It is through the study of body composition that it is possible to establish whether weight loss is linked to fat loss or muscle tissue loss. Obviously Herman Tarnower did not have the time to subject his diet program to this type of verification while on the other hand he led the way to those who understood that nutrition could turn into big business. The progress made in the nutritional field since 1978 is so great that I would not rely on such an "ancient" diet to solve an overweight / obesity problem ".
