Cabbage Soup Diet

Have you heard about the cabbage soup diet? Well, it seems to be the hot topic these days, so we thought why not dive into all things cabbage soup together in this article! Fun, right? We thought so too.

The Cabbage Soup Diet promotes quick weight loss. Its supporters assert that following the diet for seven days can result in weight loss of up to 4.5 kg. In order to follow the diet, you eat virtually only homemade cabbage soup for one week. You may also eat 1-2 additional things each day, such as skim milk, fruit, or vegetables. The diet is designed to help you lose weight or kick-start a longer-term diet plan, and it should only last seven days.

The Mayo Clinic Diet and the Sacred Heart Hospital Diet are two alternative names for the Cabbage Soup Diet, which was allegedly created in a hospital for fast weight loss before heart surgery. However, the implicated hospitals have denied these claims. No one really knows where this unique diet came from, though it began increasing in popularity during the 1980s and has stuck around ever since!

So, what are the basic steps? Well, homemade cabbage soup forms the foundation of this diet. In order to commence the diet, you need to make up large batches of cabbage soup for the entire week.

The original cabbage soup diet recipe has the following ingredients.

2 large onions

2 green capsicums

2 cans of tomatoes

1 bunch of celery

1 head of cabbage

3 carrots

1 pack of mushrooms

1-2 chicken stock cubes (optional)

6-8 cups of water or vegetable cocktail (such as V8)

The instructions for preparing this soup are as follows.

1. Chop all vegetables into cubes.
2. In a large pot, sauté the onions.
3. Add the remaining vegetables and cover with water or vegetable cocktail and chicken stock cubes if using and other seasonings, if desired (we love Italian herbs, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a touch of chilli).
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium heat.
5. Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. This takes roughly 30-45 minutes.

You are also allowed to add other non-starchy vegetables such as spinach or green beans if you wish. Every day, you can eat as much cabbage soup as you want.

Now you might be wondering… what are the rules of the diet? Well, let me tell you! You are allowed to have 1-2 other low calories per day in addition to your cabbage soup. However, it is vital not to make any other substitutions and to ensure you are only drinking water or calorie-free beverages, such as unsweetened tea for example. A daily multivitamin is often recommended as the diet may be low in certain nutrients. Lucky for you, you can pick up Thinco’s turbo multivitamin to help you with this.

These are the rules for each day of the cabbage soup diet.

Day 1: Unlimited cabbage soup and fruit, but no bananas.

Day 2: Only soup and vegetables. Focus on raw or cooked leafy greens. Avoid peas, corn, and beans. You may also have one baked potato with butter or oil.

Day 3: As many fruits and vegetables as you can eat, in addition to the soup. However, no baked potatoes and no bananas.

Day 4: Unlimited bananas, skim milk and cabbage soup.

Day 5: You are allowed 10–20 ounces (280–567 grams) of beef, which you may substitute for chicken or fish. You may also have up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6–8 glasses of water.

Day 6: Soup, beef, and vegetables. You may substitute the beef for broiled fish if you did not do so the day prior. Focus on leafy greens. No baked potato.

Day 7: You may have vegetables, brown rice, and unlimited fruit juice — but no added sugar.

It is important to note that you should not continue the cabbage soup diet for more than 7 days at a time. However, you can repeat the diet as long as you wait a minimum of 2 weeks before starting it again.

Now you might be wondering. Does it really work for weight loss? And the short answer is yes as it is very low in calories, which often results in weight loss. However, we want to mention that the cabbage soup diet has never been studied so it is impossible to truly confirm its effectiveness.

Another benefit? This diet is very cheap to follow, unlike other diets on the market.

While we have discussed the positives of this diet it is important to note some of the potential drawbacks such as this diet may cause flatulence and cramping, gallbladder issues as rapid weight loss may lead to gallstones, and it may change your blood sugar levels due to the low carb and calorie nature of the diet.

So, are you going to join the hype and try the cabbage soup diet? If so, good luck! This diet is not for the faint-hearted.