Created by Dr Herman Tarnower, the Scarsdale Diet is a rigid programme that also promises an extremely high rate of weight loss. Our diet plan review explains the theory behind the promises.

Food intake on the Scarsdale Diet is limited to fruits, vegetables and lean proteins in specific amounts. It also recommends artificial sweeteners and herbal appetite suppressants to speed up weight loss. Strict diet meal plans allow you to eat only three times per day, with no snacks in between. The programme lasts between seven and fourteen days and has to be kept to exactly. Recipes are low in carbohydrates and high in vitamins and minerals with moderate levels of fat. You'll also have to drink large quantities of water, to flush your system, and enable you to lose weight more quickly. One of the earliest low-carb diets, the Scarsdale Diet has now lost out in popularity to modern versions of the theory, such as Atkins and the Zone method. It has the disadvantage that, after the fourteen days are up, it can be hard to find other diet meal plans that will keep off the weight you have lost.

Unlike the majority of weight loss strategies, this programme goes against the dominant scientific research on how to lose weight, and doesn't recommend exercise. In fact, it suggests that anyone over 40 should avoid strenuous exercise. This is because the limited number of calories provided by the eating programme don't provide enough fuel even to sustain a 30-minute vigorous walk.