Detox & Weight Loss

During my last pregnancy I was very sick and developed "pregnancy induced hypertension" (high blood pressure/pre-eclampsia). To avoid that happening the next time around, I'm trying to lose 15 pounds.  I e-mailed my friend Donna Partow (http://www.donnapartow.com/) asking her if she knew of a good detox I could try to help. She responded that the Cabbage Soup Diet she has posted on her blog is something she does once or twice a year. I checked it out, went & bought all of the ingredients and I'm ready to go! My hubby is even going to do it with me for moral support (he really is the greatest man on the planet, if you ask me!!!) My cabbage soup is boiling on the stove as we speak.  Every day I will add to this post about what is going on! Anyone else care to join me?  Here is the recipe & details (thanks to Donna Partow!) http://www.donnapartow.com/forms/about-the-infamous-cabbage-soup-diet/

Donna says this:  "Personally, I LOVE the Cabbage Soup Diet and follow it at least twice a year. It was recommended to me by my former neighbor, Dr. Allan Spreen, a U.S. Olympic diving coach and author of the book, Nutritionally Incorrect (Woodland Publishing), from which the following is adapted. Dr. Spreen says this diet is safe and can be repeated as often as you like, as long as you take two weeks off in between. He says you can expect to lose anywhere from 10 to 17 pounds."

Cabbage Soup Diet
•6 large green onions

•2 green peppers

•1 large head cabbage

•1 bunch celery

•1 or 2 cans tomatoes

•1 pkg. Lipton soup mix

•Season to taste with spices, including salt, pepper, parsley, boullion, etc.

Cut vegetables into small pieces. In large pot, add vegetables and soup mix, cover with water. Boil rapidly for ten minutes.

Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. (Vita-mix owners: blend & store in serving size portions)
This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. The more you eat the more you will lose.

Day One

All fruits except bananas. Cantaloupe and watermelon are lower in calories than most fruits. Eat only the soup and fruits. For drinks, you may have water, unsweetened tean or cranberry juice (I recommend Trader Joe’s or Knudson’s) Do NOT drink a cranberry juice cocktail.
(Day 1 My Notes: It is lunch time & I'm doing pretty well. I've had fruit and soup for much of the day. I did drink a sugar-free Carnation Instant Breakfast drink for the protein and I'm taking all of my vitamins including a B-12 and Acidophilus)


Ok...guess what??  This made me really sick on Monday afternoon! I was thinking I would just delete this entire post, but I thought I would be honest and leave it all up here. Here's what really happened: I developed a terrible headache (which I researched and said that is an effect of getting rid of toxins in your body) and the soup gave me some horrendous gas. I couldn't stand the smell or the look of the soup (this is gross but true: the smell of the gas was the same exact smell of the soup) after that, so I asked my hubby to dump it. Ok...so the cabbage soup cleanse is not for me!

Day Two

All vegetables. Eat all you want! Try to eat leafy veggies and stay away from carbohydrate-rich veggies like peas, corn or beans. At dinner time, you may have a baked potato with butter. Do not eat any fruits.
Day Three

Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want. Do not have a baked potato today! If you have followed the diet for three days, and have not cheated, you will find you have lost 5-7 pounds.
Day Four

Bananas and skim milk. Eat as many as three bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you want, along with the soup. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates and so is the milk, but on this particular day, your body will need potassium and carbohydrates, protein and calcium, to lessen your craving for sweets.
Day Five

Beef and tomatoes. You may have 10-20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes or as many as 6 fresh tomatoes on this day. Try to drink 6-8 glasses of water to wash away the uric acid in your body. Eat the soup at least once today, but remember: the more you eat, the more you lose.
Day Six

Beef and veggies. Eat to your heart’s content of the beef and veggies. You can have two or three steaks if you like, along with leafy green vegetables. No baked potatoes (easy on carb-dense veggies) Don’t forget to eat lots of soup.
Day Seven

Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice and vegetables. Eat as much as you like of all the items listed today. But be SURE it’s brown rice and UNSWEETENED fruit juice!!!
Beverages: You may drink water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, teeccino, unsweetened fruit juices, unsweetened cranberry juice and skim milk. Your best bet is always water.


Make sure to visit Donna's site: http://www.donnapartow.com/ ! She is a Christian author/speaker and health expert!