The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet is a low-carbohydrate, low-calorie weight-loss diet system and accompanying book by Scarsdale, New York physician Dr. Herman Tarnower and Samm Sinclair Baker. The Scarsdale Medical Diet is still popular today.

The Scarsdale Medical Diet specifies a very specific and structured diet that is to be followed exactly for the first 14 days. Another 14 day period follows that still specifies certain foods to eat, but is less structured. A grapefruit for breakfast each day is meant to supply enzymes necessary for burning the 700-calorie per day diet. Artificial sweeteners are used in place of sugar.

Critics acknowledge that the diet gives quick results but say that weight loss on the plan results simply from the reduced caloric intake; is mostly water; is quickly regained; and that the diet is so extreme as to be unhealthy. However, many followers of the diet report positive results.

In 2005, the American-based Food Network listed the Scarsdale diet as number two of its top five food fads of the 1970s. Recent years have proved the diet to be most popular in southern France, where up to 10% of people have used the diet in the past seven years.

Scaresdale Diet and other low-carb diets

The low carb diet craze has become extremely popular amongst dieters. From diet books, free low carb diet plans, online dieting sites, and thousands of low carb recipes, low carb diets have produced favorable results for millions of overweight people. Along with the Atkins Diet and the South Beach diet, there are many other low carb diet plans.

The Suzanne Sommers Diet and The Zone Diet are popular choices as well, each promising to be more effective than the other. Each of these diet plans includes recipes, menus, and helpful diet tips designed to help you lose weight quickly and maintain your weight loss. If you are considering beginning a low carb diet, keep in mind that each low carb diet plan allows for differing amounts of carbohydrates that you may consume.

Some allow little to no carbohydrates and others allow for only certain types of carbohydrates. You will find hundreds to thousands of low carb recipes and meal plans. Switching to a low carb lifestyle is not the answer if bread, potatoes, and pasta are staples in your diet. If you can live without these types of foods, low carb may be the perfect diet plan for you. Low carb recipes limit the amount of carbohydrates you consume while allowing you to enjoy a variety of foods. There are delicious recipes available that are sure to please your entire family and limit the number of carbohydrate grams you are eating at the same time.

The South Beach program allows for a gradual increase in carbohydrates as your body adjusts to your new eating habits. The South Beach Diet is somewhat less restrictive than The Atkins Diet. The Zone Diet and The Suzanne Sommers Diet stress not only a low carb lifestyle, but also combining certain foods to increase your body's fat burning ability. Other less well-known low carb diet plans may be just as effective for you as the more famous diet plans. Beginning a low carb diet and lifestyle will require discipline and determination, but can be very helpful in your quest to lose weight.

Search the diet plans and recipes that are available to you until you find the one that will best suit your individual needs. Free diet plans and recipes are also readily available. There are many products available to help you lose weight. There are supplements, diet plans, programs and online support systems to help you manage your eating habits and measure your weight loss progress. Some of these companies provide support and help with your dieting program. We can help you by providing you with a free list of our recommended best sources for effective weight loss products and services. To view our list of recommended sources to help you lose weight or to read more articles about dieting visit: Recommended Weight Loss & Diet Resources Online.