Cabbage Soup Diet

thought that the ideas here others might find useful. Has anyone done this before? are there ideas here that are useful for long term adoption?

The 7-day Cabbage Soup Diet plan promises all you can eat -- as long as you stick to the small list of allowed foods on alternate days, along with two daily bowls of fat-free cabbage soup. Other specific foods that must be eaten including fruit, vegetables, skim milk, and meat. Dieters are also advised to drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol.

Here's a sample Cabbage Soup Diet plan:

Day 1: Cabbage soup and all the fruit you want except bananas. Drink unsweetened tea, black coffee, cranberry juice, or water.

Day 2: Cabbage soup, all the low-calorie vegetables you want (except beans, peas, or corn), and a baked potato with butter.

Day 3: Cabbage soup and a mixture of the above fruit and vegetables.

Day 4: Cabbage soup, up to eight bananas, and two glasses of skim milk.

Day 5: Cabbage soup, up to 20 ounces of beef, chicken or fish, up to six fresh tomatoes, and at least 6-8 glasses of water.

Day 6: Cabbage soup, up to 3 beef steaks, and unlimited vegetables.

Day 7: Cabbage soup, up to 2 cups of brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, and unlimited vegetables.

The recipe for the cabbage soup varies slightly among different versions of the diet. But it basically includes cabbage and assorted low-calorie vegetables such as onions and tomatoes, and is flavored with onion soup mix, bouillon, and tomato juice.

Here's a typical recipe:

1 package dry onion soup mix

2 bouillon cubes, either chicken or beef

1 celery stick (not the whole stalk), diced

1/2 head green cabbage, diced

3 carrots, sliced

2 bell peppers, sliced

6 large green onions, or 1 large yellow, white or purple onion, diced

2 cans of tomatoes, diced or whole

Cooking spray

Salt, pepper, parsley, garlic powder, soy sauce to taste (or any other seasoning you like)

Spray a large pot with cooking spray and sauté all vegetables except cabbage and tomatoes until tender. Add cabbage and about 12 cups of water. Toss in bouillon cubes, soup mix, and seasonings. Cook until soup reaches desired tenderness; add tomatoes.

Dieters beware; you may encounter some gastrointestinal discomfort from the highly sulphurous cabbage and other gassy vegetables.

Mon. Jun 11, 1:48pm

I tried it for a while a few years ago. Lost a few pounds, but the minute you go off it you gain it all back. Or that was my experience anyways. Good if you need to lose a couple of pounds in a pinch for a class reunion or something.

Monday, June 11, 2007, 1:53 PM

Okay, can you see yourself eating that way long term? Find something that you can adopt into as a lifestyle change and you won't ever have to worry about gaining the weight back. Because seriously the reason why people fail diets is because they always see it as a "diet" and not a whole new "lifestlye" and thats what is should be - a lifestyle.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007, 3:18 AM

I actually read this and thought it was a joke... people actually do this?

Tuesday, June 12, 2007, 9:56 AM

Alas - yes. This diet has been around for years. And not to be unkind, but I don't know a single person who's tried it that didn't put the weight back on. I suspect it'be because that diet is the epitomy of the quick fix where only the symptom of the behavior is addressed, not the root cause. Since the root cause of the excess weight is not addressed (unhealthy lifestyle choices), once the weight is off - then what? All the factors that caused the gain in the first place are still in place just as strong as ever. That's why diets like this only offer a temporary solution for most people. Good luck to you OP.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007, 10:47 AM

One other problem is that their soup recipe is extremely high in sodium because of the soup mix, boullion, celery and canned tomatoes... Of course, sodium helps to retain water, which isn't good either.

I've tried it, it worked and then like the previous poster said, it stops working because I had not addressed my bad behaviours.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007, 12:17 PM

would these kind of diets help if you've already adopted a new healthy lifestyle and are slowly, gradually losing weight, but you've got some time to try this like a 'booster' to lose a bit of extra weight quickly. ??

Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 4:52 AM

Really, you can use any vegetable soup with enough fresh veggies and a grean leafy for fiber (cabbage is good at moving things). IT does well as a quick cleanse or a part of the sugar bust (an attempt to get your body off sugars and discipline yourself) for a week or two. But then, you must continue on your journey with low sugar/high veg and the like. Good BOOSTER.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 9:12 AM

my sister went on this for one week back in the summer and I laughed at her. I had been losing weight all year and she didn't want to be the fat one. She lost 7 lbs in that week and it actually gave her the BOOST she needed to get started. It helped curb the sugar cravings as well. She's now walking 30 minutes every day, cut back on sugars, eating more veggies, etc and continued to lose. Boost - yes, lifestyle - not a chance!

Thursday, October 01, 2009, 7:25 PM

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