Facebook Pixel

The Cabbage Soup Diet Plan

By HERWriter
 
Rate This

The Cabbage Soup Diet admits that it is not like “mainstream” diet and is designed for you to lose a large amount of weight in a rapid amount of time.
The Cabbage Soup Diet is a dramatic, short-term weight loss plan which centers around eating a cabbage and vegetable concoction for the course of a week. The average weight loss on the plan is 10 pounds. Of course most of that is water weight.

The Cabbage Soup Diet is rumored to have started at a hospital where obese patients were awaiting surgery. It is a low fat high fiber diet and to be used only for seven days as a solution for large amount of short-term weight loss.

The first day is the “induction day” where you will eat all the fruit you want except bananas and cabbage soup. The purpose of this is to fill you up with high-fiber, low-fat food choices. On Day Two you want to eat as many vegetables as you want, one baked potato with butter and cabbage soup. There is no fruit allowed on this day.

On Day Three, fruit can make another appearance and you can eat as much fruit and vegetables as you like. On Day Four bananas are back to help stave off those sugar cravings. You can eat as many as 6-8 bananas on this day. You can also drink as much skim milk as you like as well. Cabbage soup on both these days is also on the menu.

Day Five allows you to be a carnivore again and eat meat. You can have 15-20 ounces of beef, chicken or fish. You can also eat six fresh tomatoes on this day. The added protein is served up of course with Cabbage Soup. On Day Six, you can enjoy beef, vegetables and soup. Water is of utmost importance on this day at least six to eight glasses.

On Day Seven you can add in as much brown rice as you want. Drink up fruit juice and eat your veggies and brown rice. This is the last day that you will dine on your Cabbage Soup.

It is recommended that you should only do this for seven days and then go back to your regular diet. Below is the recipe for Cabbage Soup:

 6 large green onions (also called “spring” onions)
 2 green peppers
 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
 3 carrots
 1 container (10 oz. or so) mushrooms
 1 bunch of celery
 half a head of cabbage
 1 package spice only soup mix (In the US, Lipton's is a good choice)
 1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
 1 48oz can Low Sodium V8 juice (optional)
 Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc. (Little to NO SALT!)

Directions:

Slice green onions, put in a pot on medium heat and start to sauté with cooking spray. Do this until the onions are whiter/clearer in color (about 4-6 minutes).

Cut green pepper stem end off, then cut pepper in half to take out the seeds and membrane. Cut the green pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.

Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.
Clean carrots, mushrooms, and celery, cut into bite size pieces and toss them in. Add tomatoes now, too.

If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.

For seasonings, you can use a spice soup packet of your choice (no noodles!) or use beef or chicken bouillon cubes. These cubes are optional, and you can add spices you like instead (make sure not to add much salt, if any at all).

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and 48 oz. of Low Sodium V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. Let soup simmer for a long time -- about 2 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Cabbage-Soup-Diet.com – The Cabbage Soup Diet. Web 26 Aug. 2011.
http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com
http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com/recipe

“The Cabbage Soup Diet: What You Need to Know – Health.HowStuffWorks.com” Discovery Fit & Health. Web. 26 Aug.2011.
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/diets/cabbage-soup-diet1.htm

Joanne Sgro-Killworth is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training. Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her websitewww.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area with her husband, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.

Reviewed August 29, 2011
by MIchele Blacksberg R.N.
Edited by Jody Smith

Add a Comment1 Comments

EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I agree that the cabbage soup diet can be a great way to jump start a weight loss program.

I do find the diet very limiting and hard to stick to though.

The actual soup part of the diet is one that I've used over and over again. I don't limit myself to the soup alone. I simply include it as part of a healthy eating plan. You can vary the recipe depending on your own tastes and still get the vitamins and fiber you need.

You can add some beans, chicken or lean meat to add the protein you need too!

December 22, 2011 - 2:16pm
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy
Add a Comment

We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

Diet & Nutrition

Get Email Updates

Diet & Nutrition Guide

Have a question? We're here to help. Ask the Community.

ASK

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!