Cabbage Soup Diet

There's a very simple explanation for the cabbage soup diet ? FRAUD. There's no need to know anything more about this ridiculous diet. But in case you're curious here is some more information.

Nobody knows who created the cabbage soup diet. It first appeared in the early 1980s, faxed from person to person like a chain letter. The diet went under many names, often using a part of the name of a well respected institution such as the Russian peasant diet, or the St. Jude's diet. Needless to say, the diet has no relation to any of the institutions, nations, or people used in these names.

The cabbage soup diet calls for drinking nothing but water or unsweetened fruit juice on days when juice is allowed. A general outline of the diet is something like this.

Day one — cabbage soup plus as much fruit as you can eat, but no bananas.

Day two — cabbage soup plus vegetables, which could include a half baked potato with no butter.

Day three — cabbage soup plus vegetables and fruit, not including bananas or potato.

Day four — cabbage soup +8 bananas and skimmed milk.

Day five — cabbage soup, six tomatoes and up to 20 ounces of beef.

Day six — cabbage soup and as much of beef and vegetables as you can eat, no potatoes.

Day seven — cabbage soup, brown rice, vegetables, unsweetened fruit juice, but no potatoes.

The cabbage soup diet claims that people can lose 10 pounds in only one week. While it may be possible, most of that weight will be water weight. Nutritionists agree that it's just not possible to lose 10 pounds of fat in only one week. It is however, possible to get sick from a lack of nutrition which is one danger with the cabbage soup diet.

The other problem with the cabbage soup diet is that it's a very difficult diet to follow. That isn't to say that it's complicated, but cabbage soup seven days in a row can be quite bland and boring. Many people who have started the cabbage soup diet quit after only one or two days. Even as more exciting cabbage soup recipes, including some with various spices, made the rounds people still quit early.

In general nothing quite as extreme as the cabbage soup diet is needed to lose weight. A program of exercise plus cutting down calories than what you normally eat on a day-to-day basis can be very effective.