At first glance the cabbage and vegetable soup diet appears a healthy solution to rapid-weight-loss plans that attract many dieters, but further investigation shows otherwise. Critics of fad diets even admit that this diet provides results within a week; however, they are also quick to mention how fast you are likely to regain all of the lost weight. The cabbage and vegetable soup diet is a week-long plan that focuses around cutting caloric intake to a bare minimum, essentially starving your body.
Plan
Spread over the course of a week, the diet begins the first few days by cutting carbohydrates and forcing foods that contain extremely low amounts of calories and fat. You are allowed to consume as much fruit or vegetables as you desire along with a baked potato and unlimited bowls of soup. As the week progresses you are permitted to eat up to 20 oz. of beef, chicken or broiled fish, as well as tomatoes and vegetables. On the last day you are supposed to only eat brown rice, vegetables, soup and fruit juice.
Recipe
The cabbage and vegetable soup that is crucial to the success of the diet is simple to make. Although several variations of the diet have emerged, most of them share the same soup recipe. Cut and sautée the following vegetables in the bottom of a large pot: a half-head of cabbage, six green onions, two green peppers, one can of tomatoes, three carrots, 10 oz. of mushrooms and a bunch of celery. Pour 12 cups of water in the pot along with a pack of instant soup mix and any seasonings you desire, such as parsley, oregano, salt, pepper or curry. Turn the heat to low and allow the soup two hours to simmer.
Precautions
The ingredients in the soup are not unhealthy; in fact, they contain quite a bit of nutritional value. The primary flaw in the diet lies in the fact that it overemphasizes the soup and does not provide balanced nutrition, according to the American Heart Association. Because the diet starves your body of much-needed calories, fuel for your body, you must eat large quantities of soup to make yourself feel full. The lack of energy-rich foods will likely prohibit you from performing the sustained exercise that is important to a healthy lifestyle. You may experience physical symptoms from possible malnutrition, such as feeling light-headed, not to mention the high-sulfur content in cabbage that could cause abdominal discomfort.
Tips
If you decide to endure the cabbage and vegetable soup diet, follow a few guidelines. Remember that this diet is created to last only a week; staying on it any longer could result in serious health problems. Any time you feel hungry, eat the soup. Straying from the dietary plan and eating nonapproved food will result in failure; in order to staunch the desire for sweets and carbohydrates, eat the soup to fill yourself. Take a multivitamin each to supplement the diet, giving your body important minerals and vitamins the diet is denying you. Finally, experiment with seasonings to add in the soup; changing the taste and making it interesting will compel you to eat the soup more often.
Results
Sticking to the diet religiously will lead to rapid-weight-loss, as much as 10 lbs. in just one week. It is important to use the results to fuel a desire for living a healthy lifestyle with a complete, balanced diet and regular exercise. Even if you make drastic dietary changes, for the better, you will most likely regain some of the lost weight since you aren't starving you body any longer. Resuming an unhealthy diet will result in gaining even more weight than you lost on the diet, especially if you binge on comfort food full of saturated fat and sugar.
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