The Sacred Heart Medical Diet – Quick Weight Loss

Have You Heard Of Sacred Heart Weight Loss?

 

Note:  This is a review.  Click here to visit The Sacred Heart Weight Loss Site.sacred heart diet

The Sacred Heart Medical Diet is a diet that supposedly originated from the cardiology department at Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital, where it was used to treat overweight heart patients. However, this does not appear to be true.

This diet is extremely similar to The Cabbage Soup Diet in that it is a soup-based diet that promises spectacular weight loss for any dieter in seven days.

While the nutrition in this particular plan is not as awful as that of other fad diets, it’s still not a diet that you should follow long-term, and like so many others, it is not going to provide long term weight loss.

The soup that is the basis for this diet can be eaten in any quantity at any time during the 7 days that you are following this weight loss plan. It is claimed that the soup does not add calories.(what?) It is also claimed that the more you eat, the more you will lose. (double what?).

Let’s break this diet down…

Where Did The Sacred Heart Medical Diet Come From?

The answer is…nobody seems to know.  One thing for sure, no doctor created this diet.  No evidence has ever been found of any medical professional or hospital taking credit for the Sacred Heart Diet.

Well, the odds are that this was another scheme from some slick marketers who saw the opportunity to make money from a fad diet if they affiliated it with a well-known medical facility.  And the kicker? It has worked very well as The Sacred Heart Diet has been very popular for many years.

The Skinny On This Plan

There are actually several versions of this plan, but the gist of all of them is that you prepare a soup that makes up the majority of your eating for an entire week.  This is an extremely specific diet that must be followed to the “T” if you want to lose weight!

And as with most fad weight loss programs, there is no medical research that backs up the diet claims.

phenq_EN_T_Taiylah-600x300

So What Will I Eat On The Sacred Heart Medical Diet?

Soup is on the menu…every day!  At least one bowl of the special Sacred Heart Medical Diet soup.  Additionally, you will eat several other foods and drink coffee, tea, unsweetened juice, water, and occasionally nonfat milk.

The Sacred Heart Medical Diet 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

An Alternative Soup Recipe:

If you prefer a slightly different soup for this diet, you may use the one below:

  • 2 – 11 oz. 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)

Here is a breakdown for the week:

Eat the following foods, plus all the soup you want but nothing else! You may drink any of the following: Unsweetened juice, tea (also herbal), coffee, cranberry juice, skim milk, and plenty of water. You must eat the soup at least once every day.

  • Day One: Any fruit except bananas. Eat only soup and fruit on day one.
  • Day Two: All veggies, raw, cooked, or canned. Eat green leafy veggies and avoid dry beans, peas, and corn. At dinnertime, eat a large baked potato and butter.
  • Day Three: Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato.
  • Day Four: Bananas and skim milk. Eat a minimum of 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you wish.
  • Day Five: Beef and tomatoes. Eat 10 to 20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes (or up to 6 fresh tomatoes).
  • Day Six: Beef and vegetables. You can eat as much beef and veggies as desired this day. No baked potato.
  • Day Seven: Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice, and veggies. You can add cooked veggies to your rice if you wish.

Another Version

As stated above, there are multiple varieties of this diet. This most popular one is purported to come from a hospital in Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley.

This variation is based on a two-week cycle. You are supposed to follow the eating plan exactly as written below, then take a break for 7 days.

Keep repeating the cycle until desired weight loss is achieved.

Monday: Eat soup and and all the fresh fruit that you want. nothing else. (no bananas)
Tuesday: Eat soup and all the fresh veggies that you want. nothing else. (no corn or beans).
Wednesday: Eat soup and both fruit & veggies, 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.

So What Do I Think?

If you are strong-willed enough to follow this diet exactly, you WILL lose weight.  However, there are a few problems.  Weight loss should be gradual to be effective.  Losing weight this fast can potentially cause health problems.  Also, there are no medical recommendations from anywhere.  This is the true definition of a fad diet.

Nutrition is poor because it is calorie deprivation to the max.  Following this diet could eventually lead to a nutrient deficiency in your body.

Another problem with Sacred Heart Medical Diet protocol is that depriving yourself of needed calories often has the opposite effect and results in weight gain due to binge eating.  sacred heart diet soup

So in general, The Sacred Heart Diet has a questionable background, restricts calories severely, and entices users with promises of quick, easy weight loss of 10+ pounds in a week.

On the good side, the foods used in this diet are easy to find and not very expensive.  So, it is very easy and cheap to get started as opposed to many other weight loss plans.

Also, the recommendations are to follow The Sacred Heart Diet for only one week which shouldn’t lead to long-term problems.

Pros:

  • You will lose weight very fast initially.
  • Inexpensive
  • Foods are available at any local grocery and soup is easy to create.

Cons:

  • Initial weight loss is mostly water weight.
  • Not a balanced diet.
  • Rapid weight loss can be dangerous.
  • There is no change in behavior, just a short-term strategy.
  • No recommendations from health officials.

See more fad diets here.

Conclusion:

This fad diet is not as nutritionally unsound as other fad diets but again, it is going to help you for the short term only. Don’t expect lifetime results from the Sacred Heart Diet although you will drop several pounds in 7 days.  You would be much better off to develop sound nutritional habits, start an exercise program, and supplement with natural weight loss pills.

Click here to visit The Sacred Heart Diet Site.

 

*Important Notes:

  • This diet has been declared “Phony” by the American Heart Association
  • The Sacred Heart Hospital in Montreal Canada (Hôpital Sacre Coeur) issued a press release in 2004 stating that “no nutritionist or medical professional at the Hospital took part in the development of this diet”.
  • The American Heart Association have claimed that Sacred Heart Medical Diet is phony.
  • The Sacred Heart Medical Center also disclaim any association with the supposed medical diet.
  • The Sacred Heart Diet goes by a number of misleading names that make it sound like it is associated with a reputable organization. – the AHA Diet (American Heart Association), Birmingham Hospital Diet, Cleveland Clinic Diet, and the Military Diet.
    None of these organizations have been found to use it.

Citations:

  1. Panlasang Pinoy. “Pros and Cons of the Sacred Heart Diet – Panlasang Pinoy.” panlasangpinoy.com. Accessed June 7, 2021. https://panlasangpinoy.com/pros-cons-sacred-heart-diet/.
Joel Dreher MS EdS
Latest posts by Joel Dreher MS EdS (see all)

3 COMMENTS

  1. I am basically a professional dieter. I have tried them all and try a new one every day pretty much. Maybe I just eat to many calories? I will give the sacred heart diet a try.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.