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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” (ref – French).
- 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)
I am on Day 4 and have lost 3.8kgs. I’m not keen on vegies but I enjoy the fruit. I don’t know if you can substitute or add to the suggested foods. I don’t know what to have if you are allergic to bananas. I do know that I feel good and will try again next week because its going to be a big weekend! August 2008
i started this diet today and so far i lost 1.5 pounds.
i know, it’s hard to believe.
i walked about 5 miles and ate the soup + some watermelon.
i have a vision for myself and i attend to pursue it
I am on day 6 of the diet and have lost 10 pounds. While I don’t feel this is a diet one should stay on forever, it is a good jump start. I feel great, my craving for crappy foods has virtually disappeared and I have a ton of energy. I plan on staying on it for another week and after that following a health eating plan like Weight Watchers. I know that once one goes off the diet they will gain all the weight back if they don’t have a healthy plan in place. There is no miracle cure but if your looking for a way to get started I think this is as good an option as any. It cleanses the body, reduces cravings and reboots your metabolism. Good luck to those who try it!
I am on day 4 of the diet and I feel great… I see all the comments on how this diet is BAD for you. I am going to disagree; I am a binge eater, so this is a great way to stop the cycle for me. I feel great and this is a nice way to stop the cycle of stress eating or poor body issues to eat. I know this is not a life long thing but it feels great to be in control of what is going into my body… I have lost 5 pounds and I feel great!!
My sister and I did this diet together. You do need support!!!
I have three small children to cook for everyday plus looking at all that great for for them killed me if I could do it anyone can.
I did lose 7 lbs in a week. I started at 148lbs and today I
am at 141 lbs. We both called each other 10 times a day We even
planned to call each other in the am with are weight which made it fun. Enjoy and do it with a friend or family member the time flys and so does the pounds.
and so does the lbs
and just keep
I’m on day six, and have lost about 3 pounds. I did’nt have much to loose, as I had drop about 9 pounds in the previous 2 weeks. I wanted to try to get rid of those last few stubborn pounds. I love soup, and enjoy the cabbage soup with plenty of hot sauce, but must admit that it geats a little boring. Not looking forward to brown rice, and veggies again, but almost done. I like the soup best, so it’s easy to heat up a big bowl and get full. I agree that you must continue to make wise food choices, and eat in moderation. As far as being a fruad, who cares ! Look at all of the heathy ingredients involved. I don’t see anything there that is considered good for you. Will definitly try this again if the weight comes back, maybe even begin it prior to the holidays in order to allow for the weigh that’s sure to come ! Good luck.
I have been on this for 5 days now and I haven’t felt this good in a very long time. When I weighed myself the morning of day 4 I had lost 5.3 pounds!! OK, maybe it is water weight, but I haven’t craved any snacks!! I haven’t felt deprived!! I feel better!! I feel like a million bucks!! I am smiling!! I have more energy!! The list goes on. I intend on doing this for two weeks and then take a week or two off and follow a maintenance plan then do this for two more weeks, off and on until I lose the 30 pounds I need to lose.
i believe that any one who goes on a diet, any diet, will gain the weight back once they stop unless they have something to fall back on, to me this is a great way to get myself eating fruits and vegetables rather than starving myself and not eating at all which is how I have been trying to lose weight.
A fad, maybe, but if one does this correctly and has a maintenance plan on the other end, I believe you will keep the weight off.
I started this with my husband, today is #4 I have lost 3lbs. My husband won’t weigh but we can tell he has lost in the stomach!!! It does encourage better eating habits, and I look forward to doing that. I only dream of a choc. chip cookie….smile!!!
Hi,
My husband got a copy of this diet from a coworker and we are both going to start it this Saturday. I am 150lbs and would like to get rid of 25lbs. My husband weighs 175lbs and would like to get rid of 10. I dont normally eat much fruit or veggies either so this is going to be extra hard for me I think. I am a junk food junkie. I will report in to let all know how we are doing and if this works for us.
I am allergic to banannas! What should I do about day 4?
DAY ONE:
Arghhhhhhh I’m Starving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello,
I tried this diet (green beans) about 3-5 months ago. My problem- I wanted to lose weight quickly. Well I did, I lost a total of 13 lbs in ONE WEEK. I thought to myself “yes” finally something that works! But upset too cause I wanted to lose 17lbs, butI couldn’t eat that brown rice, it sucked! I continued the diet off and on for about a month and a half. I found myself wanting chips, cookies, etc. Guess what? I ate those chips, cookies etc, every time the crave was strong…I thought to myself who am I fooling? I love to eat!!! So I changed my thinking and began to fight those cravings, I ate carrots (I love carrots) instead of those cookies. I lost a total of ……23 lbs! Yep,and felt great1 I looked wonderful, from a size 14-16 to a size 8, had more energy, sex life great! I’ve gained 16lbs back, now…frustrated, upset and a real feeling of “loser” hunts me. I came on this site to get the receipe again and found these testimonals, and the above comment “ITS NOT RECOMMENDED” and I read the “Background of The Diet” I havent made up my mind yet whether or not I will try it again. Probably will though, but one thing I must admit. If you stick to it, especially drinking the water, you will lose the weight…..
i started this yesterday but found myself feeling hungry and had to have something else to eat i relly want to do this but i get hungry im 12 stone and 5/1 i really dont know how much i need to loose but i no i need to loose weight im unhappy with my body i guess i will have to start again today and try to stick to it i find its the evening is the hardest i also cant go without my 1 cup of coffee in the morning hopefully finding this site will give me encouragment to stick to it with all u lovely people going through the same thing
okayy it has so far been working for me by the third day i had already lost 4 lbs!! (: but the bad thing is that since this makes you go to the bathroom a lot …. all you’re really losing is water |: so this diet is just recommended as a jump start to another DIET
I’m on my third day of the diet and haven’t cheated. I’ve been following directions, eating the soup and whatever food specified for that day, and having atleast 8 glasses of water a day. I have been doing a moderate level of exercise (playing soccer, areobics and running) and I was expecting to have lost about 3-5 pounds but nothing has changed. I weigh exactly the same amount as before when I wasn’t on the diet. I’m planning on sticking to the diet for the rest of the week but if i don’t lose anything this diet is complete bullshit because I will follow every bit of this diet and I’m not eating obscene amounts of fruits and veggies just enough to keep me from being hungry. so if anyone has any suggestions on what I should be doing along with the diet that I have not mentioned please let me know because I would like to see this diet work a bit.
Hi, I tried this diet for only 6 days. I lost 8lbs. I came off for a week and am getting ready to start the diet again tomorrow.I still have 3o lbs to lose. wish me luck!!! will let you know how I did.
I am on round 2 with this diet. Started a 240lbs. Lost 10 pounds the first cycle of the diet. Round 2- Day 3 and I have lost an additional 5 pounds. So 15 pounds in 10 days… Not bad. In addition to this diet, I am also working out quite a bit, cardio and weights. Good luck y’all…
I am on my fourth day and have lost 6 pounds and not felt hungry or tired. It’s healthy foods too so I am very pleased so far. Couldn’t believe how quickly you lose without getting hungry!
Ive been researching this diet for a while now but im not sure if i can do it. I’m young and i dont know if its unsafe for me. But im going on 15 years old. I’m going to try it, i hope to see results
I *occasionally* recommend this diet to patients of mine who are close to–but do not meet–restrictions for (generally) surgical procedures. If you are above your healthy weight given your personal statistics and ESPECIALLY considering your medical history, then this may be something you want to consider. If you are extremely overweight, this diet will almost definitely help you lose a significant amount; however, it is very, VERY important that if you are anything but *slightly* overweight (IE, want to lose less than 15 pounds) you CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR before starting this (or any other!) diet. If you have a history of heart disease, unhealthy blood pressure, or fit into several other COMMON risk factor categories, this diet CAN KILL YOU. If your heart is not strong enough to handle the stresses of severe metabolic changes in such a short time frame, you will be raising your risk level far above the threshold of what is generally considered safe. If you are severely overweight, this diet will probably work to lose you a few pounds – but it is almost definitely not safe. If you insist on trying anyway, GET HELP FROM YOUR DOCTOR. At the very least, keep very close track of your pertinent vitals and check up with your doctor on a daily basis. If you are a reasonably-healthy individual with no outstanding history of heart or other serious cardio/pulmonary disease, (there are other risk factors! See a doctor! I cannot emphasize this enough!), then you should approach this diet carefully; actually WRITE DOWN anytime you feel strange after starting the diet – feeling dizzy, light headed, out of breath, weak or notice that you have difficulty performing tasks which you normally would not have to think about, stop immediately and seek professional, medical help. For those of you who have decided to try, and who have taken the necessary precautions to properly ascertain your risk factors, then I’ll explain briefly what makes this diet “work” as far as raw weight loss is concerned.
The basic science behind the functionality of this diet in stimulating weight loss is something commonly referred to as “negative calorie intake” – though to most people, that just won’t make sense. Here’s what it MEANS, beginning with the basics. First: a “calorie” is a term used to represent the amount of heat energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celcius from a standard initial temperature, and at standard atmospheric pressure. It is exactly equal to 4.1840 joules. When we say a certain food item contains X calories, what we mean is that once your body has broken that food down into a useable energy source, it will provide you with that much energy; your body then uses that energy to further continue its basic functions, including digesting other foods, building muscle, allocating various resources, filtering toxins, etc – every function in your body requires energy, and thus calories. Every time you eat anything, your body will ’spend’ a certain amount of its pre-existing energy (which for the sake of example can be converted to a number of “calories”) on the process of converting that food source into energy. So let’s say that your food source, once converted to energy by your body, grants you 10 calories worth of energy. In this example, when the process used to actually convert that food into energy requires MORE than 10 calories, the net change in your body’s energy level is NEGATIVE. Thus, negative calorie intake. Because this diet also includes a healthy variety of vitamins and other essential nutrients, you will be getting the majority of your nutritional needs without the excess calories typical of the average person’s diet. If your body has excess calories stored as fat, you will almost definitely lose some of that weight. However, so-called “water-weight” will be lost first in most cases. What this means in laymans terms is that this diet is most effective, and safest, for generally healthy folks who simply want to lose a few pounds of ‘easy’ weight as a jump-start to a more comprehensive–healthier–diet and exercise regimen. Please see your personal physician before starting this or any other diet, as a general rule. While the vast majority of dieters will experience success with this regimen, there have been many well-documented cases of patient deaths occuring from secondary health problems which were aggravated by the biological stresses caused by this same diet. For your own sake, please ensure you are not at risk of suffering the same unfortunate–completely preventable–fate. Otherwise… good luck, and good health. Listen to your body.
I am on this diet for the first time and its day 3; I am ten pounds lighter and felt a burst of energy this morning. My stomach feels funny but I am not hungry. I chew gun when I get cravings (hope this tips helps)
Re: Recipe I added; Italian spice (lots), garlic, banana peppers, as well as I puree the soup and cook the chicken noodle soup seperatly and add it to the puree so you have some noodles in there. This soup tastes more like a speghetti sauce! It’s great!
Hi Millerchic!You should lose a minimum of 10 lbs this week. I have to lose more around 50 lbs and my first week I lost 10 lbs. Went off of it for 2 weeks and started again this week. Good luck to you! You can do this. If you’re hungry, eat whatever is allowed that day and tell yourself that this is worth the results1 You’ll feel fantastic at the end of thee week!
this diet workks ive done it 6 times over the years at have at LEAST lost 10 pounds each time…and as long as you dont OVER eat too much they will stay off. the only neg feedback on this site comes from people that havnt done it soooooo what does that say? not much
I am starting this diet today in hopes of shedding some major weight. I currently weigh 315. Is anyone else this large and if so does the weight come off faster? I started in a gym last week and plan to add weight training at home 3 days a week. Any helpful suggestions???
I started this diet because my mom had amazing results. She started three months ago and has since lost over 30 pounds. I need to lose about 20. To all of you out there with questions about “cheating” or not followin the diet EXACTLY as outlined, for example, eating a potato for lunch instead of dinner, you can still have great results. My mom occassionally had to “cheat” due to travelling and not having access to the approved foods. However, use common sense. Still make healthy choices as close to what the diet would normally recommend anyway and you will be fine. The bottom line is you should still be taking in less calories than before you started the diet. Also, my mom didn’t eat the soup much at all, and still lost a ton of wieght. Also, I have had to use the bathroom a whole lot more, but it just reassures me that my body is cleansing itself of toxins left behind by my old eatin habits. Once a person goes off the diet, as long as he/she keeps at the daily caloric allowance for their new weight, they should not gain it back. Good luck everyone!
I am starting this diet monday god willing and I hope to lose a lot of weight. I am at 310 and need to loss 190 to reach my average weight. How big are some of u who lost a lot of weight fast. I am starting a new career in November and would love to make a good impression. I just joined a womens gym and began lifting weights at home. Is the diet hard to stick to? Any suggestions for sucess???
I am starting the diet in a couple days, and i’m pretty excited about it. I have heard nothing but good things about this diet. I’ll keep posting.
Oh and my weight was 216 lbs before trying the diet.I now hover
between 185 and 188 lbs for the past year.Very happy with the results.
Beleive it ! It does work.I did the diet 3 times in two months and
lost 25 lbs.In my case what happened is after each time i would lose 10 to 12 lbs then gain 3 or 4 back.So i still ended up losing
quite a bit of weight. I did this 1 year ago and have not gained
any back. You have to change your eating habits though,that is the key to keeping it off.
to verinca neff its the first one with out potatoes and
yes! this diet does work and what is really is just detoxing yourbody to get you started if you really want to lose alot of weight and , who ever said it doenst work it does
thhey are wrong honsetly i have seen many people do it in mylife and how greadthey feel. also this diet is hard especaillay in a family you watch everyone eat all of there yummy foods while you can just eat soup and what ever else is says that day but just stay postive and keep your mind on what you are trying to lose. this sounds bad but i feel the flub of where i want to loose the weight when i am about to eat something else other then what it asks for and and tehn i say this is why i am doing it and i stick to it!
i’ve done this diet before and lost around 11 lbs. after i finished the diet i lost even more weight and have kept it off for over 6 months. this diet encourages you to continue to eat healthily and gives you the motivation to do so.
and to bambootree, eat a cup of bran if you are having trouble going to the bathroom after 4 days, this will help and is recommended.
YES IT WORK!!!! I AM TRYING IT AGAIN….I JUST HAD A BABY AND NEED TO LOSE THIS BABY FAT! I TRIED IT B4 AND LOST 20 POUNDS! THIS TIME I AM WALKING WITH IT
If you havent figured it out..this diet is not a fraud, the base mechanics of this healthy eating plan points to negative calorie intake…if you check, all the ingredients of the soup, except broth and chicken noodle soup, are negative calorie foods. Meaning, that your body burns more calories(energy) processing the food than that particular food holds. So therefore you have a negative calorie intake. And that is why it says the more you eat the more you lose. With the added fruits(vitamins), Milk(fat) and Bananas(carbs/Potassium)along with the odd meat(protein) it seems to be a pretty balanced healthy diet. Im on my second day, and so far it doesnt seem that hard at all. Even if I dont lose the 10-17 pounds of fat it claims I can…it will be worth it to lose some, and learn how to eat alot healthier than I have been.
What lipton soup mix did yall use?
this diet works my mom did it and lost about 40 lbs in aprox 4 to 6 months. she looks and feels great and since I put on some lbs I’m gonna try it too. Just takes dedication cause that soup is wicked.
I have a slightly neurotic question… I’m on the second day and I hate veggies. So, instead of eating the baked potato for dinner, I had it for lunch so that I’d have some energy through the day. I plan on just eating the soup until I go to bed. Does anyone think this could mess up the mechanics of the diet? Thanks! I hope this diet works!
i started this diet today. my doctor wants me to go from 129lbs to 110.i had one small bowl today and 2 cups of lite cranberry juice. it doesnt help that i’m a VEGAN. i substituted the beef broth for veggie stock and didnt put any chicken soup mix at all. i cant have the beef or skim milk…will that affect my results.??? does anyone know??..and mind u im only 17 yrs old
I am on my 4th day and noticed that, although I pee a lot (obviously from drinking 8 glasses a day) I am having trouble going to the bathroom – in the other sense – if you know what I mean.
It seems that no one else on this blog has had this problem. Is it just because I haven’t reached the meat part yet?
Because of this “problem” I haven’t lost an ounce but have not cheated one bit on the diet and have been excersing like crazy (45 minutes spinning class or running every day).
HELP!!!???!!
Hi,
I started this diet and today in Day 4.I follow this Diet Plan strictly still I lost only 1lb in 4 days.Are there any chances of losing more in coming 3 days.Doesn’t it work for everyone.I drink 10 glasses of water and I am not having this soup.Is it because of this,am I not loosing an weight?Please suggest,if it reall works for me?
I did this diet about a year ago. i only did it for 3 days, because i was being a little baby about it and got sick of the veggies. but in those 3 days i lost 6 lbs! I’m trying it again next week.
on day 3 at the moment and finding it quit difficulT! not that im hungry really, just that im craving foods! not looking forward to tommorow having bananas all day but i hope i can get through it. Along with losing the weight i want to know if i have the willpower to complete the diet as i have never tried anything like this beforE. i hope once i finish the diet that i will have lost up to 8pounds and hope that once i start eating normally again that the weight will not return. normally i eat quite well however i feel after this diet i will binge. just wondering about other peoples results? if the weight did pile on afterwards or if they also found it quite dissiculT!?
hello everyone i have been doing this for about a month and i have lost 63 pounds , but i only ate soup, apples, and carrots. I drank only water and i exercised religiously * like alot of exercise*, and my doctor told me it was a fast and sudden weight loss but its better then being what i was before i started. Also i took diurex tablets , there like a dieurtic pills that make you pee alot more, and i used to weigh 200 now im already down to 137 and i look and feel great .
i lost 7lb in the first week, my manager lost 15lb in the first week and totally to date over 30lb. i’ve kept it off and so did she. im going on my 4th week right now, and she’s down in florida bathing in sun, on her 6th week of diet.
and to critic_92, with all due respect, i’d rather listen to my body and scale instead of someone posting on a site. its easy to trash an idea, but its better to feel the facts.
On day two of the diet. I love fruits and veggies so this is the perfect thing for me.I have lost one pound so far. However im leaving for vegas this weekend and plan to drink. So my results may be delayed. Im going to stop the diet for the weekend only then start over on monday. But so far the test run is going good. Ive even got my parents doing it with me. Keep everyone posted.
Also just to note: I run and exercise every day. So Im not just a lazy dieter that wants to lose weight with out working for it. I just need the diet to break my platau.
I needed to lose 60 pounds in three months to qualify fora heart transplant and then keep the weight off for a year. Quess what, it works!!! I followed the plan for three months off came the sixty pounds(along with walking one mile twice a day),after that it was this diet and a sensible dinner every day for the next year. Like any other diet if you return to how you were eating it will come back.
i amm on this diet and i stared on june 3 2008 with 153 pound 7 days and then one day off and like that i weight myself june 22 2008 and i am on 145 well i didn’t lose what is say but is my only hope and i am sticking on it
I lost 10 lbs and my husband lost 7 lbs! Good luck to everyone!
Please, I WARN EVERYONE if you’re going to attempt fad diets such as these to excercise EXTREME CAUTION! As a teen I went on this diet for just over two weeks and had a HEART ATTACK.
Most extreme diets are intended for obese people because their bodies have excess reserved stores of fat.
Just BE CAREFUL. If you find yourself feeling irritable, faint, over-heated, tired and/or lethargic STOP. Don’t carry it out longer than a week unless you’re more than 20 lbs overweight and never NEVER go longer than 2 weeks without a break of a week or two with good hearty food.
my husbend and i are doing this together so lets hope this works
started today:)