Cabbage Soup Diet
The very definition of an ill-advised fad diet.
BACKGROUND
Look up the definition of fad diet and you’ll see a picture illustrating the Cabbage Soup Diet. It should not be followed as a long-term eating plan, as it is dangerously low in calories and could do more harm than good. It is possible to lose 10 pounds in a week when you stick to this uber-low calorie plan.
The Cabbage Soup Diet does offer fast weight loss, but it is completely lacking in nutrition, flavor and variety. You'll consume mostly soups of cabbage, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms. Nutritionists argue that the pounds shed are more likely attributed to the dramatic and dangerous loss in calories and not the proposed fat-burning power found in the cabbage. This diet deprives your body of essential nutrients and has been correlated to difficulty concentrating, feeling light-headed and weak.
PRO
- You will lose weight
CON
- Unhealthy
- Dangerously caloric intake
- Primarily losing water weight
- Will regain lost weight if don't stick to healthy eating and exercise following completion
- Does not promote exercise; would be too weak to do so
DIET and NUTRITION
The one-week Cabbage Soup Diet relies on this simple plan:
Day One All-you-can-eat soup and fruit (no bananas). Consume plenty of water, cranberry juice and unsweetened tea.
Day Two Consume all the soup and vegetables you like (no beans, peas or corn). Have a buttered baked potato with dinner. No fruit today.
Day Three Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you like, nothing else.
Day Four Eat your soup, no more than eight bananas and all the skim milk you want.
Day Five Have at least one serving of soup today. You can also have 10-20 ounces of skinless chicken or beef and no more than six tomatoes. Drink plenty of water.
Day Six Eat plenty of vegetables and your servings of beef. Today is the day you can go a bit overboard with the meat (2 steaks if you like) - just make sure to add salad and vegetables. Stay away from the carbs - no fries, potatoes, etc.
Day Seven Have at least one serving of soup. Only eat brown rice, vegetables and unsweetened fruit juice.
EXERCISE
No recommendations are made. Given the severely low calories you'll be consuming, you likely won't have the strength for physical activity.
CONCLUSION
For rapid weight loss as a jump-start to a more healthy eating plan, the Cabbage Soup Diet could possibly be a solution. However, fasting or liquid diets like Cabbage Soup promising dramatic weight loss results in only a week are typically only helping you shed water weight. This weight will creep right back on once you stop the diet and continue with previous poor eating habits. Finishing the Cabbage Soup Diet and beginning a healthy eating and exercise regimen is the best advice anyone following this unhealthy approach can receive. Be sure to speak with your physician before beginning.
Common Misspellings
cabbge soup diet, cabbage soup deit, cabage soup diet, cabbagge soup, cabbagesoupdiet.com, cabbage diet, cabagge soup diet, soup diet
Related Diets: Juice Diet, Maple Syrup Diet, Grapefruit Solution, 21 Pounds in 21 Days, Martha's Vineyard Diet
Wikipedia
The Cabbage soup diet is a radical weight loss diet designed around heavy consumption of a low-calorie cabbage soup over the time of seven days. It is generally considered a fad diet, in that it is designed for short-term weight-loss and requires no long-term commitment. It has inspired several copy-cats based around similar principles.
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This review is the very definition of a poor review. First you are supposed to stay on this diet for just 7 days at a time. It makes no claim to be a long term diet. So quit criticising it on its long term effects. Second, it has plenty of variety. You get to consume a variety of soups, salads, fruits, chicken and meat and even a baked potato over 7 days. Thats more dietary variety than most meat and potatoes Americans get in their weekly diet. All you are doing is cutting out the harmful stuff, colas,sweets and potato chips. Third, its unhealthy OK but thats not the point. Being obese is unhealthy. Chemotherapy for cancer is unhealthy. The point is does it leave you healthier than you were before? For the Obese the answer is an emphatic YES!! And finally its a great diet because it will help you break bad eating habits and give you a fresh eating start. Most people can stick with a tough diet for one week. Even when they find it impossible to stick with a moderate diet for the months required to show results. So everybody who's trying this; Go for it!
I am just finishing day 2 of the diet, and I have not been hungry or light-headed. The soup is good, and I have been very strict about it all. The only problem is, I do not feel that I am losing any weight. I am 5'5" and on day 1 weighed 125 lbs. I need to lose some vanity (extra holiday, too much wine and good cheese!) weight -- am really wondering if this will work for me..... Others that boast of great weight loss, seem to be rather overweight. Is this just an exercise in futility? I really do not want to get on a scale until at least day 5, to really give the diet a chance.... skinny mamas out there - pls share your story w/ me!
Hello, I just found the website today...my sister is the one that actually told me about the diet. My sister and her boyfriend did this diet and lost 10lbs in the 7days. Now her wedding is April 4th and i need to shed some pounds...i was wondering as i was reading what is the actual plan..if someone could write it out..when i look it up websites have different recipies...thanks.. Jessica
i am on day 2 of the diet and the baked potato has been calling all day but i think i messed up i got cranberry juice cocktail the light that is sweetneed with splenda and i just noticed that i ate green beans not many but a few as well as 3 snow peas am i screwed now
Do you not get sick of eating cabbage soup? I like cabbage but I dont think I could eat it for a week straight!
Its actually not that bad. The cabbage soup diet isn't amazing but it worked for me
I've done it for a week now and the fact that you can have fruit as well vegetables does'nt make the cabbage soup diet too terrible, after this week though I think I'm done for a bit....anyone experience a longer period of time?
NO WAY!! I just needed to fit in my bikini for spring break. That stuff is not exactly tasty but I guess it did the trick.
Hey Malea - how fast did you lose the weight on the cabbage soup diet? I have a wedding coming up and am looking for a quick fix.
You can loose up to 5 pound a week, wich is what I did once. It defenitely works, but it's not the easiest and healthiest thing. This diet as you may already know was created to help obese patients loose weight before their surgery.
RE: 'sneaking in tea/splenda" Well, I did drink coffee with Splenda while I was on the diet (see my previous comment), and it was not a problem. You might want to skip the soy, however. By the way, I'm now on my second round of the cabbage soup diet--just started again today, after a few weeks "off" following the first very successful week of doing it. I've heard that the first time works best/easiest, but we'll see how it goes! I'll let you guys know after this week....
I started the diet yesterday and weighed 140lbs. This morning I woke up and weighed 136.2. I did 40 minutes of cardio and drank one gallon of water as well. The only thing that I am having not listed in the plan is splenda in my coffee.(only 2packets) Other than that, I am being extremely strict with the diet. So, I think that it is working. I am only using this diet to jump start my new eating habits becasue I know that I will gain all the weight back if I am not careful about what I eat after this week.
can you drink the broth or do you have to eat the cabbage?
Im starting on monday!!!!!!!!!!!
Erika, Good luck on the new round of cabbage soup! We will be waiting to hear the outcome.
I just finished a week on this diet and I kid you not, I lost TWELVE LBS!!! However, please note that I also included 45 minutes of exercise each day except one. Headaches were definitely part of the package, and light-headedness. I learned to take aspirin every day at bed so the next morning I'd feel more normal and be able to go running. I loved that you can eat tons of fruit, which I did. By the way, I'm still losing weight several days after finishing that diet, just keeping up with the exercise and reduced calorie diet. But I'm having salads and fish and chicken now, too. I made more soup but after one week, it's very hard to think of trying to eat even one meal of it a day. But I'm trying. I think it seems to speed up your metabolism--something about the combo of veges? I almost feel more hungry AFTER eating it.... That's why the fruit was so important to have around. I totally recommend this diet, but drink LOTS AND LOTS of water all day, take an aspirin if you start to feel weird, and eat whenever you're hungry. Good luck!!!
do you think I can sneak in the occasional cup of black tea with soy milk and sweetened with splenda while on this diet?
i'm starting the cabbage soup diet and i'm wondering if anyone knows if you can follow this diet if you are diabetic
can you have deit juice on the cabbage soup diet? Please let me know asap
I have heard some people puree the soup so it is smoother and doesn't have chunks. Personally, I like the chunks so I feel like I'm eating something. I learned the hard way that I need to have lots of fruits and veggies on hand those first days. Day one I ate so much soup because all I had bought fruit wise was apples, an orange and a pear. I couldn't survive on that. For day three, I bought a couple bowls of pre cut up fruit mix from the deli. It was so much better. Grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple. I did better that day and also had a small veggei tray. I did dip in ranch, so not sure if that hurt or not. I'm now on day 4, the banana day and I really am not craving much. Let's see how I do at the end of the week. I am not a tomato fan so I won't be adding tomatoes tomorrow. But there are plenty of pureed ones in my soup.
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