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Home 
Diets
Calorie Counting
How Does
Cabbage Soup Diet Compare?
BACKGROUND
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PRO
CON
DIET and NUTRITION
EXERCISE
CONCLUSION
Common Misspellings
Whats better than
Cabbage Soup Diet?
Diets
Calorie Counting
What is it?
Cabbage Soup Diet is a weight loss plan said to be a short term solution for 10 pounds of weight loss in a week. It emphasizes eating an unlimited amount of cabbage soup, and many different websites offer different variations.
Generally, one is allowed to eat certain added fruits and vegetables depending on the day of the diet. It’s unknown who came up it with this plan, but it’s believed to have started in the 1980’s. It’s considered a crash diet, and much like other similar diets is advised only for a few days with no guarantee of long term weight loss. Our experts reviewed many diets and found the 18Shake Diet to be the best solution for weight loss. Discover more about the 18Shake Diet by clicking on the link found here.
Do You Know the Best Diets of 2024?
Cabbage Soup Diet Ingredients and Side Effects
The Cabbage Soup Diet dies not rely on diet pills or pre-packaged foods, all the food eaten have to be prepared. One website that promotes the Cabbage Soup Diet says:
“not suitable for long-term weight loss”
It’s instead intended:
“If you have a special occasion coming up or you simply need to lose weight fast”
Often it will be advised that in order to maintain the diet one should follow these rules:
- Drink a minimum of 4 glasses of water.
- Take a multivitamin.
- Eating as much soup as possible, not starving oneself.
- Introducing different recipes to avoid boredom.
A 2 week break is recommended for people who want to restart the diet. Cabbage isn’t the only produce allowed; one can also add things like onions, celery, asparagus, zucchini, squash, barley, some meats, and many different seasonings.
Though this can be healthy, relying on it solely can potentially lead to nutritional deficiencies. Web MD also adds:
“this crash diet won’t help you in the long run, and it doesn’t give your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy”
Furthermore, they add:
“Health experts don’t recommend following very low-calorie diets unless you’re under a doctor’s care”
This is due to there being numerous damaging health effects that the diet can have. A list of the highest rated diet plans is found in the link provided here.
The results of this diet are not likely to continue, as Web MD confirms:
“you’ll like regain any weight that you lose”
“It will likely leave you feeling hungry, weak, and bored. You might even feel sick”
This is because there’s a lack of adequate food options. It’s not offered as a long term solution, and instead is said to be a quick weight loss solution. There’s one Cabbage Soup Diet website that admits:
“A lot of people quit because the soup can be a bit bland, and they quickly tire of eating it every day”
There are several considerations to keep in mind. It’s not recommended for long-term use, and it’s believed the only reason one might lose weight is due to water weight and not fat. Live Strong.com adds:
“It’s possible to lose as much as 20 pounds of body weight during one week, most of which is water”
This is likely the reason why one sees any weight loss from this diet, since it’s low in carbohydrates and high in fluids, most water weight is flushed out of the body. As you’ll see in the “Customer Opinions of Cabbage Soup Diet”, many customers regained their weight as soon as they stopped the diet.
One popular variation of the diet allows for the following:
- Day one: Unlimited fruit except for bananas alongside water, tea, and coffee.
- Day two: No fruit, only raw vegetables and one baked potato
- Day three: Unlimited fruits and vegetables except for potatoes and bananas.
- Day four: 8 bananas and unlimited skimmed milk.
- Day five: 6 tomatoes and 565g of beef
- Day six: Unlimited vegetables and beef but no potatoes.
- Day seven: Some brown rice and sugar free fruit juice.
A comprehensive list of the top 10 diet plans is offered in the link provided here.
EDITOR’S TIP: Combine this diet with a proven meal replacement such as 18 Shake for better results.
Cabbage Soup Diet Quality of Ingredients
Many of the ingredients are healthy as it relies on fresh produce and grains. However, there is an issue with boredom as the same basic good groups have to be eaten repeatedly.
Also, there’s no science that eating only cabbage soup is healthy and safe. A Dr. Melinda Ratini says:
“You’ll likely get less than 1,000 calories a day on the limited menu. That’s far fewer than the 2,000 daily calories recommended for most adults”
“The pounds come off quickly, but mostly you’ll lose water weight”
“chances are, you’ll regain it all back as soon as you start eating a normal diet again”
The diet was made to help one with weight loss in a one week period, but this does not mean it will help with long term weight loss. Health experts also agree it’s likely not a quality solution for weight loss due to its limited food options. A top 10 list of the highest ranked diet plans is offered in the link provided here.
The Price and Quality of Cabbage Soup Diet
The price depends on where one gets their grocery from, as no prepackaged foods are needed.
The diet does advise to get a multivitamin, due to the lack of food options that are high in nutrients. It’s also necessary to eat unlimited amounts of cabbage soup. This means one will have to cook for the full 7 days, as the diet also limits the kinds of seasonings through reducing sodium provided from salt.
Due to the lack of clinical studies proving that this is an effective and safe weight loss solution, it’s a very poor diet. A comprehensive top 10 list features the highest rated diet pills.
The Mayo Clinic also had this to say:
“Fad diets like this one may be tempting, but keep in mind that long-term weight loss depends on making lasting healthy changes”
The changes needed in this diet are too short term to truly be a quality solution for weight loss.
Business of Cabbage Soup Diet
It’s unknown who created this diet, though many websites offer books and tips. Each group offers slightly different advice, with the only key thing being that you can only eat cabbage soup alongside some fruits and vegetables for a total of 7 days.
The diet will often be presented in either a free format via a PDF, or through a book. There are no claims that anyone made this diet, though each book claims it has the optimal guide. There are often recipe books offered as well as tips.
No studies or proof that this diet actually works and is safe is available anywhere. This makes it impossible to determine why the diet was created and suggested in the way it’s displayed. It also allows many different groups to make claims about what to add to the diet, without providing any proof. Our experts compiled a list of the highest rated diet plans in the list featured here.
EDITOR’S TIP: The top 10 list of the best diets is available here.
Customer Opinions of Cabbage Soup Diet
Here are some reviews from users who have used this diet:
“Cabbage soup is not a filler upper”
“I see no real physical weight loss”
“have quite a headache”
“worst heart burn I have ever had”
People did mention they lost weight, but that they often gained it all back one they resumed eating. This makes sense as it’s likely the only reason one is losing weight is due to water weight.
Some also experienced side effects such as gas, bloating, and nausea. There were also concerns from people that they quickly became bored of it, and that they often felt like quitting. A list of the highest ranked diet plans is available in the link provided here.
Conclusion - Does Cabbage Soup Diet Work?
There are many things to consider about the Cabbage Soup Diet. There’s no science or proof that this diet actually works, and that’s why there’s many different variations on it. Many people who tried it say they regained all their weight loss, which is common for crash diets that serve to reduce water weight instead of fat. Health experts on the Mayo Clinic and Web MD website also confirm its likely not safe or effective for real weight loss.
The highest rated diet plan of 2024 was found to be the 18Shake Diet. It combines a high protein, appetite suppressing meal replacement as well as a natural stimulant free metabolism booster. Many customers say it’s effective for weight loss, and that it’s easy to use. There are no added filler ingredients, stimulants, or processed additives. It contains only natural extracts and ingredients clinically shown to help with weight loss. Many users have left glowing testimonials and positive reviews on their website.
The 18Shake Diet offers its supplements with a full 30 day money back guarantee. Returns are allowed within these 30 days with no risk and no questions asked. Learn more about the 18Shake Diet by clicking the link provided here.
- Product Name
- User Rating
- Easy to follow
- Cheap Price
- Fast Results
- High Protein Diet
- 91/100
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- Dukan Diet
- 89/100
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- Paleo Diet
- 87/100
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- Plexus Slim
- 77/100
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- Cabbage Soup Diet
- 29 /100
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Wikipedia
The Cabbage soup diet is a radical weight loss diet designed around heavy consumption of a low-calorie cabbage soup over the time of seven days. It is generally considered a fad diet, in that it is designed for short-term weight-loss and requires no long-term commitment. It has inspired several copy-cats based around similar principles.
BACKGROUND
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Look up the definition of fad diet and you’ll see a picture illustrating the Cabbage Soup Diet. It should not be followed as a long-term eating plan, as it is dangerously low in calories and could do more harm than good. It is possible to lose 10 pounds in a week when you stick to this uber-low calorie plan.
The Cabbage Soup Diet does offer fast weight loss, but it is completely lacking in nutrition, flavor and variety. You'll consume mostly soups of cabbage, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms. Nutritionists argue that the pounds shed are more likely attributed to the dramatic and dangerous loss in calories and not the proposed fat-burning power found in the cabbage. This diet deprives your body of essential nutrients and has been correlated to difficulty concentrating, feeling light-headed and weak.
Do You Know the Best Diet Pills of 2024?
PRO
- You will lose weight
CON
- Unhealthy
- Dangerously caloric intake
- Primarily losing water weight
- Will regain lost weight if don't stick to healthy eating and exercise following completion
- Does not promote exercise; would be too weak to do so
DIET and NUTRITION
The one-week Cabbage Soup Diet relies on this simple plan:
Day One All-you-can-eat soup and fruit (no bananas). Consume plenty of water, cranberry juice and unsweetened tea.
Day Two Consume all the soup and vegetables you like (no beans, peas or corn). Have a buttered baked potato with dinner. No fruit today.
Day Three Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you like, nothing else.
Day Four Eat your soup, no more than eight bananas and all the skim milk you want.
Day Five Have at least one serving of soup today. You can also have 10-20 ounces of skinless chicken or beef and no more than six tomatoes. Drink plenty of water.
Day Six Eat plenty of vegetables and your servings of beef. Today is the day you can go a bit overboard with the meat (2 steaks if you like) - just make sure to add salad and vegetables. Stay away from the carbs - no fries, potatoes, etc.
Day Seven Have at least one serving of soup. Only eat brown rice, vegetables and unsweetened fruit juice.
EXERCISE
No recommendations are made. Given the severely low calories you'll be consuming, you likely won't have the strength for physical activity.
CONCLUSION
For rapid weight loss as a jump-start to a more healthy eating plan, the Cabbage Soup Diet could possibly be a solution. However, fasting or liquid diets like Cabbage Soup promising dramatic weight loss results in only a week are typically only helping you shed water weight. This weight will creep right back on once you stop the diet and continue with previous poor eating habits. Finishing the Cabbage Soup Diet and beginning a healthy eating and exercise regimen is the best advice anyone following this unhealthy approach can receive. Be sure to speak with your physician before beginning.
Common Misspellings
cabbge soup diet, cabbage soup deit, cabage soup diet, cabbagge soup, cabbagesoupdiet.com, cabbage diet, cabagge soup diet, soup diet
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Cabbage Soup Diet?
User Feedback
(Page 31 of 37, 727 total comments)hari
Hello i am starting the diet tomorrow!! Hope i lose enough to stay healthy!!
posted Mar 31st, 2008 8:40 amJT
These comments are truely inspirational. Thanks guys!! Today is day one! I made my soup its pretty good. I added garlic salt and goya seasoning (0 calories) Im serious about this and will leave a comment every day to tell you guys my progress. Today, 132.4lbs. I want to get down to 115-120. Wish me luck!!
posted Mar 30th, 2008 3:05 pmSusan
I love this diet. I do it about once every two months to cleanse my body of toxins, force myself to stop eating junk foods, and lose 6-9 pounds. Then, I start eating junk food again after about four weeks. (If only I could stop doing that!) The diet is monotonous, but the good thing about it is after the fourth day I'm not very hungry. Banana and skim milk day is the best, Even if you only eat four bananas, they strectch pretty far as smoothies combined with the skim milk and ice. I do get heaadaches on the second and third morning, but find I can avoid these if I drink a lot of water and take a couple of Aleves the night before. Definitely force yourself to exercise at least a half hour a day. You will feel so much better, and its a great habit to start doing this. Good luck. S
posted Mar 28th, 2008 8:45 amsize9,sixteen
to mary, i believe your saying that this diet can work if your at say 53 kgs? which is around 125 lbs..? because if so, i'm going to give this diet a kick however im not sure if il be able to do it without being too noticeable, does anyone have any idea how i can avoid my mum in the kitchen?.. she wont even allow scales in the house if that gives you any indication where she stands in this area.... yours truly, xoxo
posted Mar 28th, 2008 8:45 amArlene
I started on this diet yesterday, March 26, 2008 and I already LOST 4 POUNDS in ONE day! - gotta admit - I have NOT experienced having a LightHead or loss of Energy - in fact i play soccer and never felt MORE energy in my life - did not even get winded. Hopefully by day 7 - I would have lost a total of at least 12 pounds - my goal is to reach 100 pounds :) don't give up - I even cheated and ate 4 pieces of wheat thins and added 1 tbs of creamer to my coffee....
posted Mar 27th, 2008 2:20 pmTeacup
Ive been on this diet for only 2 days and Ive cheated a bit. I ate a healthy granola bar the first night, 2 bites of a wendys chicken sammy and today I had a few bites of meatloaf. Im also not eating more than 2-3 bowls of soup a day.. Should I eat it if Im not hungry?? I know I need to follow the diet, I have no willpower!
posted Mar 26th, 2008 11:33 amDebbie
Hi,i just started the cabbage diet for the 1st time and its been 3 days...The soup definitely makes you go to the toilet alot and you let alot of gas out..I've also noticed that you get bad headaches in the morning...I also drink green tea with the cabbage soup which helps...but i have yet to see if i have lost weight...will keep you updated..as i am having my weigh in for the biggest looser on the 7th day so the scales will be a revelation of whether the cabbage soup worked for me..
posted Mar 25th, 2008 3:22 pmHortenica
Hi, I started my 1st day today 3/25/08 andI'm 5'1 at 154 lbs I'm very excited the soup doesn't taste bad it's okay. will give updates each day to see my results on day 7!!
posted Mar 24th, 2008 4:37 pmEmi
And u get diaria. belive me, ive tried :)
posted Mar 22nd, 2008 8:45 amDee
As of today I have been on this diet for 11 days. I was trying to stay on it 2 full weeks but started getting headaches and really tired. I stuck to it most of today but had a piece of chicken tonight for dinner, I can tell my metabolism is slowing way down and I don't think I'm burning much because of it slowing down. I'm still going to eat the fruits & veggies but will have chicken, steak, fish or a salad for dinner and start walking now that the weather is better. Anything is better than nothing! So in the past 11 days I lost 9-1/2 pounds, can't complain about that! :) Also I think it's a really good way to flush out the body, was for me anyway! Good luck to you all, stick with it, it does work, I just don't think you should stay on it too long, take a week or two break from it so you don't wear your body down and end up tired with headaches and as other people have said, take a vitamin everyday! :)
posted Mar 21st, 2008 11:43 amchristika
My husband and I did the cabbage soup diet and did well. He lost 11 lbs and I lost 8lbs. Now we are still kinds of doing the diet- we eat the soup for breakfast and lunch- with other fruits and veggies, but for dinner we eat a healthy dinner and fruit after dinner. We have been doing that for a week and lost another 4 lbs for him and 2 for me. We never felt dizzy, but we did take our vitamins daily and did a walk daily.
posted Mar 20th, 2008 8:44 amNancy
I was wondering, if you were on a diet already...and started the cabbage soup diet , do u still lose weight!? It's my 1st day and i feel that i got fatter...or maybe am just paranoid :S?
posted Mar 17th, 2008 5:07 pmbrandy
natalie,ive been on the diet for 3 days and have lost about 3lbs so i think it works at least i hope lol but also theres a new show on tlc called i can make u thin try that if u cant stick with this
posted Mar 17th, 2008 5:07 pmNatalie
hi everyone, my name is natalie and i weigh about 198 lbs. Ireally want to go on this diet but i need to no a bit of things. Does it work? Well, it better work for my fat bottom. Im gay, i'm a guy, i changed my name when i was a little boy to natalie cause i wanted to be a girl when i grew up.
posted Mar 17th, 2008 8:59 amTracy
As a vegetarian, does anyone have thoughts on substitutions for the beef day? Could I replace with cheese or soy meat? Also, when this is for a short term fix, how quickly have others found the weight comes back on?
posted Mar 16th, 2008 1:56 pmbrandy
well im on day 2 of the diet and i half to say it is hard to stick to but its so worth it i just know that if go off of it 2months from now when im still 170 ill regret it so muchi think the best thing to do is kepp busy!!1so you wont think about those chips lol i hope i was always in good shape but after having my second child 3 years ago lol i still havent lost it so l hope this does the trick good luck to everyone
posted Mar 16th, 2008 1:56 pmDee
I started the diet on Monday, I weighed myself this morning and I lost 5-1/2 pounds! I was trying to hold out till Monday to weigh in but couldn't help myself, I wanted to see if it was working and that it is, I',m very happy with my results so far! :)
posted Mar 13th, 2008 1:17 pmdave
I'm allergic to bananas - any suggestions on substitutes for day 4? Any help would be greatly appreciated
posted Mar 12th, 2008 2:56 pmRich
Back in 2001 I was given a copy of this diet by a friend, at the time I weighed about 300 lbs. I Stayed on this diet for 5 months and dropped down to 210 lbs. I felt great while on this diet, I wasnt tired, and I was really stoked to see the weight drop off. There were two hard things about this diet...the first, the soup. I hated it. I poured it into a cup and drank it 3 times a day...the second, my wife. She would cook these wonderfully smelling meals for the family and I was stuck with the soup. sometimes I had to leave the house for an hour to get away from the smell. I enjoyed the steak days, I love to BBQ so my meat day was always Saturday where I could fire up the grill. I even had a few drinks (Liquor and diet coke) about 4 weeks into it and it didnt affect anything. I kept right on with the diet and continued to loose the weight. I also went biking and rollerblading about 3 times a week for excersise. So this diet was a good thing for me, my advise to you...remember we are all different. How one thing affects someone may be completly different for someone else. I don't get sick...I cant remember the kast time I was sick...I dont get headaches or light headed, I dont get cramps or stomach pains...I have never had a bad side affect from this diet...but you may be different. Good Luck to all of you who will be trying this diet. Remember to stick with it and remember where you want to be...you will get there if you want it bad enough, nothing is easy about loosing weight, we all have to sacrifice something.
posted Mar 12th, 2008 9:08 amholly and nicole!!!!
ohhh kayyyy RACHAEL this is a cabbage soup FAN site. not a "I HATE CABBAGE SOUP" website. and no it wont make you sick beacuse cabbage soup is the best thing ever created by god himself. and i am appauled that you would question it's great ness. so far me and nicole have lost 4.75 pounds together. keep up the cabbage soup!!! lova yaaaaaassszzz!!!
posted Mar 11th, 2008 1:17 pm