The 5 Worst Soups for Weight Loss (and 5 to Try Instead) (2024)
Alanna Nunez
·2 min read
Soup is the ultimate comfort food. But if you're watching your weight, it can also be an unexpected drain on your calorie and fat bank. This doesn't mean you have to give up your favorite cold-weather soup. Just avoid these five soups listed below, and swap them out for the healthier alternatives we've provided:
1. Clam chowder. Anything with the word "chowder" in it is probably going to be high in cream, fat, and calories. Campbell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder tops the list with 230 calories per serving, 13 grams of fat, and 890 milligrams of sodium. Plus each can contains two servings, so if you eat them at the same time, you're up to 1,780 grams of sodium.
2. Potato soup. Potato soup can be healthy, but it's often made with a cream base instead of a broth base, which means that it, like the chowder, can be loaded with calories and saturated fat.
3. Lobster bisque. With an average of 13.1 grams of fat (that's 20 percent of the daily recommended serving), most of it saturated, and 896 grams of sodium, this is a definite diet don't!
4. Chili. Chili's actually not that bad: It often contains a lot of fiber, protein, and vegetables. However, most of the time it's also accompanied by a huge chunk of cornbread on the side. If you're going to have chili, skip the bread, and have a salad instead.
5. Broccoli and cheese soup. Soup using broccoli as a base? Healthy! Dousing that broccoli in cheese? Not so healthy. Most restaurant versions tend to feature a few tiny broccoli florets drowning in a bowl of cheese, so if you see this one on the menu, skip it.
Try one of these instead:
1. Mushroom and barley soup. This low-cal recipe features plenty of vegetables as well as barley to make a hearty meal that will fill you up, not out.
2. Lumberjackie soup. Vegan-friendly and easy to make, this recipe calls for a hodge-podge of vegetables that's packed with antioxidants and minerals. Just throw the ingredients into your crockpot, let it cook, and you're done!
3. Chilled soups. If you can brave the cold and want to try a chilled soup instead of a hot one, try one of these healthy and slimming chilled soups.
4. Chicken, zucchini and potato soup. For the days when you want more than a snack, this flavor-packed soup's sure to please. The chicken and potatoes will help fill you up, while the zucchinis provide a serving of veggies.
5. Homemade tomato soup. Who doesn't like tomato soup on a cold gray day? Skip the canned versions, which are packed with sodium, and go for this healthy homemade version instead.
The worst soups are the ones that are cream-based or even cheese-based. These start with a heavy dose of fat that can be compared to the amount in a dessert. Whatever the nutritional value of the other ingredients—from clams and lobster to broccoli and mushroom—it's compromised by the decadence of the base.
Vegetable soup. Lean protein from chicken combined with a variety of vegetables can make a satisfying and low-calorie soup that can help you feel full and satisfied.
The worst soups are the ones that are cream-based or even cheese-based. These start with a heavy dose of fat that can be compared to the amount in a dessert. Whatever the nutritional value of the other ingredients—from clams and lobster to broccoli and mushroom—it's compromised by the decadence of the base.
Typical soup diets are fad diets that are not backed by science. They may have health risks and other drawbacks. Eliminates healthy foods: Experts agree that an all-soup diet would eliminate otherwise healthy food groups, such as fruit and grains, and lead to nutrient deficiencies and imbalances.
Regularly consuming soup has been linked to a lower body weight. However, there's insufficient research on the benefits of soup diets for weight loss. Still, due to the low calorie nature of these eating plans, you'll likely lose some weight in the short term.
Chicken soup is a staple for upset stomachs for a reason. It provides vitamins, protein and other nutrients, and it can help keep you hydrated. You don't need to use a lot of different ingredients to get the benefits either. This basic chicken soup recipe can help you feel better in no time.
The Cabbage Soup Diet is a short-term weight loss diet. Proponents of the diet say that it can help you lose up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a single week, but many health experts warn that the diet does not promote health and wellness, and results are unsustainable.
Which soup is healthy for us? Chicken Vegetable Soup: Packed with lean protein and a variety of vegetables. Lentil Soup: High in fiber and plant-based protein. Miso Soup: Contains probiotics and is low in calories.
Progresso soups are not nutritionally balanced and lack many essential vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy diet. Additionally, relying only on Progresso soups as your source of nutrition can be quite restrictive and lead to deficiencies.
A one-cup serving of a cream-based canned soup may contain 7 grams of fat, and fat may account for more than half the calories in the soup. Worse yet, the fat in these soups tends to be saturated fat, which is known to raise total blood cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.
While canned soups can be a convenient meal option, it's important to be mindful of their nutritional aspects. Making healthier choices by selecting low-sodium, low-fat, and organic options, adding fresh or frozen vegetables, and opting for BPA-free cans can enhance the nutritional quality of canned soups.
Canned soups can provide a convenient desk drawer or pantry choice as they do not require refrigeration — but they can also be high in sodium. Plus, large 'man-style' cans of soups are usually meant to be shared between at least two people, so it's easy to consume excess salt and kilojoules without realising.
Along with a high saturated fat content, soup can come with an overload of sodium, as well. The American Heart Association recommends the average person consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, but an ordinary can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup already has 890 milligrams of sodium per serving.
What Experts Say. "The concept of eating soup to lose weight has spanned decades, but experts say an all-soup diet lacks nutrients and is not sustainable. They do agree it can be smart to eat vegetable-packed soups for some meals, though, as these are filling, nutrient-dense, and low in calories."
Introduction: My name is Pres. Carey Rath, I am a faithful, funny, vast, joyous, lively, brave, glamorous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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