Have you heard of the Scarsdale diet? Cuz your mom has (ooHHH!) No but really, she probably has, because it was wildly popular in th 70s. It's got everything- low carb, high protein, murder (really), silly outdated language. Best of all though? It actually works, and fast.
The original diet promises 14-20lbs in two weeks. You can read people amazon reviews and buy the book here
I've been around the diet block. I've low carbed, and ketoed, whole30ed and plant based my way through weeks and months trying to lose weight. I've even worked with TWO dietians in the last year. And ya know what? None of that was particularly effective. I'd lose 5 pounds here, gain 10 there. Doctors scratch there heads at me when they see what I eat and say things like "well, this all looks good...I'm not sure why you're still gaining weight." I'm active, I eat veggies, I love to cook. The only diet that has ever worked for me? Scarsdale.
Now I know what you're thinking. Thats an outdated fad diet. The internet says it's restrictive. Modern science tells us its not good to lose more than a pound a week. Its the small changes that count. Sorry, but my body and history disagree. Eat healthy, yes. Be consciencious of your boby, yes. Don't over do it, yes. But there is nothing wrong with losing weight quickly IMO. It's a huge weight off your shoulders, litterally, and I see all my health outcome go up. I think diets like this get a bad rep because people take them too far, but the base diet here is HEALTHY and the results are amazing.
This is the thrid time I have used Scarsdale. At 16, my step mom gave me her copy of the book, since she had used it in the 70s to lose weight. I lost 45lbs in 3 months and kept it off without even thinking about it for over a decade by only loosly following the diet.
At the start of covid, at the age of 31, I come back around to it since my weight had been creeping up for the previous 5 years. I lost 25lbs in 2 months. Then proceeded into the covid slump that we all experienced and ate a lot of grub hub and drank a lot of beer, so now at 34 I am almost as heavy as I was in high school again, and after trying all the other options, look what I am coming back to- Scarsdale.
Now, it is outdated. We know more about nutritian now. Some glaring problems: we know fat is not the enemy. We know that artificial sweeteners are cartingenic. We know that different bodies need to comsume different calories. We now have kale and avocados in stores. We collectivly realized that manderine oranges and gelatin are both disgusting. But the basics of this diet are really good, and not all the different from Whole30 or your basic low carb. Something about the combinations laid out in the book though, works so much better than either of those.
Scarsdale is on a 2 week weight loss plan, then a 2 week maintaince plan schedule. Rinse and repeat until goals are met. I use the menu and recipes as a guide, and update with modern takes.
Now, in the book there is one line that says to aim for 1000 calories a day, but honestly it's kind of burried and the book also says things like "fruit salad-as much as you want." I ignore the one line and instead focus on my boby feeling full on the foods that are listed, and do indeed eat as much as I want. I typically end up eating between 1,000-1,500 calories a day on this diet.
Here's what I eat:
Breakfast Every Day
Coffee, black
1/2 grapefruit
1 slice of high protein bread
OR
Coffee
1/2 grapefruit
2 eggs (or 1 egg with 2 olives and 1oz of feta or 1/4 avocado)
The remix here: You can't buy protein bread, and while there is a recipe in the book for it 1) who has time for that? and 2) It dosnt actually have more protein then a lot of whole grain breads available today. Aim for a bread with 5g of protein or more. Twice a week, on lifting days for me, I sub in eggs for the higher protein and fat content. It has not effected my results and gives a nice variety. If you don't like grapefruit, cantaloupe is a good swap.
Monday
Lunch:
Cold cuts/Tomatoes/Coffee
Remix: This is the most boring of the lunches so I often give it a twist or turn to the other versions of the diet in the book (the gourmet, the vegetarian etc..) Remixes: I've done salmon lox with capers, red onion and tomatoe, I've made wraps with the lunch meat adding lettus and pickle, I've made the "borscht Suzanne" (pg68) or i'll sub a nice veggie soups, as is reccomended for Monday in the vegetarian version of the diet. Of course, you could just eat lunch meat too. Just steer clear of salamies and processed meats.
Dinner:
Fish or Shellfish, any kind
Comination salad, as much as you wish
1 slice of bread
fruit in season
Remix: I love to make mussels, roast a whole cod, or whip up some crabcakes with the breadcrumbs instead of toast. There are so many great recipes out there, just make some tasty seafood with veg and call it a day. My local grocery always has ahi tuna steaks in the frozen section too- which is great. Sometime I have a salad, sometimes I cook some veggies. Its always so good.
Tuesday
Lunch:
Fruit salad, as much as you want
Remix: I just add some cottage cheese to pump up the protein. Love this lunch.
Dinner:
Broiled hamburger, tomatoes, lettus, celery, brussel sprouts, or cucumbers.
Remixes: Bunless burgers are the obvious choice, add a slice of cheese for some fat. Meatball salad is another favorite of mine. I've made a "sheppard's pie" with mashed celery base. A nice stir fry is great here too, just add some spices and splash of fish sauce. Stuffed tomatoes with a brussel sprout salad. Again, so many options. I love the variety it offers.
Wednesday
Lunch:
Tuna fish or salmon salad
Grapefruit or fruit in season
Remixes: I actually love tuna salad, so thats usually what I do. I add yogurt to mine for some creamy fat and probiotics, plus pickles which are 0 calories (heck ya!) Sometimes I do save my bread from the morning and eat it with the tuna instead.
Dinner:
Slice roast lamb
Salad of lettus, tomatoe, cumcumber, celery.
Remixes: Lamb is expensive these days in these parts, so I often dont eat lamb. I just sub whatever protein I have on hand, often times eating up leftovers. Or I will turn to one of the other diets, the veggies au gratin is actually one of my favorite recipes from this book! (pg 105)
Thursday
Lunch:
Two eggs any style, cottage cheese, zucchini or string beans or stewed tomatoes, 1 slice of bread
Remixes: Omlette, bi bim bob (sub 1/2 cup rice for the bread), eggs in purgatory, shashuka, avocado toast with egg
Dinner:
Roast, broiled, or BBQ Chicken, Spinach, green pepper, string beans
Remixes: I often just get a rotissier chicken for this meal and just make a salad. It is cheap, fast and tasty! I've also done spinach stuffed chicken with some cheese, and green curry.
Friday
Lunch:
Assorted cheese slices, spinach, 1 slice of bread
Remixes: Palak paneer, spinach and cheese balls, grilled cheese, charcouterie with olives and some jam if I am splurging.
Saturday
Lunch:
Fruit salad
Remix: Same as Tuesday
Dinner:
Roasted Turkey or Chicken, salad
Remixes: Since this is basically the same as Thursday, I will sometimes just have left overs here and sometimes opt for the Veggie Cheese Casarole and sometime opt to go off menu and just make some kind of meat + salad combo.
Sunday
Lunch:
cold or hot turkey or chicken, Tomatoes, carrots, cooked cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflour, grapefruit or other fruit in season
Remixes: I always make stir fry, its just soooo goood.
Dinner:
Plenty of steak, salad, brussel sprouts.
Remixes: I love steak salad, so thats what I make every time. I do get creative with dressinings and usually will use some olive oil or other fat in the making of it, like I said, we know better now, and healthy fats in small doses is a good thing- so live a little!
Other Remixes
In the book it says you can snack on carrots and celery. I add pickles and fruit to that list. Sometimes I will add in hummus too. I do put cream in my coffee sometimes, and it does not seem to affect the results. I work in healthy fats to every day; avocados, nuts and seeds, olive oil etc... which does raise my calorie count, but does not seem to change how effective the diet is for me. I will often have a portion of fruit for desert, even if it's not specified. I make allowances for real life too- if I am eating out or with a friend I just try to be smark about my choices. It actually is pretty easy to find a protein+veg option on most menus.
The "Keep Trim" Maintaince Plan, My Version
- no more than 2 slices of bread a day
- no pasta or flour based foods
- only 1 potato per week, or 2 sweet potatoes
- no candy or dessert, except fruit (or all the amazing healthy dessert options there are on the internet now. check out Hemsley and Hemsley for some great ideas.)
- no more than 1 1/2 oz of alcohol a day of liquor (1 shot) or 1 glass of dry wine or 1 light beer per day
- no fatty/processed meats like sausage, bologna, salami etc...
- limit your dairy fats
- limit your legumes (including peanut butter)
- limit your "dessert" items
- track your calories to make sure you're not going overboard. I use Myfitnesspal app
- use a controled amount of oils/fats, try to keep them on the healthy side (fish, olives, nuts etc..)
Murder?
The creator of the diet was murdered by his long term girlfriend when caught cheating on her with a younger woman. It's a whole scandle, so google it.
My Results
Female, age 34, desired weight 160lbs. Week 1 | 207.2 | 203.4 | 200.4 | 199.3 | 198.4 | 197.8 | 196.0 |
Week 2 | 195.6 | 194.2 | 193.5 | 192.1 | 190.9 | 190.1 | 189.2 |
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