The Cabbage Soup Diet has been known by many as an effective and detailed week-long meal plan for losing weight. The diet ruthlessly involves a strict food group for each day of the week.
Successfully adhering to the meal plan gives promising results. It has been proven effective for rapid weight loss programs, especially for those who need to fit a certain type of clothing. Despite this, however, it is not recommended to go on this diet too much because of its inevitable harmful effects.
Cabbage Soup Diet: The Good
The Cabbage Soup Diet is a strategized meal plan that balances out and distributes the nutrients and vitamins that our body needs in the span of seven days. A summary of the diet is detailed below.
- Day 1 – as much fruits as you want, except bananas
- Day 2 – all kinds of vegetables, but the starchy potato has to wait for dinnertime
- Day 3 – a mix of vegetables and fruits, except potatoes
- Day 4 –skim milk and bananas
- Day 5 –tomatoes and protein
- Day 6 – vegetables and beef
- Day 7 –natural fruit juice, brown rice, and all kinds of vegetables
If followed carefully, going on the Cabbage Soup Diet for a week sheds 10-20 pounds off your weight. Some report to lose higher amounts. Regardless of your purpose, with this diet, you can surely get into your ideal figure in no time at all.
Aside from the weight loss, going on the Cabbage Soup Diet is a great way of getting vitamins from natural sources instead of artificial supplements. This is particularly true for days 1 to 3, which involves fruits and vegetables, and for day 4, which is most especially healthy for the bones.
Moreover, the meal plan is effective for detoxifying. It particularly cleanses the liver and the digestive system because of the high amounts of fiber present in the plan. It can be your ticket to wellness.
For each day, you can have as much cabbage soup as you want, along with the specific food group per day. Many have attested how the results show as early as the fourth day, and more so if you stick with it until the last day. However, alongside those great results come not-so-great testimonials.
Cabbage Soup Diet: The Bad
Despite being effective, the Cabbage Soup Diet has negative side-effects that make it unsuitable for long-term weight loss goals. Although the week-long plan distributes all of the nutrients that our body needs in a week, it drastically cuts off calories per day, which is the main reason for the rapid weight loss. It is therefore advised to go on the cabbage diet no longer then seven days, and not more often than 3 to 4 times per year with at least 3 months interval.
Many have confirmed that the diet is hard to get by from as early as the second day. This is understandable as the aim of the meal plan is to cut calories to as much as half per day. Some of the negative effects of the diet are mentioned below.
- Dizziness and extreme starvation are some of the common symptoms that show among people who undergo the seven-day meal plan. If you fail to resist temptation, it may cause reverse effects as it may induce overeating of food like sweets, which are supposed to be completely banned.
- The decrease in calorie intake causes severe fatigue. You may not be able to have the energy to do simple exercise, or even do basic tasks, because of the lack of energy-giving healthy fats, starch, sugar, and carbohydrates, which are restricted from the meal plan.
- Flatulence is another side-effect of this diet. Cabbages and vegetables like broccoli contain components that create digestive gas, which can make you feel bloated and uncomfortable for long periods of time.
- Frequent urination is to be expected because of the huge consumption of soup. You might be at risk for dehydration if you do not complete the recommended number of glasses for every day, which is usually 8 to 10. It may feel be tempting to skip drinking water, but note that it cannot be substituted by the soup alone.
A Word on Cabbage Soup Diet
Like most things, the Cabbage Soup Diet has some good and bad things, and it is necessary to acknowledge both sides before undergoing such. The meal plan is not intended to be a long-term solution for people who want to change their figure.
The effective and rapid weight loss may cause starvation, and therefore induce overeating after you have reached your goal. The lack of nutrients may also lead to other undesirable effects.
In closing, you might want to integrate the Cabbage Soup Diet into your usual week-long meal plans. This can be a way of shedding off some of that water fat gradually, instead of rapidly. Having a hearty bowl of cabbage soup before certain meals of the week will give you the feeling of being satiated and healthy, and can, in the long-run, help you achieve a longer-lasting slim figure.