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The Cabbage Soup Diet: Report |
Basically a very low calorie diet; the Cabbage Soup Diet
works, temporarily, by cutting daily calories to near-starvation
levels
What is the Cabbage Soup Diet?
Interestingly, no person or organization seems to want to
claim responsibility for inventing the cabbage soup diet! So
there isn't an "official" version, but
various cabbage diet plans based around eating copious
quantities of cabbage soup, and very little else.
Claims made for the cabbage soup diet range from the ludicrous,
ie. the cabbage soup itself has fat burning properties to the
dubious, ie. you can lose 10lbs in a week. The diet is often put
forward as a quick way to drop pounds for a special event and
most proponents advise that it only be followed for a week.
What's
Involved?
The Cabbage Soup Diet plan is very strict. The idea is to eat
as much cabbage soup as you like every day - enough to keep you
full up, so you don't cheat! Plus specific additional foods on
each day of the seven day diet. No alcohol is allowed and other
drinks are limited to
water, and unsweetened fruit juice on days
when fruit is allowed.
- Day 1 - Cabbage soup plus as much fruit as you
like, excluding bananas
- Day 2 - Cabbage soup plus vegetables including 1
jacket potato with a little butter
- Day 3 - Cabbage soup plus fruit and vegetables
excluding potatoes and bananas
- Day 4 - Cabbage soup plus up to eight bananas and
as much skimmed milk as you like
- Day 5 - Cabbage soup plus up to 20 ounces of beef
and up to six tomatoes
- Day 6 - Cabbage soup plus as much beef and
vegetables (excluding potatoes) as you like
- Day 7 - Cabbage soup plus brown rice, vegetables
(excluding potatoes) and unsweetened fruit juice
Recipes for the cabbage soup vary, but all are based on
cabbage, onions, tinned tomatoes, green peppers, celery,
carrots, mushrooms and onion soup mix.
Does the Cabbage Soup Diet Work?
In the short term most people would lose weight very quickly.
However, the loss of weight will come from loss of water and
muscle tissue not from fat reserves. The combination of foods
"allowed" would force most people to nearly starve
each day. This could actually be counter-productive, forcing the
body into starvation mode will slow
metabolism and encourage the
body to hang on to fat reserves!
This diet regime requires a lot of planning and frequent
shopping trips for the supply of vegetables and fruit. For many
people it will involve cooking and eating separately from other
family members not following this eating regime.
So
Why Do It?
Many are attracted to this short-term "quick fix" diet to
lose weight quickly. It is not a solution to a healthy, long term eating
plan.
Is the Cabbage Soup Diet Healthy?
The ingredients of the cabbage soup, in themselves, are
mostly healthy - though if stock is used as well as soup mix the
finished soup could be quite high in salt. Overall the cabbage
diet is deficient in protein, carbohydrate and
essential fats.
Since the diet is only supposed to be followed for seven days,
this shouldn't cause people in good health any long-term
problems, but people who have special dietary needs, including
diabetics, should definitely consult a doctor before starting
the cabbage soup diet. No one should follow the diet for more
than seven days.
Dietitian
Says:
"A balanced, healthy diet
combined with exercise is still the most effective and safe long-term
way to lose weight. However the results are gradual and require
perseverance."
What's Best for You?
Using the food diary and food database in Weight Loss
Resources will help you to decide which is the best dieting
method for you. Most people find it a real "eye
opener" - you can try it
free for 24 hours.
WLR Members' Views
Useful
link - a dietary expert from the University of Florida gives her
view of the cabbage soup diet. |
