Scarsdale keep trim diet: Scarsdale Diet — Keep Trim Phase

• Dietary Treatment of Obesity, Endotext, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278991/
• Effects of Yoga on Mental and Physical Health: A Short Summary of Reviews, Evidence- Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
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• Effect of a High-Protein Diet versus Standard-Protein Diet on Weight Loss and Biomarkers of Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Obesity Facts, U. S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
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• Sugar- and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and the Risks of Incident Stroke and Dementia, Stroke, AHA Journals.
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Scarsdale Diet: Overview, Benefits, and Downsides

The Scarsdale diet was popular in the late 1970s.

Based on a top-selling book by Dr. Herman Tarnower — a cardiologist located in Scarsdale, NY — the diet promised up to 20 pounds (9 kg) of weight loss in under 2 weeks.

With its extreme restrictions and “quick fix” ideology, the Scarsdale diet has been met with tremendous criticism by the medical community.

Still, you may wonder if this diet really works and whether it’s right for you.

This article reviews the benefits and downsides of the Scarsdale diet to show whether scientific evidence supports it.

Rating score breakdown

• Overall score: 1.25
• Weight loss: 1.0
• Healthy eating: 1.0
• Sustainability: 2.0
• Whole body health: 0.0
• Nutrition quality: 2.5
• Evidence-based: 1.0

BOTTOM LINE: The Scarsdale diet slashes your calorie intake to only 1,000 per day using a strict list of approved foods. Its focus on quick weight loss and extreme restrictions make it difficult to follow long term, as well as dangerous.

The Scarsdale diet started as a two-page diet sheet made by Tarnower to help his patients lose weight for better heart health.

After many individual success stories, Tarnower published the book “The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet” in 1979.

The diet allows a mere 1,000 calories per day regardless of your age, weight, sex, or activity levels. It’s heavy in protein, consisting of 43% protein, 22.5% fat, and 34.5% carbs.

The diet also forbids snacks and numerous healthy foods, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, avocados, beans, and lentils.

Tarnower died 1 year after the book’s publication. Shortly thereafter, the Scarsdale diet was heavily criticized for its extreme restrictions and unrealistic weight loss promises. As such, the book is no longer in print.

Summary

The Scarsdale diet focuses on protein-heavy meals but limits you to 1,000 calories per day. The book it’s based on is no longer sold or promoted due to the various dangers of this eating pattern.

The rules of the Scarsdale diet can be found in Tarnower’s book “The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet.” Though it’s no longer in print, some copies are still sold online, and some unofficial Scarsdale diet websites list its details.

The main rules include eating a protein-rich diet, restricting yourself to 1,000 calories per day, and following a limited list of approved foods. You are forbidden from any snacks except carrots, celery, and low sodium veggie soups, which are only to be eaten when necessary.

You must drink at least 4 cups (945 mL) of water per day but can also enjoy black coffee, plain tea, or diet soda.

Tarnower emphasized that the diet is only intended to last 14 days, after which you transition to the Keep Slim program.

Keep Slim program

After the 14-day initial diet, you’re allowed to introduce a few banned foods, such as bread (up to 2 slices per day), baked goods (as a rare treat), and one alcoholic beverage per day.

While you’re still expected to follow the list of approved foods, you’re allowed to increase your portion sizes and calories to allow more flexibility.

Tarnower suggested following the Keep Slim program until you notice your weight increasing. If you regain weight, you’re instructed to do the 14-day initial diet again.

Summary

The diet’s initial phase lasts 14 days and is so restrictive that almost all snacks are banned. You then transition to the Keep Slim program, which is slightly more flexible.

A small selection of foods is permitted on the Scarsdale diet. As you’re only allowed 1,000 calories per day, it’s crucial that you monitor your portion sizes and stick to the approved foods.

Although it seems contradictory, the diet recommends that you eat until you’re satisfied.

Foods to eat

Foods allowed on the diet include:

• Raw, non-starchy vegetables: bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, green beans, leafy greens, lettuce, onion, radishes, spinach, tomatoes, and zucchini
• Fruits: choose grapefruit whenever possible; otherwise apples, blueberries, cantaloupes, grapes, lemon, lime, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, plums, starfruit, strawberries, and watermelon
• Wheat and grains: only protein bread is permitted
• Meat, poultry, and fish: lean beef (including hamburger), chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, and cold cuts (except bologna)
• Eggs: yolks and whites but prepared plain — without oil, butter, or other fats
• Dairy: low fat products, such as 2% milk, cheese slices, and cottage cheese
• Nuts and seeds: only six walnut or pecan halves per day, on occasion
• Seasonings: most herbs and spices are permitted
• Beverages: unsweetened black coffee, tea, and water, as well as zero-calorie diet soda

Foods to avoid

The Scarsdale diet forbids numerous foods, including many healthy ones like sweet potatoes, avocados, beans, and lentils. There are no stated reasons why these foods are prohibited.

Though grapefruit was originally the only fruit allowed, updated versions now permit most fruits — but reserve them as a treat.

• Vegetables and starches: beans, corn, lentils, peas, potatoes (white and sweet), pumpkin, and rice
• Fruits: avocado and jackfruit
• Dairy: full fat dairy including milk, yogurt, and cheese
• Fats and oils: all oils, butter, ghee, mayonnaise, and salad dressings
• Wheat and grains: most wheat and grain products (e.g., bagels, bread, breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, doughnuts, pancakes, pasta, pita bread, pizza, sandwiches, tortillas, and wraps)
• Flours: all flour and flour-based foods
• Nuts and seeds: all nuts and seeds except walnuts and pecans (in limited amounts)
• Meat: highly processed meats, such as bologna, sausage, and bacon
• Sweets and desserts: all sweets and desserts, including chocolate
• Processed foods: fast food, frozen food, potato chips, premade dinners, etc.
• Beverages: alcoholic beverages, artificially sweetened drinks, most fruit juices, soda, and specialty coffees and teas

summary

The Scarsdale diet limits you to a small list of approved foods. Many foods high in carbs or fat are banned.

The Scarsdale diet’s main claim is that it can help you lose 20 pounds (9 kg) in 14 days via a protein-rich, low calorie diet consisting of mostly lean meats, eggs, low fat dairy, leafy vegetables, and some fruit.

Since the diet permits just 1,000 calories per day — well below the recommended calorie intake for any adult — you will likely lose weight.

That’s because weight loss depends on a calorie deficit, which means that you burn more calories than you take in (1).

However, adult men and women need 2,000–3,000 and 1,600–2,400 calories per day, respectively. The 1,000 daily calories prescribed by the Scarsdale diet puts most people in a daily calorie deficit of 1,000–2,000 calories (2).

To compensate for the drastic decrease in calories, your body will begin to use fat, muscle, and glycogen stores as energy (3, 4).

Glycogen is a stored form of carbs that holds large amounts of water. As your body uses up glycogen and muscle stores, it releases water, causing a dramatic drop in weight (4, 5, 6).

Plus, the Scarsdale diet recommends that 43% of your daily calories come from protein. High protein diets have been shown to promote weight loss by aiding fullness, but they’re less effective in tandem with very low calorie diets like this one (3).

As such, you will likely lose weight during the first 2 weeks of the diet. However, very low calorie diets paired with extreme food restrictions are unsustainable and likely lead to weight regain once you stop dieting (7, 8).

Even with the Keep Slim maintenance program that’s slightly more flexible, few foods are allowed and calories are still restricted. Therefore, few people can expect to sustain this diet long term.

Though you may lose weight quickly, most medical experts agree that rapid weight loss is unhealthy and unsustainable. Instead, you should adopt healthy lifestyle habits, such as portion control, healthy cooking techniques, regular exercise, and stress management.

Summary

The Scarsdale diet is very low in calories, which likely leads to short-term weight loss — mostly from water weight rather than fat. You’ll likely regain the weight once the diet is over.

Despite its unrealistic weight loss promises, the Scarsdale diet has a few redeeming qualities.

It’s simple and straightforward for those who are looking for exact instructions, which take away the second-guessing that many diets involve.

Furthermore, it promotes high protein foods alongside vegetables at each meal. Depending on your routine eating pattern, this may improve your diet quality.

Finally, the Scarsdale diet is quite cheap and doesn’t require expensive food or equipment.

Summary

Though the Scarsdale diet is ridden with flaws, it’s straightforward, encourages high protein foods, and is relatively inexpensive.

The Scarsdale diet has numerous downsides and side effects that may endanger your health. As such, it’s best to avoid the diet.

Highly restrictive

To follow the diet correctly, you must eliminate many foods, including several nutritious options.

This diet leaves little room for flexibility and other important aspects of eating, such as cultural traditions and celebrations. If your meals become less enjoyable and even overwhelming, the diet will be difficult to follow long term (3).

In many cases, restrictive eating may damage your ability to control your food intake or increase your risk of overeating (9, 10).

The best diets are those that allow all foods in moderation, provide the optimal amount of nutrition through whole foods, and are easy to follow long term (3, 11).

Encourages yo-yo dieting

You’re meant to follow the Scarsdale diet for 14 days, then the Keep Slim maintenance program. However, you’re supposed to return to the Scarsdale diet if you begin to regain weight.

This recommendation proves that the diet is not only unsustainable but also prone to weight cycling, likewise called yo-yo dieting. This pattern involves a constant cycle of quick weight loss followed by weight regain (12).

Weight cycling can be harmful both physically and mentally, as it may lead to a slower metabolism, increased risk of weight regain, poor body image, and disordered eating thoughts and behaviors (12, 13, 14).

Vilifies calories

The Scarsdale diet emphasizes calorie intake over nutrition.

In fact, it may lead to nutrient deficiencies given its dangerous requirements to eat a meager 1,000 calories per day and eliminate entire food groups like whole grains, starchy vegetables, avocados, full fat dairy, nuts, and seeds.

Plus, the diet promotes the false belief that all calories are inherently bad. Rather, diets rich in nutrient-dense foods, which may be high in calories, are linked to a lower risk of obesity, mortality, heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, and certain cancers (15, 16, 17, 18).

Therefore, you should focus on nutrient quality rather than calories. Try to follow a diet full of nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods for healthy weight loss (3).

Prioritizes weight loss over health

Rather than improving overall health, the Scarsdale diet focuses on extreme food restriction and near-starvation techniques to trigger rapid weight loss.

The basis of the diet is that weight loss is paramount to health. Yet, adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as eating nutritious food, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and managing stress, may improve overall health with or without weight loss (3, 11, 19).

Sadly, this diet fails to recognize that your health is more than just a number on the scale.

Summary

The Scarsdale diet promotes unnecessary food restrictions, dangerously slashes your calorie intake, is unsustainable, and prioritizes weight loss over health.

The Scarsdale diet recommends eating the same breakfast each day and drinking lukewarm water throughout the day. Snacks are banned, but you’re allowed carrots, celery, or low sodium veggie soups if you can’t wait until your next meal.

Furthermore, you aren’t permitted to cook with oils or other fats and cannot add spreads to your protein bread.

Here’s a 3-day sample menu for the Scarsdale diet:

Day 1

• Breakfast: 1 slice of protein bread (no spread), half of a grapefruit, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda
• Lunch: Salad (canned salmon, leafy greens, and vinegar and lemon dressing), plus fruit, as well as black coffee, tea, or diet soda
• Dinner: Roast chicken (no skin), spinach, half of a bell pepper, string beans, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda

Day 2

• Breakfast: 1 slice of protein bread (no spread), half of a grapefruit, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda
• Lunch: 2 eggs (no fat), 1 cup (162 grams) of low fat cottage cheese, 1 slice of protein bread (no spread), plus fruit, as well as black coffee, tea, or diet soda
• Dinner: a lean hamburger (a large helping allowed), salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery) with lemon and vinegar dressing, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda

Day 3

• Breakfast: 1 slice of protein bread (no spread), half of a grapefruit, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda
• Lunch: assorted meat slices, spinach (unlimited amounts), sliced tomatoes, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda
• Dinner: a grilled steak (all fat removed — a large serving allowed), Brussels sprouts, onions, half of a bell pepper, and black coffee, tea, or diet soda

There’s limited information on portion sizes, though to ensure you stay within the 1,000 calorie limit, you probably need to keep portion sizes small for all foods besides leafy greens and proteins.

Summary

The Scarsdale diet recommends small meals comprised of protein and veggies, and it encourages you to eat the same breakfast each day. No snacks, spreads, or high fat foods are allowed.

Though the Scarsdale diet was popular in the 1970s, it’s rarely promoted today.

While you may lose weight rapidly, the diet is extremely restrictive, low in calories and nutrients, and ultimately unsustainable.

If you’re looking for long-term weight loss, you’re better off following a diet comprising whole, minimally processed food and a lifestyle that includes regular exercise, quality sleep, and stress management.

Scarsdale Diet Guides ✓ Magazine, Tips, Guides & Reviews

Scarsdale Diet

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Scarsdale — the classic last minute diet; The authors advise to keep it from 7 to 14 days, following a very specific diet.
Below, we briefly summarize the general principles of the system, separating behavior and recommended options from those that are not adequate.

What to do? What not to do

Duration 7-14 days

Follow the diet for less than a week or more than two weeks.

Stick to a strict diet

Alternate meals or diet days with cheating moments

Eat 3 main meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Eat only two of the three main meals, or include snacks in between.

Eat only healthy and «clean» food.

I prefer «junk food»

Reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet, both simple and complex.

Maintain a carbohydrate-friendly nutrient distribution

Reduce total dietary fat

Eat fatty foods and season with various recipes

Choose lean foods

Do not season with butter or butter

Eat with butter 9002 meals with fatty foods

or butter.

Prefer protein-rich foods at the expense of others

Punish protein food fraction

Estimate portions with the naked eye without using a scale.

Weigh the portions of food

Reduce dietary calories

Save the total number of calories consumed unchanged using a

,

diet, increase fluid consumption

Support or reduce fluid consumption

Drink a lot of water

Control the consumption drinks

Drink some water

Do not include herbal drinks in your diet.

Drink plenty of carbonated sugary drinks

Avoid alcohol

Drink alcohol

Do not engage in physical activity, especially intense and prolonged.

Start or continue physical activity

content

What to eat

Scarsdale diet structure

The day begins with a breakfast of coffee or tea and citrus fruits.
Instead, lunch and dinner should be high-protein, low-carb, and unspiced. 9The 0013 Scarsdale Diet recommends increasing fluid intake to help eliminate the nitrogenous waste produced by protein metabolism.
The Scarsdale diet forbids alcohol and snacks between meals, encouraging the use of herbal preparations that can control hunger pangs.

An Unbalanced Diet

Although the Scarsdale Diet does not require food to be weighed, losing weight in favor of the «amount» of food, it is nevertheless reasonable to stick to a calorie restriction.
The food he offers (meat, eggs, fish) is really especially satiating and it becomes difficult for most people to consume them in large quantities.

The table below shows energy data for some typical Scarsdale diet foods.

Health Effects

The Scarsdale Diet’s Weight Loss Effect

Even the most skeptical nutritionists will agree on the effectiveness of the Scarsdale Diet for «weight loss».
Like all ketogenic or partial fasting diets, Scarsdale also promotes rapid weight loss.
However, the impressive weight loss recorded in the first few days is mainly due to the depletion of carbohydrate stores, a decrease in muscle mass and, as a result, dehydration of the body.

Scarsdale Diet Side Effects

People on the Scarsdale Diet may initially lose a lot of weight (up to 3-4 kg in 7 days), but this weight loss is not easy to maintain or maintain.
Thus, there is a high risk of quickly regaining the pounds lost with the Scarsdale diet; this is due to both glycogen replenishment and rehydration and lack of dietary education.
Most skeptics describe the Scarsdale diet as unhealthy for the following reasons:

In addition, the predominance of saturated fats (to the detriment of unsaturated fats) and high amounts of cholesterol in the diet can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in susceptible individuals.
Indeed, despite some interesting ideas, the Scarsdale diet has many drawbacks and should therefore be replaced by a more balanced and healthy diet (see Nutritional Advice).

Also discover more articles in our Diet & Diet & Beauty & Makeup Guides categories.

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Scarsdale Diet — A Fast Way to Lose Weight

Author: Be Beautiful Posted: 2021-02-28 at 15:48 Heading: Be Beautiful

The Scarsdale Diet is a fast weight loss system based on very low calorie intake. It is also one of the oldest low carb diets followed by other diets.

This diet was created in the 1950s by Dr. Herman Tarnover, a cardiologist who founded a clinic in Scardale. This doctor created a diet for patients with heart problems who needed to lose weight quickly, but he was not a nutritionist.

His main motivation for writing the diet is that he didn’t like explaining the basics of proper nutrition to his patients, so he decided to come up with a weight loss diet. Shortly before his death, Tarnower gave an interview to the journal Behavioral Medicine, in which he assured: “If you do not have a diet for patients with general disorders, you will simply destroy yourself, trying to repeat all the nutritional instructions for each patient, since no one one doctor will not have any patience for this.

Diet Overview

The Scardale Diet can be classified as a low-calorie diet, as well as a diet with a non-standard proportion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. An adult woman following this diet would need to consume 650 to 1,000 calories per day.

The amount of nutrients that is unique to a diet with these characteristics is 43% protein, 22.5% fat and 34.5% carbohydrate.

Basic Diet

The Scardale Diet should be followed for 7-14 days, alternating with a two-week rest. You should drink at least 4 glasses of water or tea daily, but it is recommended that you cut out soda and sugary drinks from your diet. You can add various seasonings to your meals such as: fresh herbs, salt, pepper, lemon, vinegar, soy sauce, mustard or ketchup.

An important characteristic of Scardale’s basic diet is its accuracy. Although calories are not counted, the diet is limited to three meals per day; sweets are excluded.

Sample menu

Day 1

• Breakfast: tea or coffee with sugar substitute plus ½ grapefruit (breakfast menu is the same for 7 days of the diet).
• Lunch: any lean beef, chicken or fish, tomato salad, coffee.
• Dinner: grilled lean fish, tomato salad, half a grapefruit.

Day 2:

• Breakfast: ½ grapefruit or ½ cup fresh diced pineapple, ½ fresh mango, ½ papaya, ½ melon or large slice of melon, and coffee with artificial sweetener.
• Lunch: chicken liver and egg, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, olives with a slice of whole grain toast, tea.
• Dinner: chicken meat, baked chicken breast; spinach, plus fresh peach with raspberries; coffee.

Day 3

• Breakfast: tea or coffee with sugar substitute plus ½ grapefruit.
• Lunch: tuna salad plus ½ grapefruit.
• Dinner: 2 tender pork chops, green salad and coffee.

Day 4

• Breakfast: half a grapefruit or melon, and tea with artificial sweetener.
• Lunch: marinated eggplant and cheese sticks; a large vegetable salad of your favorite vegetables, with vinegar and lemon dressing, plus a fresh peach with raspberry sauce; coffee, tea or espresso.
• Dinner: Baked stuffed mushrooms, veal with ¼ cup boiled white rice and zucchini stew, coffee, tea or espresso.

Day 5

• Breakfast: coffee or tea with sugar substitute plus ½ grapefruit.
• Lunch: 2 slices of your favorite hard cheese, plus raw or cooked spinach, plus 1 slice of dried toast
• Dinner: Grilled fish, plus green salad, plus 1 slice of toast.

Diet Functionality

The main goal of the Scardale Diet is rapid weight loss. It is not intended for permanent weight control. One of its main conditions is that one or two weeks of diet must be alternated with two weeks of rest.

Benefits of the diet

The only benefit of the diet is rapid weight loss. Most people who have followed such a diet speak negatively about it because of the strict and rather boring diet menu.

Disadvantages

The diet has been challenged by most nutritionists due to a number of health-related disadvantages:

1. who plays sports or just goes to the gym.
2. Eliminating milk from the Scardale diet means that dietary calcium intake will be much lower. This low calcium level poses a risk for postmenopausal women or women over 50 years of age.
3. One who adheres to such a diet does not know how to choose the right food during a two-week diet in a restaurant or at dinner with friends.
4. Most of the weight loss comes from water, so it is quickly regained when the patient returns to their normal diet.
5. The diet requires more will power from the patient due to its strictness and low calorie content.

Because of these shortcomings, those who are thinking about losing weight quickly with the Scardale diet should definitely consult their doctor.

Risks

The Scardale diet does not provide enough calories for active women or adolescents who are still in the growth stage. It includes risks for the patient, i.e., fatigue, constipation or diarrhea, irritability, and a high risk of gallstone formation.

A low carbohydrate diet also indicates a risk of kidney or liver failure as a result of ketosis. Ketosis is nothing but a metabolic process that occurs when the carbohydrates used by the body as fuel drop below levels.

The body then starts burning proteins and fats to take care of your energy levels. When fats break down, they enter the bloodstream. They then become ketone bodies, which are mild acids that are excreted in the urine.

In addition, pregnant women, alcoholics, and people already diagnosed with chronic kidney or liver disease should not use this or any other low-carbohydrate diet to maintain weight.

Mini Tips for Weight Loss

• Reduce portions by a third — that’s what will help you lose weight!

• Capture the moment when food tastes dull. This is a REAL signal to stop eating.

• A minute of exercise before a meal is great for curbing your appetite.

a clear result and a hidden threat / What should be eaten, how and to whom — an article from the Food and Weight section on Food.

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The basic principle of a protein diet is clear from the name: those who decide to adhere to this type of diet need eat plenty of protein, and reduce the intake of carbohydrates and fats. Such a food system was familiar to our distant ancestors, and now some Indian and African tribes adhere to it. But in traditional communities, knowledge about protein nutrition is passed down from generation to generation, and a systematic approach, supported by the recommendations of scientists, began to gain popularity only in 19The 70s of the XX century, when books were written with protocols for famous nutritional methods — the Scarsdale, Atkins and Dukan diets, which still have many fans.

As part of the protein diet, it is proposed to reduce the amount of carbohydrate intake in favor of proteins. The «traditional» ratio suggests getting 50% of calories from carbohydrates, 20% from proteins and 30% from fats. A high-protein diet works differently: 45% protein, 25% protein, 30% carbs, or more affordable and safe 30% protein, 30% fat, 40% carbs.

What you can eat on a protein diet

There are no completely forbidden foods on a high protein diet: you can eat anything you like, the main thing is that the amount of protein food should not be less than 20% of the daily diet. In order to achieve this ratio, you have to reduce the amount of carbohydrates or fats.

The general recommendation for those who decide to try this diet is to cut down on refined carbohydrates such as pure sugar, sweets, desserts, white rice, white flour baked goods, and trans fats, which are found in excess in prepared foods and fast food.

There are no clear menu recommendations, and no advice on how many meals to have and how long to eat between them.

However, the following are the foods that should be paid attention to by those who decide to try high-protein nutrition — they should be the basis of the diet:

• protein foods: meat, fish, seafood, legumes, eggs, nuts, seeds;

• vegetables: all, including lettuce;

• mushrooms;

• fruits;

• berries;

• whole grains.

Refined carbohydrates, fried foods, saturated fats, added sugar and sweeteners are not recommended on a protein diet.

High-Protein Diet Rules

In order for a high-protein diet to be more effective, it is best to adhere to the following recommendations — they will help you achieve the expected effects, such as weight loss, faster.

• Add protein to everything you eat: it can be yogurt salad dressing, a piece of cheese or an egg for dinner, lean meat instead of the usual sausage for breakfast. You can even snack on protein food: if you are used to a sweet afternoon snack, opt for a protein cookie, protein bar or shake.

• Replace all cereals with whole grains: instead of porridge minutes that you just need to fill with water, take those that need to be boiled, and change white rice to brown.

• Drink cocktails. We’re not talking about fast food milkshakes and cafes, although such drinks may seem especially appealing. Protein shakes are suitable not only for athletes, but also for those who decide to consume more protein. Make sure that they do not contain sugar, otherwise the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bweight loss will be ruined in the bud.

• Don’t forget the liquid. A high-protein menu increases the load on the kidneys, for the normal functioning of which you need to drink enough liquid. During the period of dieting, this will be signaled by a feeling of thirst, which often intensifies.

What are the possible benefits of a protein diet?

Scientists have accumulated a lot of scientific data on a high protein diet, and here is what we can say about the benefits of a protein diet: excess calorie intake and weight gain;

However, despite these advantages, it is important to remember that no power system is basically universal. For some, such a diet can harm, not benefit.

What are the potential harms of a protein diet?

Opponents of such a diet point to several possible disadvantages at once — each of them should definitely be taken into account before going on the Atkins or Dukan diet.

• The danger for people with chronic diseases is that a change in the balance of key macronutrients can provoke an exacerbation of the condition. For example, an excess of protein foods is dangerous for people with chronic kidney disease — the decision to choose such a diet should be made together with a doctor. In addition, a large amount of protein in the diet can lead to the formation of kidney stones.

• People with diabetes, cardiovascular problems and other chronic diseases also need to be very careful with this diet. There are studies that have shown an increased risk of heart attack in those who followed a high-protein diet. This increase was small, but still significant.

• Insufficient fiber intake. Leaning on proteins and reducing the amount of carbohydrate intake can lead to the fact that the fiber necessary for normal digestion in the body will not be enough. Against this background, constipation or, conversely, diarrhea may occur. It is important to remember that fiber is important not only for the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, but also helps reduce the risk of developing inflammatory processes in the body and reduces the likelihood of cancer. Accordingly, fiber deficiency acts in the opposite way, increasing the chances of health problems.

• Lack of energy. Switching to a low-carb diet and increasing the amount of protein, especially if it happens in a short time, can lead to a feeling of «foggy», difficulty concentrating. Because of this, it can be difficult to work, perform familiar tasks, and generally concentrate. This is due to the fact that due to the reduction in carbohydrate intake, the brain is deprived of its usual source of energy — glucose. Energy can be obtained in another way, but this takes time, the body must adapt. Until this happens, performance may remain lower than normal.

• Calcium deficiency. One study showed that a high-protein diet can harm bone health. It is assumed that this is due to the fact that calcium, against the background of excess protein, begins to be absorbed worse for some reason.

Protein Diet: For or Against

None of the high protein diets is on the list of the healthiest and healthiest diets. Such a rating was compiled, for example, in the United States in January 2021.

Topping the «healthiest» list are the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, which is designed to keep blood pressure under control, and Flexitarianism, a variation of vegetarianism that allows for animal products.

The Dukan diet, along with the Atkins diet, was at the bottom of the standings. Next to them: the paleo diet, the raw food diet, and the keto diet, which, although they can lead to weight loss, can cause serious health problems if followed without taking into account the characteristics of the body.