A small bowl of lentil soup.
Image Credit: minadezhda/iStock/Getty Images
A study by Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University, published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 1999, showed that eating soup before a meal decreased the amount of calories lean women consumed at a meal. Rolls went on to demonstrate that the type of soup eaten before the meal didn't matter much -- subjects who ate soup before a meal generally ate less at the meal than a non-soup control group.
This research gave way to fad soup diets. Although research seems to indicate that soup can be an effective part of a weight loss plan, there is no research that conclusively demonstrates how much weight you can lose if you only eat soup for two weeks. Most likely, your results will depend on how much soup you eat and how calorie-rich it is.
It takes an energy deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. Cutting back 500 calories per day leads to a weight loss of 1 lb. in about a week, which is about the fastest weight loss that the American Dietetic Association recommends. The number of calories you can cut from your diet by eating only soup depends on what you eat now and the types of soup you start to eat. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends an active adult woman should eat about 2,200 calories per day to maintain weight. Dropping below this intake level should result in weight loss.
The huge array of soup makes it impossible to generalize calorie counts. You could make squash, chickpea and red lentil stew, from "Eating Well" offers filling fiber and protein with 300 calories per serving. If you ate one serving of a similar dish three times a day, your calorie total for the day would add up to 900. If you normally eat about 2,500 calories per day, it would only take you four to five days to lose 1 lb. However, if you opted for a creamy clam chowder at 450 calories per serving, the loss would take longer. Another challenge is avoiding bread and crackers along with your soup.
The diversity of soup makes it possible to eat a wide range of vegetables and legumes while dieting. You can also vary the flavoring style to keep the soup interesting. The warmth of soup could make you feel full on less food, at least for a while.
No matter how flavorful you make soup, or how many different kinds of broth you use, it's going to get boring after a while. This will make it very tempting to binge on convenient unhealthy foods like French fries or cake, especially if you go out with friends. Even if your soup is made of healthful ingredients, you can still eat too much of it and end up gaining weight. Although you may see an initial weight loss when you first change your diet, the American Dietetic Association says very fast weight loss is usually due to water, bone and muscle loss. When you go back to eating your regular diet, you could gain back everything you lost plus a few bonus pounds.
Canned soups are convenient and they offer the benefit of nutrition information right on the label, so you know exactly how many calories you are consuming. However, most canned products also contain a lot of salt. Look for lower sodium soups. Another problem with any crash diet is that consuming such a limited range of foods also limits the nutrients you can get from food. Consuming one type of soup for two weeks would leave some big gaps in your nutritional profile.
FAQs
The Cabbage Soup Diet is a short-term weight loss diet. Proponents of the diet say that it can help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a single week, but many health experts warn that the diet does not promote health and wellness, and results are unsustainable.
What happens if you only eat soup for 2 weeks? ›
As the soup diet usually only lasts for 7-14 days, it's not recommended in the long term. The NHS also highlights how very low-calorie diets like this often lead to short term weight loss, but it's likely that you'll put some or all of the weight back on once you go back to eating normally.
How much weight will I lose if I only eat soup? ›
Broth-based soup diets generally last for 7 days. However, some can last as long as 10–14 days. Over that time, proponents of a broth-based diet claim you can lose up to 10 or even 20 pounds (4.5 to 9 kg). On a broth-based soup diet, cream-based soups are restricted, as they're higher in calories and fat.
Is the 7 day soup diet safe? ›
Typical soup diets are fad diets that are not backed by science. They may have health risks and other drawbacks. Eliminates healthy foods: Experts agree that an all-soup diet would eliminate otherwise healthy food groups, such as fruit and grains, and lead to nutrient deficiencies and imbalances.
How does the 7 day soup diet work? ›
The diet plan centers around the cabbage soup, which is eaten throughout the week. In addition, it begins with a few days of fruit and vegetables and with little or no protein. Then, bananas and skim milk are added. Later in the week, beef or chicken and rice are added along with the soup.
What is the 3 day soup diet? ›
It's just three days, enough time to feel a difference. Each day, you'll have a healthy breakfast, then soup for lunch, and a different one for dinner. If you're hungry between meals, choose one of the snacks. To add even more nutrition and interest, add a Souper Topper.
What is the 21 day soup diet? ›
What is the Bone Broth Diet? The bone broth diet is a 21-day plan that involves eating Paleo for five days and fasting for two. During the five days of eating Paleo, you drink anywhere from one to three cups of bone broth. On the fasting days, you have three to six cups of bone broth.
Can you lose belly fat by eating soup? ›
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
This particular homemade recipe can aid in your belly fat loss goals because it keeps the calories low while still providing protein from the chicken and fiber from the vegetables. If you use whole wheat pasta instead of white, you can crank up your fiber count even more.
How to lose 10 pounds in a week? ›
To lose 10 pounds in one week, you'll need to burn between 3,500 and 5,000 calories more than you consume each day by restricting your diet to small portions of nutritious yet low-calorie foods, and significantly increasing your aerobic exercise with interval training, sports, and other vigorous activities.
Will I lose weight if I only eat soup for a week? ›
Although research seems to indicate that soup can be an effective part of a weight loss plan, there is no research that conclusively demonstrates how much weight you can lose if you only eat soup for two weeks. Most likely, your results will depend on how much soup you eat and how calorie-rich it is.
Shutterstock. Souping, similar to juicing, has been popular in recent years as way to detox the body and to lose weight, but eating only soup for days at a time can cause problems, if you're not careful. The diet calls for having soup three to five meals a day and adding vegetables to help cleanse and detox your system ...
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 to target belly fat only? ›
Studies have shown that you can help trim visceral fat or prevent its growth with both aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) and strength training (exercising with weights). Spot exercises, such as sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles but won't get at visceral fat. Exercise can also help keep fat from coming back.
Can you do the Cabbage Soup Diet for 2 weeks? ›
Though this diet is fast, cheap, and simple, it's not easy to stick with. It will likely leave you feeling hungry, weak, and bored. You might even feel sick. And if you follow the Cabbage Soup Diet for more than a week, you could run short on key nutrients.
What happens if you do the cabbage soup diet for 2 weeks? ›
It will likely leave you feeling hungry, weak, and bored. You might even feel sick. And if you follow the Cabbage Soup Diet for more than a week, you could run short on key nutrients. Nor does the diet encourage the necessary lifestyle changes you need to make in order to be healthier and have lasting weight loss.
Will I lose weight if I eat less for 2 weeks? ›
In general, if you cut about 500 calories a day from your usual diet, you may lose about ½ to 1 pound a week. But this can vary depending on your body, how much weight you want to lose, your gender and activity level.
Can you lose weight eating soup twice a day? ›
If you're enjoying yourself, having soup up to twice a day can be beneficial. One of Dr. Rolls' studies found that folks asked to eat two servings of soup a day as meals or snacks lost about two times more weight than those asked to eat equal-calorie servings of other foods.
