Should You Stop the Cabbage Soup Diet?

The cabbage soup diet is based on a diet of eating primarily a fat-burning soup that contains a very small amount of calories. If you decide to begin this diet, you will be allowed all the water and "cabbage soup" you would like to have, but only in conjunction with a very restricted set of other foods. According to some, this diet originated at any number of American hospitals, but none have claimed it as their own. In all probability, it started at Sacred Heart Hospital in Brussels, Belgium as a way for seriously obese patients who were required to lose some quick weight before they went in for surgery.

A seven-day cabbage soup diet regimen would contain these menu choices:

First day: Cabbage soup, plus any fruit (no bananas please); Second day: Cabbage soup with other vegetables (even raw will suffice). Stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. For dinner, eat a baked potato with butter; Third day: Cabbage soup with other fruits and vegetables; Fourth day: Cabbage soup with up to 8 bananas and fat-free milk; Fifth day: Cabbage soup and a maximum of 6 tomatoes and up to 450 grams of meat or fish; Sixth day: Cabbage soup, and meat and vegetables; and Seventh day: Cabbage soup, plus brown rice, fruit juice and vegetables.

The cabbage soup diet has drawn criticism from numerous health and wellness experts. Its detractors claim that it is not a nutritionally sound plan nor does it make any claims of permanent weight loss. Most people, however, agree that the cabbage soup diet is effective in temporary and quick weight loss, but hardly works as far as long-term weight loss is concerned. In fact the actual cabbage soup, although almost calorie-free, contains no magical weight loss ingredient. Critics claim that concentrating on one food to the exclusion of others is perhaps what causes the loss of weight. It is only to be expected that you will become sick of the soup and eat less and less of it. And less food means less calories, and fewer calories means weight loss.

The charges usually leveled against the cabbage soup diet are: 1) it is not effective for long-term weight loss; 2) it is not nutritionally balanced; 3) it is boring and monotonous; and 4) it does not provide many essential vitamins and minerals. The supporters of this diet lay emphasis on its good points: 1) it is a do-it-yourself diet and therefore convenient; 2) it is inexpensive; 3) it is simple and not too complicated to follow; and 4) it acts as a welcome break from a diet full of junk-food.

Taking different opinions into consideration, one can safely conclude that the cabbage soup diet may be effective for short-term weight loss, but there is no credible evidence to suggest that it can reduce weight on a long-term basis. However, if you are willing to give its seven-day regimen a try, better consult your doctor first. Your physician may be able to recommend a healthier diet for you to meet your weight loss goals.