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Losing weight with soup only?
Yes, I know it sounds unhealthy from my thread title. But hear me out...
It's getting cooler outside, which means soup weather for me and my family. In addition, I need to jumpstart my weight loss fast. I figured eating soup only for a while might be the perfect way to do it, since it's so filling for so few calories. To keep it balanced, I figured I'd make a variety of broth-based soups with lean proteins, whole grains, and veggies.... things like chicken and brown rice with veggies, chili made with ground turkey breast, lean beef veggie soup with sweet potatoes, black bean soup, etc. Miso soup makes a delicious breakfast, I think, although I can eat almost any type of soup for breakfast. I think this might be an easy way to keep my calories under 1,500/day without really having to obsess about them. Any thoughts on this? I'm not too worried about missing out on dairy since this is temporary, and I'm not too concerned about missing out on fruits (I don't really eat them anyway even when I'm eating my normal diet). |
I love soup and eat it pretty often myself. But my only concern healthwise, would be the sodium. All commercial (and even most homemade) soup is REALLY high in sodium. Chicken stocks, stock cubes etc are really really high.. so you'd have to concentrate on making your own stocks to control the salt, and even then, measure it out spoon by spoon so you REALLY know how much you're getting.
I make homemade all the time and am always shocked at how much salt (mg wise) I have to add before I think it even tastes reasonable. Good luck with your new plan! |
I was watching a British weight loss program posted at Youtube, and they did a (shakily scientific) study where they blended one meal into a soup and served it to one group, and had that same meal served to a second group, unblended, (was something like chicken, rice and veggies), and the soup eating group stayed full much longer. it had to do with the way the stomach digests the food. so you might consider blending your soups. I'm a big home made soup lover, and squash makes great soup.
PS don't be afraid to put fruits in your soup, lots of soups have fruit |
Soup can be extremely healthy but I would definitely watch sodium where you can. My mother did a soup/protein based diet some years ago and had amazing success (went from an 18w to a regular 14/16). She made a homemade vegetable soup with a lot of gret fresh vegetables (it really wasn't bad). A few times a week she would have rotisserie chicken, fresh vegetables daily and every now and then a baked potato. My mom's kept her weight off for 2-3 years now.
Hope that helps.... |
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Also, you may want to try some denser soups made with lentils, beans, etc? Thicker to keep you feeling fuller longer, but still lower calorie. Good luck, and please post your recipes! :) |
Mmmmm... a blended potato soup sounds delish! I will have to find a recipe for one!
I do blend my split pea soup, partially blend my black bean soup, and my turkey chili is really hearty and stick-to-your-ribs type of soup. I do plan to make it a mix of heartier soups and lighter soups, depending on the meal and my mood. :) |
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So, the takeaway from that show would be to consider "soupifying" solid meals. But broth-based soups won't slow hunger for as long. I think you can put virtually anything into soup and I would have no concerns with a soup-based diet, as long as the ingredients are switched up to create a balanced diet and the sodium is kept under control. |
There's nothing wrong with eating soup at every meal! As long as you're covering all the basic nutrients and getting lots of veggies, health-wise it's not really any different than eating these thing separately (except perhaps for some minor arguments about veggies whose nutrients degrade slightly when heated, but really, on a practical level it's not that big of a deal). And if it's easier/keeps you fuller, go for it!
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I have to be honest -- when I first read the post I was thinking, "Woah, she's going to get FLAMED for this". LOL But I can't tell you how happy I am that this is being supported. My initial thought was this was a great idea because I love, love, love soup and it never bores me because there are so many varieties. Although I did think about the sodium factor too and the issues I have had lately with drinking all my water.
But now -- I'm going shopping tonight with a bunch of soup recipes in hand! :D |
Unhealthy. Where are your fruits and dairy and good fat? Those aren't low calorie soups you mentioned either.
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that doesn't have to be true. I have a squash and apple soup I make (with curry), and I've eaten mulagatawny with nuts (cashews) and grapes in it. some soups have dairy, you can use yogurt. or eat/drink dairy as a supplement. besides, if you're talking "for a while," I don't think you'd have to worry so much about having nutrition problems. also, if you saute veggies with a little olive oil, that gives you healthy fat. if you're making it yourself, you have a lot of control over the calories |
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what kind of soup are you going to eat for breakfast?
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As for dairy, I was vegan for years. I don't believe it's a necessary part of a healthy diet (there are other ways to get calcium and Vit D), but I do eat dairy sometimes now. I love a creamy potato soup, but I figure I can make it with skim milk to cut back on the fat and calories. Yep, sauteeing the veggies in olive oil does add healthy fat. And some of my soup recipes also call for a sprinkling of things like nuts or seeds, which would also add some healthy fats. I sometimes add ground walnuts to meatballs, which makes for a yummy Italian Wedding Soup. :carrot: I actually do think those soups tend to be low calorie, if, like everything else, portion control is kept in mind. Keep in mind, a lot of these soups get "bulked up" with veggies, which reduces the calorie per serving but adds healthy volume. My turkey breast chili, for example, calculates out at about 150 calories a cup. A 1-cup serving makes a hearty good snack, and a 2-cup serving is a pretty heavy meal. I admit that I might miss the "crunch" factor of food, though, so I am thinking I will probably have to add salads on occasion. |
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I think it's fantastic that you're thinking about what works for you and incorporating it into your life. I'm a big fan of soup and grab any of the hearty, healthy recipies I run across. Making a big pot of it and putting it in the fridge for lunches is ideal in my case. I would miss the crunching/chewing aspect too so that's a great idea of having salads once in awhile. Really interested in how it turns out for you.
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Thanks for the advice and thoughts, everyone!
I actually think eating mainly soup could help with some other aspects of my overall "diet," too. For one thing, I tend to do a lot of "eating on the fly" and distracted eating. Soup requires me to actually sit down (can't just grab a handful of soup while I'm chasing my toddler lol), so I think it will really help me learn to appreciate and concentrate better on my meals. I also like to eat my soup super hot, which will slow down my "wolfing down" problem that I tend to have with food, too. |
Yeah for soups! One of our fall favorites is what I call Harvest Soup; it has 5 types of orange veggies: carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, and blue hubbard squash. I season it with oriental 5 spice (cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, anise) and thyme. It's delicious and so filling (you can add soy, almond, or rice milk too).
Another favorite is curry lentil spinach soup: saute onions in olive oil, add water or stock, rinsed red lentils, curry, bouillon (if using plain water), and spinach (I've used chopped frozen or fresh). I add a splash of lemon juice to each bowl before serving and sometimes also add some crumbled feta cheese (the tang of the lemon and feta go well with the spice of the curry). |
Okay since there is a soup thread I must share my favorite soup of all time. Since I come from a middle eastern background, my Mom always used to make a lentil soup called Adas. It's so simple and great for you. I should probably call my Mom and ask for the exact ingredients but this is the closest I found to hers.
-2 cups brown lentils -8 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade) -1 large onion, grated -2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin seeds -2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (taste it if you want more add some! I always like mine more lemony and yummy!) -Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste -Carrots and Potatoes (my Mom always puts these in there cut up! So good!) Usually people eat it with pita bread. But not needed. I think some people will also add chicken to it? But my Mom never does. :) |
I don't eat only soup but I do eat soup almost every day - homemade, so I know there is a minimal amount of salt in it.
While I have nothing against being creative, I'll also put in a plug for my standard, which is chicken soup with lots of the cooked chicken meat in it, along with broccoli rather than noodles. |
I've tried this, actually. It didn't work for me. I love having a good, brothy soup; I especially like anything with a good chicken broth. And it worked for a few days, sure. Then it got. . .dull. Boring.
Soup isn't convenient. This is good when it comes to stopping mindless eating. It isn't good for when you are dead tired, and running late, and you need to be out the door in ten minutes. If you can make sure that you're going to have the chance to sit down and eat all your meals, that might not be an issue for you. I also found that, for me, soups were tied to bread; I want my soup with buttered bread, dipped in and soaked in umami-goodness. This isn't exactly ideal for calorie counting :D. That being said, soup is great, and if it works for you, it works for you. I've found it to be most helpful when I'm going out somewhere without calorie counts. A clear broth soup will fill me up a bit, and the calorie count is usually not terrible. It's especially useful when I go out for sushi--a bit of miso soup will sate me and keep me from pigging out on the rolls and nigiri. |
I made a quick pureed soup tonight! I cooked about 3/4 pound of frozen broccoli in a can of Mexican chicken soup with some extra water added. I didn't bother to cook it long, just enough to get the base boiling. I stirred in some extra red lentils that had been sitting in the fridge (and helped cool it down). Then pureed it in a blender, returned it to the heat and it was done! Delish! I only ate about 1/4 of the result, so 1/2 serving of the sodium in the canned soup.
I do think you have to be careful about puree-ing things that are hot. I've done that in the past and seem to remember that it's not a good idea. Anyway, I intend to brown bag some of he leftovers tomorrow. DH hasn't gotten home yet. He can have some if he wants it, but there are other leftovers available too. |
After reading this thread I went to the grocery store and piled cans upon cans of soup into my cart. You'd think I was donating for a canned food drive. I also picked up ingredients to make a few homemade kind that will be a little thicker in consistency. Oh, and a ton of freezer containers. I'm so excited!
And I'm like you banananut-- I don't eat conventional breakfast foods either. If I want me some beef and veggie soup, I say I should eat it! .... with a glass of milk. :D |
I follow an exchange plan, (so get foods from each grouping protein, fat, dairy, starch, fruit and veggies) and I love soups. I've put just about every food group in soup. Rhubarb for example is a great "sour" ingredient for asian hot and sour soups. I've even thought of trying to create a soup with all (and only) my exchanges for the day (yep fats, fruits, and milk included) - and just eat the whole batch, all day.
Never could find a recipe that worked right (came close though and just ate the remaining ingredients seperately. Usually I make a huge batch of soup and then eat it all week. I actually don't get bored, because I make a basic soup but then customize it with flavorings and condiments - so one soup can be eaten in dozens of different variations (sort of like Pho and other soups where each person customizes the soup to their tastes at the table. Or like the european peasant perpetual "soup pot" in which the soup kettle was never emptied - new ingredients were just added every day - making it a "new" soup every day by adding new ingredients as reflected in the nursery rhyme "peas porridge in the pot - 9 days old"). I've always found soup very convenient to heat and eat. It takes only 2 minutes to warm soup up in the microwave, and it's "drinkable" even if it's chunky. To grab and go, I'll heat the soup in a glass measuring cup and then pour it into a paper cup (you can also find thermos jars, soup mugs with lids, travel mugs with very wide openings and other travel containers for soup). For the past month (since I saw the dentist in late September), I've been eating alot of soups, because I have a very painful broken and infected tooth (and can't get it pulled until November, because there's such a long waiting list for reduced-fee dental care). Chewing is painful, so I've been eating a lot of semi-solid foods. A lot of soft foods are very high carb and high calorie, but soups can be made (or bought) in a wide range of calorie levels. So I've been eating a lot of soup, yogurt, sugar free pudding, greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, and over-cooked veggies. |
I'm starting to do more soups now that it's getting cold. I just recently made a WONDERFUL tortellini en brodo. I tweak recipes, so they ultimately end up my very own recipes. It's on my diet blog
http://healthynibbles.blogspot.com/ You can definitely expect that over the next few weeks there will be more soups. And after ever recipe you can find the calories and old WW and new WW points values. I think it's awesome you're trying to incorporate your love of soups into your diet. That will just help you stay on your diet that much more. ;) |
Last night I had chicken soup made with brown rice and veggies. Keeping in mind some of the comments here about sodium, I didn't add any salt to my homemade stock. But then... I ended up salting my bowl because, well, soup does taste better with salt. ;)
When I told Hubby we'd be eating a lot more soup now, he said, "Great! I love soup!" LOL |
Sounds delicious! Today my goal is to make a rather large pot of tarka dal- indian spiced lentils. Thick and hearty and keeps me full for hours, easy to freeze and thaw quickly. I'm liking your idea more and more, I think I'm gonna jump on the soup train as well!
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The main thing I'd be careful of, after making sure the soups are suitably balanced nutritionally (if one soup a day is miso, you may not want to put stock or much salt in the others), is boredom. You don't want to end up eating soup for a while, then finding that you honestly cannot look at another bowl of soup again for months because you've overdone it. This would be more of a problem if you intend to keep having soup regularly once you transition to the long-term diet. How wide is your repertoire of soups?
My answer to the convenience problem, by the way, is bulk-cooking, a freezer and a microwave. It also makes it easier to keep tabs on the nutritional content, you just save the data for one portion. I eat soup several times a week for lunch, and usually find that by the time I've worked through a few batches of the same soup (e.g. butternut squash and lentil), I don't want to eat it for a few months. |
Really, you aren't eating 'soups" you are eating stews and chilis and so on. What is different between having those versus a regular meal are that they are made with liquid instead of dry and put in a bowl instead of a plate. Otherwise, it's a standard meal, as far as I can see.
We eat a LOT of soups in the fall and winter and I love it. (Cannot stand store bought soups). Just made lentils last night and it's my new favorite lentil recipe (i've tried at least a dozen). Here's how it goes: 1 package of green lentils (picked over) - about 2 cups 8 cups beef broth (other broth will work) 2 cups water -adding as needed 1/4 cup olive oil 1 yellow onion, chopped 4 stalks celery, chopped 4 large carrots (large!!!), chopped 4 medium red potatoes (peeled and cubed) 1/2 a pound of spinach - chopped 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (do not skip this - trust me) I did not need to add additional salt because of what is added to the soup at serving: Serve with: Homemade croutons (recipe: 1/2 loaf day old white bread/stale bread, 3 tablespoons olive oil, steakhouse seasoning/spice mix) Feta cheese - crumbled It is divine! Saute the onions and celery in the olive oil until tender. Add the carrots and saute a bit too. Add the broth and water and lentils and potatoes. Cook until lentils are tender (about 45 minutes). Add the spinach and red wine vinegar. Cook until the spinach leaves are wilted (about 3 additional minutes). Ladle them in a bowl and then serve with the feta cheese sprinkled on top (about a teaspoon or two) and topped with a few croutons. To make croutons, cut day old artisan type bread into 3/4 inch cubes. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a big frying pan, toss in the bread cubes and toss with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle a steakhouse seasoning/spice mix over top (garlic, black pepper, dill seed, salt, etc mix - light on salt as the ingredient list). Keep tossing in the pan until lightly toasted - about 3 minutes. Really, that's all it takes to make croutons - 5 -7 minutes of your time and way yummier than dry croutons and tastier than stale white bread. Of course, it can be done with other multigrain/whole grain artisan breads too. This will make a big pot. It feeds 4 adults for 2 meals in our family. |
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To the OP, your plan sounds perfectly reasonable to me. |
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I make LOTS of home made soup. I usually end up putting in a whole head of garlic. I LOVE LOVE LOVE garlic! :) It really helps that it's so good for you! |
I love soup as well and notice that many low calorie varieties keep me full (almost stuffed) for awhile. Unfortunately it's one of those things where I "overdose" after several days and can't stand the sight of any soup for a couple of months! But if you're creative and have the time to lighten up some recipes I don't see any reason why you can't just live on soup and still lose weight.
When I buy canned/processed soup (which is more often than making my own) I always choose the lowest sodium options. One of my favorites right now is Trader Joes low sodium creamy tomato soup mixed with one half cup to a cup (depending on how hungry I am) of their rice medley which is brown and red rice and quinoa (I think.) I think you can always supplement your soup meals with steamed veggies (if they are already in the soup even better) or salads and still consume very low calories while keeping satisfied. I'm one of those people who doesn't believe you HAVE to consume dairy to maintain a healthy diet even though cheese is my kryptonite. Afterall many parts of the world do not consume dairy products at all and are far more healthy than North Americans. I do think it's important to make sure you are getting enough calcium - which can come from other sources, not just dairy. Sadly the Dairy Industry lobbyists have us believing otherwise. |
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She has a lot of other great soups on her website, I REALLY enjoyed this chilli: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/w...ili-4-pts.html I might have to make that for dinner now after thinking about it. :) I also like this broccoli soup, easy to make too: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/best-cr...up/detail.aspx |
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