Most 7-day diets claim to help you get leaner and feel fitter when the regime ends.
Consumers spend $33 billion in the US alone on weight loss products (1).
Before looking for pills or surgeries to cut the pounds, you should peek into some of nature’s gifts that could help.
Cabbage is nature’s crunchy secret to shedding pounds. It’s a power-pack of nutrients that could help you slim down. Many have used cabbage soup in the initial stages of starting long-term diets. The original “soup diet” became popular in the 1980s (2). It is a low-calorie meal and can be made with chicken, ground meat, or beans (according to the caloric requirements).
This article discusses the 7-day fat-burning soup diet and some fat-burning cabbage soup recipes you can try when following the plan.
Keep scrolling to find out!
Exploring quick ways to lose weight is understandable, but it’s essential to have realistic expectations. Popular diets are often highly restrictive and so low in calories that any lost weight is likely to return once you start eating normally.
A better strategy is to do the following:
A 7-day diet consisting only of soup does not meet the “better strategy description,” but you can incorporate nutritious, low-calorie soups like this one into your balanced diet.
Servings: 10 – 12 cups
Ingredients:
Instructions:
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For starters, you should know that all vegetables have lots of nutrients.
Even if you’re not following a diet plan, you should try eating around 2.5 cups of vegetables daily (3).
As for cabbage burning belly fat, it’s essential to acknowledge that cabbage doesn’t directly burn belly fat. Although it contains plenty of water, which helps with weight loss, it doesn’t target belly fat. No food can do that.
Eating water-rich foods can help you feel full and may reduce your caloric intake (4).
Plenty of research suggests the importance of hydration when trying to lose weight (5).
Cabbage is full of water, making it a perfect ingredient for soups and stews.
These meals help you feel full and satisfied without adding too many calories.
Adding cabbage to your diet can make healthy eating easier.
However, combining cabbage eating with balanced meals and regular exercise can help achieve effective weight loss.
The following are some more reasons why cabbage supports a weight loss journey:
It is low in calories and has many nutrients—the perfect combination for a weight loss program.
A cup of cabbage contains just 22 calories (6)!
There are 2 grams of fiber per cup of chopped cabbage (7).
Fiber keeps you feeling full, which means you may crave less food.
These nutrients help keep you healthy and support weight loss by improving overall well-being.
Although it doesn’t directly target abdominal fat, cabbage helps to keep you full without going beyond your calorie goal.
Read more: 7 Immunity-Boosting Soup Ideas to Ramp Up Your Health
Cabbage is a popular main ingredient in a 7-day soup diet.
This short, low-calorie diet involves eating cabbage soup and specific foods for 7 days.
Here’s what might happen when you follow the cabbage soup diet for a week:
Since the diet is very low in calories (800–1,200 kcal per day), some people lose as much as 4–10 pounds in a week (8).
However, much of this weight loss comes from water and glycogen stores, not fat.
These stores will replenish themselves, and the weight will return when the diet ends.
The diet lacks sufficient protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, which can cause the following symptoms:
Because this diet lacks sufficient calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients, experts do not recommend following it for more than a few days.
The soup’s high water content helps you increase your water intake.
Staying well–hydrated is excellent for many reasons, but you don’t have to go on an all-soup diet to do so.
Honestly, there isn’t much research or solid evidence that the cabbage soup diet always works. However, on a general note, when using a 7-day vegetable soup diet recipe for weight loss, you can at least enjoy the rewards of consuming more vegetables.
Most vegetables are low in calories and high in fiber, making them a positive addition to any dietary regime. Plant-based diets, which include many vegetables, may reduce the risk of obesity and promote weight loss (10).
Remember, eating more vegetables and fiber and drinking extra water for just a week or two won’t have a lasting impact on your weight or health.
The benefits will only last if you build long-term healthy habits. This long-term aspect means including more vegetables in a healthy, balanced diet that includes a variety of foods from all food groups, not just soups.
The cabbage soup diet is a short-term, low-calorie plan that some say can help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) weekly.
However, most weight loss comes from water and possibly muscle, not fat.
This diet isn’t a long-term solution because it lacks essential nutrients and isn’t sustainable.
Everyone’s results will be different, but in most cases, the weight comes back once you start eating normally again. For lasting weight loss, follow a balanced diet and stay active.
As we know, it is a short-term diet focusing on homemade cabbage soups.
A general outline of what you can include in your meals during the plan is as follows:
Day 1: Eat unlimited cabbage soup and any fruit except bananas.
Day 2: Consume cabbage soup and unlimited fresh, raw, or cooked vegetables (excluding dry beans, peas, and corn). For dinner, you may have a large baked potato with butter.
Day 3: Enjoy cabbage soup, unlimited fruits (except bananas), and vegetables.
Day 4: Have cabbage soup, up to eight bananas, and unlimited skim milk.
Day 5: Eat cabbage soup, 10-20 ounces (280-565 grams) of beef or poultry, and up to six fresh tomatoes.
Day 6: Consume cabbage soup, unlimited beef, and vegetables.
Day 7: Have cabbage soup, unlimited brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, and vegetables.
Like other soup diets, this one is highly restrictive, which means it won’t be sustainable, and no one should follow it for more than a week.
Diets like this are not appropriate or safe for everyone, so talk to your healthcare provider before trying a restrictive diet.
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This diet has some strict protocols, but the good news is that you aren’t obliged to follow them for a long time. The diet creators recommend avoiding certain foods to get the maximum benefits.
Here’s a breakdown of foods to avoid:
The diet excludes many nutrient-dense foods and should last 7 days or less.
You should follow it for a short duration because your body requires various nutrients to stay in good shape.
Again, it isn’t safe or a good idea for everyone, so talk to your healthcare provider for individualized advice.
Read more: 30-Day Food Challenge: Fueling Your Body for Success
Cabbage is the primary ingredient of most meals during these 7 days.
Still, when considered overall, the cabbage soup diet recipe ingredients may change to make the meals exciting and fun.
A few variations of this diet are:
This traditional version simmers cabbage in a flavorful broth containing vegetables such as onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and tomatoes. It’s a staple for those following the diet.
Adding spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, and fresh ginger can elevate the soup’s taste while providing additional health benefits. These spices introduce warmth and depth to the flavor profile.
Adding lean proteins like chicken or tofu can make the soup more filling and nutritionally balanced. This variation aligns with specific days of the diet that permit protein intake.
If you’re cutting back on carbs, this version uses non-starchy vegetables and skips ingredients like potatoes or rice. It’s a good fit for low-carb or keto diets.
The point is that you can add different ingredients according to your dietary needs and taste buds. For example, if you have ever heard about the benefits of red cabbage, you can include those in your soups to make them more colorful and nutritious.
Most soup diets are for short-term use, and most diet experts recommend this. However, you can follow the Greger’s bean soup diet for a bit longer because of the quality carbohydrates involved (11).
If you don’t incorporate healthy eating habits afterward, you’ll probably gain back any weight lost and possibly more. These diets don’t provide all the calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients you need to stay healthy. For example, protein intake on this diet is low, leading to a loss of lean muscle mass.
Research also shows that drastically cutting calories or losing weight too fast can slow your metabolism, causing your body to burn fewer calories (12).
This slowdown can make it harder to maintain a healthy weight in the long-term.
Experts recommend against this. Due to its highly restrictive nature, they advise following the diet for only a week, if at all. Yes, you can drink coffee while on the cabbage soup diet. Other beverages include water, cranberry juice, tea, and skim milk. No, avocado is generally not allowed on the cabbage soup diet, as it is a high-fat food. Most diet variations focus on low-calorie, low-fat vegetables, and avocado wouldn’t fit due to its high fat content (13). According to most interpretations of the cabbage soup diet, eating eggs is prohibited. The diet primarily focuses on consuming large quantities of cabbage soup with limited additional vegetables and does not typically include eggs as a permitted food item.Frequently Asked Questions
Can you do the cabbage soup diet for 2 weeks?
Can I drink coffee on a cabbage soup diet?
Is avocado allowed on the cabbage soup diet?
Can I eat eggs on a cabbage soup diet?
If you’re desperate to lose weight, you might hope for a quick fix with the cabbage soup diet. However, it’s not a long-term solution and doesn’t typically lead to sustainable weight loss. Some people may find it hard to stick to this diet because of its restrictions.
It doesn’t provide all the calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients we need to stay healthy. This food deficiency is one reason dietitians don’t recommend this eating pattern to most people, especially those with a medical history or older adults.
Once you learn to make sustainable changes to your diet and lifestyle and have realistic expectations, weight loss comes more naturally.. Stay tuned to our blog to learn about more insightful dietary regimes!
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