Obesity Discussion Forums

[SheaGrl]

Soup Diet- It Works!

Soup is a simple and effective aid in helping to curb one’s appetite. There is now a scientific explanation as to why soup diets, such as the popular cabbage soup diet, work.
Ultrasound and MRI scans of people’s stomachs have enabled scientists to conclude that a dinner consisting of chicken soup is registered differently in the stomach than a dinner consisting of chicken, vegetables, and water. This is contributed to the pyloric sphincter valve at the bottom of the stomach which holds back food in order to release digestive juices. Water passes straight through the pyloric sphincter valve, whereas the same exact meal in soup form stays in the stomach filling it up longer and giving the feeling of being full.

When the stomach is empty a hormone called ghrelin is released and registered by the hypothalamus as, “Eat, you are hungry!” However, a stretched stomach full of soup delays ghrelin from being released and turns off the appetite signal keeping people satisfied longer.

Furthermore, there are countless varieties of healthful soup that are low calorie and carbohydrate but high in protein. Thus, the old “cabbage soup” diet fad, which is still going strong today, is not groundless. Soup diets are indeed effective appetite suppressants.

[monique]

I read a book called "Volumetrics" about studies on what foods make people feel full longest on the fewest calories, it discusses reasons that high water content foods are filling even though water isn't filling. They really recommend soup before meals as a diet aid. I recommend it to anyone looking to take in less calories but worried about hunger.

~Monique

[MichaelB]

Very interesting! I'm generally not a huge soup fan. Maybe I need to try eating soup more often...

[Obebuster]

Chicken soup is a cure for all - chicken soup with wild rice is just heavenly.

[Obesity Discussion]

Soup is definitely something that will help keep you full....just beware most soup is loaded with salt which of course isn't good for blood pressure, and can make you retain a little extra water. Just be sure to eat it in moderation.

[wildwoman]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Soup is definitely something that will help keep you full....just beware most soup is loaded with salt which of course isn't good for blood pressure, and can make you retain a little extra water. Just be sure to eat it in moderation.

exact-uh-mungo!!!

[SheaGrl]

If you make your own soup you can monitor that. They also have lower sodium soup...but you're right, you do have to be cautious.

Michael, you've had homemade soups, right?! Pity not to like soup! jk

[MichaelB]

I've had stews and chowders that I liked, but soup is typically just too runny for my tastes. I generally avoid soups.

But it sounds like I need to check them out.

[Fluffymomma]

I wonder if Campbells Tomato soup would be a good one. I don't have any here and cannot recall if they have a lower sodium one. It's one of my favorite canned soups.

[SheaGrl]

Originally Posted by Fluffymomma

I wonder if Campbells Tomato soup would be a good one. I don't have any here and cannot recall if they have a lower sodium one. It's one of my favorite canned soups.

Do you by chance have a Trader Joe's by you? They have THE BEST tomato soup. YUMMM. They even have a low sodium version, however, when I buy that one I end up putting some more salt in it. Im pretty sure campbell does have a low sodium tomato soup though!

Hahaha Micahel, soup is too runny!?! That is like saying water is too runny!

[MichaelB]

Yeah, I'm a little weird that way.

Oddly enough, I have very little sense of smell (trust me, there are times when it comes in handy), which translates into less taste. As a result, I tend to go toward food with bolder flavors -- garlic, onions, spicier stuff -- and the texture of the food is almost as important as the flavor.

I don't do pudding, yogurt, jello, pie, cottage cheese, soup, etc. because there's just not enough texture there to make it appealing. So stews, chowders, and chunky soups might be okay, but run of the mill runny stuff just aren't my bag of tea.

And FWIW, pretty much anything Trader Joe's puts their hand to turns out well. Pound Plus Milk Chocolate and Almonds being my drug of choice, thank you very much. ("70 calories per square!?!?")

[SheaGrl]

I love everything trader joes too! I just love that place. I dont know what the chocolate is you are talking about tho! I will have to keep my eyes peeled next time @@

[MichaelB]

Mmm. Belgian chocolate. Is soooo good.

Milk Chocolate with Almonds. Look for the blue bar. Tons of whole almonds. Rich milk chocolate. Absolute heaven.

And only 2730 calories per 17.6 oz bar.

(I just ate two squares for tonight's 140 calories dessert. )

[PsychoticGreek]

Originally Posted by SheaGrl

Soup Diet- It Works!

Soup is a simple and effective aid in helping to curb one’s appetite. There is now a scientific explanation as to why soup diets, such as the popular cabbage soup diet, work.
Ultrasound and MRI scans of people’s stomachs have enabled scientists to conclude that a dinner consisting of chicken soup is registered differently in the stomach than a dinner consisting of chicken, vegetables, and water. This is contributed to the pyloric sphincter valve at the bottom of the stomach which holds back food in order to release digestive juices. Water passes straight through the pyloric sphincter valve, whereas the same exact meal in soup form stays in the stomach filling it up longer and giving the feeling of being full.

When the stomach is empty a hormone called ghrelin is released and registered by the hypothalamus as, “Eat, you are hungry!” However, a stretched stomach full of soup delays ghrelin from being released and turns off the appetite signal keeping people satisfied longer.

Furthermore, there are countless varieties of healthful soup that are low calorie and carbohydrate but high in protein. Thus, the old “cabbage soup” diet fad, which is still going strong today, is not groundless. Soup diets are indeed effective appetite suppressants.

I'm new to the site and actually searched for a forum about the cabbage soup diet. My doctor actually recommended it to me today. He said he did it and lost 14 pounds in one week. I doubt that I'll actually get that but I am willing to try. Are there any other SPECIFIC soup diets that would also work? The cabbage soup IS good, but I get tired of it REAL fast.

[monique]

Welcome PGreek!

I don't think you need a specific soup diet. There's no reason that chicken soup and minestrone and any relatively low-calorie soups couldn't be substituted. Personally I don't trust anything that calls itself a "diet," is trademarked or copyrighted, or has a special "gimmick." All you really need is to have healthy foods, following standard medical advice as to recommended daily allowances of nutrients, and keep your calories lower than what you burn each day. The cabbage soup diet is just a quick fix-- unless you think you can really eat nothing but cabbage soup for the rest of your life?

~Monique

[PsychoticGreek]

hmmm.. yeah I never really trusted anything that claimed you could lose 45678979 in just 2 days! or whatever.

I was thinking of using the cabbage soup diet as a jump start, and then eat normally for the rest of the month.

Since it's a week long diet, I was going to do it for one week, eat regularly for three, then do it again for another diet. Over and over again.

Now I think I can REALLY stick with this if I'm actually allowed to change soups! Yay!

By the way your avatar is gorgeous. How do I get an avatar?

[SheaGrl]

Be careful because soups tend to be high in sodium. Also, a diet limited to one food is never healthy, humans need variety. If you are really set on this, I guess you could incorporate more soup into your everyday eating in general for a few weeks. Basically, the reason why its claimed that some of the "soup diets" like cabbage soup diet work is because it happens to be both low fat, low carb and restrictive eating. So if you really just eat any low fat low carb foods while limiting intake, then you are essentially doing the same thing as being on a "soup diet." The title of this post was actually intended to be more of joke then serious- I just wanted to relay the new found info that soups keep people fuller longer. I wouldnt recommend an actual soup diet.

[matt007]

I don't think a week of all soup is a good idea. But if you make your own soup I think you can improve the nutrition. I make a lot of stews myself and it's nice because it tastes better and should be a lot healthier if you want it to be. Plus you can keep the calories from being too low (cabbage soup probably is not too much above zero calories I'm betting which means you'd basically be fasting) by adding some meat or potatoes or nuts.

[Jasmine130]

Right on Matt. I make my own chicken soup almost every week, and when I'm too lazy to prepare my own mirepoix, I buy it already chopped up at Trader Joe's .

It's really easy...saute the mirepoix, add bay leaves, garlic, chicken broth, a can of white meat chicken. I often add a couple of handsful of tortellini. This is all stuff from Trader Joe's but can be had at any decent grocery store. It's a great way to use up vegs in your fridge too.

I really like making my own soups, stews, etc. -- it's so easy and you can control what goes into it. The fewer the ingredients and mysterious additives the better, I think.

[matt007]

Originally Posted by Jasmine130

Right on Matt. I make my own chicken soup almost every week, and when I'm too lazy to prepare my own mirepoix, I buy it already chopped up at Trader Joe's .

It's really easy...saute the mirepoix, add bay leaves, garlic, chicken broth, a can of white meat chicken. I often add a couple of handsful of tortellini. This is all stuff from Trader Joe's but can be had at any decent grocery store. It's a great way to use up vegs in your fridge too.

I really like making my own soups, stews, etc. -- it's so easy and you can control what goes into it. The fewer the ingredients and mysterious additives the better, I think.

That chicken soup sounds good, I think I'll try and make that. Do bay leaves change the flavor a lot? I try not to use too many spices in my cooking because I don't have a lot of them already and hate to buy one for one or two uses that I may leave sitting for months.