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Sacred Heart Diet
Quick weight loss program, similar to the Cabbage Soup Diet.
BACKGROUND
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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
Featured Diets
Related Diets: Cabbage Soup Diet, Juice Diet, Maple Syrup Diet, Purple Diet
User Feedback
(Page 11 of 21, 420 total comments)Shannon
I just started this today and just got done making the soup. I added some Indian Spices, Worchester sauce, and parsley flakes. I also added a small packet of chopped vegetables. The soup tastes great I can't get enough of it and I honestly don't even feel like anything else. I hope I have success :)
posted Dec 27th, 2009 4:34 pmLina
Gem, Green onion are chives. They are in the porduce sectio near the broccoli (they are long and flimsy, sold in a bunch). The soup mix is sold in a box (usually red) in the soup aisle. I use kitchen ready whole tomotoes and break them up.
posted Dec 8th, 2009 10:58 amGOOD LUCK!!
Kris
Today is day 7 of week 1 and both my husband and I are down 9 pounds. My appetite has decreased enormously and I don't have that energy drop after eating like I usually did when I was eating "regular" food. We even got weak on banana day and ate about 6 fried chicken wings and 2 nutty buddies at about 9:00 pm (not shared, we each ate that!) We thought we had blew it and were ready to start over but were surprised to find we were down another pound that morning. That let me know that I can be successful after I stop the diet. Eat smart for 3 days and then have a freward day. It's awesome! I can't wait to see what another week will do, especially since I'm adding exercise. I lost nothing the first 2 days and was ready to give up too, but I kept going with my husband and caught up with him. Don't give up!! My cycle was actually the reason I didn't see any results until day 3. I'm recommending it to all my family and friends.
posted Dec 7th, 2009 9:42 amjulia
I love this diet! the first week was disspointing i only lost 5 pounds in the one week but i kept with it and after 3 weeks lost 23 pounds. i excercised 4 times a week with cardio AND weight lifting. My one feedback is DON't GIVE UP. i tried EVERYTHING and when i didnt loose that much i was about to quit but i kept with it and know i am sooo glad i stuck with it! good luck everyone!
posted Dec 7th, 2009 12:57 amgem
can any one helpme please? i want to start the sacred heart diet asap but the only lipton soup mix i can find is on ebay and its got white meat in it and its a cuppa soup is that the right one to use?
posted Dec 5th, 2009 10:36 amalso wen the soup receipe asks for green onions does it mean spring onions because iv never heard of or seen green onions? and cant find any also i cant find stewed tomatoes only chopped or peeled can they be uised as a substitute? any one whohas done this diet asap and knows my answer please let me know thank you much appreciated:)x
Layla
Im on day three and i have only lost a pound...Im disappointed, but will continue to stay on the diet until day 7. I hope this works...
posted Dec 4th, 2009 5:23 pmSyl
To all Sacred Heart successful dieters, after you go ocff this diet, how are you able to maintain the weight?
posted Nov 14th, 2009 1:58 pmTo Brooke McGill- how do you incorporate normal diet with the soup?
My only concern is the lack of protein for the majority of the weeks. I work out and have a good amount of muscle mass on me and don't want to lose it.
Good luck to everyone. Appreciate your feedback.
Brooke McGill
i cannot express in words how successful this has been and continues to be...i wish i could make money from promoting it as i am filled with conviction for the positive move forward this 'eating plan' has created. the word 'diet' promotes enormous negativity. i started it about 2 months ago with little expectation except that i am 43 and feeling like i need to make healthier choices. this just made good basic 'no rocket science' and 'no $$ wasted' sense. i am feeling so much lighter, more energetic, more flexible, and just plain better about myself. it is the easiest thing i have ever ever done. i continue to follow the basis of the plan and make my own personal alterations on a daily basis to enjoy things in general. there is little i don't have sometimes. congratulations to the dietitian who put this together.
posted Nov 13th, 2009 7:20 amdanielle
I love tis diet!!! I have less of an appetite, too!
posted Oct 24th, 2009 3:05 amI've lost 5 pounds in 3 days. Going for 20 lbs. to go!!
Jen
FYI I pureed the soup which helped me alot as I don't love ALL the veggies in it. I thought the pureed batch was much better, plus you can put it in a mug and drink it on the go!
posted Oct 23rd, 2009 3:58 pmBubbles
I'm on my 3rd week and down 14 lbs!! I don't put much stock in the scales because I've lost inches. I'm not bloated and my chronic foot pain is much better. I'm not a youngster so exercise can't be too strenuous. I went to dinner with my kids one day last week @ Red Robin and never felt tempted to stay off the diet. I get tired of the soup but I really do think its important to keep eating it. My older daughter was on the diet for 3 months and lost 36 lb. She went off for a while and is starting back up soon. This way of eating is pretty easy for me because I have a specific type of food for each day. I do miss bread but I can do anything for better health and I'd rather it be my idea instead of a have to thing.
posted Oct 21st, 2009 8:33 pmPatti
To be honest, I did not believe that this diet would work for me , but I tried since my sister encouraged to do it with her. So I did.. the first week I lost 10 lbs ( I could believe my eyes when I saw my weight) so I tried the second week and I only did it for 4 days and I lost 6 lbs.. now I am on my third week and I can not wait to see how much more lbs I have get rid off.. This diet work if you have will power and the desire to be better with you eating habits, Tried this diet, you own it to your body !
posted Oct 20th, 2009 8:41 pmjohn
This diet is awful. I followed it strictly and lost no weight. By banana day I was really really angry. Not only that, but I had to be within 5 minutes of a bathroom bc there was little warning to when the bottom was about to drop out.
posted Sep 14th, 2009 10:10 amI am fit, eat right and work out. So, maybe that is why there was no weight loss.
Plus energy was low throughout the week. Did not get the boost that it claims.
hello
I mince the celery and then cook it in a cup of water for 15-20 minutes before adding all the other veggies and ingredients because I don't like my celery crunchy. I used Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix instead of Chicken noodle. I still used the beef broth. It was excellent. Just make sure you get the stewed tomatoes that have the celery and onion in them- I made the first batch with the Italian stewed tomatoes and it was awful! I lost 9 pounds the 1st week, have been off it for a week and didn't gain any back ( I eat much healthier now). I will do it again.
posted Sep 13th, 2009 11:32 pmAmy
Day 1- The soup is tasty and filling,, the only thing I added was fresh rosemary. I'm feeling confident about this so far! Really looking forward to veggie day tomorrow, and the baked potato.. yum!
posted Sep 5th, 2009 3:21 pmHello
Day 1 sucked. I was so dizzy and "out of it". Day 2 was a little better. Day 3 seems like any normal day. I'm really not that hungry and I feel like the diet stopped working. I lost 4 pounds in the last 2 days, but today isn't doing much for me.
posted Sep 4th, 2009 5:25 pmtamara
A couple of comments.
posted Aug 17th, 2009 8:20 am1) I'd take some GasX or Beano with the soup, because it does make you pretty gassy and bloated. Yesterday I was in a lot of discomfort with the fruit and soup combination.
2) I don' think it's necessary to follow this diet that strictly. It may be a fluke, but yesterday was day 1 for me and I caved and cheated hardcore after having lots of soup, and I still lost 3-5 pounds since yesterday. The soup really does work, and I don't think it's that necessary to follow the whole fruit, veggie, beef thing. The soup really does burn calories on its own.
3) Overall, good diet, but harder than it looks to stick to.
pratt
I'm on my second, day. I like the soup and the fruit, no biggie. Today I had the soup and a can of spinach with broccolli...grrr, man only if I had some cheese!!! But no, this diet works, I've lost 2 bls already and I feel very energized and exercise is a breeze. Can 't wait till meat day!
posted Jul 31st, 2009 3:33 pmKristi
I started on june 1st 09 and have lost 25 lbs now july 25. I found the diet to be be forgiving. On vacation I still ate as close to the program as possible just no breads & no fried foods. 10 day vacation netted 3 lbs gained but next 6 days of diet netted 6 lbs loss. Ya for me. I love it. The diet works for me. Especially the day 5 & 6 on meat. Kristi
posted Jul 26th, 2009 9:59 pmdorothy
i love it. been on it since the last week of april and loss 20 lbs. was off on vacation for 2 weeks and gained nothing back. starting again today. love the soup and change it each time i make it by adding cabbage or different spices.
posted Jul 20th, 2009 9:44 am