We are all usually struggling to lose weight. A weight loss diet program drains a lot of nutrients and essential vitamins and minerals from our body. Weight loss is achieved by a lot of starvation and eating tasteless boiled foods. As a result we start looking anorexic. It also leads to devoid of energy making us dull and lifeless. The fulfillment of basic daily chores becomes taxing.
Hence, a fast effective and nutritious way to lose weight is the cabbage soup diet.
If I say you can lose up to 5kilos in week most of us won’t believe it, but it’s true. This diet has been tried and tested and has shown visible results so here is how to go about it.
Before you start you must remember:
- This diet must not be followed beyond a week.
- You must give a 2 week break in between before repeating the program.
- Make sure you drink at least 6 to 10 glasses of water a day.
- Never starve yourself.
- For drinks you can take low fat milk, black coffee\ tea or green tea, unsweetened cranberry juice or fresh fruit juices ( for example : orange juice)
- You must gradually come back to your normal diet once the program is over.
Day one: Fruits
For day one you can eat all the fruits you want to (except for bananas) there is no restriction on the quantity. For better results your diet should contain maximum water melons, apples, apricots, plums and pears.
Try and avoid fruits like mango.
Day two: Vegetables
For day two you must stuff yourself with all the raw, cooked or uncooked vegetables till you can’t eat any more. NO fruits today. You can add one tablespoon of olive oil to your cooked veggies to enhance the taste.
Keep your vegetables low on salt and spice. (Salt and spices lead to water retention in the body thus acts as a hurdle in your weight loss)
Stay away from baked beans, peas and corn.
At dinner you can reward yourself with a baked potato and a pat of butter. And also drink “cabbage soup” with it.
Day three: Fruit and vegetables
Today you must mix your day one and day two diets. You can eat all the fruits and vegetables you like. No potato today.
Whenever you feel hungry you must drink the “cabbage soup”
Day four: Bananas and skim milk
Today you can eat as many as eight bananas. Along with this you should drink at least three glasses of skimmed milk. You must not forget to drink your “cabbage soup”.
This day will lessen your craving for sweets.
Day five: Protein day
For vegetarians: substitute the beef or chicken or fish with cottage cheese, tofu or soya been chunks or granules.
Eggitarians can also add eggs to this devoid of the yolk.
For day five you must consume ten to twenty ounces of chicken, beef or fish. You must eat at least six whole tomatoes.
On this day you should increase your liquid intake, from 6 glasses of water to minimum ten. This will help flush out the uric acid from your system.
You must consume one portion of “cabbage soup”.
Make sure the chicken is without skin and it could be baked or roasted. Curries are an absolute no no.
Day six: Feast day
On day six you can eat all the vegetables and beef or chicken or fish to your heart’s content. But make sure to eat only one of the three protein sources mentioned.
One portion of “cabbage soup” is mandatory.
No potatoes today.
For vegetarians: substitute the beef or chicken or fish with cottage cheese, tofu or soya been chunks or granules.
Day seven: Back to normal diet
Today you should eat one bowl of brown rice. Unsweetened fruit juices and lots of green leafy vegetables. You can increase your intake of “cabbage soup” to two portions on this day.
Now you will be feeling energetic and fresh and your skin will be glowing. Your body will be thanking you for the detoxing you just gave it.
Now when you go back to your previous diet make sure you don’t hog. Take small meals every two hours. Drink lots of water. Take approximately six mini meals a day.
Now, let us see how to prepare the cabbage soup for the above diet.
Recipe for the cabbage soup:
Ingredients:
- 6 large spring onions
- 2 green peppers
- 250grams of diced tomatoes
- 3 carrots
- 100 grams of mushrooms
- 1 bunch of celery
- Half head of a decent sized cabbage
- Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry or garlic powder ( add very little or no salt)
Directions:
Chop the onions finely and sauté them in a pot till golden brown in around one table spoon olive oil
Remove the stem end of the green pepper and take out the membrane and seeds and chop it into bite sized pieces. Add to the pot.
Keep the pot on low heat.
Wash the mushrooms, celery and carrots and cut them into bite sized pieces and add to the pot.
Also add the diced tomatoes to the pot now.
You can add soup flavors or pieces of chicken or beef to add to the taste. You can also season it with curry and black powder but make sure to keep the salt content to minimum.
Now add about 12 cups of water and let the soup simmer on low heat. For about two hours till the vegetables are tender.
Tips to make the diet more palatable:
- You can substitute the bananas on day four with papaya kiwi or apricots.
- For day five you can eat water melons, grapes of red peppers instead of tomatoes
Things you should not do:
- Avoid alcohol during this week
- Keep your salt and spices content to the minimum possible
- Do not consume artificial sweeteners
- No soda for this week, not even diet.