7 Day Vegetable Soup Diet

The purpose of following a seven day vegetable soup diet is to affect a rapid weight-loss by consuming mainly vegetable soup each day of your diet. Unlike well-balanced commercial diet programs or doctor-recommended diets, the National Institutes of Health indicates that diets that feature one food to the exclusion of other types and varieties of foods are fad diets. Including other foods during the week helps you maintain a correct nutritional balance.

The Plan

Eating vegetable soup until you lose all your weight may be difficult. The seven day vegetable soup diet, similar to the Amazing Soup Diet featured on the "Good Housekeeping" website recommends eating low-calorie breakfast and lunch meals, and vegetable soup for dinner the first night, and then vary the soup ingredients throughout the week. The seven day vegetable soup diet requires that you eat only vegetable soup each night, and does not allow you to vary or add ingredients. Cooking a large pot of vegetable soup allows you to eat the soup every evening with little preparation.

The Soup

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You can use any vegetable soup recipe as most vegetables are low in calories, and high in nutrients. A healthy vegetable soup contains root vegetables such as carrots and celery, cabbage, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, spinach and garlic and onions for seasoning. "Good Housekeeping" recommends cooking the soup in chicken broth and water until all the vegetables are tender. Add your own favorite vegetables to make the soup more appealing to your palate. If you desire a vegetarian version of the soup, use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth.

Calories and Nutrients

A canned vegetable soup contains about 120 calories per 1 cup serving, and a homemade version featured in "Good Housekeeping" contains about 45 calories in 1 cup. The homemade version has 2 g of protein, and the commercial low-calorie soup contains 4 g of protein. Other nutrients in the homemade soup include 4 g of fiber and 410 mg of sodium. Eating two cups of vegetable soup a night only gives you 90 calories, making it a very low-calorie meal. You should eat at least 1,200 calories throughout the day when following the seven day diet to ensure good nutrition. Add a side green or fruit salad and a whole grain roll to increase the calories of your dinner meal to about 300.

Strategies

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Make your own vegetable or chicken stock to avoid consuming over 800 mg of sodium in 2 cups of vegetable soup. Too much sodium may result in high blood pressure or fluid retention, as indicated by the American Heart Association. While eating vegetable soup for seven evenings is not dangerous, make an effort to consume 2 1/2 cups of dairy, whole grains, meat or beans, fresh fruits and some healthy fat during your morning or evening meals.