Scarsdale Diet

Controversy over whether this diet is healthy

There are many diets on the market that promote weight loss and while some of them are healthy others are far from it. I had heard about the Scarsdale Diet for many years and had even considered buying the book at one time, but I always hesitated.

Without more information I was uncertain whether to try it. Of course, in order to obtain more information I would have to buy the Scarsdale Diet book. I did talk to some people who had tried it and boasted of huge success with it. Based on that information I decided to buy the book and try it.

The Scarsdale Diet claimed you could lose twenty pounds in fourteen days, but until I read the book, I found that difficult to believe. That was ten pounds a week, a figure that I found not only staggering but unhealthy. I had thirty pounds I wanted to lose, and though I found it promising to think of losing that much, I had serious doubts.

Of course, once I read the Scarsdale Diet and saw the menus, it was easy to figure out how that could be possible. The diet is high protein but low carbohydrates consisting of only about 700-1000 calories daily. It sounded awfully low, but I wanted to try it and at least get a jump start on my weight loss.

I was disappointed to find that the breakfast meals were the same every day, which made it very boring and uneventful to say the least. In addition, I was hardly a fan of grapefruit and toast with no butter or jam on it. I was unable to drink coffee with creamer, so I had to substitute tea with an artificial sweetener.

There are many foods that are not allowed on the Scarsdale Diet, and with such a low calorie count, it was difficult for me to have energy for much of anything. I lost ten pounds during the first week and seven the second week. That brought me very close to their claims but at the same time I had no energy to do anything.

I did not attempt to proceed beyond the second week because I was completely exhausted. My mother was upset that I couldn’t perform my portion of the housework, and my boyfriend was complaining I never wanted to do anything that took any amount of effort.

After the first two weeks I looked into something safer and healthier that would not drain all my energy. I wanted to lose weight, but I wasn’t about to sacrifice my health to do it. My boyfriend even told me he’d rather I had a few extra pounds and be healthy than be skinny and exhausted. 

The Scarsdale Diet is fine for those who have five or ten pounds to lose for a vacation or other special event, but for anyone who is looking toward long-term weight loss, this is not the diet to choose. I lost the thirteen pounds I wanted to lose by simply cutting back on junk food and other unhealthy foods and learn a new way to eat. I can only credit the Scarsdale Diet with giving me the initial boost I needed.

Review by Connie Drake