It's the cabbage soup, I tell ya - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

recidivist · 03-05-2009, 05:11 PM

I swear. I was so discouraged that my last weigh in (two weeks ago) I'd only lost a couple of lbs in two weeks, but I'd also quit eating my miracle cabbage soup every day. This past week I've been craving it, and eating a lot of it, and today's weigh-in was much better. I swear this stuff works by filling you up with food you can't gain weight on, so you don't eat as much of the real calories that hit you harder. I'll have a rice cake with a large bowl of soup, at least three times a day, and then eat other foods as my body seems to crave them (like protiens or fats) in controlled quantities.

My weight loss may also be partially attributed to the pedal exerciser, which I've used four times in the past week...I know it's a combination of the two, but for those of you who are stuck and going no-where on a plateau...try the cabbage soup!

I love it too (although it's a pain to make it). I won't let myself down again...I will always have a pot of cabbage soup on the stove.

MariaMaria · 03-05-2009, 08:34 PM

So basically you're existing on cabbage soup and rice cakes? Am I understanding that right?

recidivist · 03-05-2009, 08:42 PM

Oh no. I don't even count veggies, so the cabbage soup is like free food to me. I count the rice cakes, and I count everything else, but the cabbage soup either just fills me up a lot, or it helps raise my metabolism...not sure which. I eat anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories a day, not counting veggies (which means I'm probably consuming about 1500 a day including veggies and cabbage soup). I just notice that I seem to lose weight faster when I'm eating a lot of cabbage soup. And it's not just cabbage. Each pot uses 1/2 head of cabbage, but the rest is celery, carrot, brocolli, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. I use chicken stock and flavor with garlic chili sauce (it's hot and spicy, but sweet from the cabbage).

I don't know why it seems to work, but it does. And it's delicious too.

Daimere · 03-05-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

I eat anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories a day

That is way too low. 1200 is the minimum for healthy weight loss. Do you honestly think you can keep doing this for the rest of your life to keep your weight off.

twish · 03-05-2009, 09:30 PM

According to my doctor, minimum calorie intake for an individual wishing to lose weight depends on a number of different factors, including height, weight and level activity. So, one person's minimum may not equal another person's recommended minimum.

Another poster on another thread did mention that they had better luck losing when they upped their calories a bit. Sometimes consuming too few calories for one's body/activity level can put the body into starvation mode and weight loss the really slows.

Good luck!

vixjean · 03-05-2009, 09:31 PM

Yes I love soups, low calories and a great way to fill you up!

Thighs Be Gone · 03-05-2009, 09:34 PM

Well, if it's working for you then stick with it I would say. Be sure to take a multi-vitamin.

JulieJ08 · 03-05-2009, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daimere

That is way too low. 1200 is the minimum for healthy weight loss. Do you honestly think you can keep doing this for the rest of your life to keep your weight off.

The rest of the same sentence read "I eat anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories a day, not counting veggies (which means I'm probably consuming about 1500 a day including veggies and cabbage soup)."

Soup as an appetizer has been studied before as a successful method to decreasing the total calorie intake of a meal. Recidivist is probably going beyond that, but it's all veggies, which in my book is all good! Perhaps high in sodium though, depending how it's made. I think always having some form of veggie soup on hand as a filler is a great idea.

Skinny4baby · 03-05-2009, 10:07 PM

This soup sounds really yummo to me?? What exactly is Garlic Chili Sauce?? Never heard of it??

vixjean · 03-05-2009, 10:16 PM

Is this sweet and sour cabbage soup, how do you make it?

fatmad · 03-05-2009, 10:34 PM

I agree, clear soups are said to reduce calorie intake and cravings. And this one is a nice way to get your veggies too.
I may make a nice big pot of soup this weekend!

K8-EEE · 03-05-2009, 10:42 PM

I went on the cabbage soup diet a few years back.....where you eat cabbage soup and one other mono-food a day for 14 days or something. I lost 10 pounds, and a significant part of my mind. The former returned with a few little friends, the other I'm still waiting on, LOL.

Anyhow since then I cannot bear to even be in a room with cooked cabbage, although I still love cole slaw.

recidivist · 03-06-2009, 03:00 AM

I still eat quite a bit of other foods along with the soup. I just reach for the soup first when I'm hungry and it helps fill me up so I'm not craving other foods or feeling hungry all the time. I'm guessing it works because cabbage supposedly uses more calories to process than you get from eating it, or as Julie says, it just works as an appetite suppressant. If I have a rice cake with each bowl it's even more filling. And it helps me get a lot of veggies every day.

I used a 5 qt saucepan, I think, and to a large can of chicken broth (49.5 oz) I add a whole onion, a whole bulb of garlic (I love garlic), a half a head of cabbage, celery (about five large stalks), brocolli (4-6 cups), carrot (2 large), a bell pepper, and about 1/4 cup garlic chili sauce. All cut up in bite-sized pieces. Although the original instructions called for shredding everything. When you first add the veggies, the broth doesn't even cover them...they cook down until it eventually does, but it's mostly veggies. I don't overcook it too much or they start to get too mushy.

The Vietnamese chili garlic sauce is what I flavor it with, but you can use regular salsa...just to give it some zip. I like it hot and spicy, and the chili garlic sauce is hotter and spicier than most salsas. I've been told you can buy it at most supermarkets. I've only seen it at Cash and Carry, a restaurant supply place. The original recipe called for shredding all the veggies, and I don't do that. I just chop them normally.

I don't really care why it works...I just know it's working for me.

JenMusic · 03-06-2009, 09:38 AM

The garlic chili sauce sounds like sriracha (sorry if spelling is a little off) which is used in a lot of SE Asian cooking. It's great, and adds a lot of flavor in small amounts. It should be available in the Asian section of most large markets, but would definitely be in any Asian market.

Hope this helps. The soup sounds yummy!

Skinny4baby · 03-06-2009, 12:00 PM

I really appreciate you posting this thread..see you never know when you are going to help someone out with sharing!!

I am going to make a big pot on Sunday and eat it next week and see if it re-starts my weightloss. I actually LOVE all the ingredients..especially garlic & cabbage..so it will be effortless for me.

I will check for the chili sauce at Whole Foods in the Asian sec.? Thanks so much!

Go Cabbage Soup!