The Scarsdale Diet is a low calorie, low carb diet that was originally published in 1978. Its selling point is quick and dramatic weight loss, and as such, it can certainly be tempting to any would-be dieter.
Principles of the Scarsdale Diet
The diet is short term, featuring 14 day cycles. It is effectively a traditional calorie-deficit diet, but focuses heavily on carb restriction. Having said that it, it is not as strict as other low-carb diets such as the Atkins diet.
The general concept of the diet is that you should ‘cycle’ it on and off every 14 days. The theory behind this is that you never allow your body to settle and become accustomed to the regime.
The claim behind the diet is that it can offer you a long-term solution to weight control. Once you have reached your target weight by cycling on and off the diet, you then enter into a ‘management’ phase, which is intended to be a lifetime diet choice. This phase is dictated by the ‘Lifetime Keep-Slim Program’, which is a fairly straightforward dieting program.
Is It Worth It?
The Scarsdale Diet should be of interest to anyone who is comfortable with eating a low level of carbs, and who wants to see quick results.
As is the case with all diets, its effectiveness is determined primarily by the strength of your willpower. The nature of the diet lends itself to short-term results. Having said that, some medical professionals claim that it is unhealthy.
If you stick to the basic principles, the diet is a wonderful way to kick start your weight loss, and can give you almost immediate results. The key however is in keeping the weight off – and this is perhaps where the diet lacks real focus.
The Scarsdale Diet is something that we would endorse from a ‘quick weight loss’ point of view, but there are better alternatives for long term weight management.