Is cabbage soup good for losing weight?

Like other very low calorie diets, the Cabbage Soup Diet will likely cause temporary weight loss. But people who follow it tend to regain most of the weight lost unless they make other permanent changes. Additionally, eating only cabbage soup is nutritionally unbalanced and not safe.

What diet is similar to cabbage soup diet?

Similar to the cabbage soup diet, the Sacred Heart soup diet is a 7-day eating plan that consists almost entirely of a broth-based soup with non-starchy vegetables. While other low calorie foods are allowed, the diet is very specific as to which foods can be included each day.

What is allowed on the cabbage soup diet?

The cabbage soup diet allows for unlimited zero calorie beverages like water and unsweetened tea. Some versions also allow specific fruits and vegetables on certain days including vegetables, baked potato with butter, nonfat milk, fruits, beef, fish, poultry, brown rice, and unsweetened fruit juice.

What is the soup diet for weight loss?

Eating soup may help increase satiety and help you stay full, which might allow you to eat less overall. 1 While this may lead to weight loss, there is no evidence that a soup-only diet could effectively support long-term weight management.

Does cabbage soup burn belly fat?

The cabbage soup diet has been used as a rapid weight-loss plan for decades. And while following it will likely result in weight loss, the results may be fleeting, and participants may not experience a significant reduction in fat mass and body fat percentage like they might with a gradual weight-loss program.

What is the Dolly Parton diet?

You may have heard of something called the Dolly Parton Diet — which consists of eating cabbage soup (yes, cabbage soup!) as your main meals along with fruit and vegetables. It's also known as the TWA Stewardess Diet and, well, the Cabbage Soup Diet.

How often should you eat cabbage soup to lose weight?

Just like the name says, the bulk of this diet is fat-free cabbage soup, eaten two to three times a day with other allowed foods assigned each day. Here's what you can add: Day 1: Fruit, except bananas. Day 2: Vegetables like leafy greens (not starchy), but no fruit.

Does cabbage detox the body?

Cabbage does double detox duty. Its diuretic properties help rid your body of excess liquid, carrying toxins along with it. Like other cruciferous veggies, cabbage is also sulfur-rich, helping your liver break down toxins so they can be more easily expelled.

What actually burns belly fat?

Exercise can help reduce your waist circumference. Even if you don't lose weight, you lose visceral belly fat and gain muscle mass. Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days, such as brisk walking or bicycling at a casual pace. Also create opportunities to add motion to routine tasks.

Why does cabbage help you lose weight?

Cabbage is rich in water and fibre, which helps in keeping the intestines healthy. By consuming cabbage, the stomach feels full for a long time. This reduces appetite so that you can avoid overeating. The fibre in cabbage removes constipation and accelerates metabolism, which helps in weight loss.

Diet-Friendly Light Cabbage Soup (2024)

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Low-Fat Cooking
Low-Fat Mains

Diana Rattray

Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.

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Updated on 02/22/24

Tested by

Danilo Alfaro

Tested byDanilo Alfaro

Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.

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Ingredients

6 large scallions, sliced
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 or 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 bunch celery, sliced
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1 packagedryonion soup mix(such as Lipton)
1 or 2 cubes bouillon, optional
See Also
How to Lose 10 Pounds in One Week (with Pictures) - wikiHow
1 (48-ounce) can tomato-based vegetable juice (or 6 cups water)
Kosher salt, to taste
Curry powder, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, optional for seasoning
Parsley, optional for seasoning
Garlic powder, optional for seasoning
Paprika, optional for seasoning

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
Add the scallions, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, cabbage, onion soup mix, and bouillon, if using, and tomato-based vegetable juice to a soup pot or slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low in a soup pot on the stove for 1 hour or in a slow cooker for 5 hours.
Add the salt, curry powder, and any optional seasonings, and continue cooking for a few minutes on the stovetop or 1 to 2 hours more in a slow cooker.
Eat all the soup you want. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Tip

The recipe calls for curry powder "to taste," but if you're not familiar with cooking with curry powder, you might not know what sort of quantity to start with. If you're unsure, try 1/2 teaspoon initially, and add more later, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, if it needs it.

Recipe Variations

To embellish this basic recipe, try adding an extra ingredient or two (diet permitting), such as:

1 pound browned ground beef or ground turkey.
Zucchini or summer squash.
1 can drained Great Northern, navy, red, pinto, or black beans.
Leftover diced ham or corned beef.
1 can condensed (or double-strength) beef broth or condensed French onion soup instead of bouillon.
1 cup chopped fresh spinach or kale.
1/2 cup diced or thinly sliced carrots.
Diced cooked bacon, garnish.

The Diet Plan

The cabbage soup diet allows you to eat all of the cabbage soup you like in addition to adding certain foods on specific days throughout the week. No bread, alcohol, or carbonated beverages, including diet sodas.

Day 1: Any fruit except bananas.
Day 2: Any and all vegetables, baked potato with butter for dinner.
Day 3: Combine Days 1 and 2 without potato.
Day 4: Up to 6 bananas, skim milk.
Day 5: 10 to 20 ounces of beef or skinless chicken, can of tomatoes, 6 to 8 glasses of water.
Day 6: All the beef or chicken and vegetables you want.
Day 7: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices, and vegetables.

How Does the Cabbage Soup Diet Help You Lose Weight?

In general, soup diets focus on reducing calories and fat for several days. This can lead to quick weight loss and shedding a few pounds, helping some people stay motivated to eat healthier as they move on to a long-term diet. The cabbage soup provides many essential nutrients, and it can increase satiety, helping you feel fuller, so you eat less. However, diets like this should only be temporary because they do not include all food groups and can lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Easy Stovetop Cabbage Soup

Low-Fat Mains
Vegetable Recipes
Pepper Recipes
Recipes By Diet
Low-Fat Cooking

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
83	Calories
1g	Fat
18g	Carbs
4g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 7
Amount per serving
Calories	83
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g	1%
Saturated Fat 0g	1%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 727mg	32%
Total Carbohydrate 18g	7%
Dietary Fiber 6g	22%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 86mg	428%
Calcium 130mg	10%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 696mg	15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

Pepper
Diet
entree
american

Article Sources

The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Navaro DA, Raz O, Gabriel S, Shriqui VK, Gonen E, Boaz M. Functional foods in fad diets: a review. Functional Foods in Health and Disease. 2017;7(9):702-715. doi:10.31989/ffhd.v7i9.346
Zhu Y, Hollis JH. Soup consumption is associated with a lower dietary energy density and a better diet quality in US adults. Br J Nutr. 2014;111(8):1474-1480. doi:10.1017/S0007114513003954
Hart, K. Chapter 4.6: Fad diets and fasting for weight loss in obesity. In Hankey C, ed.Advanced Nutrition and Dietetics in Obesity. Wiley; 2018,177–182.

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