The Cabbage Soup Diet Plan
Of all the fast diets that exist today, there is one that consistently produces successful results in the short term and that is the highly effective cabbage soup diet plan. It is effective because of the way it has been devised as a way to force the body to consume calories while providing very few in itself.
As a way of losing weight fast, it is probably one of the best natural ways of doing it, although it does come with some disadvantages, as do any diets that are capable of affecting the body in such a radical way. Let's take a look at how this diet came about, what it entails, how it is put together and how it forces the body to lose weight fast.
This fascinating dieting solution based on cabbage soup as we have it in its present form was originally devised by doctors and health specialists as a way of preparing overweight heart patients for surgery. These patients were deemed to be too overweight and not fit for the surgery they were awaiting so their weight and body fat level had to be reduced before they were considered safe for the complex and highly dangerous surgery they were about to undergo.
How Does The Cabbage Soup Diet Work?
It has always been known that cabbage, when eaten as the main component of a calorie restrictive diet, can force the body into burning more of its fat store for energy, because very little is provided by the vegetable itself. When eaten for a pronged period of say a week, a significant lowering of body fat and therefore overall body weight was found to occur, so it was an obvious choice for the basis of the rapid weight loss diet that doctors needed for the heart patients in order to get their weight down before they went into surgery.
The actual dieting program was built around cabbage as the main ingredient with a program of carbohydrate restriction to provide some nutrients while maximizing the body's propensity to burn fat from its own store, while adding little in the way of other usable fuel for the body to convert to energy.
The diet itself then allows the dieter to eat several bowls of the base soup in a day, while adding one or more additional foods to flesh it out. The soup is easy to make at home and really consists of little more than cabbage and water, to which may be added a few additional ingredients.
This includes tomato, onion, garlic, celery, green pepper and herbs such as basil, oregano, lemon balm, chives, tarragon or parsley. Spices may also be added such as black pepper, allspice, cayenne pepper, paprika or any of the various curry spices as required. While this soup is the mainstay of the strategy and a powerful means of achieving your diet goals, there is an additional formulation for each day of the program which is allowed for only a maximum of seven days, after which it must be halted and normal food re-introduced to prevent malnutrition.
What follows is on of the most popular variations of this diet on a day by day basis:
- Day one: All fruits (not bananas)
- Day two: All fresh vegetables (no fruit) plus a baked potato with the main meal
- Day three: Fruits and vegetables (no potato)
- Day four: Bananas and skimmed milk
- Day five: Beef (10-20 ounces) plus up to 6 fresh tomatoes
- Day six: Beef and vegetables (no potato, no fruit)
- Day seven: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, vegetables (no fruit)
It is highly recommended that you drink plenty of plain water (two or more pints) each day. Drink more water on the day that you have beef and tomatoes. This is to flush the excess acid out of your system. You may eat as much of the cabbage soup as you can stand. If you stick rigidly to this program you should expect a 10-17 pound reduction in weight at the end of the week.
Warning: DO NOT continue with this diet beyond one week. You must wait at least two weeks before you attempt it again. This is because you risk malnutrition with prolonged use. Consult a doctor or medical professional if you are in any doubt.
Does the Cabbage Soup Diet Work?
It works very well in the short term, although it should also be stressed that when you resume a normal eating pattern, you are likely to put the weight back on unless you are careful what you eat. It is recommended that you also include some exercises during and after the diet to strengthen your muscles and force your body to burn more fat.
When you continue to exercise after the diet, make sure you increase the level of exercise and the length of time you do it for to ensure that you keep burning calories. This will help to prevent weight gain once you stop the program.
All in all, this is a highly effective way to lose weight that many have found great success with when used correctly.