The Big Healthy Soup Diet: Nourish Your Body and Lose up to 10lbs in a Week

During the 10 days, eat only soups as directed. If you feel hungry between meals, snack on soup, if necessary taking one or two vacuum flasks of hot soup to work with you, or a container of ready-made soup which you can heat up at work if you have a kitchen.

If you wish to carry on losing weight after the 10 days, just continue on a soup-only diet, using the recipes in this book. Provided that you eat a soup from either the ‘Cabbage Soups’ or the ‘Substantial Soups’ sections at least once a day, you should not go short of protein. (Alternatively, to protein-enrich any of the soups in the ‘Starters’ section, add a portion of tofu or some poached fish or chicken.)

Since cow’s milk products can cause water retention in some individuals, select the ‘soy milk’ and ‘soy cream’ options where they are offered as an alternative. If you appear to lose a lot of water retention during the 10 days of this programme, you will need to test yourself to find out which foods could be involved. Waterfall Diet publications (see Resources, page 277) are specifically designed to help you do this.

Programme 2: The 10-day Big Healthy Soup Diet

This is designed for longer-term weight loss. It starts with the four-day detox and continues with a further six days of soups to warm your metabolism and help you continue shedding water retention. If you do suffer from water retention, this common problem can easily add 8 lbs to your weight. So you could lose 2 lbs of fat and as much as 8 lbs of retained water by the end of the 10-day programme. That’s a total of 10 lbs!

OTHER WAYS TO DIET WITH SOUP

Research shows that starting a meal with hot soup helps you to reduce the amount of food subsequently eaten. So if you find a soup-only diet a bit too difficult, you can start any meal with a bowl of soup, and you should feel satisfied much more easily. You could also try an occasional ‘soup-only day’.

As you will see from the research at the end of this chapter, you cannot get the ‘soup effect’just by drinking a beverage with solid food. The body seems to be able to tell the difference between liquid that is consumed separately, and liquid which forms part of the food itself.

MAINTAINING YOUR IDEAL WEIGHT

Reaching your target weight is often not the biggest problem with weight control: keeping it is. Yo-yo dieting is common, and is caused by relaxing your eating habits too much for too long once you have got rid of the excess pounds. We are all guilty of throwing caution to the winds after weeks or months of deprivation, and indulging in some ‘well-deserved’ binges. The problem is that we enjoy the binges so much that we can’t stop them, and all our old habits creep back again! After reaching your target weight it really is important to be especially vigilant. If you are longing to binge, then by all means do so, but set yourself a programme and ration your high-calorie binge foods on a weekly basis. Decide in advance how many treats you will buy per week and when you will eat them. Whatever happens, do not keep treats in the home. Even if the treats are for other members of your family, you must make sure that they are not available to you at times when you are not allowed to eat them, as you will be far too tempted to raid the cookie jar when you are a little bit bored, depressed or peckish. The only safe way to ration treats is to buy them as and when you are allowed to eat them, in the exact quantities you are allowed.

Another pitfall is to promise yourself that you will make up for unscheduled binges at a later date. Believe me, you won’t! The reason why you got overweight in the first place is that your favourite foods (usually sugar-rich foods) were just too addictive. Addictive behaviour is a slippery slope, and few people recognize it in themselves. If you understand this right at the start, you will have a better chance of keeping your beautiful new figure.

Soup is a fantastic aid to keeping your target weight. To help maintain your ability to resist snacking between meals, just continue to start each meal with a bowl of soup.

SKIN HEALTH

I have already mentioned that eating too many foods high in visible and especially invisible fats plays havoc with your skin (see page 6). Not only do pores get clogged, but blackheads form and greasiness develops. Fat slows down your blood circulation, and this reduces the supply of vitamins and oxygen to cells that make collagen. These cells may lose their efficiency and slow down collagen production. The less collagen you make, the more likely is the appearance of premature ageing. Not only does the Big Healthy Soup Diet have a carefully controlled fat and oil content, it is also very rich in nutrients which nourish your skin cells.

Dehydration from drinking too much tea, coffee and alcohol also harms your skin. Another benefit of soup is to give you plenty of liquid to help hydrate you.

Rich in dietary fibre, the Big Healthy Soup Diet also encourages regular, healthy bowel motions. This helps you eliminate toxins and soluble wastes, which could otherwise be absorbed from your intestines into your blood. Such toxins overload your kidneys and cause the typical sallow complexion of people who suffer from long-term constipation.

AMAZING DISCOVERIES ABOUT SOUP

2005 Study at Purdue University, Lafayette, USA

Solid and liquefied versions of identical foods high in protein, fat or carbohydrate (containing the same number of calories) were given to 13 male and 18 female volunteers. Beverages were also tested. The participants completed questionnaires on mood, appetite and psychological state. Eating soup led to reduced hunger. Overall calorie consumption tended to be lower on days when soup was eaten compared with days on solid foods and beverages. Beverages had the least effect on hunger reduction. The researchers concluded that soup may help to reduce appetite.

Mattes R. Physiol Behav. 2005 Jan 17;83(5):739-47.

2003 Study at the New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, USA

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a gut hormone that plays a role in satiety (feeling full). Levels of CCK rise after a meal, and this helps us to feel full. The researchers wanted to test whether soup quenches appetite by stimulating higher levels of CCK. They measured plasma CCK levels in eight healthy, non-obese men and women before and after eating 800 grams of tomato soup, followed 30 minutes later by 300 grams of a yoghurt shake. Appetite ratings were compared with CCK levels. It was found that eating soup significantly increased plasma CCK levels within 30 minutes in all subjects combined. Interestingly, the women’s average CCK levels were significantly higher than the men’s. The researchers concluded that eating soup may be especially beneficial for women who want to lose weight.

Nolan L.J. and colleagues. Nutrition. 2003 Jun;19(6):553-7.

1999 Research at the Pennsylvania State University, USA

Research has shown that adding water to foods can lead to reductions in the number of calories consumed. This study aimed to find out how water affected appetite when served separately with food or incorporated into food. Seventeen minutes before lunch, 24 women were fed one of three starters: (a) chicken-rice casserole, (b) chicken-rice casserole served with a glass of water, (c) chicken-rice soup. All the starters contained the same number of calories. The soup contained the same ingredients (type and amount) as the casserole that was served with water. The researchers found that turning the casserole into soup by adding water to it greatly increased fullness and reduced hunger. The equivalent amount of water served in a glass with the food did not aid fullness. Calorie intake at lunch was much less after the soup compared with after the casserole, whether water was served with the casserole or not. The test subjects did not compensate at dinner for eating less lunch.

Rolls B.J. and colleagues. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Oct;70(4):448-55.

1998 Study at the Nutritional Neurobiology Laboratory, EPHE, Paris, France

Twelve lean and ten overweight young men were given a starter consisting of (a) vegetables and water, or (b) pureed and strained vegetable soup, or (c) chunky vegetable soup. The soups were of the same composition and volume; only the size of the solid pieces and the distribution of nutrients between solids and liquid were different. All the starters were found to reduce hunger and subsequent food intake, but the chunky soup had the most pronounced effect. The researchers concluded that there may be special benefits in using chunky soups as part of a weight-loss programme.

Himaya A. and colleagues. Appetite. 1998 Apr;30(2):199-210.

1994 Study at the Centre for Human Nutrition, University of Sheffield, UK

The consumption of dietary fibre is known to prolong the feeling of fullness, but it was not known how. In this study on eight male volunteers, three per cent guar gum (a type of mucilage fibre similar to psyllium husks) was added to high-fat and low-fat soups. Guar gum delayed the emptying of the stomach for both types of soup, but the delays in the return of hunger and decline of fullness were far greater for the fatty soup. The fibre appeared to work by slowing absorption and prolonging the presence of nutrients in the intestines.

French S.J. and colleagues. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 Jan;59(1):87-91.

1990 Study at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA

Three different starters—tomato soup, melon or cheese on crackers, all with the same number of calories—were served just before the main course. Soup was found to reduce the amount of food eaten in the second course much more than the other starters. The researchers concluded that eating soup could be beneficial in weight-reduction programmes.

Rolls B.J. and colleagues. Appetite. 1990 Oct;15(2):115-26.

PART II STAYING HEALTHY WITH SOUP (#ulink_1d361b66-9991-5f53-9d82-5f07504c31dc)

We all know that you are what (#ulink_eb01d97a-c863-5160-950d-bc85f0054cce)you eat, and how important it is to eat vegetables. But that’s not always as easy as it sounds. Some people find vegetables too bland, and children may refuse them altogether. But do you know anyone who doesn’t like soup? Soup can help you and your loved ones reach a ripe old age without too many visits to the doctor. A single portion of soup can hold a lot of power foods which protect you with antioxidants, flavonoids, essential fatty acids and dietary fibre. For instance, a soup made with tomatoes, beans, garlic, onions, parsley and shredded dark green leaves (cabbages, collards or spring greens, Brussels tops etc.) can:

Help to prevent heart disease and cancers (tomatoes, parsley, green leaves)

Lower cholesterol (beans and garlic)

Fight viruses (onions)

As regards preparing such a soup, the only limit is your imagination!

Add lemon juice if you like your soup tart and zingy

Or some Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper if you prefer it spicy

Or purée the soup and add a teaspoon of cream and some Parmesan cheese

Can something so delicious really prevent ill-health? Don’t take my word for it; have a look at the research summaries at the end of this chapter (page 46). They are just a few examples of the many scientific studies that prove the tremendous health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. They’re so much easier to eat when you make them into soup! All the studies come to the same conclusion: the more fresh fruit and vegetables you eat, the less likely you are to get clogged arteries, high blood pressure, heart attacks and cancers. It’s as straightforward as that. Once we had to take it all on trust that these major health problems (and the disabilities they bring) were food-related. Now it is no longer just naturopaths and alternative medicine specialists who are telling us these things, but doctors and scientists as well.

Next we need to ask ‘How much is enough?’ When I mention green vegetables, for instance, so many people say ‘I do eat greens so I must be okay.’ Then I discover they last ate them several weeks ago. This is actually a low frequency and puts the person in a high disease-risk category. If you really want these power foods to protect you, consider eating them every day. As you can see from the summaries on page 46, researchers recommend consuming 400-600 grams (1-1 ½ lbs) of fruit and vegetables per day. It’s so easy when you add them to soup!

Good soups to start with are Soup 1: Apple, almond and cardamom soup with sheep’s yoghurt, Soup 13: Traditional Ukrainian borscht, and Soup 34: Brown lentil soup with roasted sweet peppers and apricots. Or just work your way through the whole book to discover your favourite recipes, and put them on your daily menu!

POWER SOUPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY

Of course if you smoke, take no exercise, eat too much salty, fatty or sugary food and drink too much alcohol, then it is much harder for good foods to protect you. After all, no matter how much good quality engine oil you put in your car, it will still break down if you put the wrong fuel in the tank!

FOODS THAT NEED TO BE RATIONED