Some foods have negative calories because it takes more energy to eat and digest them than they had to begin with. The name Cabbage Soup Diet got its name from one of those negative calorie items. This diet is not one that is recommended for long-term use, but can be effective for a quick weight loss. Some dieters use it to start losing some weight before a different diet begins. Others use it to quickly drop pounds before an important event.

The Cabbage Soup Diet gets its name from the liberal amounts of cabbage soup that can be eaten at any time during the diet. The more of it that is eaten, the fewer calories the dieter has to turn into fat. The diet plan is for other foods along with the cabbage soup, though the foods are limited. The diet has a seven-day plan for meals. No substitutions are approved for the diet- only the exact foods mentioned. Dieters should also drink plenty of water throughout the diet.

Fruit and cabbage soup are the only things that the dieter eats on the first day. The dieter drinks unsweetened items such as tea, coffee and cranberry juice. On the diet’s second day, vegetables can be eaten in any quantity, as long as they are not beans, peas or corn. Fruit is not allowed on the second day, and the cabbage soup can be eaten in any quantity. The dieter can eat any fruits or vegetables on the diet’s third day. The only excluded item is baked potatoes.

The only food allowed on the diet’s fourth day is bananas, which are eaten with skim milk and cabbage soup. The dieter can eat up to eight bananas on that day. The banana and skim milk idea is to keep the dieter from craving sweet things. The fifth diet day marks the first time that the dieter can eat something besides fruits and vegetables. This day allows the dieter to eat beef, fish or skinless chicken weighing up to 20 ounces and as many as six tomatoes. To keep the body from building up too much uric acid, the dieter must drink six or more glasses of water and eat one or more bowls of soup.

The sixth day calls for beef and unlimited vegetables. The only excluded vegetable is baked potatoes, and one serving of cabbage soup must be eaten. On the diet’s seventh day, the dieter can eat an unlimited amount of vegetables and brown rice, as well as unsweetened fruit juices. Cabbage soup should be eaten at least once. Sodas of any kind, even diet ones, are forbidden. Also forbidden are alcohol and bread.

Following this regimen does cause weight loss. However, it lacks many of the nutritional necessities that many other weight loss programs take into account. Because of these deficiencies, it is not recommended to stay on the diet for more than the recommended seven-day period.