Mayo Clinic Cabbage-Soup Diet

Crash diets remove a lot of food from your diet in order to enable you to lose weight quickly. The cabbage-soup diet is one of these diets. It focuses on eating fruits, vegetables and cabbage soup. Understanding the advantages, disadvantages and even the potential dangers of this diet can help you decide whether or not it is right for you.

First Day

You begin the cabbage-soup diet by eating as much fruit as you want, except bananas. You are also allowed to eat as much cabbage soup as you want while drinking unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water. Breakfast can be an orange, an apple and some cranberry juice. A good mid-morning snack could be half a bowl of cabbage soup and a peach. Lunch could be apples, pears, a bowl of cabbage soup and water. Mid-afternoon snacks can be another half a bowl of cabbage soup, apricots and tea. Supper can be a fruit salad and two bowls of cabbage soup.

Second Day

The second day focuses on raw and cooked vegetables. You can eat as many as you want in addition to your cabbage soup. Drinks should remain the same. Wake up to a helping of boiled broccoli and cauliflower with a glass of water. A good mid-morning snack can be half a bowl of cabbage soup, some carrots and water. Lunch can be a salad, a bowl of cabbage soup and some unsweetened tea. Mid-afternoon snacks can consist of half a bowl of cabbage soup, celery sticks and some more cranberry juice. Supper can be a baked potato with butter and two bowls of cabbage soup with unsweetened tea as a drink.

Third Day

The third day combines fruits and vegetables with cabbage soup. Wake up to a fruit salad with some peas and Brussels sprouts and water. A mid-morning snack can consist of an apple, a half a bowl of cabbage soup and some carrots with tea to drink. Lunch can consist of multiple boiled vegetables and sliced pears and peaches atop a salad, and a bowl of cabbage soup with unsweetened tea. A mid-afternoon snack can be half a bowl of cabbage soup and some kiwis and cranberry juice to drink. Supper can be two bowls of cabbage soup, two oranges, two apples and any other vegetables you feel like eating with water to drink.

Fourth Day

By the fourth day, you will no doubt want some sweets. The fourth day helps you get over this craving by allowing you to eat as many bananas as you want. You are also allowed to drink as many glasses of skim milk as you desire. Cabbage soup should also be consumed in large amounts. This day will have a mixture of bananas and cabbage soup for every meal. Try eating three bananas with milk at breakfast. A bowl of cabbage soup makes a good mid-morning snack along with some milk. Lunch can be two bowls of cabbage soup with three bananas and milk. A mid-afternoon snack can be two bananas and supper can be two bowls of cabbage soup with all the bananas and milk you desire.

Fifth Day

The fifth day introduces protein into your diet. Ten to 20 ounces of beef will be eaten during this day as will six tomatoes. Start your day with a full sliced tomato and cranberry juice. A mid-morning snack can consist of half a bowl of cabbage soup and water. Lunch can be two sliced tomatoes sprinkled over five ounces of beef with a bowl of cabbage soup on the side and unsweetened tea to drink. A mid-afternoon snack can consist of five ounces of fried beef and another tomato with water. Supper can be up to another 10 ounces of beef, two bowls of cabbage soup and the rest of your tomatoes sliced for bite-sized consumption.

Sixth Day

The sixth day is kind of a binging day: On this day you can eat as much beef and vegetables as you want, as well as your cabbage soup. Start the day with five ounces of beef and some boiled broccoli and cauliflower and skim milk. A mid-morning snack can consist of a salad topped with cucumbers and carrots with half a bowl of cabbage soup. Lunch can be another five ounces of beef mixed in with two bowls of cabbage soup and cranberry juice to drink. A mid-afternoon snack can consist of steamed veggies and water. Supper should have as much beef as you want, along with whatever vegetables you feel like eating with some unsweetened tea.

Seventh Day

On the seventh day, you can eat as much brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, vegetables and, of course, cabbage soup that you want. Start the day with a bowl of boiled brown rice and apple juice. A mid-morning snack can consist of half a cup of cabbage soup and some dry broccoli and water. Lunch can be a variety of boiled vegetables, orange juice and two bowls of cabbage soup. A mid-afternoon snack can consist of prune juice, half a cup of cabbage soup and a small bowl of brown rice. Supper can be two bowls of brown rice with fried vegetables scattered on top, two bowls of cabbage soup and two cups of orange juice.

Advantages

This diet allows you to eat as much food as you want every day. All of the foods eaten on this diet are healthy, so it can help change bad eating habits quickly. The diet does take off weight quickly, as it focuses on foods such as cabbage, tomatoes, vegetables and fruit that promote health and weight loss.

Disadvantages

While it can take at least 10 to15 pounds off, this is not a long-term answer to weight loss. The diet lacks nutrition, even though the foods you eat are healthy. This diet is also quite boring. Moreover, cabbage soup, the centerpiece of this diet, is not to everyone's taste. It's also extremely high in salt and causes gas.