In life, discipline and a lot of sacrifice are needed when you want to achieve your goals. If you want it badly enough, you will do everything to get it done. This is also true with weight loss. With various diet plans available, you have to try and test what is the best for you. One particular type of diet, called the Cabbage Soup Diet focuses on eating soup mainly containing cabbage and other selected high fiber vegetables for 7 days. This is considered as a detox diet as well so foods that you normally consume on a daily basis may not be a part of this program.

What sets this diet apart is that you may eat unlimited amount of this soup and the surprising twist is, the more soup you eat, the more weight you lose. It may perhaps sound too good to be true but this diet may be the best for you if you want to build a momentum on your weight loss journey. But on the other hand, you still have to be strict and keep a close watch because there are certain foods when eaten during the course of the program that can ruin your diet.

The original homemade cabbage soup is cheap and easy to prepare. It basically consists of cabbages (there are a variety of kinds), carrots, celery, broccoli, onions, garlic, spring onions and chicken broth. Yes, it may taste bland but remember your sacrifice is going to be worth it. For starters, you can eat almost any fruit with low sugar content such as apples, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, grapefruit, pears, plums, oranges etc.

Foods to Avoid While on the Cabbage Soup Diet

If you follow the program, in the latter days, you will be permitted to eat rice and certain meat types but there are specific foods that you should avoid for 7 days and these are the following:

1. Soda and commercial fruit juices. Soda or carbonated beverages and commercially produced ready to drink or powdered fruit juices contain very high amount of sugar and taking this while you are on the program can lead you to consuming more. Diet soda, on the other hand, contains artificial sweeteners even if the label says that it contains zero calories.
2. Needless to say, alcohol should be omitted from your diet this week. Alcohol contains sugar and drinking even a small amount can promote overeating. Avoid beer, wine or any other type of alcohol. Remember this diet is a detox too!
3. Artificial sweeteners. Many people would resort to taking artificial sweeteners because they think that it doesn’t add to calories. But these sweeteners contain artificial ingredients that wouldn’t help in reaching your weight loss goal for the week.
4. You should try to avoid full cream milk this week. If you are craving to have your milk fix, alternatives such as skim milk, almond milk or soy milk can be consumed but only in moderate amounts. If you don’t prefer these milk substitutes, you can eat just eat plain yogurt.
5. To include avocado in your diet this week is not a good idea because it contains too much fat.
6. Avoid this high starch, high fructose and high carb fruit EXCEPT on day 4.
7. Dried fruits. Omit dried dates, raisins and it is best to consider fresh fruits this week instead because these processed dried fruits contain too much sugar and other preservatives.
8. Noodles are high in complex carbohydrates and sodium – ingredients that can make you feel bloated because these can retain water in your system.
9. White rice and bread. On day seven in the program wherein you are allowed to eat the wonder soup and brown rice. White rice has high carb and sugar content. If you don’t like brown rice and thinking of substituting it with white bread instead, it isn’t advisable as well.
10. High glycemic and starchy vegetables. Whilst it is advisable to eat all vegetables that you can, you should stick to low or medium glycemic ones. Some veggies that you should avoid this week include corn, dried beans, squash and yam. Potatoes should be avoided too except for day 2.
11. Too much spices, oil and butter. You can use a little bit of olive oil for sautéing but avoid butter and vegetable oil because these are high in fat. Also, be careful in using too many spices for these contain sodium and MSG, which can lead to water retention.

One secret to the success of the 7-day Cabbage Soup Diet is sticking to the diet. Knowing what certain foods to avoid can make this diet very effective for you. Don’t forget to drink 8-10 glasses of water to prevent dehydration. Also, you can be creative while doing this program. You can make fruit smoothies and use lemon for your unsweetened tea for that added flavor. The important thing is at the end of the week you achieved your goal because you focus and worked hard on it!