BROWSE DIETS

Sacred Heart Diet

The Sacred Heart Diet is a fad diet that has been circulating for many years. The diet was supposedly thought to come from the cardiology department at Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital where it was used for overweight heart patients. However, like most of these diets - this is an urban myth.

The Sacred Heart Diet has been called a number of different names (such as the Spokane Heart Diet, the Cleveland Clinic Diet, Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital Diet and the Miami Heart Institute Diet). The diet also bears a striking resemblance to the cabbage soup diet.

Background of the Diet

The Sacred Heart diet is a soup-based diet, and claims that you will lose 10-17 pounds in the first week. This may be true, but most of the weight will tend to be water - and will be gained right back very soon after the diet.

This diet is very clearly an unsustainable fad diet, but is not as nutritionally unsound as similar diets. Most of these diets claim some magical fat-burning science is involved, or that there is something special about the combination of foods. This is simply untrue - it is nothing more complex than a reduction in calories!

7 Day Diet Plan

Day 1
Any fruit (except bananas). Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today.

Day 2
All vegetables. Eat until you are full with fresh raw, cooked or canned veggies. Try to eat green leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn.
Eat veggies along with the soup.
A baked potato and dinner time with butter.
Don’t eat any fruits through today.

Day 3
Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato.

Day 4
Bananas and skim milk: Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you can today, along with the soup.

Day 5
Beef and tomatoes: you may have 10 to 20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes, or as many as 6 tomatoes on this day. Eat the soup at least once today.

Day 6
Beef and veggies, eat to your heart’s content of the beef and veggies today. You can even have 2-3 steaks if you like with green leafy veggies but no baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today.

Day 7
Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice and veggies, until full (and eat the soup).
You can add cooked veggies to your rice if you wish.

Drinks Allowed

• Unsweetened juices
• Tea (also herbal)
• Coffee
• Cranberry juice
• Skim milk
• Lots of water

Soup Recipe

• 1 or 2 cans of stewed tomatoes
• 3 plus large green onions
• 1 large can of beef broth (no fat)
• 1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (chicken noodle)
• 1 bunch of celery
• 2 cans green beans
• 2 lbs. Carrots
• 2 Green Peppers

Season with salt, pepper curry, parsley, if desired, or bouillon, hot or Worcestershire sauce. Cut veggies in small to medium pieces. Cover with water. Boil fast for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until vegetables are tender.

The soup can be eaten at any time.

Variations

Here is a different version of the diet - alleged to have come from Lehigh Valley Hospital, Pennsylvania.

“Follow the daily plan for 2 consecutive weeks, then take the following week off. You can repeat the cycle for as long as you like or until you achieve your weight loss goal.”

MONDAY
Eat SOUP and all the FRESH FRUIT that you want. Nothing else. (no bananas)

TUESDAY
Eat SOUP and all the FRESH VEGETABLES that you want. Nothing else. (no corn or beans).

WEDNESDAY
Eat SOUP and BOTH FRUIT & VEGETABLES, all you want. Nothing else.

THURSDAY
Eat SOUP all day and 3 BANANAS. 1 GLASS OF SKIM MILK. Nothing else.

FRIDAY
Eat SOUP, up to 8 TOMATOES and ALL the skinless CHICKEN, lean BEEF & FISH that you want. Nothing else.

SATURDAY
Eat SOUP, ALL the skinless CHICKEN, lean BEEF & FISH that you want… nothing else.

SUNDAY
Eat SOUP and all the BROWN RICE that you want. Nothing else.

SOUP Ingredients
Soup to be eaten ALL DAY as much and as often as you can

• 2 - 11oz. cans chicken noodle soup (Campbell Healthy)
• 5 stalks of celery
  (diced)
• 1 lb. pack frozen string beans
• 4 carrots (diced)
• 4 potatoes (diced)
• ½ green pepper (diced)
• 2 onions (diced)

question!
August 29th, 2008

can you have any of the drinks at anytime????