As winter approaches and the weather cools down our bodies naturally start craving soul-warming comfort foods like chili, apple crisp and hot cider. Another fall and wintertime favorite? Soup.
For years throughout college, soup was my dinner of choice. If I was at home I’d make up a batch that would feed me for several days. If I had night classes or evening social events, I’d grab a canned, low sodium variety to take on the go and call it a meal. Soup never seemed to fail me, but I never thought of it as a diet approach.
While some don’t find soup to be a substantial meal, Fiona Kirk, author of the new book, “Soup Can Make You Thin,” would argue otherwise. Kirk’s theory is pretty straight forward: Eat more soup and weigh less, which is why she firmly believes that skinny people know that a bowl of soup can fill you up, banish cravings, keep you energized, and provide all-around nourishment. For these reasons, she says that sticking to a soup eating regiment for just 10 days can produce noticeable weight loss results.
It’s no secret that soup is a diet-friendly food. It has a high water content thanks to low-calorie broths and vegetables, which helps us feel more satisfied initially. And the other more hearty ingredients, such as starches like noodles or potatoes and proteins like beans and chicken, keep us full for the long haul.
“Soup is simply a miracle in a bowl for fat loss,” says Kirk. “The combination of water and solid fills you up more effectively and for longer than if you eat exactly the same food but drink the water separately – plus the water and water content of the vegetables in soup allows for efficient exchange of nutrients into body cells, greatly reducing the possibility of bloating.’
Some are comparing Kirk’s approach to weight loss to other diet phenomenons that are similar in nature, such as the Cabbage Soup Diet which promises radical weight loss from eating low-calorie cabbage soup for seven days. While Kirk backs up the general idea that soup is an excellent weight loss food, she also stresses the importance of choosing the right kinds of soup for maximum weight loss results.
There are endless varieties of soup available to us, both homemade and store-bought. So which ones do we choose? As reported by Mail Online, Kirk shares her top five tips for choosing the right soups over the wrong ones.
- Choose soups that are high in protein, or add your own protein toppings to stay nourished longer while maintaining a low calorie count.
- Add healthy fats like olive oil to stay full, energized and curb cravings.
- Eat soup before bed for more restorative, restful sleep.
- Make soup a snack to avoid energy slumps throughout the day.
- Add herbs and spices to speed up your metabolism and reduce sodium levels.
If soup is your thing, the news just keeps getting better. According to the Kirk, you don’t just have to limit your soup intake to lunch or dinner. She would argue that it makes an excellent breakfast choice, too. “Breakfasting on soup might be an alien concept to many,” she says, “but once you have tried it you may never again want to run out the door on just a slice of toast.”
In summary, Kirk contends that the wealth of ingredients in a bowl of soup provide an excellent balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats to provide energy and keep us “firing on all cylinders.” Not to mention, soup is cheap, convenient and can provide an abundance of vitamins and minerals depending on the quality of the ingredients.
If you’re wondering what soups Kirk personally recommends, you can find 26 of her favorite recipes inside “Soup Can Make You Thin.” But if you don’t get your hands on the book, simply make up your own variety following her general rules. That’s the beauty of soup: There are no hard and fast rules on what goes in the pot.
Also Read:
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