The Cabbage Soup Diet

The Cabbage Soup Diet

The Cabbage soup diet is a radical weight loss diet designed around heavy consumption of a low-calorie cabbage soup over the time of seven days. It is generally considered a fad diet, in that it is designed for short-term weight-loss and requires no long-term commitment. It has inspired several copy-cats based around similar principles.

The typical claimed intent of the diet is to lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of weight in a week, though nutritional experts point out that it is nearly impossible to lose that much fat within a week. This has lent credence to claims much of the weight lost is water.

Background


The origins of the diet are unknown, and it first gained popularity as a piece of faxlore in the 1980s. The cabbage soup diet has many names, usually linking the diet to a mainstream institution, including the "Sacred Heart Diet", "Military Cabbage Soup", "TJ Miracle Soup Diet", "General Motors Diet" and "Russian Peasant Diet". All of the institutions named have denied a link with the diet. As a general rule, most if not all forms of the diet emphasize that the dieter can consume as much cabbage soup as he/she wants. On some original documents mentioning the diet, it was claimed the diet is designed for obese heart-surgery patients, so they could lose weight quickly and therefore be at lower risk of complications during surgery. However, these claims remain unverified.