Has anyone heard of the Cabbage Soup diet?

Katerbuggs
Katerbuggs Posts: 41
edited October 6 in Food and Nutrition
I heard about this diet years ago and recently found a website all about it. (http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com) Its original purpose is to help people lose weight the week before having major surgery, but I've heard its good for the occasional body cleanse as well. The plan is very low in calories though and I'm a little concerned about continuing to work out while trying it. (I'm currently doing the 30 Day Shred and I don't want to interrupt it.)
I was just wondering if anyone has any personal experience from trying it and if you think it's a good way to jump start the weight loss and cleanse the body.

Replies

  • RainbowPearl
    RainbowPearl Posts: 42 Member
    Bump
  • Pam3
    Pam3 Posts: 1,687 Member
    :flowerforyou:
  • nettleboo
    nettleboo Posts: 177 Member
    hello having green smoothies im sure would do the same thing it cleasnes the body but you can eaty normal as well i wouldnt eat just cabbage soup all day
  • spacevulture
    spacevulture Posts: 34 Member
    Best "cleanse" is intermittent fasting. The cabbage soup diet is high sodium, low variety, and bland (for most people-- i for one love cabbage).
    It's more a fad diet than a cleanse, honestly. Yeah, you'll lose weight, but it won't be because you're "cleansing". Basically, you'll be putting yourself on a VLCD, and you'll gain back some of the weight you lost once you start eating normally. But I guess in that way it would be a way to break a plateau.

    Jump start weight loss: Yes
    "Cleanse" the body: No
    Healthy: No

    Would I/Have I done it?: Yes

    FYI: Cleansing is, for the most part, BS. ESPECIALLY if it's presented to you as one of these fad diets. It's basically code for starving your body of nutrients for a little bit and pretending you're cleaning out your body.
  • PepeGreggerton
    PepeGreggerton Posts: 986 Member
    Personal opinion here... Diets don't work, you have to change your lifestyle.
  • FoxyMcDeadlift
    FoxyMcDeadlift Posts: 771 Member
    Just have a varied balanced diet.
  • pregmeg119
    pregmeg119 Posts: 151 Member
    It is fake, if you do more research, you will find it wasn't even from the hospital it claims to be from.

    I do know people who have lost weight, water weight, on this diet but really it's because it's more so a liquid, extremely low calorie diet.

    I wouldn't do it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabbage_soup_diet
  • mplasky
    mplasky Posts: 13
    Ive tried it a year or so ago, its actually good but the bad part is it gets hard to stick to for a week straight. From when I did it i was told couldnt eat nothing at all but the cabbage soup. It did help me drop a few pounds but in a few days it was back again :(
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member
    <
    (not a doctor)


    Simple math, cabbage soup isn't going to have enough calories to cover the calorie burn and recovery you need if you're doing shred. If you're exercising regularly, you shouldn't need a fad like the cabbage soup "diet." I'd bet after a day or two you'd crash hard. but that's just my opinion.

    If you weren't exercising regularly, and were looking for something as a cleanse, then it would probably be ok once in a great while..
  • PBmaria
    PBmaria Posts: 854 Member
    You'll gain most (if not all) of it all back once you go back to eating a normal diet.
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
    Diets don't work, you have to change your lifestyle.

    This.
  • Boo_08
    Boo_08 Posts: 94 Member
    I tried it shortly before I found MFP (yet another fad diet I tried before starting) I didn't finish I was dizzy deprived and extremely grouchy I ended up crashing and going on a total binge .... Personally I don't think its the greatest idea as a whole but I deffenetly don't recommend working out while your on it... one of the side effects is fainting and that's just from the low cal intake.... I don't think you'll have the strength to work out nor the energy.
  • BobbyDaniel
    BobbyDaniel Posts: 1,459 Member
    Tried it, hated it...was a miserable week or two...avoid it.
  • MarybethAltizer
    MarybethAltizer Posts: 226 Member
    I did this years ago. It worked. BUT I gained the weight back. I would say to jumpstart, yes. I love cabbage. :)
  • marylou1976
    marylou1976 Posts: 106 Member
    I tried it about 5 years ago it is TERRIBLE, the smell of the soup made me gag, I felt dizzy and fainted every day (only managed it for 3 days) so yes it workls but with dire effects (I won;t even mention the wind.....)

    stick to couunting cals and do it slowly or if you want a quick boost try slimfast/cambridge still v low cal but at least you get all the nutrients you need
  • SpaceMarkus
    SpaceMarkus Posts: 651
    Sounds like a gimmick. Just eat clean and exercise. That's really all you need.
  • alimac92
    alimac92 Posts: 705 Member
    Not only have I heard it I've smelt it too!

    Peee euuuW, for the sake of any friends and family I'd give that one a miss. :noway:
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    I only lasted 3 days terrible headaches, as all the other posters said it is a fad and whatever weight you drop you will regain quickly. However it does make a low calorie snack to fill you up if you don't have many calories left and cabbage is good for you but use it as part of your lifestyle not on it's own. :ohwell:
  • olymp1a
    olymp1a Posts: 1,766 Member
    My dad did this last year or so and he was overweight (around 120kgs). He lost approximately 9kgs in a week, he was not exercising at all and he was very very low on energy. As soon as he stopped the diet he regained the 9kgs in about 1 month, although he was really eating healthier than before.

    He also had terrible headaches all the time and tummy problems because of all that cabbage.


    I second the opinion about the smell, it is disgusting after day 2 or so. And note that this comes from a cabbage lover!
  • Katerbuggs
    Katerbuggs Posts: 41
    Thanks for the input everyone. =)
    First off, some people seem to think its only the soup. The main thing you eat all week is the soup yes(2-3 bowls a day) but you follow a food plan. For example. Day one, you eat as much fruit and soup as you want, until you are stuffed. Day two, only veggies and more soup....Day five you eat only lean beef or skinless baked chicken, tomatoes (or other food high in lycopene) and soup etc.

    I totally agree that a lifestyle change is what is really needed, but the main appeal to me here is the jump start of getting all the water weight gone. One week of this and no more.

    I think I'll mull it over for a few more days. A friend of mine really wants to start this with me. If I do decide to do it, I'll take a break from the 30DS because of the low calories. Maybe that's why I want to do it right now, this is only week one for me with the shred and I'm impatient and want to see results faster, lol.
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
    I've tried the whole thing (soup+food plan) a few years ago. Got sick of the soup after 3 days! If you want to "jump start" your weight loss, any low calories plan will do... No need to eat crappy soup for that!
  • Jacquelyn913
    Jacquelyn913 Posts: 300 Member
    If you try it be prepared to stay around a bathroom the whole time. LOL.
  • sunshine421969
    sunshine421969 Posts: 273 Member
    Totally agree ! Its not a diet, It is a life style change !:smile:
  • amayzingamanda
    amayzingamanda Posts: 254 Member
    I have done the GM Diet a couple times (it's very similar, if not the same as the cabbage diet). The first couple times I cheated a lot because I was only doing it to support a friend doing it. This last time I did it, I actually followed it exact. It is VERY HARD to reach your calorie goal (and I'm only at 1200). And I found it extremely hard to work out. The first two days, I nearly passed out in the gym because my body just wasn't getting enough. I stuck it out to day 7 (the GM is only 7 days), but I'll agree with others that posted here, I likely only lost water weight, and it doesn't necessarily stay off. I did keep up with the healthy lifestyle etc so I didn't gain it all back, only a pound or two. But I'm sure everyone is different.

    I wouldn't use this as a cleanse....even though your system will feel pretty clean by day 4 lol. Maybe a jumpstart, but not a long term solution.
  • reaolliemama
    reaolliemama Posts: 483 Member
    Diets don't work, you have to change your lifestyle.

    This.
    yes this
  • robyng1986
    robyng1986 Posts: 139 Member
    i did it... and i actually found the soup tasted really good! but i would more call it onion soup than cabbage soup and ummmm...... a lot of onion in sooo, you can do the math. so that wasn't the best. plus after about 4 days of drinking the soup i was a little fedup and totally embarrassed to go anywhere because of the onion. hahahahahaha, hey, it's about honesty right?
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    You will kick yourself for stopping 30 DS to do this. It's a fad, just like all the rest of them. The body does a pretty good job of cleansing itself, since that's what major organs, like the kidneys, liver, and bowels, are meant for.
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
    I think it's really just an extremely low calorie diet. It will work for weight loss, my wife and I did it years ago, but it is a diet - you will gain it back when you finish the diet. I sort of liked the soup, and it can be made low sodium. I suppose if you wanted to incorporate it as a part of your everyday life, it wouldn't hurt as a low cal, filling soup.
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