You’ve probably heard about this one off and on for years. You’ve probably even received a copy of the recipe in your inbox. Does it really work??
The Cabbage Soup Diet claims that you can lose 10 pounds in 7 days. Here’s an overview of the ‘diet’…
What’s in the Cabbage Soup?
The recipe seems to vary a little depending on which version you read. No one seems to want to take credit for creating the Cabbage Soup Diet, so there is no ‘official’ version. Here’s a typical recipe though…
+ 3 onions
+ 1 head of celery
+ 1 green bell pepper
+ half a cabbage
+ 2 tins of tomatoes
+ 1 pack of onion soup mix
+ 3 pints of vegetable stock
Instructions: Chop up everything, boil once and then simmer until the veggies are soft. (Makes about 6 servings)
What’s the ‘plan’ to use the Cabbage Soup?
Day 1 – Unlimited cabbage soup; plus unlimited fruits (except bananas)
Day 2 – Unlimited cabbage soup, plus other non-starchy vegetables, plus a baked potato with butter for dinner
Day 3 – Unlimited cabbage soup; plus unlimited fruits (except bananas.)
Day 4 – Unlimited cabbage soup, plus up to 6 bananas, plus unlimited fat-free milk.
Day 5 – Unlimited cabbage soup, plus 6 tomatoes and up to 450 grams of meat or fish.
Day 6 – Unlimited cabbage soup, plus unlimited lean beef or chicken and vegetables.
Day 7 – Unlimited cabbage soup, plus unlimited brown rice, pure fruit juice, and vegetables.
Plus unlimited water on all days.
Does the Cabbage Soup diet work?
Sort of. You will lose weight, because the staple of your diet is the (very low calorie) cabbage soup. Also you’ll eat less of the few other foods you are allowed, because you’re full of soup. You could accomplish the same effect by drinking a couple glasses of water before each meal. (And water tastes better than this soup!)
Also, it’s really hard to make it through the whole seven days. First off, the soup tastes awful. You’re going to be sick of it after the first day. Also, you have to make it at home every day, because you can’t buy this soup anywhere. That’s a *lot* of cutting, chopping, and boiling. Then you have to pretty much stay home to eat it. (Because you’ll need to stay close to your bathroom; the Cabbage Soup Diet does very unsettling things to your bowels.) Most people don’t have seven days to spend doing nothing but eating soup and having diarrhea.
Is the Cabbage Soup Diet safe?
No. Every version you’ll ever see of this diet warns not to do it for more than the 7 days. There’s a good reason for that. This isn’t a nutritionally balanced diet. It’s a quick way to drop some water weight, right before your body goes into full-blown starvation mode.
The Cabbage Soup Diet is low in vitamins and doesn’t represent all the food groups that your body needs each day. Potential users are warned NEVER to try this for more than the 7 days. Like most fad diets, the Cabbage Soup Diet doesn’t work towards changing your long term eating habits. Once you go back to your regular eating habits, you can expect to gain those few lost pounds right back.
Always consult your personal health care team before beginning any diet plan.
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