Weight Loss, Dieting & ObesityAnother WebTrev.Com Health Services specialist sub-site. |
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The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet Plus Dr. Tarnower's Lifetime Keep-Slim Program - Comments."A diet is useless if people can't stick to it. A good diet must be palatable, safe, satisfying and uncomplicated. It must show results in a reasonably short period of time. And most important of all, it must help to develop a lifetime pattern of good eating habits so that the weight lost will stay lost." Dr. Herman Tarnower, author of 'The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet", Chapter Two, Page 8. The above quote sums up quite nicely my own sentiments about the dietary angle of weight loss as expressed repeatedly throughout this web site. Quite possibly the first of the modern era of low carbohydrate / high protein diets, the Scarsdale Diet was first published in 1978 after having been developed, tested and refined on hundreds of patients at his Scarsdale Medical Center over the 19 years prior to publication. Having stuck rigidly to the Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet for around a year back in 1986-87, I speak from experience. At least in the short and medium terms, the Scarsdale Diet worked wonders. The fact that I relapsed into weight gain later in time mystifies me to this day. Was there something about the prolonged stretch of time on the Scarsdale Medical Diet that slammed my metabolism into shut-down mode? Or had I just lost the will, the inner strength to persist? Life experience in so many areas (not only weight loss) tells me that in probably 90% of cases where something works for them at one stage but later fails, people find it easier to pass blame rather than accept blame. I hate to admit it, but that means a 90% probability that my relapse into obesity post-Scarsdale Diet was probably my own fault, even if subconsciously. Let's start with the success story... 1986 was the year I married. My then fiance wanted me (as did I) to slim down ready for the wedding day and beyond. I weighed 20.5 stone (130 kg) at the outset. I had a goal in mind for our wedding day, three months away. Time was short, so I needed to be ambitious yet realistic in my weight loss goal. We settled on the Scarsdale Diet to attain the desired results. The day before our wedding, I achieved that goal. I was down to 16 stone. It was a good start, but there was more work to come. Another three months later, I "bottomed out" at 13.5 stone (85.7 kg). The six month result was a loss of 7 stone, or 44.4 kg. Impressed? I was - and so was my bride! From direct personal experience, I offer the following comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet: Although being a low carbohydrate / high protein plan that pre-dated the Atkins Diet, Atkins took the concept to greater extremes. In comparison to the Atkins Diet, the Scarsdale Diet has a larger range and quantity of fruits and vegetables allowed, and is still concerned with minimising unnecessary fats in the diet. (I don't necessarily put this point forward as either a strength or a weakness - just a comment.) Dr. Tarnower also makes a serious attempt at making a diet with permanent education and behavioral changes, rather than just a short term quick-fix fad diet. In some ways, I believe he succeeds in this endeavor. In other ways, I believe he fails. No recognition is given to emotional eating or other psychological factors and related hormonal factors unquestionably essential to weight management. The fact that Dr. Tarnower completely ignores the emotional/psychological connection is probably due to him being a cardiologist, not a psychologist or psychiatrist. That brings us to one of the strengths of the Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet - being designed by a cardiologist, long term heart health is very much a priority in this diet. Whereas the Atkins Diet requires additional vitamin supplementation to compensate for the shortages caused by the low levels of plant food (carbohydrates), the Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet provides a daily changing variety of the most nutritious fruits, nuts and vegetables, ensuring that your vitamin intake is complete without supplementation. The Scarsdale Diet also fails to meet the "life long" test quite as nicely as I'd like to see in that it prescribes what it calls a "two weeks on, two weeks off" regime. This is not exactly accurate. It is two weeks strict (Scarsdale Diet), followed by a two week maintenance program with more flexible guidelines. Dieters are warned not to stay on the strict Scarsdale Diet for more than two weeks in a row. If more weight loss is desired after the first set of "two-on-two-off", just repeat the process. Once you have reached your ideal goal weight, you stick with the flexible "maintenance" portion from then on. Weight yourself daily. If your weight rises 4lb above your goal weight, return to the "strict" two week component. The Scarsdale Medical Diet (the strict two week component) is very rigid. Although, thankfully, there is no emphasis on weighing and measuring or counting quantities or calories, the meals specified are very precise with little room for options. This rigidity may make it difficult where in some areas the specified foods may not be readily available at your local grocery store. The lack of options or substitutes can make adherance difficult at times. In other weaknesses:
There is no "perfect" obesity or weight management diet plan. The question that must be answered is whether Dr. Tarnower's Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet is a lifestyle and behavior modifying program with proven effective results for most people, sustainable in the long run, and with significant health benefits compared to "normal" or "average" western diets. The answer is a slightly qualified "YES". The "two-weeks-on-two-weeks-off" strategy does not totally fit with the "lifetime" ambition, though the maintenance plan does. Personally, I found tremendous weight loss success following this diet, though found it difficult to stay within the guidelines beyond about twelve months. Catch me in a moment of brutal honesty and I'll probably admit that the fault laid more with myself than with the Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet itself. |
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