How to effortlessly lose weight with Sacred Heart Diet

The sacred heart diet has been around for quite some time now. But what is this diet that so many people have tried and have no complains at all?

This is a low-calories soup based diet from the popular class of weight loss diets referred to as “eat to you fill”. It is named after the hospital where it was developed, Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital. The hospital needed a diet to help patients lined up for heart surgery to lose weight fast.

Though the sacred heart diet has been able to help many lose weight, there is still some cloud of controversy on its health safety. It is a nutrient-deficient diet and should not be taken for a long term. But that does not mean you should not try out it. Here is all you need to know;

The sacred heart diet soup

You will come across this soup every day you are on this diet. With this sacred heart soup recipe you will have to learn how to make it even before you learn about the full diet.

What you need for the soup:

· Green beans- 2 cans

· A can of beef broth with no fat

· Stewed tomatoes- 1-2 cans depending on how thick you want your soup

· 2 pieces of green pepper

· Green onoion-3 extra large pieces

· Chicken noddle of Lipton soup mix- a single package would be enough

· A singly leafy bunch of celery

· Carrots- 2lbs

Preparation method

The vegetables should be cut into small size or medium if you want to have them rough in taste. Add some pepper and salt to give it some tasty flavor. You should cover the mixture in water and boil them fast for the first 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce your fire to a simmering level and let it cook until the vegetables are tender. You can serve the soup hot or cold depending on what you desire. You can take the soup anytime you want and as many times as you desire. If you will be away from home you should carry some of it in a thermos.

7-day plan for your sacred heart diet

This one week diet plan can be used as often as you find necessary. If you intent to lose more weight with sacred heart diet plan, you can go for as many times that would cut down your waist to healthy levels. Your body system will be thoroughly cleaned leaving you energized and in perfect shape.

Day 1:

You should go for any kind of fruits with the exception of bananas. Water melon and the other lot of fruits with low calories should be your priority. The only other thing you have to take on his day should be sacred heart diet soup.

Day 2:

This is a vegetable day. Go for them both raw and boiled. Green leaves should be your best choice for they will keep you full for long and have numerous healthy advantages. No fruits today and you should also stay away from all kinds of grains. For dinner you should try a baked sweet potato tossed up with butter. Do not forget to add on your glass of sacred heart diet soup.

Day 3:

Combine the soup, vegetables and fruits. Choose as you had done in the first and second days. If you have done everything as per the guidelines, you should have lost between 3-5 pounds by the end of the third day.

Day 4:

Today you can take as many as 8 bananas but not less than 3. Skimmed milk and the soup should make your day complete. Bananas are rich in carbs and calories while milk will give you more of calcium and proteins. You need this for today so as to deal with cravings for sugar and salty foods.

Day 5:

6 tomatoes and upto 20 ounces of beef is your meal for this day. Choose the lean cut of your meat and ensure the tomatoes are ripe. You should also take a cup of the soup once during the day.

Day 6:

This is a day for vegetables and beef. Go for your favorite treat and have your meat stuffed with cooked veggies. You can go for as many as 3 steaks but not more than that. Ensure that your meat is accompanied by massive helpings of green vegetables. The cup of soup should not be forgotten and you should have it at least once.

Day 7:

Brown rice and big serve of veggies should be your today’s order. Non-sweetened fresh fruit juice should help take down the rice and vegetables. For the veggies, go for them both raw and cooked and stuff yourself to be as full as you can. Do not forget your cup of the soup at least once for the entire day.

Expected results

By the end of the week, if you have strictly followed this diet, you will have lost between 10-17 pounds. You will be lighter and you can feel sacred heart diet results  on you. If you have lost the maximum weight, 17 pounds, you should stop the diet for 2 days. If you wish to lose further weight you can resume after the 2-day break. You can continue with the diet if you lost a few pounds and you like to lose more.

This diet will perform real fast. Such efficiency lies in the potential to burn more calories than you are taking. On top of that, any toxins and impurities will be flushed out of your system and you will be back to a healthy body and perfect shape. You will need lots of water to keep your body hydrated at all times.

Since everyone has a unique body system, you will have a different response to the changes. For the first days you will be feeling weak as your body is deprived of energy. On the third day your energy will be back and you will be active and productive just like before. The first thing you will notice is your bowel movement. It will be smooth and you may have loose stool. Take as much fiber as you can and all will be fine.

You should eat as much as your body needs because the more you will take the more will be taken out. You should keep on the diet as long as you feel both mental and physical change. Only stop when you have lost enough pounds and you want to maintain that. If you wish to get desirable results, ensure that you do not cheat for you will be doing more damage than good.

Once you are done with the diet, you should continue to live positively and eat healthy foods. Those who have been on the diet and reverted back to unhealthy eating have gained weight faster. You should be careful of what you eat and do after this diet.

The role of physical exercise

Physical exercise is never left out when you need to lose weight. In fact no weight loss diet you will come across discouraging physical activity. You do not have to spend endless hours in the gym; you only need 30 minutes jogging or running and you will be good to go. Go for the exercises you find fit for you such as rope jumping, press-ups and the entire lot of simple body exercises.

Do and don’ts

There is never a free roll when it comes to weight loss diet. The sacred heart diet is no exception; it comes with food restriction and you have to play by the book.

Here are foods you should include in your meals:

. Beef: as long as you do not take more than 20 ounces on the days you should eat meat, you are on course to lose weight. Do not have more than it is recommended of you.

· Green leafy vegetables: these ones you can pick from your favorite pool. Be as experimental as you wish and make your eating interesting. You can have the veggies both cooked and raw. If you can, avoid the canned type for they come with preservatives that may not be good for your health.

· Non-sweet fresh fruit juices: you can have a variety of your best choices of juices. For as long as they are not sweet you are sure to remain on your weight loss course.

· Skimmed milk: yes you heard it right. Skimmed milk should make it to your diet but only on the day you are allowed to. It helps give you calcium and protein both of which are very important to keep your body strong and healthy.

· Fruits: here you have another chance to go for your favorite choice of fruits. Go for the ones with less calories and sugar. You will only have bananas on the third day for they come with more than average carbs and calories.

Here are foods you should not have on your table:

· Grains: no oats, corns, beans and the entire family of whole grains. They are an enemy to weight loss and you should not entertain the thought of them.

· Alcohol: If you are into alcoholic drinks, you have no option but to let the habit go before you begin on this diet. Alcohol will drag your progress and you will not shed a single pound.

· Fried foods: in the meal plan, you did not see anything on fried foods. That was not a mistake. Fried foods contain lots of salt and fats and you do not need them when you are trying to lose weight. Go for roasted, boiled and raw foods and you will see how effective this diet is in shedding extra pounds.

· Carbonated drinks: stay away from the temptation for sodas. You will have some cravings for sweet foods but you should be disciplined to fight it away.

The flaws in this sacred heart diet

It is always good to know what you are walking into and make the right choices. As much as sacred heart diet is effective in weight loss, it is not invincible by any means. There are loopholes you need to be aware of before you begin on it;

· If you keenly look at the suggested 7-day diet plan, you see that some days are nutrient-deficient. You will not have a balanced diet on certain days and instead have more of one kind of food. That is dangerous and may not give you what you are looking for.

· There is no limitation of the intake of meat on the 2 days you are to include beef. Any diet with such a principle is not healthy especially for those with heart conditions.

· There is no clear guideline on the amount of calorie you should be taking per day. This means you will either take too much or just little of the calories. Such is a risk you cannot take if you want to be healthy.

· The elimination of certain foods means this diet is not sustainable for the longer term. You should be done with it once you have lost adequate weight and revert to your balanced diet.

What the experts say about weight loss

Sharron Coplin is a faculty member of the Ohio State University and shares opinion on how one should lose weight in a healthy way. Coplin advises that it is not healthy to lose more than 3 pounds of weight in one week. Therefore, you can always scale down your weight loss to as low as 3 pounds per week. You can do it as long as you have the focus to be healthy once more. It is also recommended that exercise and balanced diets are the key to your weight loss program.

Should you try out this diet?

Well, you have already decided whether to go for this diet or not. Whatever your verdict is, remember that there are only few diets that can really help you lose weight. Sacred heart diet has been lauded as one effective way to lose weight fast. You should go for it and play by the rules for one week. Once you have your healthy weight back you can go back to balanced diet. There is still some controversy surrounding the rates of weight loss in this diet but those who have tried it have no complains so far.