How Many Pounds Can One Lose on the Cabbage Soup Diet?

The Cabbage Soup Diet is also known as "The Hospital Diet," "The Sacred Heart Diet" and "The Miracle Soup Diet." It is rumored that the diet originated when a hospital used it to rapidly reduce weight in patients scheduled for surgery. However, no hospital has endorsed the diet, and an article published on the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center website denies that their cardiac specialists recommend the Cabbage Soup Diet.

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Foods

The cabbage soup diet allows its followers to eat as much low-calorie cabbage soup as they like, plus limited specified foods on each day of the diet. For example, on the first day you are to eat your soup, plus any fruits except bananas. On the second day, you can eat one jacket potato with butter, plus vegetables, in addition to the soup. The diet may be hard for those who like meat, as meat is included only on the fifth and sixth days. Advocates claim it is possible to lose around 8 to 15 pounds, if you follow the diet for a week.

Calories

One cup of cabbage soup contains only around 70 calories, so the cabbage soup diet is a very low-calorie diet. You would likely lose weight on the diet if you were able to stick to it for the entire week. However, the American Heart Association claims many cabbage soup dieters are disappointed to find they quickly regain the weight they lost, once they come off the diet.

Nutrients

Cabbage soup is a good source of Vitamins B and C, as well as potassium. It also contains fiber, which is beneficial for weight loss, as it keeps your digestive system functioning regularly, helps you to feel full, and keeps your blood sugar levels stable. However, the diet is very low in protein and fats. When your body does not receive enough protein, it may use your lean muscle mass for energy. This can eventually damage your metabolism -- the rate at which your body burns calories -- since the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will burn.

Conclusion

The American Heart Association does not recommend diets such as the cabbage soup diet for weight loss. The association advises that although you may lose weight initially, following diets such as this one can be damaging to your health. They contravene the main rule for good nutrition, which is to eat a healthy, balanced diet containing adequate levels of carbs, proteins and fats. Additionally, you are likely to experience cravings on this diet, as soup quickly becomes monotonous. If you give in to your cravings, it is likely you will overeat to compensate for the feelings of deprivation and boredom you experienced on the diet. Needless to say, this may result in weight gain, rather than weight loss.

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