Cabbage Soup Diet is one of the fad diets which is designed for fast weight loss and requires no long term commitment. It is designed as seven days program where dieter will have a strict meal plans with cabbage soup as the main ingredients. The program itself is not new; it was first gained popularity at 1980s due to the claim of 10 pounds weight loss per week.

This is the cabbage soup meal plan that would be followed for 7 days:

Day 1: Fruit; consist of cabbage soup, fruits (except banana), protein shake, fat burner drink, and water with lemon or herbal. Day 2: Vegetable; consist of cabbage soup, vegetables, protein shake, fat burner drink, baked potato, and water with lemon or vegetable juices. Day 3: Fruit and Vegetables; consist of cabbage soup, fruit, vegetables, protein shake, fat burner drink, and water with lemon or vegetable juices. Day 4: Bananas; consist of cabbage soup, banana, low fat dairy, protein shake, and water with lemon or herbal. Day 5: Fish and Tomatoes; consist of cabbage soup, fish or poultry with tomatoes, protein shake, fat burner drink, and water with lemon or herbal. Day 6: Poultry Day; consist of cabbage soup, poultry or fish, vegetables, protein shake, fat burner drink, water with lemon or vegetable juices. Day 7: Rice Day; consist of cabbage soup, vegetables, protein shake, fat burner drink, mushroom risotto, and water with lemon or vegetable juices.

You can eat as much cabbage soup as you want during any given day. On days 3, 5, 6 and 7 you can eat as much fruit, fish, vegetables and chicken as you want. The cabbage soup recipe is simple and consists of: cabbage, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes and any seasonings you want to add. Please keep in mind that you cannot have: alcohol, carbonated drinks, or bread.

Despite the fact that the diet is centered around cabbage soup there isn’t any evidence to suggest that cabbage burns more fat than any other vegetable. The real reason people lose weight on this diet is due to the extremely low daily calorie intake, between 800-1,000. The soup is just the ‘main course’ and the diet would probably work the same way with many other types of vegetable soups as the center piece.

Pros

1. Fast weight loss; the dieter can expect to lose 10 to 15 pounds at the end of the program.

2. Inexpensive; the required ingredients for this diet plan are very inexpensive to buy.

3. Easy: all you have to do is follow a simple diet plan. No other life style changes are needed and it only lasts 7 days.

4. Eating more fruits and vegetables, which is always a good idea.

Cons

1. Taking in just 800-1,000 calories a day is not considered healthy unless supervised by your doctor. There is also very little protein in the program which could lead to mal-nutrition. Most doctors recommend you take in at least 1200 calories daily.

2. Continuously eat cabbage soup throughout the entire week can be really boring, which can encourage the dieter to eat less than the already low calories per day.

3. The cabbage soup recipes usually contain high levels of sodium or MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).

4. There is theory that the weight loss mainly comes from fluid or muscle mass, not fat loss, which will return once the dieter back to the normal eating behaviors.

5. The common cabbage soup recipes usually result in bland soup and some dieters have report to feeling nauseous whenever they smell the soup after finish the 1 week program.

6. Flatulence (farting) is a common, and unwelcome, side effect of the diet.

7. Not easy to stick with the diet at a restaurant.

No matter how much we want one there is no such thing as a quick fix diet. The cabbage soup diet might help you lose some weight quickly but this is hardly a permanent, healthy weight loss solution. If you just can’t resist the idea of losing 10 pounds in a week though, at least keep these pointers in mind:

1. This diet is for adult, it is not suitable for children and adolescents.

2. Only go on this diet a week at a time, do not try to prolong it.

3. Talk to your doctor about any health concerns.

4. Motivate yourself by remembering it’s only 7 days and at the end of that time you could be down 10 pounds or more.

5. Drink plenty of water, at least 5 glasses a day.

6. Use spices and seasonings to liven up your meals and help prevent boredom.

7. Don’t skip your meals, no matter how bored you might be getting with the soup you can’t risk lowering your calories any more than they already are.

8. Try to keep stay at home, you will probably too weak from the low calorie foods and to gassy from mass quantities of cabbage. If you are away from home, carry your cabbage soup with you.

9. Take some vitamin and mineral supplements to help you get all the nutrients you need.

10. Keep a journal so you can track your weight loss.

11. Use a reminder to make sure you eat the right food of the day.

12. Before you start your diet, make sure you have all the ingredients you need for the diet plan.

13. Drink your protein shakes. This is very important to provide your body with the protein it needs to stay strong.

Follow the plan carefully and stay motivated and you can lose up to 10 pounds in a week. That’s a great start for anyone!

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