A small bowl of lentil soup.
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A study by Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University, published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 1999, showed that eating soup before a meal decreased the amount of calories lean women consumed at a meal. Rolls went on to demonstrate that the type of soup eaten before the meal didn't matter much -- subjects who ate soup before a meal generally ate less at the meal than a non-soup control group.
This research gave way to fad soup diets. Although research seems to indicate that soup can be an effective part of a weight loss plan, there is no research that conclusively demonstrates how much weight you can lose if you only eat soup for two weeks. Most likely, your results will depend on how much soup you eat and how calorie-rich it is.
It takes an energy deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. Cutting back 500 calories per day leads to a weight loss of 1 lb. in about a week, which is about the fastest weight loss that the American Dietetic Association recommends. The number of calories you can cut from your diet by eating only soup depends on what you eat now and the types of soup you start to eat. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends an active adult woman should eat about 2,200 calories per day to maintain weight. Dropping below this intake level should result in weight loss.
The huge array of soup makes it impossible to generalize calorie counts. You could make squash, chickpea and red lentil stew, from "Eating Well" offers filling fiber and protein with 300 calories per serving. If you ate one serving of a similar dish three times a day, your calorie total for the day would add up to 900. If you normally eat about 2,500 calories per day, it would only take you four to five days to lose 1 lb. However, if you opted for a creamy clam chowder at 450 calories per serving, the loss would take longer. Another challenge is avoiding bread and crackers along with your soup.
The diversity of soup makes it possible to eat a wide range of vegetables and legumes while dieting. You can also vary the flavoring style to keep the soup interesting. The warmth of soup could make you feel full on less food, at least for a while.
No matter how flavorful you make soup, or how many different kinds of broth you use, it's going to get boring after a while. This will make it very tempting to binge on convenient unhealthy foods like French fries or cake, especially if you go out with friends. Even if your soup is made of healthful ingredients, you can still eat too much of it and end up gaining weight. Although you may see an initial weight loss when you first change your diet, the American Dietetic Association says very fast weight loss is usually due to water, bone and muscle loss. When you go back to eating your regular diet, you could gain back everything you lost plus a few bonus pounds.
Canned soups are convenient and they offer the benefit of nutrition information right on the label, so you know exactly how many calories you are consuming. However, most canned products also contain a lot of salt. Look for lower sodium soups. Another problem with any crash diet is that consuming such a limited range of foods also limits the nutrients you can get from food. Consuming one type of soup for two weeks would leave some big gaps in your nutritional profile.
FAQs
Although research seems to indicate that soup can be an effective part of a weight loss plan, there is no research that conclusively demonstrates how much weight you can lose if you only eat soup for two weeks. Most likely, your results will depend on how much soup you eat and how calorie-rich it is.
Can you lose weight by just eating soup? ›
"The concept of eating soup to lose weight has spanned decades, but experts say an all-soup diet lacks nutrients and is not sustainable. They do agree it can be smart to eat vegetable-packed soups for some meals, though, as these are filling, nutrient-dense, and low in calories."
Does the 7 day soup diet work? ›
Soup diets have become popular for their ability to help you shed a significant amount of weight in just 5 to 10 days. However, most of the weight lost on these diets is largely due to a loss of water rather than fat.
How to lose 10 pounds in a week? ›
To lose 10 pounds in one week, you'll need to burn between 3,500 and 5,000 calories more than you consume each day by restricting your diet to small portions of nutritious yet low-calorie foods, and significantly increasing your aerobic exercise with interval training, sports, and other vigorous activities.
How many pounds will I lose if I don't eat for 2 weeks? ›
Most of this weight loss is related to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Over several weeks of starvation, changes in the body usually cause weight loss to slow down to an average of 0.3 kilograms (0.7 pounds) per day. The more fat stores available, the longer a person can typically survive during starvation.
What would happen if you only ate soup for a month? ›
As the soup diet usually only lasts for 7-14 days, it's not recommended in the long term. The NHS also highlights how very low-calorie diets like this often lead to short term weight loss, but it's likely that you'll put some or all of the weight back on once you go back to eating normally.
Which soup is good for weight loss? ›
What really makes a difference is the calorie count. Avoid creamy, thick soups and choose low-fat, low-calorie alternatives like tomato, mushroom, chicken, and carrot soups instead. A healthy vegetable soup can also help you meet the daily recommendation of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables.
Is progresso soup good for weight loss? ›
Weigh the pros and cons and talk with your doctor before starting a Progresso soup diet or any other diet that restricts you only to certain foods. While a canned soup diet may result in weight loss initially, it might not help you keep it off in the long term.
Does soup speed up metabolism? ›
Souping star #2: Chicken
Protein has its own well-documented appetite-suppressing properties, so when paired with soup, the effect is intense. Our bodies also burn a lot of calories just to break the protein down, generating enough heat to temporarily increase metabolism, boosting it up to 900% more than other foods.
Why am I not losing weight on the Cabbage Soup Diet? ›
One of the main problems with the Cabbage Soup Diet is that it can only be followed for 1 week, which is not long enough for meaningful weight loss. Your body can only burn so much fat per week. In the first week of a low calorie diet, only about 34% of the weight lost is from fat.
You should reduce your intake of processed, carb-heavy foods like cookies, chips and soda. Is is possible to lose between five to ten pounds in two weeks, although this weight loss will vary depending on each person's metabolism. Food intake should be carefully monitored and combined with regular physical activity.
How much weight can you lose by eating one meal a day for 2 weeks? ›
How Much Weight Will I Lose If I Eat One Meal a Day? You may lose anywhere between 0.5-2 pounds per week if you consistently consume fewer calories than your body burns. This estimate is based on a daily calorie deficit of 500-1000 calories, which is considered a safe and sustainable rate of weight loss.
What happens if you don't eat enough for 2 weeks? ›
Over the short term, not eating enough can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and symptoms like fatigue, shakiness, and nausea. If a person continues not to eat, they may experience slurred speech, confusion, syncope (fainting), and even seizures.
Will I lose fat if I don't eat for 2 days? ›
After two or three days without food, your body starts to break down fatty tissue. Your muscles use the fatty acids created during this process as their main source of fuel. Fatty acids are also used to form ketones in the liver.
What happens if you only eat chicken noodle soup for a week? ›
Unless you focus on being more physically active and limiting your fat and overall caloric intake, it's likely that you will regain all the weight lost when your week on the Chicken Noodle Soup Diet is over, especially since most of the decrease in pounds is due to lost water or muscle, not fat.
