If you have just a little weight to lose, and want to take it off fast (say, so you can fit into those great pants for your cousin’s wedding), there are a number of diets that you can use.
Because they severely limit essential nutrients, these diets aren’t a healthy or recommended approach for long-term weight loss.
But if you’re normal diet is healthy, and you just want a quick boost to drop 8-10 pounds quickly, or to kick off a new diet with a bang, the Cabbage Soup Diet actually works.
The cabbage soup diet, around for 30 years, operates on the idea that digesting cabbage burns more calories than it provides. It’s a “negative calorie diet” featuring high-fiber, very low-calorie foods like cabbage.
The base of the cabbage soup diet is – what else? Cabbage soup. There are several recipes for cabbage soup available. Essentially, the soup is made with onions, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, celery and spices to taste. You’ll be eating the soup every day – as much of it as you want.
In addition, there is a seven day routine of foods to supplement the cabbage soup.
Day One: All the fruit you want (except bananas) along with all the soup that you want. No caffeinated beverages or sodas. Drink only water, tea and cranberry juice.
Day Two: Eat unlimited raw, fresh, or cooked vegetables, but skip dried beans, peas, and corn. No fats, sauces, or butter allowed. At dinner, you may have one baked potato with butter – and of course, all the cabbage soup that you want!
Day Three: Eat all the fruits and veggies that you want from day two and day three – but NO baked potato.
Day Four: Enjoy unlimited skim milk and up to eight bananas, along with all the cabbage soup you desire.
Day Five: Eat ten to twenty ounces of beef (or skinless chicken, or broiled fish). Drink at least 10 glasses of water, and eat up to six fresh tomatoes. (if you substitute for the beef today, you may not tomorrow)
Day Six: Eat all the beef, vegetables and cabbage soup that you want. No baked potato. Lots of leafy green vegetables.
Day Seven: You can have all the unsweetened fruit juices, brown rice, and vegetables that you want – and at least one bowl of soup.
That’s it. Remember – this diet is NOT recommended for long term weight loss, or long term use.
Lacking enough complex carbs for long-term health, it’s only suitable for a short-term jump-start or quick fix of about a week.