Cabbage Soup Diet Guidelines

The cabbage soup diet -- often mistakenly known as The Mayo Clinic Diet -- is a way to drastically reduce your calories for one week to see quick weight loss. The diet plan involves unlimited amounts of cabbage soup along with fruit and drinks. Before you purchase a week's supply of cabbage, consider guidelines and advice from experts who understand the feasibility of fad diets to choose whether it's right for you.

Features

When you're on the cabbage soup diet, you make the soup in 24-cup increments, using this recipe, taken from the book, "The Ultimate Cabbage Soup Diet" by Madeline Cooper: six large green onions, two green peppers, one or two cans of tomatoes, three carrots, one container of mushrooms, one bunch of celery, half a head of cabbage, one package of Lipton soup mix, one or two cubes of bouillon (optional) and one 48-oz. can of V8 juice (optional). Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry and garlic powder

Add the dry ingredients to the pot first, then add 12 cups of water or 8 cups of water plus V8 juice. Simmer for two hours and season with salt and pepper.

Advantages

The cabbage soup diet drastically restricts the calories that you consume in a week. "Health" magazine estimates that a cup of cabbage soup hold 66 calories per cup. Even if you eat six cups of soup per day, plus some fruit and beverages, you're under 1,000 calories per day. You likely will see a quick, albeit temporary, drop in your weight.

Disadvantages

The cabbage soup diet is more of a frantic last-ditch effort to lose weight than a way of life. Your body cannot sustain weight loss when you go off of the diet, and the cabbage soup diet does not teach you how to eat more healthily. Instead, it relies on a fad to help you drop weight in an unhealthy manner for a short-term solution. You could be left feeling hungry, tired and prone to binging at the end of the week.

Warning

Some of the promises that the cabbage soup diet makes are impossible, warns Elaine Turner, a nutritional scientist with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. While proponents of the diet claim you can lose up to 15 lbs. in one week, it's physically impossible. The soup is also high in sodium, and when paired with your low caloric intake, it could cause a spike in your blood pressure, while offering too few nutrients, making it an unsafe diet for people with existing medical conditions.

Alternatives

The cabbage diet is not a realistic or healthy way to lose weight. Nutritionist Anne Collins points out that while cabbage soup is healthier than pizza, neither can offer you the nutrients that your body needs to function properly. You are better off losing weight with a combination of physical activity and a sensible diet high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean protein.