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).
Basically A Soup Based 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 lost 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!
Here are the two of the most popular Sacred Heart Diet soup recipes that are the foundation of this fad diet.
The Sacred Heart Diet Soup Recipes
Most Popular Sacred Heart 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.
Alternate Soup Recipe
Soup to be eaten ALL DAY as much and as often as you can.
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)
The diet also bears a striking resemblance to the cabbage soup diet.
7 Day Diet Plan
| Day 1Any fruit (except bananas). Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today. |
| Day 2All 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 and a baked potato at dinner time with butter. Don’t eat any fruits through today. |
| Day 3Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. |
| Day 4Bananas and skim milk: Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you can today, along with the soup. |
| Day 5Beef 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 6Beef 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 7Brown 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
The soup can be eaten at any time.
Sacred Heart Diet 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.
| MONDAYEat SOUP and all the FRESH FRUIT that you want. Nothing else. (no bananas) |
| TUESDAYEat SOUP and all the FRESH VEGETABLES that you want. Nothing else. (no corn or beans). |
| WEDNESDAYEat SOUP and BOTH FRUIT & VEGETABLES, all you want. Nothing else. |
| THURSDAYEat SOUP all day and 3 BANANAS. 1 GLASS OF SKIM MILK. Nothing else. |
| FRIDAYEat SOUP, up to 8 TOMATOES and ALL the skinless CHICKEN, lean BEEF & FISH that you want. Nothing else. |
| SATURDAYEat SOUP, ALL the skinless CHICKEN, lean BEEF & FISH that you want… nothing else. |
| SUNDAYEat SOUP and all the BROWN RICE that you want. Nothing else. |