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.’ (more…)
