Successful eating plans need to be individualized and considered by the whole person. Before starting a new diet plan, consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietician, especially if you have an underlying health condition. Get 14 day rapid soup diet reviews and choose your diet accordingly.
What Is The Soup Diet?
The soup diet isn’t just one diet but rather a collection of soup-based eating plans that promise significant weight loss in a short amount of time (usually 5 to 10 days). On some of these diets, you consume nothing but soup, while on others, soup is the foundation of the eating plan, with some foods added.
Eating soup may help increase satiety and help you stay full, which might allow you to eat less overall. While this may lead to weight loss, there is no evidence that a soup-only diet could effectively support long-term weight management.
What You Can Eat?
There are many variations of the soup diet. Each has different encouraged foods that are limited or prohibited. Even though each plan is unique, there are certain trends among them.
Broths And Soups
In general, most soup diets require making soup using a clear broth.
- Chicken broth
- Beef broth
- Vegetable broth
- Fish stock
- Various soups, depending on a specific diet
Vegetables
The soup diets that follow a low-carb eating plan use vegetables with a lower glycemic index (GI).
- Turnips
- Cauliflower
- Collard greens
- Kale
- Spinach
- Green beans
- Celery
What You Cannot Eat?
Soup diets are typically very restrictive, with only a few compliant foods and a long list of foods to avoid during the diet period.
Dairy
Few soup plans allow followers to eat dairy.
- Coffee cream
- Milk
- Cheese
- Sour cream
- Yogurt
Processed Foods And Refined Grains
- Crackers
- Cereal
- Cookies
- Candy
- Baked goods
- Chips
Fruit
- Apples
- Grapes
- Berries
- Melons
- Citrus
Grains
- Rice
- Bread
- Oatmeal
- Pasta
- Crackers
- Cereal
The soup diet may work for some people, but it is not recommended by health professionals, particularly for long periods, because of its restrictive nature.
How to Prepare A Soup Diet & Tips?
On most soup diets, you eat three meals each day. Several diets require you to eat soup at every meal, including breakfast. Others allow you to consume one non-soup meal each day and two other meals that consist solely of soup. There is no specific timing required for meal consumption on most plans. Some (but not all) diets limit or entirely prohibit snacking.
The following soup diets are well-known, but that doesn’t mean they are healthy or effective plans for weight loss. That said, it’s possible to include some components of these plans in a healthy lifestyle, such as drinking more water or incorporating the soup recipes as part of a balanced diet.
Basic Soup Diet
The basic soup diet allows any soup. This means that creamy soups and broth-based soups are both permitted. Canned and homemade soups are also included. Soups made with meat are typically encouraged along with plant-based soups. Other plans may include a specific recipe to follow and provide detailed instructions. Most plans last seven days, but others can last two weeks.
Cabbage Soup Diet
This seven-day eating plan requires you to make a large batch of soup that includes cabbage as the main ingredient and may also include tomato, onion, carrots, and either a chicken- or vegetable-based broth.
The cabbage soup diet also comes with a list of allowed foods and a list of foods to avoid. Most plans allow you to eat foods such as beef and skim milk but restrict foods such as bananas.
Sacred Heart Diet
On the Sacred Heart diet, followers consume a soup made with beef or chicken broth, green beans, celery, tomatoes, onions, and carrots. Foods eaten in addition to the soup include unsweetened fruit juice and brown rice in specific amounts. For example, potatoes and tomatoes can only be eaten on certain days and only in measured amounts.
When this diet first became popular, proponents claimed it was associated with a medical center called Sacred Heart. However, those claims have never been substantiated. According to advocates for the diet, if you follow the plan exactly, you can lose 10 to 17 pounds in seven days. However, health experts caution that rapid weight loss of this magnitude is potentially dangerous.
Bean Soup Diet
On the bean soup diet, followers consume vegetable bean soup made from ingredients including mushrooms, chili peppers, diced tomatoes, pinto beans, bell peppers, and celery. This soup recipe is more complex than others.
While following this program, people are advised to eat bean soup twice daily as the main meal. Followers are also encouraged to drink plenty of water. People following the diet are advised to avoid or limit dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and avocados but are encouraged to consume most other oil-free and plant-based foods.
Keto Soup Diet
The keto soup diet often appeals to those following a ketogenic diet, a paleo diet, or a low-carb eating plan. The diet lasts five days and provides a daily intake of 1,200 to 1,400 calories and 20 grams of carbohydrates. Certain foods, like nuts and dairy, are off-limits.
The soup is made with bacon, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, red wine, squash, and green beans. Some substitutions are allowed, but those who follow the diet are advised to avoid certain vegetables such as kale because they may “impede weight loss.” This claim is not supported by science. Kale is a nutrient-dense food, meaning it is high in nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) but low in calories.
One significant drawback of many soup-based weight loss programs is that they do not include instructions regarding a physical activity or a plan to transition to a long-term healthy eating program.
Is Soup Diet a Healthy Choice for You?
The soup diet is similar to those based on single food groups (mono diets). For example, there are pizza diets, smoothie diets, juice fasts, and even a taco diet. Almost all of these diets promise substantial short-term weight loss, but they are generally not sustainable.
Depending on the recipes you follow, you might also increase your plant-based protein intake. Soup diet proponents often recommend cooking with healthy fats, such as olive oil. However, few soup diet plans encourage the consumption of whole grains (or any grains at all). In addition, most soup diets restrict the consumption of fruit.
Diets that include foods from just one food group are not considered healthy because they limit your ability to get the wide range of nutrients that your body needs. Plus, if you follow one of these programs and reduce your weight substantially in a week or two, the weight will likely come back when you resume your regular eating regimen.
Bottom Line
A delicious bowl of hot soup loaded with protein and vegetables can be a healthy addition to any eating plan. But a diet that eliminates healthy food groups is generally not recommended for sustainable weight loss or wellness.
If your goal is weight loss, remember that losing weight isn’t necessarily the same as being your healthiest self, and there are many other ways to pursue health. Exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle factors also play a major role in your overall health. The best diet is always the one that is balanced and fits your lifestyle.
