# What do y'all think of this 7-day diet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243 "2007-08-28T17:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/1 "2007-08-28T17:04:46Z")
My grandmother recently tried the [Sacred Heart Diet](http://www.idiet4u.com/diets/sacredheart.html) and lost about 9 pounds in a week, so I’m thinking I’ll try it too. It seems easy enough and I figure I can do anything for 7 days. Now, before you start, I know the dangers of fad diets-- you diet, you lose the weight, and as soon as the diet’s over, you go back to eating the way you were before and gain it all back and then some. However, I am planning on making some lasting changes in both the exercise and the nutrition department (joining a gym and cutting out fried foods), so I’m hoping to avoid that trap. Anyone have experience with this diet? If not, opinions? Never a shortage of those around here 😉 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/2 "2007-08-28T17:08:55Z")
It’s just water weight. Try permanent lifestyle changes, including exercising and expending more calories than you take in. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/3 "2007-08-28T17:27:50Z")
According to every trainer and weight-loss person I have spoken to the most “real” weight anyone can lose is about 1-2 pounds a week. Anything more is unhealthy (from illness) or probably just water weight (fad diets). ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/4 "2007-08-28T17:42:33Z")
[QUOTE=nevermore] My grandmother recently tried the [Sacred Heart Diet](http://www.idiet4u.com/diets/sacredheart.html) and lost about 9 pounds in a week, so I’m thinking I’ll try it too. It seems easy enough and I figure I can do anything for 7 days. Now, before you start, I know the dangers of fad diets-- you diet, you lose the weight, and as soon as the diet’s over, you go back to eating the way you were before and gain it all back and then some. However, I am planning on making some lasting changes in both the exercise and the nutrition department (joining a gym and cutting out fried foods), so I’m hoping to avoid that trap. [/QUOTE] 1. Weigh yourself today. 2. Make the LASTING changes today. Start exercising, and start eating better. 3. Weigh yourself a year from now. If you haven’t lost the weight in a year, the Sacred Heart diet will still be there. Try it then. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/5 "2007-08-28T17:47:23Z")
It sounds healthy enough and doesn’t sound dangerous in any way. I remain highly suspect however that you’d lose 10-17 pounds in a weeks time. I’d say 1-2 at the absolute most. Try it and let us know. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/6 "2007-08-28T17:55:20Z")
I’d be very leery of a diet named for the hospital on Scrubs. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/7 "2007-08-28T18:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=Poysyn] According to every trainer and weight-loss person I have spoken to the most “real” weight anyone can lose is about 1-2 pounds a week. [/QUOTE] I have an exercise plan that has a way to lose **up to** 10 pounds in 10 days, and even then, the nutrition is more complete and the exercise is brutal. And they warn you to stop it after 10 days. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/8 "2007-08-28T18:12:29Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] It’s just water weight. [/QUOTE] Maybe I don’t understand metabolism enough, but they encourage you to drink plenty of water. How can it be water weight? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/9 "2007-08-28T18:20:42Z")
This is very similar to the South Beach Diet, and it looks reasonably healthy. Those types of low carb (or low glycemic index carb) diets do seem to be able to make you drop a healthy chunk of pounds in the first 1-2 weeks, especially if you’re quite a bit overweight in the first place. But here’s the thing: what do you do after that first week? You probably don’t want to live on the diet the rest of your life, and if you go back to your normal eating habits afterwards, you’ll just gain the weight back. If you switch your diet to be low in processed carbs (breads, pastas, refined rice) and high “good” carbs, protein and fat, you’ll do better than this diet and have a healthier lifestyle. Oh, and make sure you exercise, too, even if it’s just walking a few miles several times a week. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/10 "2007-08-28T18:26:52Z")
Well [Sacred Heart Medical Center](http://www.shmc.org/index.php/page/298) is not too pleased with it: > [@](#): > > The Miracle Soup Diet > You may have heard about a weight loss diet attributed to Sacred Heart Medical Center called the ‘Miracle Soup Diet’, 'T.J.‘s Miracle Soup Diet’, or the ‘Cabbage Soup Diet’. This diet did not originate at SHMC and it is not endorsed by the Dietitians or the staff of our Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. > > One of our major concerns about this diet plan is it emphasizes the consumption of fruits and vegetables while excluding the consumption of meat or fish, cereal grains and milk products on most days. Any diet that focuses on only certain food groups will be low or deficient in essential nutrients and, therefore, lead to poor nutritional status long-term. > > Our experience with any low calorie diets, like this one, is that they do not lead to permanent weight loss. Once individuals start eating in a more normal pattern, the weight is regained. A very important factor in obtaining a healthy weight is to evaluate your physical activity and other lifestyle concerns. This is most appropriately done by consulting with a Registered Dietitian. > > We would appreciate your assistance in helping others, like yourself, who have been misled by this diet to let them know it is not a Sacred Heart Medical Center program and is not considered healthy or safe. Thank you for your help in combating this misinformation. > > For accurate nutrition information on current issues, you may contact any of the following: > > ``` > * Consumer Nutrition Hotline, sponsored by the American Dietetic Association, at 1-800-366-1655 or their website at www.eatright.org > * Registered Dietitians at Sacred Heart Medical Center at 1-509-474-3220 or contact your local hospital(s) to find a Registered Dietitian in your area. > > ``` This used to be known as “The Cabbage Soup Diet”. Will it work? Sure. You can lose “up to” 10 pounds if you’re very overweight and you follow this plan. It won’t stick, of course. It won’t help “jump start” weight loss, it doesn’t “cleanse your body of toxins” or “clear fat”. There’s nothing “fat burning” about the soup or any of its ingredients. It’s just less calories than you’re probably eating now. Here’s an unexpected danger in losing a whole bunch right away: You can’t maintain that level of loss, and then you get bummed out and start to give up. I just got over that particular hurdle myself. On Weight Watchers, I lost 5 pounds the first week, then 2, then 1, then 1, then 1, then I went camping and there went another 5 and then…nothing. A couple of weeks at the same weight, and then a week of gaining, and my confidence was shot. I got sloppy, and I got scared of the scale, and I missed the very literal buzz of rapid weight loss. Three weeks of moping, and I finally got over myself and back on the wagon. Don’t take halfway steps. Just…uh…do it. (Hmm. That’s catchy, maybe we should write that down and save it for a fitness slogan or something.) Start with a long range weight loss plan now. Right now. You’ve probably already had lunch, so start with your afternoon snack and dinner. That soup looks sorta tasty, however, so do save the recipe and include it in your new and improved recipe file. There’s nothing wrong with the soup, but you’re likely to lose just as much your first week on ANY low fat/lower calorie diet program, so why not pick one you can stick with? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/11 "2007-08-28T18:56:39Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] If you switch your diet to be low in processed carbs (breads, pastas, refined rice) and high “good” carbs, protein and fat, you’ll do better than this diet and have a healthier lifestyle. [/QUOTE] You’re true about this, but I should mention that a heaping plate of whole-grain pasta is still a heaping plate of calories. In my weight loss efforts, the hardest adjustment for me was cutting down on carbs. I felt hungry all the time. But I adjusted to it over time. Even whole grain carbs are packed with calories. Two cups of cooked spaghetti, which many consider to be a normal amount, has close to 400 calories. The recommended amount is a quarter of that, maybe a bit more for men. Count your calories closley for a week, and you may be alarmed at how many carb calories you’re getting. A popular weight-loss mantra is “Eat less, exercise more.” While that’s certainly not an untrue statement, it fails to convey anything useful to me. I think a better mantra would be “Eat right but in a way that satisfies, find a form of exercise you enjoy.” ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/12 "2007-08-28T19:17:08Z")
lol, I was never under any illusion that this was actually a hospital diet or endorsed by anything legitimate. My grandmother’s doctor did say he didn’t see anything wrong with it as long as she didn’t continue it long-term, which is what convinced her to do it… however, he’s not a dietitian, and therefore isn’t the most qualified person on the subject. _shrug_ I’m confused by the declarations that it’s “just water weight” too. How does that work? Seems to me that if I eat far fewer calories than I normally do for a week and combine it with exercise, I’ll have a net loss of calories, the difference of which will be harvested from my stored fat and/or glycogen. How could calories be harvested from water? More later; work beckons… ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/13 "2007-08-28T19:28:18Z")
[QUOTE=nevermore] lol, I was never under any illusion that this was actually a hospital diet or endorsed by anything legitimate. My grandmother’s doctor did say he didn’t see anything wrong with it as long as she didn’t continue it long-term, which is what convinced her to do it… however, he’s not a dietitian, and therefore isn’t the most qualified person on the subject. _shrug_ I’m confused by the declarations that it’s “just water weight” too. How does that work? Seems to me that if I eat far fewer calories than I normally do for a week and combine it with exercise, I’ll have a net loss of calories, the difference of which will be harvested from my stored fat and/or glycogen. How could calories be harvested from water? More later; work beckons… [/QUOTE] Well, THEY SAY 😉 that to lose one pound of fat per week, you need to have about a3500 calorie deficit. Take it as a ball park. To lose 10 pounds of REAL weight in a week, you’d need to run a caloric deficit of 35000. If you take off 10 pound in a week, you’re just much less hydrated than you were before. FWIW, in about 2003, I had to lose weight after knee surgery. I lost about 30 pounds over the course of a year (from 180 to 150). I haven’t put a pound back on. I started eating better and took up regular exercise. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/14 "2007-08-28T19:38:06Z")
[QUOTE=nevermore] I’m confused by the declarations that it’s “just water weight” too. How does that work? Seems to me that if I eat far fewer calories than I normally do for a week and combine it with exercise, I’ll have a net loss of calories, the difference of which will be harvested from my stored fat and/or glycogen. How could calories be harvested from water? [/QUOTE] Stored fat and glycogen contain a fair amount of water. You’ll shed that in addition to whatever you burn for calories. If you replenish what you burnt, you’ll pick up that water again. The main problem with the cabbage soup diet is that your calorie intake will be so low that whatever weight you lose will include a significant amount of muscle mass, which means that your metabolism will be depressed for a while after you quit the diet. To put it bluntly, you’ll be fatter a week after you stop the diet, even if you weigh less. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/15 "2007-08-28T20:06:59Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] Well, THEY SAY 😉 that to lose one pound of fat per week, you need to have about a3500 calorie deficit. Take it as a ball park. To lose 10 pounds of REAL weight in a week, you’d need to run a caloric deficit of 35000. If you take off 10 pound in a week, you’re just much less hydrated than you were before. [/QUOTE] Exactly. I currently weigh about 230lbs. I used to weight 275lbs - I lost that weight about a year ago, and now that I’ve basically maintained for a year (but with some fluctuations), I’ve started dieting again to try to lose more weight. At my age/height/weight/activity level, the nutrition tracking computer program I use says that I need to eat about 2,700 kcal per day to maintain my weight. My target is to lose 2lbs per week, so I need a deficit of 1,000kcal per day (from diet, or a combination of diet and exercise). To lose 10lbs in a week I’d have to eat _nothing_ and do 800 kcal worth of exercise per day (according to my computer program, I would burn 800kcal running at 5mph for 1.75 hours). I think that would be impossible to maintain over the course of a week, so I’d have to eat something and then exercise even more. With a very small amount of food and ridiculous amounts of exercise I could see possibly losing about five pounds in a week of “real weight”, and if the scale seemed lower than that it would probably be due to water loss. Not that I would ever attempt that, as I’m trying to make my weight loss maintainable. Crash diets just set you up for yo-yoing. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/16 "2007-08-28T20:08:45Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] FWIW, in about 2003, I had to lose weight after knee surgery. (snip) I started eating better and took up regular exercise. [/QUOTE] I take it that you had to lose weight so that you would put less stress on your knee. You lost that weight by exercising, which probably consisted of extra walking, jogging, or bouncing about. Which put increased stress on your knee. Which needed less stress, so you had to lose weight, so you excercised… Does not compute. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/17 "2007-08-28T20:13:12Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] I take it that you had to lose weight so that you would put less stress on your knee. You lost that weight by exercising, which probably consisted of extra walking, jogging, or bouncing about. Which put increased stress on your knee. Which needed less stress, so you had to lose weight, so you excercised… Does not compute. [/QUOTE] What about swimming? That’s not that bad for the knees, is it? Or cycling? ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/18 "2007-08-28T21:04:54Z")
Ok, ok. So while you’ve probably heard everything that’s been said in this thread before, I’ve got a concrete example for you, so I hope it helps make things a little less abstract. I tried this specific diet a couple years ago, the first time I gained more than 10 pounds from my college 110 and I was totally frantic (I was about 130 :rolleyes: ). I lost 7 pounds. I managed to keep it off for a good while, but I did eventually gain it back and then a few more. So I tried it again about 6 months later, lost about 2 pounds and quit around day 5 (I’d chopped up the veggies with a processor this time and somehow it make the soup really nasty). I gained the weight back and then some more, and I was ready to go jump in the ocean. I’d heard all the stuff about how diets don’t work permanently a million times, but I told myself that first I’d do the diet, and then when I’d lost a big motivating chunk of weight I’d start on a healthy “keep it off” plan. But I didn’t know much about cooking then and the suggested foods tasted horrible to me when I tried to cook them “healthily,” especially the brown rice (the soup was good at first, but I got sick of it pretty quickly). So by the time it was over, I was desperate for good food. Plus, even though I didn’t go back to my normal lots o’ food eating habits right away, and tried to stay healthy, I still gained weight, which depressed me into going back to the norms, whereupon I gained even more weight. It was pretty much stereotypical failure. Eating hardly anything each day for a month, the next thing I tried (classic, huh), worked in a sense for me too - I actually lost all the weight I wanted to - but I didn’t really _feel_ thin, was always exhausted (so didn’t really exercise much after the first week), and of course I couldn’t keep that up forever and slowly but steadily gained it all back after I stopped, even though I was trying to eat healthy, yet again. I wouldn’t suggest it. It’s like a wasted month. After that I weighed even more, and was starting to have body pains. I agree that exercise must be a big factor in real weight loss. After spending over a year being depressed about my weight, I finally started exercising regularly in addition to eating less and well (regularly meaning really, even if I’m wiped out from work, as opposed to little stints of 2 times a week followed by 3 weeks of laziness) and I fit into clothes that were too tight even when I weighed less. I kind of just started (week 3), but I’m feeling pretty good so far. I’m hoping to be back in my dusty old size 1 jeans (I’m very short) in four months or so, if I keep it up. I don’t see why it was called the cabbage soup diet, though, since there was no cabbage in the soup. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/19 "2007-08-28T21:12:13Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] This used to be known as “The Cabbage Soup Diet”. Will it work? Sure. You can lose “up to” 10 pounds if you’re very overweight and you follow this plan. It won’t stick, of course. It won’t help “jump start” weight loss, it doesn’t “cleanse your body of toxins” or “clear fat”. There’s nothing “fat burning” about the soup or any of its ingredients. It’s just less calories than you’re probably eating now. [/QUOTE] My co-worker tried this about 6 weeks ago. She couldn’t get through the first week because she was starving and the soup was horrid. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243/20 "2007-08-28T21:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] You lost that weight by exercising, which probably consisted of extra walking, jogging, or bouncing about. [/QUOTE] There are plenty of ways to get calorie burning exercise without putting stress on your knees. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-yall-think-of-this-7-day-diet/417243.md?page=2)