MagnumForce's Full Review: Herman Tarnower and Samm Sinclair Baker - The Comp...
The Scarsdale diet.
Often talked about, often slammed, often celebrated.
I for one, had no idea what it was till 2 weeks ago.
My uncle introduced it to me. See, I'm heading out to Greece in a month or so, and like any self-respecting male, I want to be able to get my stanky danky with some self-respecting females. But there is the little (or is it big?) problem of the gelatinous tissue that had accumulated around my midsection during these last 8 months or so in school.
So, two weeks ago, my uncle came to me and told me he had lost a LOT of weight using this mystery diet that used food combinations, and their chemical reactions, to lose weight.
Being a science major, and graduated no less- I scoffed.
So he gave me the book, and of course I was right. The Scarsdale diet is NOT a diet that works on 'chemical reactions' or other BS like that. It is quite simply, a super-low calorie diet, that promises AT LEAST 1 pound of weight loss a day.
The operative word of course is WEIGHT loss.
The diet is basically a 2 week on, 2 week off affair. Meals for your 2 weeks when you're on are strictly regulated. There is no room for compromise. You can do a search online for the exact diet, but what it basically boils down to is cutting out 99% of the breads, rices, pastas, oils, and carbs that you get from processed foods. Things like proteins, and limited amounts of unsaturated fats are kept in, as are fruits, and as many vegetables as you want.
Not exactly the 'proper' way to eat really. But as a lose weight quick scheme, it cannot be denied that if you have the willpower, THIS WILL WORK.
A nice thing about the diet is that, at least for the week I've been on it, is the fact that I haven't been hungry once. Sure, I've had urges for junk food, but that wasn't HUNGER speaking, it was my own lazy lack of self-control. The diet encourages eating to fulfillment. Your day of meals will usually look something like this-
***
Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit
1 slice toast
coffee
Lunch
Turkey coldcuts
Tomatoe salad (no oil)
Fresh fruit
Diet soda/water
Dinner
Fish
Salad of greens and tomatoes
1 slice toast
***
I mean, it's not exactly starving yourself, since you get to eat. The trick is that you're filling yoursef with low calorie foods. Of course, as you can see even by this example, many vitamins go missing. The book recommends taking a multivitamin while on the diet, as well as a calcium supplement, since milk is forbidden as well
Those last two sentences basically sum up the cons of the diet. It's not very healthy. That's the reason you can only do it for 2 weeks. Another issue is that if you don't like some of the foods indicated, you may be out of luck, although I'm pretty positive that as long as you subsitute equal calorie alternatives, you'd be fine.
The book states that after the 2 weeks on the diet, you can then go to 'stay-trim' mode, which is an enhanced version of what you were doing for the 2 weeks prior. In the 2 off weeks, milk, and other formerly forbidden things, are allowed back in moderation. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but that would appear to be a much more healthy way of eating, albeit with far less weight loss potential.
Which leads me to the biggest problem with this diet- it's not FAT loss, it's WEIGHT loss. If you're not working out while on this diet, you WILL NOT lose the fat. The first week you will lose water weight, and the second week you will lose lean muscle mass. It's simple science really- in times of energy need(such as a low calorie diet), the body will use whatever it can degrade easiest, which is always muscle over fat.
Unfortunately, the book doesn't really emphasize this, and in my opinion, it's one of the major flaws.
Apart from that though, what I've found is that even though eating like this is obviously a short term solution, it has opened my eyes up to how BAD some of the foods we eat are. You don't realize that every Coke you drink is a LOT of calories. You don't realize how much unecessary breads/pasta you eat, unless you actually don't eat them. That alone has made it worth it for me- awareness has been inspired in me.
So in the end, is this diet right for you? Well, like everything in life, it depends.
On the one hand, if you are looking for super quick weight loss, have the discipline to carry out a low calorie diet, and are willing to exercise while on it- then yes, this thing works INCREDIBLY well.
On the other hand, if you want a long term solution to weight/fat loss, and you have the time to do so, this is definitely NOT the diet for you. That also goes for anyone who may have health problems, or may be a little older.
As for the book- it's basically a far more in depth version of what I've written, along with a caloric chart, various recipes, and various inspirational messages from Dr. Tarnower. Very dry reading, but informative, if a little off base at times with it's scientific facts.
If you do decide to do this diet, I HIGHLY recommend buying the book.
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