The Scarsdale Medical Diet – Lose a pound a day for 2 weeks
Despite having been around since the ‘70s, the Scarsdale diet remains one of the most popular diet plans around. At its core, the diet is fairly straightforward as it only revolves around eating three protein-rich meals a day. The exact percentages of nutrients contained in these three meals should ideally be 43% protein, 34.5% carbohydrates, and 22.5% fat.
In addition, those who attempt this diet plan should ideally drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Needless to say, that’s the easy part. The diet plan itself, however, is a bit more complicated.
By now you’re probably wondering about the aforementioned percentages. After all, it sounds pretty specific, right? Well, the theory behind the Scarsdale diet plan suggests that these are the perfect percentages for reducing calorie intake and promoting weight loss.
As with any type of diet, the primary goal of the Scarsdale diet is, unsurprisingly, weight loss. This diet claims to help you lose an average of one pound per day and, by all accounts, it does deliver on that promise.
An Overview of the Scarsdale Diet
Before we jump straight into the Scarsdale diet menu, let’s talk a bit about what to expect in terms of which foods are allowed and which aren’t. Right off the bat, anything that’s high in calories is immediately off the table for anyone following this diet.
This includes all types of fatty meats, dairy with fat, potatoes, beans, rice, and fatty fruits like avocados. In addition, pretty much anything that’s sweet should be avoided. We’re talking about chocolate, juice, and any type of dessert.
As you can tell, there are definitely a great number of restrictions here, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to starve yourself to death. There are certain types of meats that are part of the diet plan, including chicken, lean beef, turkey, and tuna. In addition, the menu also includes a variety of fruits and vegetables. A few examples include peaches, mangos, papayas, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, and celery.
In terms of drinks, there are a few items that you should stay away from. Juice was already mentioned, but that pretty much includes all types of inherently sweet drinks as well. On the flip side, drinks like coffee and tea are allowed but only if you drink them without adding any sugar. Naturally, good old water is not only allowed but strongly recommended.
Judging by what was said so far you might be inclined to think that you might need to eat the same few foods for the whole duration of the diet. Well, that’s not necessarily true. Despite the many restrictions, the diet does offer some wiggle room.
That’s definitely a good thing because it’s not very healthy to eat the same thing every day. Instead, you can take the foods that you are allowed to eat and spread them out evenly across seven days. However, it is recommended to eat the same breakfast every day and only alternate for lunch and dinner.
Scarsdale Diet 7 Days Plan
Breakfast for the Scarsdale Diet
Grapefruit is a staple of the Scarsdale diet (similar like the hard boiled egg diet) and should be part of your everyday breakfast. Half of a grapefruit should do the trick. That said, grapefruit might not always be available so if that’s the case, feel free to use other fruits.
Additionally, you’ll want a piece of high-protein toast bread, but without any added spread. Finally, make sure you also drink a cup of tea or coffee alongside all of that but don’t add anything extra to it like sugar, honey, or milk/cream.
Day 1
Lunch – should consist of sliced or broiled tomatoes with assorted cold cuts and another cup of coffee or tea. If you don’t feel like drinking any more coffee or tea feel free to replace that with a glass of diet soda or a glass of water.
Dinner -, you’ll want a bit more nutrients so start off with some fish or some shellfish alongside a healthy salad. Add as many vegetables and greens as you want. Add to that all the foods you usually have for breakfast. Namely, half a grapefruit, a slice of toasted protein bread, and a cup of tea or coffee.
Coffee and some types of tea are known to keep a lot of people awake at night so replace them with a glass of diet soda or a glass of water if you’re worried about not being able to sleep.
Day 2
Lunch – On the second day make sure to treat yourself with a nice fruit salad for lunch. Again, some fruits are not recommended for this diet, but there are still plenty of tasty ones to choose from. Turning them into an actual salad is an option but do make sure to eat lots of fruits for lunch regardless. Couple them with some more tea, coffee, or water.
Dinner – should consist of as much broiled hamburger meat as you want. Also make sure to add some celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, Brussels Sprouts or olives. Finally, get another cup of tea, coffee, or water to wash it all down.
Day 3
Lunch – on day three is all about fish to start off with a salmon salad with lemon dressing or some tuna fish. Make sure to drain all the oil, though, because it contains lots of calories. Next, to the fish add another half of grapefruit if available. If not, substitute with some melon. Complement with a cup of tea, coffee, diet soda or water.
Dinner – you can go for some sliced roast lamb, however, make sure you first remove every bit of fat you can find. Add to that a nice salad comprised of celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce. Wash it all down with the drink of your choice, just like before.
Day 4
Lunch – Day four’s lunch is a bit more complex. Specifically, you’ll need a couple of eggs prepared in any style (but don’t use any fat during the cooking process), some cottage cheese (low-fat), a piece of high-protein toast bread, and some string beans, sliced tomatoes, and zucchini. Top it all off with a nice cup of water, coffee, or tea.
Dinner – you’ll to have some roast, barbequed or broiled chicken along with lots of string beans, spinach or green peppers. Before you start eating, though, make sure to remove the skin as well as any visible fat from the chicken. Wash it all down with the drink of your choice, just like before.
Day 5
Lunch – should consist of assorted slices of cheese with a healthy portion of spinach and a piece of high-protein toast bread. You know the drill by now, wash it all down with your preferred beverage.
Dinner – be sure to prepare a nice combination salad along with some fish or shellfish. Add to that a piece of high-protein toast bread and a cup of tea, water, or coffee.
Day 6
Lunch – On day six it’s time for a light launch comprised solely of a fruit salad of your choosing. Be sure to pick the right combination though because some fruits are not allowed. Of course, don’t forget your cup of water, diet soda, tea or coffee.
Dinner – will be a bit more filling, with some nice roasted chicken or roasted turkey alongside lettuce and tomato salad. Follow it up with half a grapefruit or whatever fruit is currently in season. Before you finish, grab another cup of coffee, tea, diet soda, or water.
Day 7
Lunch – you’ll want some chicken or some turkey along with a nice helping of broccoli, cooked cabbage, carrots, cauliflower or tomatoes. Add another ½ grapefruit into the mix and a cup of tea, coffee, diet soda or water.
Dinner – On the last day dinner should consist of lots of grilled or broiled steak with all the visible fat removed. Add to that a salad of tomatoes, celery, cucumbers and lettuce along with some Brussels Sprouts. Last but not least, have another cup of coffee, diet soda tea, or water.
Other important Things to Know about the Scarsdale Diet
Now, before you get too excited, there are a few things worth pointing out about the Scarsdale diet. First off, yes, it does work, but there are some drawbacks to this type of diet.
This is considered a “crash diet”, which means that there are a high number of restrictions regarding what you can and can’t eat while you’re on it.
Primarily, you should be aware that calories will be restricted to the extreme during the diet. That’s definitely a good thing when trying to lose weight, but it’s not exactly the healthiest approach.
How to Turn the Scarsdale Medical diet into a two-week diet?
Although it is sometimes known as the Scarsdale medical diet, a number of doctors and dietitians advise caution when attempting these types of diets. However, that generally only applies if you’re planning to stick to this diet for the long haul, which you shouldn’t.
The creator of the diet recommends that you just follow it for 7 or 14 days. The ideal way of going about it is to follow the diet for a week and then take a week off before jumping on it again. This way, you’ll be able to see for yourself if it truly works for you and if it’s worth attempting again in the future.
