Weight Loss with Cabbage Soup

Have you just come across the new cabbage soup diet that allows you to lose excess weight effectively?

Losing weight can be difficult and exceptionally demotivating especially when you fall victim to bogus weight loss hacks, ineffective diet plans, and at-home remedies. 

Ideally, IntemrittentFatsing, Ketogenic Diet plans, and Circadian Rhythm Diet plans are among the most common methods of losing a couple of extra pounds and dropping a couple of extra inches from your waist. 

From restricting each and every meal to a bare minimum of calories to rigorously working out in the gym for hours on end one can truly admit, losing those couple extra pounds can be a daunting task for most of us. 

If you have been on multiple websites and blogs on multiple search engines chances are you might have come across the Cabbage Soup diet that promotes weight loss. 

As strange and unconventional as it may sound, the many weight loss communities and bloggers swear by the Cabbage Soup Method which allows you to drop about 10 to 15 pounds within a week. 

If the cabbage soup diet and its benefits for weight loss seem to be too good to be true, do not worry. 

Here is all you need to know about Cabbage Soup Diet to help you learn how you can facilitate Weight loss with Cabbage Soup.

What is the Cabbage Soup Diet Anyway?

The Cabbage Soup Diet also referred to as the Mayo Clinic Diet or the Sacred Heart Hospital Diet was reputedly developed in a hospital for heart patients as a quick short-term means of losing excess weight before heart surgery. 

While the origins of the Cabbage Soup diet are unknown, it is believed that this dietary practice grew in popularity during the 1980s and has been widely adopted by different weight loss communities ever since. 

This diet plan is a rapid and short-term solution to losing about 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 kgs) within a span of one week.

How Does the Cabbage Soup Diet Work?

As you know by now, the claim of this unconventional and definitely eccentric diet plan is to facilitate exponential weight loss within a span of a week. 

During the Cabbage Soup Diet plan, you are allowed to consume homemade cabbage soup along with some other foods like skim milk, fruits, and steamed vegetables each day for a week. 

Cabbage Soup on its own is a low-fat yet fiber-rich dish and is a form of fad diet that when consumed daily with minimal exercise can promote weight loss within a few days. 

The purpose of consuming cabbage soup on a daily basis is a great way of constricting excess calorie intake by consuming a calorie deficit diet. 

Cabbage Soup Diet is a calorie-restrictive diet plan that allows you to consume low-calorie yet high-fiber foods along with fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Fiber-rich foods along with cabbage soup allow individuals to go to the bathroom more frequently, further facilitating weight loss, through losing excess water weight.

Cabbage Soup Recipe:

The Cabbage soup diet plan allows you to only consume cabbage soup for the whole week, hence it is best to prepare large batches for the entire week. 

However, it is important to remember the taste and appearance of the cabbage soup may vary based on the ingredients. 

To make your cabbage soup at home you will require the following ingredients:

• 1 head of cabbage
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 carrots
• 2 cans of tomatoes
• 2 green peppers
• 1 pack of mushroom
• 1 to 2 cups of bouillon cubes 
• 1 and ½ Italian Seasoning (optional) 
• 6 to 8 cups of vegetable cocktail or water

Here are steps you can follow to assimilate all the ingredients to make your very own delicious at-home cabbage soup:

• Start by chopping the vegetables into small cubes
• In a small saucepan saute the chopped onions in extra virgin olive oil
• Add the other vegetables to the pan following up with water or a vegetable cocktail
• Add the bouillon cubes, Italian herbs, or any other seasoning according to your taste
• Bring the concoction to a boil after which you can reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer
• Leave the vegetables to become tender and fully cooked for about 30 to 45 minutes, and voila you’re done. 

Note: to further season your soup you can use salt, pepper, hot sauce, and herbs. You can also use non-starch vegetables like spinach to add more nutritional value to the soup.

What are the Rules of the Cabbage Soup Diet?

During the Cabbage Soup Diet plan, you are only allowed to eat about 1 or 2 other low-calorie foods along with your pre-made cabbage soup. 

However, it is also important to keep yourself hydrated by consuming water or other unsweetened drinks like tea or coffee. 

You can also have medically prescribed multivitamins to meet all your health and nutritional requirements during this calorie-restrictive diet. 

It is also important to remember that the cabbage soup diet should only be practiced for just one week to avoid any adverse health repercussions. 

If you would like to continue this diet plan it is best to start after two or three weeks of the initial Cabbage Soup Diet.

Cabbage Soup Diet: An Entire Week Meal Plan

Based on the rules of the Cabbage Soup Diet you can follow the daily diet plan schedule mentioned below:

Day 1:

On the first day of your Cabbage Soup Diet plan, you can have a pre-made serving of cabbage soup along with some fruits with the exception of bananas.

Day 2:

On your second day, you can have only cabbage soup with leafy green vegetables, with the exception of high-stretch vegetables like peas, beans, or corn. You can also enjoy a baked potato with butter or olive oil.

Day3:

You can enjoy as many fruits and vegetables as your liking with the cabbage soup, however, avoid eating baked potatoes or bananas.

Day 4:

On day four you can have as many bananas as you like with skim milk along with the cabbage soup. 

Day 5:

On day five you can incorporate any form of protein like 10 to 20 ounces of beef, chicken, or fish as a pescatarian substitute. 

You can also have about 5 to 6 fresh tomatoes with basil. It is recommended to consume about 6 to 8 glasses of water to stay hydrated.

Day 6:

On the sixth day, you can have cabbage soup with beef, leafy greens, and vegetables. You can also consume broiled fish as a substitute for beef. Avoid having boiled potatoes on this day.

Day 7:

On day seven you can have cabbage soup with brown rice and as many natural and fresh fruit juices as you like without any added sugar.

What are the Side Effects of the Cabbage Soup Diet Plan?

The Cabbage Soup Diet is an incredibly effective weight-loss method, but also very restrictive and nutritionally unbalanced. 

Hence it is best to practice just for a week and not exceed the seven-day fasting period.

Cabbage Soup Diet also comes with some health repercussions due to its extreme nature, if you experience any of the following side effects of this diet it is best to stop the diet plan immediately:

Change in Blood Sugar Levels:

If you have diabetes it is best to either avoid the Cabbage soup diet or to proceed cautiously. This low-carb and low-calorie diet can cause serious shifts in blood sugar levels.

Cramping or Flatulence:

Due to the Cabbage Soup diet being extremely high in fiber, many people experience stomach cramping or flatulence.

Gallbladder issues:

Gallstones and gallbladder issues can be directly linked to rapid weight loss. Hence a diet plan like the cabbage soup diet has been reported to cause gallbladder issues. 

This is because high-fat foods assist the gallbladder to release digestive fluids to facilitate the fat cell breakdown. 

Hence a low-fat low-calorie diet like the cabbage soup diet can lead to severe gallbladder issues.

Vitamin Deficiency: 

Since the Cabbage Soup Diet is nutritionally unbalanced, people who partake in this dietary practice are found to be unable to meet their basic nutrient and vitamin-based requirements. 

Hence many people fall victim to vitamin deficiency and even malnutrition due to the extreme nature of this diet. 

People during the Cabbage soup diet often complain to suffer with the following symptoms:

• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Lightheadedness