Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds & Lose Inches by Cynthia Sass - A Review

I spent the final days of 2010 on a diet. Completely crazy, I know, but I figured if it worked and I began 2011 a few pounds lighter I might just be able to continue in 2011 during the "resolution breaking phase".

The plan I chose is a new one by Cynthia Sass M.P.H., R.D. called Cinch! I was given the book as a review and, after reading it, enjoying the conversational tone Sass uses to convey her message, and appreciating that she explained why she chose the foods for the diet (always good to know why you are eating what you are eating) I jumped in with both feet and did the 5 Day Fast Forward plan; a "jump start" to weight loss.

The 5 Day Fast Forward


The 5 Day Fast Forward is stringent, to say the least. It consists of 5 foods, prepared 4 ways, eaten on a schedule, for 5 days. By day 5 I was terribly sick of them- but I had lost 6 pounds.

What was more amazing to me, though, was that I had no desire for the party fare served at a New Year's Eve party I attended the evening before the Fast Forward ended. I had one drink, and ate a couple of appetizers the hostess had made. But I had no desire to sample everything, or keep grazing. And that, my friends, is HUGE!

The Cinch! Core Plan

Another aspect I appreciated was that the option was open for you to skip the Fast Forward if it was just too stringent and move on the the Core Plan. This 25 day plan (30 if you skip the Fast Forward) gives you options for 4 meals, by now your body has a schedule, plus one dark chocolate indulgence per day.

The menu items are easy to prepare, easy to plan ahead, and follow a "5 piece puzzle" of produce, whole grain, lean protein, plant based fat and specific spices. Learning this 5 piece puzzle will help keep you on track after the core plan ends.

Final chapters of the book discuss emotional eating, walking as exercise, and living the plan.

Pros and Cons

The Cinch! plan includes no red meat. As a Midwest girl, this is a bit painful as we have a deep freeze filled with beef and pork. But I understand the logic and plan to cut my family's red meat intake to 2 meals per week.

The cost of preparing a separate meal for myself and another for my family has been a bit daunting to work into our tight budget (raspberries are expensive in the dead of winter!) but now that I have worked through the Fast Forward I am able to buy whole foods and create menus for my family that use the same ingredients as my meals.

Certain organic foods are suggested- and Sass gives her reasons for choosing them. I truly appreciate that she says not to use organic if it doesn't fit into your budget or you just don't want to. Organic is not a deal breaker.

Vegan and vegetarian options are also given, making this a plan suited to anyone. If weight loss and healthy eating are part of your plan for 2011 I highly recommend Cinch! by Cynthia Sass.

Disclosure: I was provided a proof copy of Cinch! to review. Images and thoughts are completely mine and were not suggested or compensated.