You Can Lose 5 to 10 lbs This Week if You are Desperate Enough
Written: Jul 08 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Healthy foods
Cons: This diet keeps you hungry, irritable and tired.
The Bottom Line: The Cabbage Soup Diet works by sucking out water weight and keeping your from taking in more calories than you burn. There are easier and better ways to lose weight.
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| bonzobean's Full Review: Cabbage Soup Diet |
Like most brides to be, I was interested in losing a few lbs before my wedding. I didn’t have much to lose. I was still in the Army at that time and in really good physical shape. However, as often happens with couples in love, we were eating out a lot and I had an extra 5 to 7 lbs or so I wanted gone for the wedding.
Several weeks before the actual wedding, I was in having my dress altered and the seamstress mentioned her up and coming wedding. So that got us talking. She was a heavier lady and mentioned that she had recently lost something like 15 lbs quickly. Well, of course, that got my attention so I wanted to know more. She told me she lost her weight while doing the Cabbage Soup Diet. Hey, fifteen lbs in two weeks, you bet I was interested. I only had five or so lbs and thought I could lose that easily in less than a week. I was right.
The Cabbage Soup Diet
Compared to many diets (or lifestyle changes as the popular euphemisms proclaim) out there, the Cabbage Soup Diet is one of the most simple plans out there. You don’t need to buy a book, join a group or shell out large amounts of money to learn about the plan. I was married nearly a decade ago and, even then, this plan could be found on the internet.
The Recipe
This recipe varies and does not need to be followed strictly. Change it to suit your tastes.
6 large onions
1 to 2 cans of tomatoes
2 green peppers
1 head of cabbage
1 bunch celery
1 to 2 lbs of carrots
1 package onion soup mix
2 cubes bullion or can of beef broth
1 48-ounce can V8 (added to some of the later varieties of the diet)
season with garlic, salt, pepper, etc…
The Plan
The plan is simple enough and meant to only be followed for a week or two at a time. Make lots and lots of this soup and eat it whenever you are hungry. Each day, you can add certain other foods to your diet:
Day 1 – Any fruits (as much as you want) except bananas.
Day 2 – Any veggies (as much as you want), baked potato with butter for dinner.
Day 3 - Combine day one and two but skip the potato.
Day 4 - Up to six bananas and as much skim milk as you would like.
Day 5 – Ten to Twenty ounces of beef, a can of tomatoes, 6-8 glasses of water.
Day 6 - All the beef and vegetables you would like.
Day 7 - Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and veggies (again, all you would like).
Make sure you avoid all breads, alcohol, sodas and carbonated beverages. You do need to drink at least four glasses of water a day.
Does the Diet Work?
Okay, let’s skip ahead and get to the part of the review you really want to read. Yes, the diet worked. I easily lost about five lbs in a matter of days.
Would I Recommend the Diet
Okay, you’re saying, you lost that weight quickly so of course you are going to recommend this diet? Right??? Well, aren’t you? The quick and easy answer is no way. What a miserable way to lose seven lbs and let me tell you why…
How the Diet Works
No, you aren’t going to find that cabbage is a miracle weight loss drug. It doesn’t have any properties, which burn that extra fat. The basic premise of this diet is that you are going to eat far less calories than you burn plus with the diuretic effect of this soup, you’ll lose a lot of water weight.
My Experience with the Diet
The Cabbage Soup Diet made me cranky and irritable. I didn’t really care much for the soup and the cabbage made me…okay, really, is there any delicate way to put this, sigh, guess not…gassy. I stayed hungry and hunger has always had a negative effect on my attitude. I did lose five lbs quickly but they came back just as quickly. I ended up just watching my food intake and upping the exercise and lost my weight for the wedding and was a much happier person to be around. Whereas the Cabbage Soup Diet made me lethargic, tired and lazy, just exercising gave me those happy little endorphins, giving me the energy I needed to get ready for a wedding.
Just Some Other Stuff on the Diet
You may hear this reported as the Mayo Diet or some hospital’s diet for obese or surgical patients. However, these places say they’ve never used such a diet so you’ll find some urban legends surrounding this diet. Some sites also post health warnings saying if you stay on this diet too long, you’ll suffer from malnutrition. Having done this diet, I’d say it’s a stretch to imagine anybody willing to do this diet long enough to have such dire consequences.
Final Thoughts
Skip this diet. I can think of easier ways to lose weight that don’t cause irritability and gassiness. Most of the weight lost is simply water weight and you’ll gain it right back as soon as you introduce breads back into your diet (or go on a binge from hunger). The diet does nothing to change the eating habits, which caused you to gain the weight in the first place and should be looked at as a very temporary fix. If you’re really determined to lose some quick weight, look into the South Beach Diet or some other diet which does not promise to starve you. This Cabbage Soup Diet is best left for the birds.
Recommended:
No
Approximate Monthly Cost (US$) 20
Food Variety Restrictions A short list of allowed foods
Restrictiveness of Portions Gorge all you like
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bonzobean
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Location: West Coast
Reviews written: 134
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I think the mistake many of us make is thinking the-state-appointed shrink is our friend.
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