You can lose up to 17 lbs. in one week eating a diet revolving mainly around cabbage--or at least that's what proponents of the cabbage soup diet say, according to the American Heart Association. On this diet, you'll eat cabbage soup every day, along with specific additional foods for each of the seven days of the week. Although there are some variations of the diet, fundamentally the menu is the same.
Pro: Structure
The cabbage soup diet menu plan has specific instructions for each day, so you don't have to make decisions about what to eat. Every day you'll eat as much cabbage soup as you want, as well as a certain amount of other foods. Day 1, for instance, allows as much fruit as you like, except for bananas. Day 4, in contrast, lets you eat up to eight bananas and drink as much skim milk as you want. On Day 2, eat any vegetables you like except for dry beans, peas and sweet corn. Day 6 is the jackpot for some dieters, the day on which you can have up to three beef steaks with fresh vegetables or salad.
Pro: Variety
The cabbage diet provides a change of pace every day so you're less inclined to quit. The soup itself offers a variety of vegetables, including tomatoes, green peppers, onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms, as noted in a recipe from Cabbage-Soup-Diet.com. You can add extra flavor with bouillon, packaged soup mix, V8 juice and any spices you prefer.
Pro: Healthy Foods
The food in this diet is basically healthy, with plenty of vegetables and fruit, as well as fat-free milk and meat for added protein. The diet focuses for the most part on whole foods rather than processed foods, as noted by the Every Diet website.
Pro: Low-Calorie
Because the cabbage soup diet is very low in calories, it can indeed lead to noticeable weight loss in a week. You can use the diet as a head start on a longer-term weight-loss plan, or to lose some weight quickly for a special occasion.
Pro: Short Time Frame
Although the cabbage diet is restrictive, you may find it easy to stick with because it only lasts a week. You can look forward to eating a wider variety of food within just a few days.
Con: Food Restrictions
Even with some variety, most people will need a lot of willpower to follow this diet for an entire week, says Every Diet. The cabbage diet forbids bread, pasta and other grain products, as well as cheese. Only two days allow meat. On days where nearly all you're eating is fruit and cabbage soup, it might be hard to stay motivated. The American Heart Association calls this type of diet "monotonous and boring."
Con: Digestive Discomfort
Even if you really like cabbage, prepare for some digestive discomfort, warns the American Heart Association. In particular, cabbage causes gas.
Con: Excess Salt
Although most of the foods in this diet are whole foods and not processed, you're allowed to add flavoring cubes and packaged mixes to the cabbage soup. These typically contain a lot of salt, and sometimes monosodium glutamate, or MSG, as noted by Every Diet.
Con: No Habit Changes
Because the cabbage soup diet does not provide a foundation for long-term habit changes, the weight may be easy to gain back, cautions the American Heart Association. After one week of eating cabbage soup and a restricted number of other foods, you have to come up with your own long-term diet plan if you want to lose more weight. It's a bad idea to simply continue with the cabbage soup diet, since this diet does not provide adequate nutrition for the long run.
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