I met an old friend at a networking evening this month. I hardly recognized him – he had lost 45 kg in weight. “Did you have surgery?” I asked, thinking he might have had the sleeve gastrectomy which is the latest “keyhole” surgical procedure for obesity. But no, diet was all he had done.
Now I do not know if it was this particular diet I have published here, but I do know that this one works. It is not strictly a “diet”, it is more correctly a “weight loss” program.
One friend of mine had dropped 15 kilos in two months with this diet that obviously worked! This is put forward as a seven day diet, and although I am not always in favor of ‘crash’ diets, this one does merit some study. It is reputedly from Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital and is used in their cardiac care unit for overweight patients to lose weight prior to surgery.
It states the first no-no’s as being bread, alcohol, soft drinks, fried food or oil. Agree totally, though probably half of you have already decided it’s too hard!
After that there is a concoction called Fat-Burning Soup (FBS) which you make up and keep in the fridge. You gobble FBS any time you feel hungry and have as much as you want. You are also advised to drink plenty of water suggesting 6 – 8 glasses a day along with tea, coffee, skim milk, unsweetened juice or cranberry juice.
The physiology of hunger works that when the stomach is empty, messages are sent to the brain to send down food. Fill the belly with non-fattening food and the hunger pangs will be less, but the weight does not go on.
Here is the recipe for the Fat-Burning Soup:
4 cloves garlic
2 large cans crushed tomatoes (810gms)
2 large cans beef consommé
1 packet vegetable soup
1 bunch spring onions
1 bunch celery
2 cans French beans (or fresh)
2 green capsicum
1 kg carrots
10 cups water
Chop all veggies into small pieces. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes stirring well and then simmer until veggies are tender. Add water if necessary to make a thinner soup.
Now the other downside to dieting is food boredom. A week of FBS, water and cranberry juice will sap the resolve of most overweight people, so what this diet does is allow you to add different items on a daily basis. Here are the suggestions.
Day 1, any fruit except bananas. Eat only soup and fruit.
Day 2, all vegetables. Eat as much as you like of fresh, raw or canned vegetables. Try to eat green leafy vegetables. Eat vegetables along with soup.
Day 3, eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want today. If you have not cheated you should have lost approx 3 kg. (If that is so, it is an amazing loss in three days – but keep going anyway!)
Day 4, bananas and skim milk. Eat at least three large bananas and drink as much skim milk as you like today. Eat as much soup as you want as well. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates, as is the milk but you will need the potassium and carbohydrates today.
Day 5, beef and tomatoes. You may have 600 gm of beef or chicken (no skin) and as many as 6 tomatoes. Eat soup at least once.
Day 6, beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content of beef and veggies. You can even have 2-3 steaks (grilled) if you like with leafy green vegetables. No baked potato. Be sure to eat soup at least once.
Day 7, brown rice, vegetables, fruit juice. Be sure to eat well and eat as much soup as you can.
By the end of day 7, if you have not cheated, you should have lost 7 kg. The theory is good, but I caution against losing too much, too soon.
If your weight loss needs are greater than 7 kg, then continue for another week, but I do not recommend much further than two weeks at one time, and do not repeat the program within three months.
And if all else fails – then it’s sleeve gastrectomy!
