Lose 10 pounds in just 7 days.

That's the promise of the Cabbage Soup Diet, which has become notorious for being the ultimate fad diet.  If you're looking for a quick fix, this might be just the thing for you - if you can stomach an ultra-low calorie diet based largely on a "soup" consisting of cabbage, tomatoes, onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and onion soup mix.

The Cabbage Soup Recipe can be prepared like this.

6 large green onion
2 green peppers
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
3 carrots
1 10 oz. container of mushrooms
1 bunch of celery
half a head of cabbage
1 package Lipton soup mix
1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
1 48 ounces can V8 juice (optional)
Season to taste with salt, pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder

Slice green onions, put in a pot and start to sauté with cooking spray. Cut pepper stem end off and cut in half, take the seeds and membrane out. Cut green-pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot. Take the outer leaves layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot. Clean carrots, cut into bite size pieces, and add to pot. Slice mushrooms into thick slices, add to pot. If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the V8 juice), cover and put head on low. Let soup cook for a long time -- two hours works well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Supposedly, the cabbage soup has fat-burning properties that boost weight loss. It doesn't hurt that you're also lowering your calorie intake to a dangerous level. Among the reported side effects of following this diet are light-headedness, weakness and decreased concentration. These feelings can be attributed to the fact that you're virtually starving your body.