Muscle loss, fatigue, and bloating are just some of the terrible side effects of the cabbage soup weight-loss diet (2024)

There is no science backing the effectiveness of the cabbage soup diet, and no prominent doctors or medical institutions promote it. However, some elements of the diet can be appropriated in healthier ways — like consumption of more filling, vegetable-based soups – says Laura Zeratsky, registered dietician and nutritionist for the Mayo Clinic.

"It falls under being a fad diet for the fact that it is not considered sustainable," Zeratsky says. "Any diet that has a purpose to produce rapid weight loss is a concern."

Here are more details about the cabbage soup diet, along with its pros and cons.

What is the cabbage soup diet?

The meal plan for the cabbage soup diet is as follows:

Day 1: Cabbage soup and raw fruit (but no bananas)

Day 2: Cabbage soup and raw or cooked vegetables but not potatoes

Day 3: Cabbage soup and raw fruit and vegetables, but no bananas or potatoes

Day 4: Cabbage soup, skim milk, and as many as eight bananas

Day 5: Cabbage soup, six tomatoes, and 20 ounces of chicken or beef

Day 6: Cabbage soup, unlimited beef, and unlimited vegetables (excluding potatoes)

Day 7: Cabbage soup, brown rice, and sugar-free fruit juice

The soup is meant to serve as a filling, low-calorie primary food source, Zeratsky says. Because liquids can lead to fullness, as can fiber-filled cabbage, the idea is to minimize hunger and cravings. Between the fiber and the fluid, this typically limits the appetite, making it easier to adhere to a strict calorie deficit. The diet provides fewer than 1,000 calories a day on days one through three, about 1,000 or slightly more on days four and seven, and more than 1,200 calories on days five and six. That is well below the recommended range of 1,600 to 2,400.

Several variations on the soup recipe have been published, but most include cabbage, onions, tomatoes or tomato juice, celery, and carrots.

Pros and cons of the cabbage soup diet:

As with most weight-loss plans, there are both healthy elements and drawbacks. The cabbage soup diet is no exception.

Pros:

• Cabbage is in the cruciferous vegetable family and contains vitamins E and C, which are antioxidants that protect cells from damage. These vegetables have been found to protect against breast and colorectal cancer and reduce tumor growth.
• Cabbage also has a high fiber content, which is good for weight loss because it keeps you feeling full.
• Due to the dietary fiber in the soup, it could help lower cholesterol and help constipation.
• The soup is relatively inexpensive given the low price of cabbage and the few ingredients needed.

Cons:

• Cabbage commonly causes bloating and flatulence because of its high fiber content. It also contains raffinose, a complex sugar that is hard to digest. Both of these can make you feel very uncomfortable.
• The diet is strict, allowing only relatively bland foods. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, diets this strict should be avoided because critical nutrients are missing.
• The diet may cause weakness and fatigue due to low-calorie and low protein intake.
• The diet may lead to muscle loss because it is a rapid weight-loss program, which may lead to loss of water weight and muscle atrophy. Most of the weight lost on this diet is water weight and will likely be regained once a dieter resumes their normal food intake.
• Depending on the recipe or a dieter's taste preference, this cabbage soup may contain high amounts of sodium, making it risky for people with hypertension and kidney disease.
• The weight loss linked to such low-calorie diets is usually not sustainable.

Insider's takeaway

Like many other short-term, low-calorie diet plans, the cabbage soup diet is not recommended by medical experts.

Although cabbage is a healthy diet component, the plan calls for such an intense caloric deficit that it could lead to weakness and muscle loss.

"It's nothing I would recommend, but there are points of it someone could use within an otherwise balanced diet," Zeratsky says. "Including a low-sodium [kind of] vegetable soup could be a step in the right direction in terms of feeling full."