The Cabbage Soup Diet: Does It Work for Weight Loss?

Healthline Diet Score: 2.25 out of 5

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a short-term weight loss diet.

As the name implies, it involves eating large quantities of cabbage soup.

Proponents of the diet say that it can help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a single week, but many health experts warn that the diet is unhealthy and its results unsustainable.

This article examines the Cabbage Soup Diet and its effectiveness.

RATING SCORE BREAKDOWN

• Overall score: 2.25
• Fast weight loss: 4
• Long-term weight loss: 1
• Easy to follow: 2
• Nutrition quality: 2

BOTTOM LINE: The Cabbage Soup Diet is likely to cause weight loss — but only because it severely reduces your calorie intake. As soon as you stop this one-week diet, you’re likely to regain the weight you lost.

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What Is the Cabbage Soup Diet?

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a rapid weight loss diet. Its proponents claim that seven days on the diet can lead to weight loss of up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg).

The diet works exactly as its name implies — for one week, you eat almost nothing but homemade cabbage soup. Each day, you can also have 1–2 other foods, such as skim milk, fruit or vegetables.

The diet is intended to last no longer than seven days for the purpose of slimming down or jump-starting a longer-term diet plan.

The Cabbage Soup Diet is also known by other names, such as the Sacred Heart Hospital Diet or the Mayo Clinic Diet, supposedly because it was developed in a hospital for quick weight loss before surgery for heart patients.

But the implicated hospitals have denied these claims.

No one knows exactly where this unique diet originated from, though it first gained popularity during the 1980s and has stuck around ever since.

SUMMARYThe Cabbage Soup Diet is a one-week weight loss diet that promises to help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg).

Basic Steps

Homemade cabbage soup forms the basis of this diet.

In order to start, you need to prepare large batches of soup to eat for the entire week.

Keep in mind that specific ingredients for the soup may vary.

The Cabbage Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions
• 2 green peppers
• 2 cans of tomatoes
• 1 bunch of celery
• 1 head of cabbage
• 3 carrots
• 1 package of mushrooms
• 1–2 bouillon cubes (optional)
• 6–8 cups of water or vegetable cocktail, such as V8

Directions:

1. Chop all vegetables into cubes.
2. In a large stock pot, sauté onions in a small amount of oil.
3. Then add the remaining vegetables and cover with water or vegetable cocktail and add bouillon cubes or other seasonings, if desired.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30–45 minutes.

You may season the soup with salt, pepper, hot sauce, herbs or spices. You may also add other non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach or green beans.

Every day, you should eat as much cabbage soup as you want — at least for several meals.

Rules of the Diet

You are allowed to eat 1–2 other low-calorie foods daily in addition to the soup. However, it is important not to make any other substitutions and to drink only water or other calorie-free beverages, such as unsweetened tea.

A daily multivitamin is often recommended because the diet may be low in certain nutrients.

These are the rules for each day of the Cabbage Soup Diet.

• Day 1: Unlimited cabbage soup and fruit, but no bananas.
• Day 2: Only soup and vegetables. Focus on raw or cooked leafy greens. Avoid peas, corn and beans. You may also have one baked potato with butter or oil.
• Day 3: As many fruits and vegetables as you can eat, in addition to the soup. However, no baked potato and no bananas.
• Day 4: Unlimited bananas, skim milk and cabbage soup.
• Day 5: You are allowed 10–20 ounces (280–567 grams) of beef, which you may substitute for chicken or fish. You may also have up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6–8 glasses of water.
• Day 6: Soup, beef and vegetables. You may substitute the beef for broiled fish if you did not do so the day prior. Focus on leafy greens. No baked potato.
• Day 7: You may have vegetables, brown rice and unlimited fruit juice — but no added sugar.

You should not continue the diet for more than seven days at a time. However, you may repeat the diet as long as you wait at least two weeks before starting it again.

SUMMARYTo follow the Cabbage Soup Diet, you need to prepare large batches of cabbage soup to eat multiple times per day. You are also allowed to eat 1–2 other foods each day.