Soup Diet for Heart Patients

The soup diet was supposedly designed by a hospital to help cardiac patients lose weight fast just before surgery, and it has been referred to by many hospital and other names. No medical center, however, endorses it, "The New York Times" reports. Its main component is an extremely low-calorie vegetable soup, which is eventually supplemented with a limited selection of other foods. Its intended to trigger substantial (10 to 17 pounds) of weight loss per week, but it isnt safe to adhere to for more than a week.

Composition

Although numerous variations of the soup have been touted over time, according to the Lose-Weight-With-Us website, the basic recipe calls for a handful of different vegetables (the chief one being cabbage), to which other ingredients are added over several days.

The dieter can eat as much soup as desired and can add fruits and vegetables during the first three days . Beef is added on the fifth day, and brown rice and fruit juice appear on the seventh day. (See the first link in the References section for a specific list of ingredients and cooking instructions.)

Limitations

Dont plan on maintaining this regimen for more than a week because the diet is extremely low in calories and nutrients. Following it for more than seven days will lead to serious malnutrition. In "The New York Times" article, dietitian Paula Posner criticized the diet, saying, "... theres no balance. Not enough protein on a regular daily basis and it doesnt change your habits. Accepting the diet as an only short-term weight-loss approach may not be hard for many people to accept, in any case. The American Heart Association, which disapproves of the diet, points out that severely food-restricting diets are so monotonousthat its almost impossible to stay on them for long periods.

People with diabetes or other dietary requirements should consult a doctor before embarking on the diet, Lose-Weight-With-Us warns. The soups high salt content also may make it unsuitable for people with high blood pressure.

Results

If followed faithfully, this very-low-calorie diet will cause loss of 10 or more pounds during the week you're on it, but much of this represents loss of water and muscle, not fat. Also, that rate of weight loss isn't sustainable because very-low-calorie diets cause the body to go into starvation mode. To conserve calories, it slows the metabolism and begins storing the calories as fat, rather than burning them for energy. Because the diet doesn't teach dieters how to eat right, as people resume a more normal diet, they quickly regain the pounds they lost, a LoseWeight.intervalinc.com article says.