Losing 10 pounds a week can be very enticing for a lot of people. That could explain the popularity of many fad diets such as the cabbage soup diet. This diet has been around for over 2 decades and promises you can lose 10 pounds a week by following this strict meal plan for 7 days eating mostly cabbage soup.
Here is the 7 day cabbage soup meal plan:
Day 1: Fruit; any fruit except banana, protein shake, fat burner drink, lemon water or herbal water and of course, cabbage soup Day 2: Vegetables; vegetables, cabbage soup, protein shake, fat burner drink, lemon water or vegetable juice, baked potato Day3: Fruit and Vegetables; fruit, cabbage soup, vegetables, protein shake, fat burner drink, lemon water or vegetable juice. Day 4: Bananas; cabbage soup, low fat dairy product, banana, protein shake, water with lemon or herbal flavoring. Day 5: Fish and Tomatoes; cabbage soup, poultry or fish with tomatoes, protein shake, fat burner drink, water with lemon or herbal flavoring. Day 6: Poultry; chicken or fish, cabbage soup, vegetables, protein shake, fat burner drink, lemon water or vegetable juices. Day 7: Rice: mushroom risotto, cabbage soup, vegetables, fat burner drink, protein shake, lemon water or vegetable juices.
You can eat as much cabbage soup as you want during any given day. On days 3, 5, 6 and 7 you can eat as much fruit, fish, vegetables and chicken as you want. The cabbage soup recipe is simple and consists of: cabbage, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes and any seasonings you want to add. Please keep in mind that you cannot have: alcohol, carbonated drinks, or bread.
The cabbage soup diet is a little misleading in that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that cabbage burns any more fat than any other type of vegetable. The reality is that people lose weight because of the excessively low calorie intake which is between 800-1,000. The diet would probably produce the same results with many other varieties of vegetable soup.
Pros
1. Rapid weight loss; an average person will lose up to 15 pounds over the 7 day course of this diet.
2. Inexpensive; the required ingredients for this diet plan are very inexpensive to buy.
3. Simple; you don’t have to exercise or change anything else, just eat what’s listed on the diet plan for only 7 days.
4. Eating more fruits and vegetables, which is always a good idea.
Cons
1. The extremely low daily calorie of this diet is not a healthy way to lose weight. There is a very small percentage of protein in the diet plan which can actually hurt you due to the lack of proper nutrition. Most people should get at least 1200 calories a day, unless specifically told otherwise by their doctor.
2. Continuously eat cabbage soup throughout the entire week can be really boring, which can encourage the dieter to eat less than the already low calories per day.
3. High levels of sodium or MSG contained in the soup recipe could lead to long term health issues.
4. There is theory that the weight loss mainly comes from fluid or muscle mass, not fat loss, which will return once the dieter back to the normal eating behaviors.
5. Many dieters have reported feeling sick just by the smell of cabbage soup after going through the 7 day diet. And they are turned off by the blandness of the soup.
6. Causes gas.
7. Not easy to stick with the diet at a restaurant.
From the facts, it is obvious that this diet has many drawbacks and not recommended; many experts will suggest a traditional long term healthy diet. But it is also true that fast weight loss is really tempting and many will still try it. If you do plan to try this diet program, here are a few things to consider:
1. Only adults should use this diet plan, no children or teenagers.
2. This diet is only intended for 7 days. Don’t stay on it for longer than that.
3. If any health problem occurs, consult your doctor immediately.
4. While on the diet keep yourself motivated by reminding yourself it’s only 7 days and you can lose up to 10 pounds.
5. Stay hydrated. Drink at least 5 glasses of water every day.
6. To liven things up experiment with different seasonings.
7. Even if you dont like it, force yourself to eat plenty of soup. This diet is already low in calories and you dont want to starve yourself due to your dislike to cabbage soup.
8. Try to keep stay at home, you will probably too weak from the low calorie foods and to gassy from mass quantities of cabbage. If you are away from home, carry your cabbage soup with you.
9. Consume food supplement tablet to complement this diet.
10. Keep track of your progress by using a daily journal.
11. Use a reminder to make sure you eat the right food of the day.
12. Stock up. Make sure you have everything on hand for your diet before you start.
13. Consume protein shake to avoid lack of protein.
If you can stay motivated and focused for the 7 day plan you can lose between 10 -15 pounds. Not bad for a weeks worth of work!
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