This summer we are heading to a 7-day cruise on Royal Caribbean. It’s a trip that my family and I started planning last year. The closer we get to the day; the more excited we become. The trip has kept me motivated to lose weight. However, it’s been hard, and I can’t blame anyone but myself. I love to eat whether it be trying a new restaurant, going to an old one, or cooking a new recipe. It always amazes me how humans were able to create such delicious foods. For all those people, past, present, and future, I thank you for that.
Now that there is one month left for the cruise to begin, I have to get moving. My sister has been praising this Cabbage Soup Detox that she does to kickstart her weight loss journey. This is something that she has been telling me about for years, but after seeing that my mom (she has less willpower than me) was trying it, I decided that it couldn’t hurt.
I was a bit concerned because it is restrictive, but my sister explained that it’s only for seven days and it’s only to get you started. She sent me to the site that she uses to get the recipe and the instructions on the diet. I will admit that one of the reasons that I wasn’t as resistant as I usually am is that I was having the worst tooth pain so it was hard to eat anything hard. I had gone a couple of times to the dentist and it seemed my bite was off. My tooth is fine now but it was not pleasant so I was glad to be eating softer foods like soup.
You can find more information on the diet on Divas Can Cook.
I got my groceries, and I started making the soup. The only alterations I made were:
- Used a whole head of cabbage
- Added a chicken bouillon
- Added a Sazon packet
- Let it cook for 2 1/2 hours
- Used my immersion blender
People, the soup is delicious. When I ate a bowl, I would add hot sauce I got from Panama (it’s like a Caribbean Picante) and that spiciness would make it perfect. I really enjoyed the soup and will make it outside the detox.
This is how it went for me.
Day 1: Fruits Only
The first day was tough. I was so hungry even though I was drinking water and unsweetened hot tea. One thing I couldn’t let go of was cream and stevia with my coffee. Even with all that and eating tons of fruit, I was ready to give up. I messaged my mom and sister in the group chat that we have, and they really motivated me to not give up. My sister said it will get easier. I also knew that I was overeating so my body was used to eating more than it really should. My stomach was begging me to eat, but I decided to get some of that willpower I tend not to have when it comes to food.
Day 2: Baked Potato and Veggies Only
When I woke up, I was way too excited to have that baked potato. I ran to the kitchen, washed the potato, and popped it into the microwave. It tasted so good, and I was so happy to eat it. After that, I had the two bowls of the cabbage soup and made this garlicky green bean and mushroom stir fry. I didn’t crave meat, but that’s cause I used to be a vegetarian for five years so I can go days without having any. The hunger that I felt the first day was gone.
It was a bit tough because I had to go to DC to meet with the client, and then I had to meet my school group so we could finish up our final paper and prep for the presentation for our Business Accounting class.
We met at a hotel restaurant, and I had these delicious brussel sprouts. When I was eating, I felt some bad pain so called the dentist the next day and got an appointment. She tweaked the tooth a little more and now it no longer hurts. SO HAPPY!
Day 3: Fruits and Vegetables
The third day was the easiest out of the three days so far. It’s cause I could eat fruits AND vegetables. I also continued having two bowls of cabbage soup.
Day 4: Bananas, Skim Milk, and Yogurt
I didn’t understand the point of this day, but I was not going to fight it cause I love bananas, milk, and yogurt. Throughout the day, I ate about five bananas, drank two cups of skim milk, and had two yogurts. For the yogurts, I got some siggi’s. I still had two bowls of cabbage soup (don’t forget the hot sauce.
Day 5: Tomatoes and Lean Meat
For the lean meat, I decided to get a turkey breast. I paired that with poached tomatoes. I only had one bowl of the cabbage soup cause I was full with that tomatoes and turkey.
Day 6: Protein and Vegetables
I had to go to class all day, so I thought it would be hard. It actually wasn’t. I ate cabbage soup for breakfast. One of my classmates offered me chocolate. That was hard cause chocolate is my kryptonite. I was proud of myself. I said no thank you. It was so hard! For lunch, we went to Chipotle, and I kept it to just steak and vegetables. I added the red hot sauce. It was actually really good. When I got home, I ate my cabbage soup.
Day 7: Fruits, Juices, and Vegetables
Last day and it didn’t really matter. I ate fruits and vegetables. Juice is not something that I drink anymore so I didn’t do this. I also ate the rest of the cabbage soup.
After the Cabbage Soup Detox Diet
The next day I ate eggs for breakfast and they tasted so good. I also took a long walk around the neighborhood because I couldn’t really exercise during the diet. Overall, I lost five pounds. One thing that impacted how much I lost is that I was retaining water because my Aunt Flo arrived.
On Tuesday, I started exercising. I am on a low-carb diet, but not fully without carbs. I love bread so for me to maintain this lifestyle, I need some in my life. I replaced my whole wheat bread with rye bread and have one slice instead of two.
This diet taught me that I need to drink more water and I am making more of an effort to do so. Also, how much time and money is saved by taking an hour or two on Sunday to meal prep. I didn’t have to worry about cooking cause my meal was ready to be heat up. It’s definitely something that I am going to continue to do because I need to reduce how much I spend on food.
Hope this helps answer any questions you had on the diet.
