The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently revealed one of the best kept weight loss secrets of supermodels and the glitterati. Eating a low-calorie appetizer, such as soup, before your meal helps you reduce your total calorie intake during the meal. In the same vein, the The Amazing Soup Diet by "Good Housekeeping" magazine proposes soup as a tool for your weight loss arsenal. The diet's soup and meal plan work in harmony to help you stay within your calorie budget and lose weight.
The Soup
The basic vegetable soup recipe on the website has carrots, celery, green beans, cabbage, spinach and zucchini in a base made with tomato juice, water and chicken broth. The proportions for the recipe require a 12 qt. stockpot, but this makes enough soup for a week. You add garlic, salt and pepper to season the pot.
Nutrition
According to "Good Housekeeping," an 8 oz. serving of soup has only 45 calories. The soup has 4 g fiber and 1 g of fat, but no cholesterol or saturated fat. The protein content is 2 g per cup and carbohydrates total 9 g. The nutritional breakdown also shows that each serving contain 410 mg of sodium. You can use the basic soup to create variations that include Thai Shrimp Soup, Greek Fish Stew and even chili; however, these variations all have more than 45 calories.
Weight Loss
If you stick with the diet, "Good Housekeeping" claims that you can lose five to six pounds the first week. Each week that you continue this diet, expect to lose an additional one or two lbs., according to a 2002 article in "Good Housekeeping" about the soup and meal plans: "GH's third annual all-you-can-eat soup diet." The "Good Housekeeping" website doesn't make any exercise recommendations to accompany the diet, however.
Menus
Good Housekeeping enlisted the help of celebrity chefs to create soup variations that keep you from getting bored. These bonus recipes average 400 calories each. The web exclusives section on the website has additional recipes, a dining-out guide and suggested swaps for meal plan items that you don't like. The seven-day menu includes meal suggestions for breakfast and lunch, along with a different version of the soup daily for dinner. The dinners also include a side salad or fruit. Snack options are raw vegetables and two 100 calorie treats per week. According to the 2002 article, breakfast uses 300 calories, lunch and dinner use 400 calories each, leaving 100 calories available for soup in the Amazing Soup Diet's daily 1,200 calories.
Considerations
The basic soup has high sodium content. If you eat six cups in one day, you will exceed the maximum daily recommended sodium intake of 2,300 mg. Reduce the sodium content by using low-sodium broth and tomato juice. Replace the salt in the recipe with herbs or spices.
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