Sacred Heart Diet
Quick weight loss program, similar to the Cabbage Soup Diet.
BACKGROUND
The Sacred Heart Diet is a 7-day eating plan that is supposed to shed pounds quickly by consuming a special soup made of broth and vegetables as your main source of food. According to the diet, during the seven days, you can lose up to 10 pounds or more. Each day has specific guidelines for which foods and drinks to consume. There is a thorough list of restricted foods and beverages, so that you'll know exactly what you can and can't consume.
This diet supposedly comes from the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital, although reports on the Web refute this. It is used for overweight heart patients in order to lose weight rapidly, usually prior to surgery. In addition to losing weight quickly, it is intended to also wash your body of impurities while giving you a surge of energy without the ingestion of caffeine or other energy-enhancing products. This diet is also sometimes referred to as the Cabbage Soup Diet.
PRO
- There are notable health benefits from avoiding certain processed foods like refined sugars and flours
- Does not call for any funky supplements or herbal concoctions
- Reliance on the diet's consumption of vegetables, fresh fruit and lean protein is beneficial to one's health and can possibly aid in weight loss also.
- Its one-week time frame is manageable for individuals with a strong will power and who want to lose weight quickly
- Supports exercise
CON
- Diet may be restrictive for some
- No scientific evidence that this soup will actually burn calories
- Once you've completed it, you are on your own to reestablish your eating routine
- Does not give any guidelines for how to sustain long-term weight loss
- Given its strictness, the individual may run the risk of having a gorge fest when Day 7 is completed
- Sacred Heart Hospital and The American Heart Association deny any relationship with the diet
DIET and NUTRITION
The soup, which is made from 11 ingredients, is the supposed magic pill of The Sacred Heart Diet. The soup includes canned tomatoes, mushrooms, green beans, bell peppers, celery, beef stock and vegetable juice. You can find the complete Sacred Heart Diet Recipe here.
For the seven days of this diet, you will eliminate bread, white sugar, alcohol, fried foods, and carbonated beverages
The Diet has specific guidelines for each day that you must adhere to in order to reap the supposed benefits.
Each day, you will consume your sacred soup in addition to certain kinds of fruit, certain allowable beverages, protein and other cooked or canned vegetables. For instance, on Day One, you may eat as much soup as you want to as well as fruit except for bananas. On this first day, you can only drink coffee, black tea, water or unsweetened juice without milk or sugar added to the beverages On Day Two, you can have soup, vegetables and a baked potato with a small pat of butter for dinner. On Day Four, you may eat at least 3 bananas, and drink as much skim milk and soup as you can. The diet continues for the following three days in which you add lean red meat or chicken and still continue to eat the soup.
Abiding by the diet's guidelines is intended to yield the results you are looking for.
EXERCISE
There are no specific exercise recommendations for The Sacred Heart Diet other than to follow your usual exercise routine by getting in some form of exercise on most days of the week.
CONCLUSION
Albeit it is a very restrictive diet, The Sacred Heart Diet is a commendable eating plan given its reliance on vegetables, fruits and lean protein. It is clearly high in fiber, nutrients and minerals. It is similar to many low carbohydrate diets out there for its avoidance of refined sugars, flour of any sort, fried foods and added fat. Although there is no scientific proof that the sacred soup which you ingest every day is a magic pill to melt off the pounds, it is a great way to feel full and to get in more than your five veggies a day. But its reliance on veggies and fruit might give some stomach cramps if your system is not used to this way of eating. Since this such a one-shot punch to lose weight, it might be that you gain the weight back just as quickly or even more quickly as you lost it.
And do make a pact with yourself before starting this diet that on Day 8, when The Sacred Diet officially ends, you don't hightail it to McDonalds and order 3 double cheeseburgers and 2 super-sized fries. Do be gentle on your gut as you acclimate it back to the foods that you normally consume: order the Happy Meal.
Common Misspellings
sacrid, saecred, hart, scared
Related Diets: Cabbage Soup Diet, Juice Diet, Maple Syrup Diet, Purple Diet
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hey, im going to try this diet but you see the soup sounds gross, so can i just not use the soup at all? plese reply!
I need help? I just found out about this diet...and it looks good but with the recipe for the soup does that only make one day's worth and then you have to eat it all and make more the next day or do you just eat as much as you want and if you don't eat it all you can save if for the next day? I'm confused please help...
Angelia: Please let me know if that works. I am also a vegetarian. Although after 10years, not very strict. I will eat beef broth for this diet and was recently been able to stomach 1/2 of a pork chop.
MEME: the link to the recipe is included above in the review.
All your comments are encouraging.. Can anyone tell me where to get the soup mix? Thanks Meme
I started this diet today along with my daughter. I have heard from my SIL that it works and hence plan to stick. We also do Jillian Michaels's online workout for 45 minutes and sweat out...but have lost only 2 punds in past 4 weeks....so hoping that this soup diet shall help stay full and burn all during our workouts! 18-Aug-08. Good luck! Basic math - Calorie in - Calorie out.....I believe to lose a pound you need to burn 3500 calories. So in 7 days , you need to burn at least 500 calories...I guess I am on my way now! Jayashree
On the Sacred Heart Diet how can I sweeten my coffee? Any ideas?
I am a strict vegetarian too - I am using veg broth in place of beef (still very low cal) and also I figure I will have protein patties (gardenburger or boca or other) or Tempeh in the weight of oz. for the prescribed portions of beef. I think that is a safe substitute as long as carbs are watched...not have a burger with a lot of rice in it.
On day three, been following religiously, but weird thing is that I've gained a pound since day two... So I started at 233, was 231 the start of day 2, and am 232 today, start of day 3... I'll keep on believing though... I hope I get the results I want...
Well, here goes! I really need to get rid of all the lbs. I've put on since retirement. Thanks for the input on how you all are trying it and the results you giving the rest of us. Wish me luck
I did the diet and lost 10 pounds in 5 days. That was my goal. The key was eating as much soup and drinking lots of water. I also had unsweetened juice when i craved something sweet. I loved it and I only walked moderately during the diet. I feel lighter and better. I now have gone to eating veggies and fruit only 3 days a week.
I just started the diet today. i made a large stock pot of the soup with the veggies. I am at 175 and am trying to lose weight for my son's wedding in Sept. 20th.I plan on doing it at least two or three more times till then. I wonder if age has anything to do with the loss. I am 46 so i'll keep ya'all posted:)
I am on day two of the diet and have lost two pounds so far. I am peeing constantly today and am feeling hungry. I am looking forward to the potato tonight.
I want to try this diet, but I am a vegetarian. Would skipping on eating beef affect the diet at all?
I followed this diet in 1997 and I lost 70 pounds in 4 months. After the first couple of weeks, I did sneak in a double cheeseburger and a diet coke once in awhile, but by then my metabolism was burning at full-speed and it didn't even register a blip on the radar. As others have mentioned, you do need to be careful when you go off the diet when it comes to fast food, fried foods, carbs, and dairy or you will put weight back on. Its really great to jump start a weight loss plan though and the detox is very good!
Today is day 4 for me and I have lost 2 pounds so far. I think people should use this diet as a jumpstart into a regular fitness and healthy eating routine, not as the answer to losing all the weight.
I just started this diet today, I am hoping to lose weight and feel great. I will let you know how much i lose.. .( smile)
I am starting day 3 of the diet and have not lost any weight. I have eaten about 3 bowls of the soup day 1 & 2, lots of water and cr juice. I had the baked potato for dinner last night but had no additional veggies, I was on the road, no time. I did eat the fruit day 1. Can you gain weight if you don't eat enough on this diet. My clothes feel tighter.
am on day 4 and i have lost a strone already, i love this diet
i started the diet yesterday. I made a wonderfully HUGE pot of the soup and found that during day one (fruits and soup) that i had to p'n'poo continuously throughout the day - to the point where my p was comepletely clear. (i did fall off the wagon though around 9pm last night - i had a mcdonalds dble cheeseburger SORRY i was STARVING and the thought of another bowl of soup killed me! (i had FIVE during the day). However i got up this morning and jumped right back in - with day 2 - veggies and soup - I wish i had some good cooked veggie recipe's as i am really NOT hungry but the more you eat supposedly the more you lose - i had a bag of fresh raw green beans and two bowls of soup. I weigh 150lbs and wanted to get down to 140lbs. I was hoping not to have to go past day 3 - I will let you know!
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