The cabbage soup diet is a fad plan that might have derived from a pre-surgery diet to help heart patients lose weight quickly. The diet's foundation is a soup made from cabbage, canned tomatoes, onions, peppers, soup mix and vegetable juice. Before starting the cabbage soup diet, weigh the pros and cons to determine if it makes sense for you.
Diet Features
In addition to multiple daily servings of cabbage soup, you follow a food plan for seven days that allegedly yields a weight loss of up to 17 lbs. On day one, you eat only fruit. Day two allows you all of the vegetables you want, and day three involves any combination of fruits and vegetables. Day four calls for only bananas and skim milk, day five prescribes six tomatoes and a pound of meat or fish, and day six calls for more meat and all the vegetables you like. On day seven, you eat brown rice, juice and vegetables. Bread, alcohol and carbonated drinks are off limits for the seven days.
Pros
The soup is made of healthy vegetables and fiber, providing nutrients that are lacking in many people's diets. Some people find the soup quite delicious and filling. The diet discourages most processed and junk foods. It might result in quick weight loss if it means a drastic reduction in your daily calorie intake.
Cons
The soup is high in sodium because of ingredients like soup mix, canned tomatoes and vegetable juice. It does not provide a well-rounded diet plan and might lead to nutritional deficiencies if pursued for longer than seven days. Although you might lose a lot of weight quickly, much of it will be in the form of water and you will regain it once you return to your regular eating habits.
Considerations
No scientific evidence supports claims that the cabbage soup diet works. The soup is supposed to help you burn fat, but as the American Heart Association notes, there is no such thing as super foods that work alone to cause weight loss. Eating a moderate amount of a variety of foods is the best way to obtain adequate nutrition and manage your weight.
Misconceptions
Weight loss is rarely achieved with quick weight-loss schemes. The American Council on Exercise reports that only about 5 percent of dieters manage to keep their weight off for the long term. Using diets like the cabbage soup diet, which fail to teach you reasonable dietary management skills and lifestyle changes, is likely to result in frustration and to perpetuate beliefs that maintaining a healthy weight is impossible for you.
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