Cabbage Soup Diet

Yes, the reason no one has seen any check-ins, or food posts is that I was trying out the Cabbage Soup Diet/Cleanse  http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com/   Now for people who know me, and know my passion for cooking and eating, they might be taken aback by this revelation.  Well rest assured it WAS only for seven days.  And the thing that got me was that you actually get to eat.  A lot of friends, especially in the film business have done other more radical cleanses that just don’t appeal to me.  Just the thought of no food at all what so ever doesn’t jibe with me.  It doesn’t hurt that I am a large man, and I don’t think I would be able to last without killing someone.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m no chubby tubby with a big belly who can’t stand to not be eating.  I’m just a little bit older ex-athlete that craves nutrients.  And pizza.  My close friends and family will tell you that if I don’t eat every four or so hours, it could get ugly.

Anyways, the year started with a bang of food and wine with plenty of scotch and beer mixed in.  Cooked for some private events, got an invite to the Wolvesmouth, which was epic, and can’t wait to go again  http://wolvesmouth.com/   Then culminated in a retreat to Utah with more great food and wine followed by six long days in New Orleans.  So my inside and out was ragged.  Having a bar scene that never closes and food that is French and Creole inspired makes for tasty eats, and full bellies.

Even before getting back to LA some pants started to get a little tight.  So upon getting back home, my girl decided we need a bit of clean out.  She had done this before, and said that it wasn’t that bad.  Being you can load up on the soup every day.  And it is much easier to do with a buddy.  Going at it alone is a little rough I can imagine.  So last Tuesday I woke up, got all my ingredients down and ran to the store.  Basically you make a big batch of cabbage soup, that you can season any way you like, as long as there is not too much salt.  This is your mainstay for the week.  Every day you can eat as much soup as you want.  The thing that changes is what else you can have.  Day one is all fruits, except bananas.  Day two you can have vegetables, and get a baked potato for dinner.  Day three is a combination of first two days, with the fruits and vegetables and the soup.  Day four changes it up, still soup, but eat only bananas and skim milk.  Day five is 10-20 ounces of beef, which at this point was my saving grace, and fresh tomatoes.  All the while each day making sure to drink plenty of water.  I drank so much I had to go pee, after I peed.  And as long as you have at least one bowl of soup per day.  Day six was beef up to three steaks if you choose, and vegetables.  Then finally day seven you got brown rice unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables.  Now this was a very basic run down, as there are other elements involved.  But as long as you drink plenty of water, and have at least one bowl a soup per day, it seems to work.  I lost about 10 pounds and feel much lighter.  You definitely cleanse out your insides, if you know what I mean.  But hey, that’s the name of the game.  I slept very sound each night, and had crazy vivid dreams.   Some very vivid cooking and eating dreams, but dreams none the less.

There were some very, very hard moments.  I nearly broke down and ordered a pizza with extra cheese and sausage.  But I held, and feel better for it.  I took some vitamins with it to help everything along.  And got to the gym most days, even it was for cardio.  That feeling of hunger gnawing at me was the hardest.   And I needed to work on some ideas for an upcoming event.  Not the smartest plan.  Would I recommend this to others, sure.  Like I said, it’s not one of those crazy fasts that make you hallucinate and look like a zombie.  I ate a ton of that soup every day, usually at least four bowls worth.  So I felt like I was getting something in.  But if you have a sweet tooth, or a bacon tooth like I do, the cravings some days are very, very tough.  But each day I had something to look forward too, the milk and banana day was an especially pleasant treat.  Also, having a countdown to only seven days made it bearable.  Check it out if you want to feel a bit lighter, and drop  a couple pounds.  I’m no doctor or nutritionist, so check with your doctor before.

Cheers!