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I want opinons of Sacred Heart Diet, ONLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRIED IT!!!

I'm on my second day would love opinions this is what i found on the web

How to lose 10-17lbs Reporter tries Sacred Heart Diet #87

by Donna1978

Like millions of others, I am trying to lose weight. Many claim I am not overweight, but I know my body. I recently went from a size 10 to a size 12. Whether people think I need to lose weight or not, this jump in size means I've gained weight.

My weight has fluctuated for years. In college I gained some weight: I went from a size 8 to a 14. (I was on the anti-diet: pizza and beer.) Then over time I went down to a 10 and maintained that for years. Over one summer, I did my own version of the Atkin's diet and lost 20 pounds, going back to a size 8. I felt hot for once! As mentioned before, I am now at a 12 and not happy with my figure.

I've got some flab here and there and also have a problem fitting into jeans-due to my womanly hips and thighs. I've faced the reality that I can no longer do the junior department. After doing an article on diet trends, I realized that diet pills and fad diets are not the way to go. Healthy eating and getting some exercise is-burning more calories that you take in is key. (See my related article on the BodyBugg.)

My fiancé and I have made some changes to what we eat and have not gained any weight, however, I wanted to get down to an ideal weight and maintain it. So, I asked my doctor if he recommended a diet. He left the exam room and returned with a copy of the Sacred Heart Diet.

In this two-part series, I will show readers how I prepared for the diet and then share my diet results in a second article.

Diet Overview

The Sacred Heart Diet, according to a diet website, was created by doctors at the hospital as a quick diet (just seven days) to help heart patients lose a significant amount of weight prior to surgery.

In addition to losing weight, those on the Sacred Heart Diet report having more energy, no craving for sweets and just feeling better. The diet also removes impurities from the body.

Those on Sacred Heart Diet can lose from ten to 17 pounds in one week by eating a special fat-burning soup every day, and then following a plan of what can accompany the diet each day. The recipe will be shown at the end of this article, but the soup contains stewed tomatoes, green beans, celery, green peppers, green onions, carrots, chicken broth, soup mix and seasonings.

Over the seven days, in addition to as much soup as you want, there is a different diet for each day:
Day One- Soup and fruit. (no bananas)
Day Two- Soup and vegetables (no dry beans, peas or corn), and then a baked potato with butter at dinnertime
Day Three- Soup, fruit and veggies (no potato!) By today, up to seven pounds could be shed!
Day Four- Bananas (at least three) and skim milk- on this day, the body will need calcium and potassium.
Day Five- Soup, 10-20 ounces of beef and tomatoes (one can or six fresh)
Day Six- Soup and as much beef and veggies you want
Day Seven- Soup, brown rice, veggies, unsweetened fruit juice

Approved drinks- water, black coffee, tea, cranberry juice or unsweetened fruit juice. It is very important not to have alcohol or carbonated beverages- even diet.

Preparation

I brought my printout of the diet with me to the grocery store. We bought all the necessary ingredients for the soup, as well our accompaniments: two cantaloupes, some grapes, some plums, baby carrots, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, a big cucumber and snap peas. We also bought a few bottles of cranberry-grape juice and a large bottle of unsweetened apple juice.

As my fiancé and I were preparing the soup, I made the comment that, "Geez, no wonder you lose so much weight on the diet! I'm burning a zillion calories getting it ready!" We had to peel two bags of carrots and chop up a ton of veggies. As I put everything in the pots (I do not have a stew pot, so I used two large pots) I couldn't help but think of how healthy it looked.

I am not a fan of celery, but this soup has a whole bunch. I then recalled reading once that takes more calories to burn than to eat. I looked it up online and according to the Urban Legends Reference Pages, it sure is true. Celery is a negative-calorie food. The site says that an eight-inch stalk of celery takes six calories to eat and six to burn. But yet, it can still fill you up, which makes it great to eat to fight cravings. Realizing this leads me to see how this soup diet can really work.

We also chopped the fruit and veggies that we'd be eating throughout the week. I decided to use the large Ziploc bags I had and made bags for each of us for the week. This way, we could take our fruits and veggies with us to work.

Aside from being tedious in chopping and slicing, the soup was easy to make.

Taste-Test

The pot has been simmering for about a half hour. Gosh, carrots take a while to get soft. The broth was fine-I had already added a ton of salt and pepper to my liking. The vegetables were all tender. The soups tasted okay-I admit it will take a while to get used to. But, with eating fruit and veggies on the side, I am sure I can manage.

Will it Work?

Check out my related article as of March 4, 2007 to see my results. As I am on the diet, I will keep a diary of my progress.

Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cans of stewed tomatoes
3 large green onions (I just bought a bag)
1 large can of chicken broth (or beef broth)
1 package of fat-free soup mix (I used Lipton Onion Mushroom)
1 bunch celery
2 can green beans
2-3 green bell peppers
2 lbs. carrots

(Optional additions: fresh mushrooms, zucchini, squash, yellow onions, chopped garlic, chili flakes or cabbage.)

Directions:

Chop veggies into small pieces and place in pot
Add water to cover
Season with salt, pepper as desired
Add canned veggies
Bring to rapid boil
Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender

Day Seven of the Sacred Heart Weight Loss Plan:
I made it! Today is a light day. Soup, brown rice and veggies. I started off with soup for breakfast. For lunch, we had rice and soup and the same for dinner. I drank apple juice all day.

RESULTS
So, there is good news and bad news. The diet did not live up to the 10-17 pounds it promised. However, I did lose some weight so I am not complaining. My weight seemed to fluctuate each day. I knew that would drive me crazy and that's why I hate having a scale.

MY LOSS? (Drumroll, please!)
Eight pounds. Not bad. My pants feel a little looser and that is really what I wanted. The key here is keeping that off.

OTHER GOOD POINTS
--Increased energy- By day three my energy level went up and I felt more mentally aware.
--Will power- most importantly, I learned that I can go a week without fast-food or without visiting the vending machine at work.
--Cravings- I didn't have those salt and sugar cravings
--More H20- I kept up with drinking 6-8 glasses of water on the days I was at work. At home, I didn't drink as much water. But, at work I felt great!
--More veggies and fruit- in my normal diet I don't have a lot of fresh veggies and fruit

BAD POINTS
--On days that I did not bring enough fruit or veggies snacks, or forgot my lunch soup at home, I was starving. On the diet, you can have as much said food as you want, but only if you remember to bring it!
--The soup is good, but by Sunday, I was thankful to have something else!

TAKE-AWAYS
I would recommend this diet to someone as an eating plan before starting to eat better, not as a quick diet. I think that doing this for one week- without cheating- taught me a lot about my own will-power (that I do have it) and how much better I can feel by eating better and having more water, which of course the soup helped with. I plan to make this soup every few weeks and do a slimmed down version of the eating plan. As I mentioned, this is something good to do to clean out the system, lose some initial pounds and get the body ready for a healthier lifestyle.

Because I did not cheat, not once, I was disappointed at first that I did not lose 17 pounds. (I only exercised two of the seven days, which could say something, too.)

But you know what? I can live with losing eight because I gained a lot more.

I am on day 7 of this diet and have not lost any weight.  (I have not cheated, at all, by the way.)  I eat very carefully normally, so I think that is the deciding factor. 

If you are a person who eats a bit more than you should than this diet will likely work because it should lesson your caloric intake.  If you already eat a calorie restricted diet you will probably not see such grand results. 

I had a hunch this would be the case, but after the holidays I thought I could use something to ween down the cravings for the richer foods I had enjoyed while around my family. 

I don't think there is anything awful about this diet, but you should use it for setting a pattern of eating more fruits and vegetables and less refined sugar and fat content dairy, not as an every week thing. 

And I totally agree with the earlier post.  I have absolutely no desire to eat any more carrots either!  YUCK!  By the by, carrots are quite high in sugar so I'm not 100% sure why they are the main ingredient in this soup...anyway good luck on your healthy path!

Have you figured out how many calories a day are you consuming on this diet? That is what worries me, and it's not nutritionally well-rounded.

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 and the hospital initially thought to be associated with it has denied the association and actually given a press release frowning upon the diet.

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 (which is also a unhealthy crash diet)

This diet is not recommended

• 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 (read here).

The Sacred Heart Medical Center writes:

"One of our major concerns about this diet plan is it emphasizes the consumption of fruits and vegetables while excluding the consumption of meat or fish, cereal grains and milk products on most days. Any diet that focuses on only certain food groups will be low or deficient in essential nutrients and, therefore, lead to poor nutritional status long-term.

Our experience with any low calorie diets, like this one, is that they do not lead to permanent weight loss. Once individuals start eating in a more normal pattern, the weight is regained. ...."

The Sacred Heart diet is a soup-based diet, and claims that you will lose a lot of weight 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 ends and you go back to your normal eating habits.

This may lead to yo-yo dieting which can add to frustration, self-esteem issues and a life of constantly going up and down with your weight with no real progress.This diet is very clearly an unsustainable fad diet.

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!

And if you don't believe me, here is an answer from our in-house resident nutritionist Mary Hartley from the ASK MARY section of Calorie Count:

Is the Sacred Heart Hospital diet good to do?

The Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital diet is used for overweight heart patients in order to lose weight rapidly prior to surgery.  It is a fad diet, which contains very few foods.  It will not meet your long-term nutrient requirements and it is not advised.

Calorie Count is all about sustainable weight loss, this can be done by using the Tools on this site to achieve a healthy reduction in calories leading to weightloss which can be maintained long-term without too much effort.

Also everyone should check out Lalabanana's new thread in the Health & Support forum, it's great for the New Year:

• An Unofficial Calorie Count Guide to a Fad-Free 2009

We all tried it back in the 1970s/80s and it doesn't work for long.  First of all, the soup begins to smell disgusting and the thought of eating another bite of it is stomach turning.  I lost about 5 pounds in a week (as I said in my prior post) and the minute I went back to my Weight Watchers diet I gained it all back.  So I didn't revert to a high calorie diet at all and still the weight came back on very very fast.  The diet is bogus and stupid.

Also, my cardiologist is horrified at this diet.  He calls it stroke in a bowl because of all the sodium.  Even if you use low sodium soups in it, it's high in salt.  What makes it so dangerous is that you eat so much of it the salt builds up.  If each bowl has 400 mgs of sodium, then 4 bowls would overload you.  If you make it according to the original recipe, the sodium adds up to 3000 mgs in four bowls.  Horrible!!!

By the way, this isn't the original soup which was mainly cabbage and Lipton Onion Soup mix.

Finally, Sacred Heart Hospital has been trying for years to get rid of this diet because they never used it and never advocated it.  No hospital in the country would put a heart attack patient on it before surgery - not ever.  Read this the whole thing is based on a bald faced lie.

It's not reccomended.

Original Post by clairelaine:

We all tried it back in the 1970s/80s and it doesn't work for long.  First of all, the soup begins to smell disgusting and the thought of eating another bite of it is stomach turning.  I lost about 5 pounds in a week (as I said in my prior post) and the minute I went back to my Weight Watchers diet I gained it all back.  So I didn't revert to a high calorie diet at all and still the weight came back on very very fast.  The diet is bogus and stupid.

Also, my cardiologist is horrified at this diet.  He calls it stroke in a bowl because of all the sodium.  Even if you use low sodium soups in it, it's high in salt.  What makes it so dangerous is that you eat so much of it the salt builds up.  If each bowl has 400 mgs of sodium, then 4 bowls would overload you.  If you make it according to the original recipe, the sodium adds up to 3000 mgs in four bowls.  Horrible!!!

By the way, this isn't the original soup which was mainly cabbage and Lipton Onion Soup mix.

Finally, Sacred Heart Hospital has been trying for years to get rid of this diet because they never used it and never advocated it.  No hospital in the country would put a heart attack patient on it before surgery - not ever.  Read this the whole thing is based on a bald faced lie.

It's not reccomended.

i dunno what your doing with your soup..i used some indian spices and it tastes pretty good. at the beginning it was pretty bad..but overtime i've learend to cook it decently well.

again it worked for me for 30 lbs about 2 - 3 lbs a week. its better to be on some sort of a diet if u'r trying to lose weight than not to do any diet at all. i think the main problem people have is knowing how much calorie to take in.

use this: http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-food-cal orie-counter

track your calories based on: http://www.webmd.com/diet/food-fitness-planne r.

losing weight is all about will power. u have to get yourself to eat differnt helthier things. if u need suggestions or whatever feel free to send me an e-mail or message.

I tried the diet last year and lost 8 pounds in 6 days. I didn't quite make it to the 7th day. Be forewarned, however, if you return to your regular bad eating habbits, the weight will come back within days. Over the course of the past year, we have made the soup just to have around the house, we use it as a means to curb bad eating habbits.

I am doing the "diet" again this week as a jump start to steering clear of eating poorly. I have a wedding that I am in just 8 weeks away and I am trying to get back in shape for the dress. By day 3, you get sick of the soup, but sticking to it is more of a discipline measure than anything. If you can stick to this "diet" for the 7 days it requires, you can stick to a healthier eating style.

As with any "diet" or exercise program, it is all about commitment. If you are looking to lose water weight for an event at the end of the week, then I would say depend on it, but don't look for a miraculous loss of body weight for any length of time if you do not plan on changing your lifestyle.

GOOD MORNING:

MY NIECE WENT ON THIS DIET AND SHE WENT FROM 260 POUNDS DOWN TO 128 POUNDS, AND SHE HAS SO FAR KEPT IT OFF, ONLY DIET THAT EVER WORKED FOR HER.

SHE LOOKS GREAT, HAS KEPT WEIGHT OFF FOR 1 YEAR NOW, IF SHE GAINS  5 POUNDS SHE GOES BACK ON FOR A FEW DAYS, THEN OFF IT COMES, AND SHE EATS OUT A LOT NOW, BUT SHE WATCHES HER WEIGHT CLOSE.

I HAVE STARTED IT TODAY

I WEIGHT 160 POUNDS, AND WANT TO GET BACK TO 125, WILL LET YOU KNOW.

DEE

Original Post by meeksdee:

GOOD MORNING:

MY NIECE WENT ON THIS DIET AND SHE WENT FROM 260 POUNDS DOWN TO 128 POUNDS, AND SHE HAS SO FAR KEPT IT OFF, ONLY DIET THAT EVER WORKED FOR HER.

SHE LOOKS GREAT, HAS KEPT WEIGHT OFF FOR 1 YEAR NOW, IF SHE GAINS 5 POUNDS SHE GOES BACK ON FOR A FEW DAYS, THEN OFF IT COMES, AND SHE EATS OUT A LOT NOW, BUT SHE WATCHES HER WEIGHT CLOSE.

I HAVE STARTED IT TODAY

I WEIGHT 160 POUNDS, AND WANT TO GET BACK TO 125, WILL LET YOU KNOW.

DEE

I have no idea why anyone would subject themselves to this when they can achieve the same results, in healthier format with calorie restriction.

I'm convinced that calorie counting is the only way to lose weight and keep it off. If you eat less calories than you burn, you'll lose weight. 100% mathematical fact right there, folks.

Always an education on calorie count....today I learned that when someone posts, in all caps,

ONLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRIED IT!!!

that what you are about to read is fraudulent and easily exposed as such.  Great thread!

i hav been on this diet 4 5 days now and i hav lost considerable amount of weight. i was so surprised. ma jeans dat were once fittin have sum space in them. i am really happy wit d results so far and am waitin 4 d 7th day to check my weight......

i most admit tho d 2nd day was d hardest 4 me...i felt lyk quitin den but i dint and surprisingly afta dat i wasnt hungry for the remainin dayz.

will keep y'all posted!!!!!

could not do it at the end of the first day i was starving and couldnt sleep to save my life

l have never tried it and never will, anyway lost 32lbs since Nov 5th by calorie counting and eating whatever l want, in moderation ofcourse, even had a three week period when l didnt lose a pound!!

Anyway my friend who first told me about this diet just had a second stroke, no joke, we don't blame it on the diet but if you have to eat, eat right and make healthy choices. Yo Yo dieting is detrimental to your health.

For me the diet worked.  Bad thing was that I did have the cravings.  Also by day 3 I was in MEGA withdrawl.  I lost the weight, but I felt like crap.  :-(

Did any of you guys touting how wonderful this diet is read my post above? Calorie Count does not think this diet is healthy and does not support this FAD diet for weight loss in otherwise healthy individuals.

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management.

what a bizarre thread.  saying that you only want to hear from people who've tried it is like saying you only want to hear from people have been duped.  those who know better and have more sense should keep their opinions to themselves.

never mind the fact that most of those who have tried it have said that it made them sick.  pay no attention to those people; they're of no consequence.

Hi, I actually join this website to mo.  I started the sacred heart diet today.

 In  2007/2008  my weight was 140 lbs (yikes!) .. I worked so hard to lose weight. I danced a lot and ate only special k...I lost 20 lbs.  From dec till now I gain 10 lbs my determine goal is to lose 25 lbs and keep it off for good! I'm very good with diets I don't like pork, or eat frie food.. how did I gain weight I stop dancing, and I went out a lot.

*today I started  The Sacred Heart Diet..  The soup  tastes good.  I can't wait to see the results I plan on doing this diet for a month sounds tiring but I'm more tired of seeing myself fat. I plan on dancing in the mornings, sleep more, and being strict with my diet.  I weight 130 lbs my goal weight is 105 lbs. I'll keep you posted!

I am doing this diet, and I must say after the 3rd day, I did lose 6lbs. I am always hungry though, and don't want to constantly eat this soup. Now that I see that it is not recommended, I may just stick it out for the rest of the week and then go off of it, and try something else, like normal diet and exercise, which didn't seem to be working for me before, but I'd rather be happy then starving.

I used this diet 21 years ago. I was morbidly obese topping the scale at 450 plus lbs. I followed the diet to the letter for a few months. I never experienced excessive hunger at any time. I was a college student at the time and people stopped me continuously asking how I was losing weight so fast. within the first few months I lost approximately 200 lbs. I conceived my second child at this time and stopped the diet. I maintained a healthy weight throughout the pregnancy and resumed the diet after my daughter was born and reached my desired goal. I am so surprised to read that people are feeling so hungry. Remember, eat as much of the soup as you possibly can and eat your fruit and veggies. Snack on these things throughout the day and by all means, get creative with your meals with this plan! It can work for you. I have until recent years maintained my weight fairly well but due to some physical disabilities I have managed to put on some weight over the past few years and am going to start this plan again next month. I know it will work. Also, for maintenance, eat a well balanced low fat, reduced calorie diet after your goal is reached and still include the soup. You will be amazed how this will keep your weight under control.

Every fad diet I've tried has failed - Atkins, the banana diet, the "eat whatever you want as long as its under X calories"...any diet that tells you to exclusively eat something or completely excludes something else rings alarm bells to me.  A healthy diet doesn't mean complete restriction, it means "bad things" (cake, chocolate, McDonald's, etc) in strict moderation and overall good eating habits. 

I am actually on my third day and I have found it very good. So far I have lost 4 lbs and very much energy. Hope it goes good for you and will let you know how mine goes.

Today is Day One of this diet for me.

I will keep everyone posted.

By the way years ago I tried another diet: http://www.fatloss4idiots.com/

This diet made me lose 6 kilos in 11 days (11 pounds) and for the record - I never gained this back.

Gaining the weight back after a fad diet actually depends on your body type, your genes, and especially your age. So not everyone gains it back.

Will keep you posted, it's only day one today but I will be sure to come back here on the 7th day and tell you how much I lost!!!!

Ciao xxx