A Look at the Cabbage Soup Diet

The cabbage soup diet is a fad diet that consists of eating as much cabbage soup as one desires for seven days. Supposedly, one can lose ten to fifteen pounds by the end of the diet. The recipe for the soup includes a variety of low-calorie vegetables such as cabbage, onions, and tomatoes, flavored with bouillon. Specific foods must be eaten on each day of the seven-day program.

On day one, in addition to eating the soup, the directions are to eat only fruit and not bananas, drink unsweetened tea, black coffee, cranberry juice, and water. Day two consists of eating the soup and all the vegetables one wants but staying away from beans and corn. The third day combines the first two days: all the vegetable and fruit you can eat with the soup. On day four, the individual is instructed to eat bananas and drink skim milk along with the soup. Day five's menu consists of ten to twenty ounces of meat and tomatoes. The dieter is told to drink as much water as possible to wash the uric acid from the body. Again, they can eat as much cabbage soup as they wish. On day six, one eats meat and vegetable in addition to the soup. Day seven consists of brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetable, with the cabbage soup again being a staple.

Dieting in this manner is clearly not a viable option for a life-long eating regimen. Although not suitable for long-term weight loss, the Cabbage Soup Diet is a low-fat, high-fiber diet that will help you get into shape fast before you begin a more long-term eating plan. The diet is probably quite good as a short-term break from the average junk-food diet of most college students. In addition, homemade soup is a good slimming food - although any vegetable soup will do - and is reasonably filling. On the negative side, the Cabbage Soup diet is not sufficiently balanced and lacks other important vitamins and minerals that the body needs to function. Also, despite ludicrous claims to the contrary, cabbage does not possess any 'fat-burning' properties. Even if one is a fan of vegetables, the diet may decrease one's appetite for them - after eating nothing but cabbage soup for a week straight.

After weighing the negatives and the positives of the diet, I give this diet a four out of ten. It is not a good choice for anyone seriously interested in long-term weight loss. For individuals interested in losing a few pounds before a trip to the beach, this diet may be an answer, but repeated stints on the plan are not recommended.