7 Day Cabbage Soup Cleanse Diet

I'm not usually one for "fad" diets. However, after having my tummy tuck in May, I found myself with the mindset that I can just eat what I want. This is NOT the case at all. I still exercise, just not as much or as hard as I should. With the Holidays here, it was time to jump start my metabolism and weight loss.

It hit me last week when I stood on the scale and realized I was up about 6 lbs from post-surgery. Granted, I know at first I had been not eating much because of the medication and probably lost some weight because of that, but I just felt puffy. You girls know what I mean! Puffy is not a good thing. Nobody wants the dreaded muffin top when they button their jeans.

I'm not one to try to squeeze into a 10 when I really should be a 12, but mentally going up a size is never any fun. I told myself last week that I would not let myself get out of the size 10s. Size 10 isn't even small. It's average. I'm fine with average. I mean, I used to weigh almost 300 lbs.

I shouldn't be picky, right? Well, the fact is, no amount of weight loss or cosmetic surgery will ever fix the girl I see when I look in the mirror. We are all our own worst critics, and I'm a tough critic.

So, I did what any other girl desperate to drop of few pound would do, I searched Google until I came across something I thought was for me. That's when I found the 7 Day Diet. This is suppose to be a cleanse diet intended to flush out the bad stuff and if done right, you should drop 7-10 lbs in just 7 days. Don't think I'm foolish and I don't know this will be almost all water weight. I'm aware. I'm not doing this thing permanently. This is just way to reset my mind, hopefully get me to crave the sweet stuff less and motivate me to get back on track.

It all starts with the soup. This is a soup derived from the Weight Watchers Cabbage Soup Recipe. There is really no right or wrong way to make this soup. Here is what I did:

1. Chop up some garlic, onion and carrots and toss in your big soup pot on medium heat with some cooking spray and toss around until the mixture is starting to brown.

2. Add in 3-4 cups of your favorite flavor low-sodium, fat free broth. I used chicken the first time and beef when I made a second batch. MIX IT UP, PEOPLE! THIS IS THE LONGEST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE!

3. Toss in some frozen green beans, add about a tbs of tomato paste, some oregano and basil and as much salt and pepper as you want. I also added some Sriracha sauce to give it a little kick. Then add in a whole head of chopped cabbage and let this simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. Right at the end add in some chopped zucchini and cook for about another 5 minutes.

5. Voila! Your miracle soup is all done! Get ready, you WILL get sick of it!

Now, this is not all soup. Each day of the 7 days you have other foods on the approved list.

Here is the plan I followed:

Day 1: As much fruit (no bananas) as you want and as much cabbage soup as you want.

Day 2: As many vegetable as you want and as much cabbage soup as you want. BONUS: You can start the day with one baked potato. I added some spray butter and pepper.

Day 3: As much fruits and vegetables as you want (nothing starchy) and as much cabbage soup as you want. Don't eat the potato on this day.

Day 4: Only bananas (up to 5 or 6) and milk as you want. I only drink unsweetened Almond Milk so this was even lower calorie than if you drink skim. You also can still eat the cabbage soup.

Day 5: PROTEIN DAY!!! You get to eat lean protein like chicken, turkey or fish plus only tomatoes! Obviously you can still eat the soup as well. I got really sick of the soup this day though. However, I added some ground chicken to the soup and it kicked it up a notch! I also felt more energy adding the protein back into my diet!

Day 6: MORE PROTEIN! Today is the cabbage soup plus lean protein and any fruits and veggies that aren't starchy! This was my favorite day by far! Confession: You aren't suppose to eat fruit on day 6. I made that part up! :)

Day 7: This day wasn't so great. It dragged on and on because it was the last day. Then noontime rolled around and my Mom decided we should go to Kosta's for lunch. Oops. I ordered a salad, but I also got a beer to wash it down with. Don't judge. One won't hurt, right? Well then I decided I should go out on the town that evening with some friends. Let's just say my last day wasn't very productive. Oh well. I'm proud of myself for sticking with it for 6 whole days.

All in all I'm glad I did this. It was a great feeling that I was able to stick with it for as long as I did. I still drank a few cups of coffee with a Splenda and some almond milk each day AND cheated big time on day 7! I still lost weight though! I'm down about 5 lbs. My plan now is to continue to ride the healthy train and feed my body REAL FOOD! If you decide to give this diet a try, feel free to send me a note if you need some encouragement!

-Breezy