![Diet Plans and Nutrition [Home]](/images/everydiet5.png "Every Diet [Home]"){kind=small}
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
- The Sacred Heart Hospital in Montreal Canada (Hôpital Sacre Coeur) issued a press release in 2004 stating that “no nutritionist at the Hospital took part in the development of this diet”.
- The American Heart Association have claimed that the diet is phony (ref).
- The Sacred Heart Medical Center also disclaim any association with the diet (ref).
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)
See Also
My Sacred Heart Diet which was just released in 2009 and retails for $19.
Like the directions state, the more you eat the more you loose. I’m on day 4 and down 8.5 lbs. It certainly makes you not want to eat the way you did previously, otherwise, you’ll have to do the diet again!
Of course this diet will work. Poeple are fat because of the crap they eat. It think trying this people will get a reality check on how you should eat if you don’t want to be fat. No more processed food for you. The best of luck
I tried to eat the soup but I hate veggies.
Does anybody know if i blend the soup and drink it, will it work the same?
Well I’m like Josepehine & the Technicolour Bladder, I’ve never seen so many different colour wees!!!
Am on day 4 bananas and skimmed milk, don’t drink milk at the best of times so am mixing it with water and coffee! Don’t actually feel like I’ve lost anythin but my hunger is defo lessened. Hopefully next week when I finish I’ll be able to use the will power I have this week. Happy that’s brillo, well done 
I love the diet. It sure does make you gassy though doesnt it?
I have been on this diet for 2 days and lost 5lbs!!! I will keep you posted.
I dont know how it can be bad. I made the soup tonight and plan to start tomorrow. Hope it works. Even if it doesn’t, I need more veggies in my diet.
Did this diet a few years ago and it worked well. Need a kick start for going travelling so am trying it again. On day 2, no idea how I’m doing, the hunger isn’t as bad as yesterday. Peeing loads but generally feel grand.
With regards the soup, if you add Cumin to it it tastes a lot better, I found there was no taste off it when I made it first.
I have not started this diet yet but i hope that it works
tried the diet. lost 6 pounds in 5 days and boyfriend lost 13 lbs. were able to keep it off. gonna try it again.
myself and work mates have done this diet a few times and always lost between 10 and 15 lbs in the week. its stays off if you eat sensibly as with all diets after the fact. im doing it again this week for the first time in two years so yes it went back on but took two years for me to gain the weight back. so how can it be a fraud
I have started diet today and yes i have to pee every 20 minutes too but if i have success like i see on the comments it will be worth it. i am thinking about it as soup and vegtable and fruit are not that bad .i will post another comment saturday this is only day one.
isn’t this the GM diet? tried GM diet…7 pounds in 7 days…worth a try.
My mother introduced me to this diet this evening. It worked miracles for her. I hope it does the same for me.
I have been on this deit before too. And had lose 10 pounds in a week without doing anything elsa. It works I am on my last a day this time and I have lose 12 pounds this time. I have keep it off before but went though so hard family stuff and gain some back. I am doing good on it. But I added something this time I never did before nuts almonds and hazel nuts as snacks. I am going to tried the other kind of soup this coming week and walking. Hope to lose more weight this week. Yes I peeed over the moon on the first day too. I will keep you updated on how I am doing next Sunday. Oh by the way it helps if you tell some one you are going to lose some weight. Make sure you respet them and like them.
I want to lose like 50+ pounds. Has anyone repeated this diet for the purpose of losing lots of weight? Does it work? I’ve done one week and lost 10. I am thinking of doing a week on, 2 days off and repeating. What do you think?
it’s a bit hard especially the first two days but the hunger gradually leaves and i have more energy i’m on the fifth day and have lost fourteen pounds i’ve never lost this much weight before in such a short time i will keep posting
I am about to start the diet. I note everyone’s comments about putting the weight back on but surely you all realise that whatever diet you do, as soon as you go back to your unhealthy way of eating the weight is going to pile straight back on.
I started the diet yesterday. Today I noticed I’m 1 lbs heavier. Has this happened to anyone else? I only ate soup (4-5 bowlS) and some cantaloupe. I found several versions of this diet. Which one is the one that actually helps you loose weight? So far I only put on. And which is the ingredient in the soup that’s supposed to do the trick? Thank you.
I’ve just made the soup in a slow cooker, it tastes great… but, I thought you had to add your own veggies! And I’d already chopped up and added courgettes, cabbage (only a little) and mushrooms, before I realised! Do you think it will still work??? Courgettes and cabbage are both ‘negative calorie’ effect and mushrooms are VERY low in cals… so I’m hoping it will =/
Now, I’ve been on a starvation/restriction ‘diet’ for well over a month now, so if this diet still works for me, then it’s DEFINITELY not just a reduction in calories. I will post in a week (or sooner if I loose before then). I’ve been living on 200 cals or less and changing it up along the way. Eg: 600 cals for 3 days, then back down to 200 for a week, then up to 900 for a few days and then way back down, etc. I lost 20 odd lbs the first 2 weeks and then plataeued pretty badly. I’m doing this diet now to kickstart my metabolism *hopefully*. I am able to sustain ‘monotonous diets’, bc I’ve always had stages where I eat only 1 or 2 foods for months and months, then I’ll go onto something else -not by choice, really, just craving- and I love soup, so this should be easy! It’ll be eating the rice, potatoe and all that meat that will be hard!
Anyway, Wish me luck!
I’m about to try this diet based on the results my friend had. Of course it’s a “fad diet”, but it works! The key to not gaining weight is to keep watching what you eat at the end of the week. Work out, eat healthier and cut down on the junk food. This diet is just great for giving you a kick start.
Started the diet today, already feel sick from all the fruit I am not used to eating. And can anyone else tell me if I am supposed to be urinating so much.(Every 20 minutes or so)
diet works great. Healthy and cleansing
I am just wondering if it still works well if you don’t have a lot too lose? I only have 7-12lbs to lose after my second child… and only have 6 weeks to lose it. Please, if you have done this diet to lose the last 5-10 post and let me know. I hate all the ingredients that are in the soup but I put them in the blender and made it into a drink. I gag but it goes down. If you have done this and lost weight when you already eat healthy and work out 6 days a week please post.
It’s probably a good way to get fast results, which will give you the encouragement to continue. 2lbs a week is the healthy way but can also be discouraging when you first start a diet.
Just started the diet this morning. My wife and I are doing it together. I think if I can make it through tommorrow with out cheating I will be o.k. Some co-workers have had success with it so maybe it will work.but I think I am already sick of the soup.
Donna
My friend tried the diet and lost almost 7lbs. She said you get a little irritable at first then your body gets used to it. I was thinking of trying it myself a week before I go to the caribbean.
well im on day 3 and it is hard as with any other addiction. we spend our whole life being taught wrong, youll spend the rest trying to right the wrongs. its safe and it makes you feel real good and when you exercise also..its amazing how you feel..everyone try it…
I lost 9 pounds the first week and was psyched to lose more but the following week I was stalled at the same weight. I went on vacation and did not gain anything and resumed the diet this week. I am still stalled at the same weight. I need to try new diet to shock my system and lose more weight. Sunday is my last day on this then 1 day break and onto 3 day diet then after that the water cress diet! I hope I lose!
A few months after having my baby I went from 170 pounds to 135. Its just from eating healthy. Limited sugar and nothing with flour in it. i tried the cabbage soup diet-i ate the soup once at lunch and dumped the rest of it in the trash and never did it again. why suffer and gag on the soup, instead you could eat salad with chicken, egg whites with tomatotes….its not that hard! we are just too obsessed with putting good food in our mouths.