Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches is the title of Cynthia Sass’ newest book. The book says that you can lose up to 7lbs in the first 5 days by following a simple meal plan. It’s fully laid out for you as to what to eat for each meal and how much! There’s even a shopping list. How much easier can it get!
The Cinch plan is actually a 30 day plan to help you lose weight, think about the food you eat, understand how your body works, and what it actually needs. For me, if I can stick to it, then it may be just the thing that I need to get me going on my weight loss and near my final goal weight.
The first five days consist of five simple fast forward foods as I said before and actually organic items are recommended.
- Spinach – fresh or frozen
- Raspberries – fresh or frozen
- Almonds
- Eggs or tofu
- Nonfat plain yogurt
The diet also allows Fast Forward Seasonings to spice up your meals. These include vinegar (any kind), citrus juice or wedges, garlic, hot peppers, and fresh or dried herbs. I’m thinking that these are a great way to jazz up that spinach salad or up the flavor in the smoothie. Now the hardest part about this for me will be that I can no longer drink my beloved Diet Coke. It’ll be water, water, and more water!
The plan emphasizes eating within an hour of waking no matter what your schedule is and then going no shorter than three hours and no longer than five hours before eating your next meal. Your day starts out with a scramble for breakfast, a parfait for lunch, a salad for dinner, and then a smoothie for a bedtime snack. I’m a little concerned about the lack of food! I mean I’m used to eating a heck of a lot more than that!
After the first week the food choices increase greatly and look to be much more filling! As long as you follow the plan, stick to the portions, and drink lots of water the weight will continue to fall off. For a total of 15 pounds in 30 days.
About the author: Cynthia Sass, M.P.H., R.D., is a registered dietitian, the nutrition consultant to the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays, and the nutritionist behind and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Flat Belly Diet! Her Weight Loss Coach column appears each month in Shape magazine, and she appears regularly on television programs including the Today show, Good Morning America, and The Early Show.
You can check out Cynthia’s website here.
UPDATE – January 13, 2011
Alright, I’m starting day 5 tomorrow which means that I’ve made it through the first 4 days. And to be honest the first couple were hard as hell! Just ask Jill my great friend over at Single Mom on a Budget because I complained enough to her about it all!
It really was a difficult diet to start especially with the limited food that you’re allowed to eat. The hardest part that I found was the yogurt. It was the most disgusting thing I’ve eaten. For me it was so bad that I couldn’t eat it after the 2nd day. So I ended up making a few changes.
I followed the breakfast of scrambled egg white with the sauteed spinach, raspberries, & almonds, lunch was a salad of spinach raspberries, & almonds, and the for dinner I had the same salad but I added the hard boiled egg and 2 grilled chicken tenders. Yes, I cheated. Sue me.
I haven’t weighed myself yet so I can’t tell you what the final results of the first week are. But I did notice that today the jeans I wore fitting looser than they had in the past which is a good sign!
I will continue following the plan as closely as I can. With 4 kids & a husband it may be a little challenging …. making 3 different dinners is not something that I want to do every night.
The recipes for the remaining days of the diet look great! There are a lot that I want to try and I think that my picky family may like more of them than they expect!
