The cabbage soup diet requires you to consume large amounts of cabbage soup for one week. During this week, you can also eat a little fruit, vegetables, chicken and beef, and brown rice. Proponents of this diet say it's a great way to lose a few pounds very quickly. While this diet can drastically reduce caloric intake, it is water weight and lean tissue that are most likely to be lost, not fat. Burning that many fat calories is very difficult to do in a short time. If you decide to try it, you should not go on this diet for more than 1 week. Lack of complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and protein will make you feel tired and weak. Remember that long-term weight loss requires dietary changes and exercise.
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Part 1 of 3: Diet Preparation
Step 1. Prepare the soup ingredients
If you want to try the cabbage soup diet, you'll need to be able to make cabbage soup first. Prepare all the materials you will need. If you're going on this diet for a whole week, you'll need to make lots of cabbage soup. It's easy, and you can make a large pot all at once and then store it in the fridge, or even freeze it to keep it fresh. The materials you will need are:
- 6 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 green bell peppers, diced
- 2 cans tomatoes (diced or left whole)
- 250 g mushrooms, diced
- 1 bunch celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 head of cabbage, finely chopped
- 3 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 or 2 block stock/vegetable stock (optional), plus salt and pepper to taste.
- To add flavor: chili powder, curry powder, spice mix, and other seasonings.
Step 2. Prepare other fruits and vegetables
In the cabbage soup diet, you will have cabbage soup as your main meal throughout the day, but you can also add a little fruit and vegetables on certain days. Before going on a diet, be sure to prepare green leafy vegetables and a variety of fruits at home.
- Broccoli and spinach are great choices because they can add iron to the diet.
- Avoid high-carbohydrate vegetables such as dry beans or sweet corn.
Step 3. Buy meat
On certain days, you can add meat to your diet, usually beef one day, and chicken the next. Buy 1 or 2 packs of low-fat minced beef weighing 300 g, or 1 pack of chicken breast. You can also eat meat on the fifth and sixth days of the diet. So, make sure the meat you buy is still fit for consumption at that time.
- Check the expiration date on the meat package, and postpone the purchase until the end of the week if necessary.
- Always choose low-fat meats.
Step 4. Write down a diet plan
Before starting a diet, it may be helpful to make a meal plan and stick it in the fridge or around the kitchen. Cabbage soup should be consumed constantly accompanied by several additional foods on different days. Make a food menu like the one below.
Step 5. Prepare the soup
This cabbage soup is quite easy to make. First of all, chop all the vegetables and then saute briefly in olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onions and allow them to become translucent before adding the green peppers and cabbage. Stir everything in the saucepan until it starts to wilt. Next, add the chopped carrots, mushrooms, and celery. Add the spices then mix well.
- If using canned tomatoes, pour them into the saucepan.
- Pour water to cover all ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Consider adding block stock or dry stock for flavor.
- Let the soup simmer for a few hours.
- Taste and add seasoning after the soup thickens to your liking.
Part 2 of 3: Trying the Cabbage Soup Diet
Step 1. Eat right the first day
Starting the diet right is important. On the first day, you should start consuming diet soup as your main meal throughout the day. To avoid boredom, add herbs and spices to taste because you will have to consume a lot of this soup. On the first day, you can add fruits to your diet.
- Eat fruit throughout the day.
- However, avoid eating bananas on the first day.
- Choose apples, oranges, and other fruits.
Step 2. Add green leafy vegetables on the second day
Hopefully you haven't gotten tired of eating cabbage soup on the second day. Continue to have cabbage soup as your main meal. Instead of fruit, on the second day you can add green leafy vegetables, both ripe and raw.
- For example, you can boil or steam broccoli or spinach.
- Enjoy baked potatoes with a little soup.
- Don't eat any fruit.
Step 3. Add fruit and vegetables on the third day
On the third day, you may start to get tired of seeing and smelling the cabbage soup. On this day, you can add soup with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. The calorie content in fruits and vegetables is very low, so enjoy enough to taste the different flavors.
- Do not eat potatoes on the third day.
- You should also stay away from eating bananas today.
- Other fruits and vegetables can be consumed.
Step 4. Consume bananas and skim milk on the fourth day
When you're halfway through your diet journey, you're getting closer to the end. On the fourth day you can change the menu and add bananas and skim milk to the diet. Continue to have cabbage soup as your main meal, but you can eat bananas and drink skim milk throughout the day.
- Be sure to buy skimmed or semi-skimmed milk.
- You may also like a banana and milk mix milkshake.
Step 5. Add chicken and tomatoes on the fifth day
After reaching the fifth day, you can add other nutritious ingredients to your diet. On this day, you can eat a little meat and tomatoes. You can choose low-fat chicken or beef. If you choose chicken, boil it without the skin to cook the dish as healthy as possible. Skinless chicken breast and tomato slices are a great combination.
- You can eat a maximum of 6 tomatoes.
- You can eat raw or roasted tomatoes, but don't fry them.
- You should still consume cabbage soup at least once a day.
- Make sure to drink 6-8 glasses of water today.
Step 6. Eat beef and vegetables on the sixth day
You can eat meat again on the sixth day. If you eat chicken on the fifth day, continue with low-fat beef on the sixth day. Combine low-fat beef with plenty of vegetables or a salad. You should eat green leafy vegetables such as kale or spinach with beef.
- Beef and vegetables are a complement, not a substitute for cabbage soup.
- Don't eat potatoes today.
- Try not to use too much oil when cooking beef.
Step 7. Finish with brown rice and vegetables on the seventh day
Now, you come to the last day on the cabbage soup diet. You can celebrate by enjoying cabbage soup with brown rice and vegetables. A small bowl of brown rice with green leafy vegetables should be enough to complete your daily cabbage soup dish.
- On this day, you can also drink unsweetened fruit juice.
- Making your own juice will ensure that there is no added sugar content, while also producing delicious, fresh fruit juice.
- Do not continue the diet for more than 7 days.
Part 3 of 3: Maximizing Diet Benefits
Step 1. Adhere to the diet
To get the most out of the cabbage soup diet, you need to be able to stick to it for a whole week. This is largely determined by will and commitment, but there are things you can do to maximize your chances. Planning your diet clearly by planning your food menu beforehand will help you stick to the diet. Planning and preparation are very important in any weight loss program.
- Gaps in plans or uncertainties in the menu can easily throw you off the program.
- Setting up a clear and detailed food menu will help you control your diet and monitor its progress.
Step 2. Don't forget liquid calories
While on a diet, you may pay close attention to everything you eat, but don't forget the calorie content of your drinks. Alcoholic beverages in particular have a very high calorie content so they will have a negative impact on your business if not avoided during your diet.
- This also applies to sugary fizzy drinks. You may not immediately associate drinking with weight, but drinking is an important element that should not be ignored.
- Drinking plenty of water throughout the day will help keep you hydrated while controlling your appetite.
Step 3. Take care of your health while on a diet
Going on a diet will keep you from getting enough nutrition for a week. So, you may feel tired and weak. As a result, maintaining health while on a diet is very important. One way to help you get essential nutrients while on a diet is to take a daily multivitamin tablet. This is an easy and quick way to ensure that your body is still getting enough essential nutrients.
- During a strict diet like this, you may not have enough energy to work out hard. However, try to stay moderately light physical activity.
- For example, take a leisurely walk in the afternoon.
- If you feel too tired or lethargic, reconsider this diet and replace it with a more balanced approach to diet and exercise.
Step 4. Stay positive throughout the diet
One element of the diet that will make it easier for you to live it is its short duration. While long-term results with a more balanced approach will be much more beneficial, you may feel more able to stick to a strict diet within a week than a more balanced diet over a longer period of time. So try to stay positive if you're having trouble sticking to your diet, and finish another bowl of cabbage soup.
- Imagine the end of the diet is drawing near and eat every serving of cabbage soup with pleasure.
- Going on a diet to the last day is an achievement so you should be proud of your will and commitment.
- Now, to feel the long-term benefits, try to get into the habit of eating healthy and exercising regularly.
Tips
- Remember to view your body positively.
- Don't eat cabbage soup with bread.
- If no specific drink is mentioned in a day, then you should only drink water.
- Drink lots of water throughout the day.
- Stay away from all alcoholic and carbonated drinks, even those labeled as diet.
Warning
- The cabbage soup diet is a strict diet, so you should consult your doctor first before trying it.
- Flatulence is a common side effect of this diet.
- This diet program is short term, and will not provide lasting results in the long term.
- Most of the weight lost is water and not fat. So, the results are not permanent.
