Many people who have lost weight on the miracle cabbage soup diet successfully, have no idea what really makes the diet work. It is a fairly simple concept. The whole idea behind the cabbage soup diet is that if you fill a part of your stomach with a low calorie food like cabbage soup, you will eat less when you get to the main part of your meal. Makes sense, right?
The concept is based on the theory behind volumetrics which was studied by Dr. Barbara Rolls, from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Her research proved that if you fill your stomach with liquid foods (food that contains a lot of water) that you will feel full and you will eat less. Liquid foods have fewer calories so if you eat more of them, then you will eventually lose weight. Dr. Rolls study was based on this principal of energy density. Fill your stomach with lower calorie foods and you will not crave high calorie foods. Low calorie foods take up just as much space in the stomach as high calorie foods.
An Example of How Energy Density Relates to Cabbage Soup
One example of how energy density relates to the success of the cabbage soup diet is, if you eat a bowl of macaroni and cheese, you will probably feel very full. You will have consumed close to 1000 calories. If you have eaten a bowl of cabbage soup that was about the same size, you would also feel full but you would have only consumed 30 to 40 calories. You don’t need to feel your stomach up with energy dense foods. You can fill up with energy light foods and you will be successful at losing weight.
You will obviously want to eat some foods that are high in energy, but you won’t tend to overeat these types of foods with the addition of cabbage soup to your meals. Most people, who are overweight, overeat the high calorie and high energy foods. Overeat with the low calorie foods. Eat a normal amount of the high energy foods. This is the theory behind volumetrics and it works.
Can’t I Simply Drink a Lot of Water to fill up?
Dr. Roll’s tested this concept as well. Her research showed that water is not thick enough to stay in your stomach long enough to satisfy your appetite. You need to have some larger particles in your stomach as well. These particles, like large pieces of cabbage need to be digested. The fact that the cabbage is in your stomach long enough to be digested makes you feel full and it satisfies your appetite. If you are satisfied you will eat less of higher calorie foods. This is why the cabbage soup diet works. If you eat a bowl with lunch and dinner everyday, you should be able to lose 3 to 4 pounds each week.
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