Cinch! by Cynthia Sass, a Lifestyle Not a Diet #Spon
Cinch! by Cynthis Sass is a new book from the author of Flat Belly Diet! The One2One Network sent me Cinch! to review and I am also participating in the Cinch! 30 Day Weight Loss Program! You may have read about my ongoing struggle with weight loss and my previous stomach issues.
[amazon_enhanced asin=”B00CF5G9EE” /]The title, Cinch! intrigued me. It is not very often that I use the word cinch and weight loss in the same sentence. After reading the book, one thing became clear, Cinch! is more than a diet or a weight loss program, Cinch! is a lifestyle.
Cinch! Plan
Cinch! starts with a 5-day 5 food Fast Forward. You eat only 5 foods (raspberries, eggs, almonds, spinach and yogurt) for 5 days and if followed correctly will lose up to 7 lbs. You then move on to the Cinch! Core for the next 25 days.
Each of the foods you eat on the Cinch! plan has a purpose. Cynthia explains in detail why she chose each of the foods on the plan and what it will do for your body. The timing of the meals is as important as the food.
My favorite part of the plan is that there is NO calorie counting and includes a daily dose of dark chocolate. My least favorite part of the plan? No diet soda or red meat in the Fast Forward or Core plan.
Cinch! is a Lifestyle
As I read the book, I realized that this isn’t a diet, but a lifestyle. Cinch! retrains the way you think, feel and relate to food. The book helps you deal with the emotional side of eating too.
You are given tools to change the way you eat. It is like the old saying, “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a meal, If you each a man to fish, he eats for the rest of his life.” This book is teaching you how to eat. You do not have to give up taste when eating healthy.
Cinch! 30 Day Weight Loss Program
UPDATE: I started the 5 day program and got really sick and my doctor believes it was from the almonds not agreeing with me. This had nothing to do with the diet. I had surgery before Xmas and I now have to figure out which foods are ok and which aren’t. It was suggested that I follow a clean diet. He asked me to stop and go back to a bland diet until my stomach is better.
Here are the blogs of those who are taking the 30 day challenge:
- All Because Two People Fell in LOVE
- Crash Test Mommy
- Mom to Bed by 8
- MommyReview
- My Military Mommy
- Stop Drop & Blog
- Taste Like Crazy
- The Local Cook
- The Mom Trap
- Welcome to Linneyville
Starting on January 1, 2011, I will be participating in the Cinch! 30 Day Weight Loss Program! with 9 other bloggers through the One2One Network. I will be writing each week about my progress. We will have weekly calls with Cynthia, so if you have any questions along the way that you would like me to ask, please leave me a comment.
My only concern with the book is the “implication” that this is a cinch. In a society where we are always looking for a quick fix where there isn’t one, the title may lead some to believe it’s the easy quick answer. Changing habits is never easy. The Cinch! plan is not a difficult plan to learn to follow. Once you delve into the book, you realize that the plan is definitely doable, but it will be a lifestyle change that you must be ready and willing to do for it to work. I can speak further to this concern after I follow the 30 day program.
Cynthis Sass has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nutrition science with a second master’s degree in public health (focus on community and family health education.) She also has completed a personal-training certification and has formal culinary training in vegan organic culinary arts. Her qualifications did make me feel better about following the program.
I am looking forward to making this lifestyle change. I am ready to make 2011 a healthy year. This is a plan that I can see myself being able to follow for much longer than 30 days. Be sure to follow my journey. This food plan includes the foods that my doctor has told me I need to eat more.
The book is an easy read and includes recipes, meal plans and full explanations of the how and why behind the Cinch! plan. She does not leave you high and dry after the 30 days either. The book ends with a Cinch! Goes the Distance maintenance plan. You can purchase the book at Amazon, , or .
Cynthia Sass, M.P.H., R.D. can be found online on her website, Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure: I was given a copy of the book by One2One Network in exchange for this review. All opinions are 100% my own.
I am just finishing the 5 day "cleanse" and I lost over 7 lbs….which is miraculous for me. I know most of that weight is water, but I do feel better — less bloated mainly. The raspberries were horribly tart and expensive, so I did make a substitution. There are large bags of mixed berries at Sam's. They are a combo of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. no sugar added. They were cheaper and easier to eat. I also found that if I heated the berries for 1 min in the microwave they were much easier to eat in the morning…. Good luck all. I'm anxious to start tomorrow — the diet but non-cleanse.
That's great to know that you got good results with the substitution. I think it all depends on the time of year too. Raspberries are probably not in season in winter so may not taste so good.
I am on day 2 of the 5 day fast forward. I found the same problem with raspberries and with looking at other blogs, many people said to squeeze some orange or tangarine juice onto them. That is what I have done and it definately helps with the tartness. I am also using strawberries for a few of the meals. One thing I did yesterday and today and just love is to thaw out some fzn strawberries and mash them up and add them to my yogurt. YUM! I am not a big yogurt fan but this tastes like a dessert. I just eat my almonds seperately. I hope this info helps someone.
I'm going to have to try the OJ and yogurt tricks. I like yogurt, but only flavored yogurt.
Sorry Michele. I forgot to add that I am using Weight Watchers no fat vanilla yogurt. I only use plain yogurt with things like dips. The vanilla is really tasty.
Ah! ok. That is what I need to do. I can't swallow plain or greek yogurt. Thanks!!
I will add the blogs of the participants to my post. I had to pull out because I got sick and had to eat only bland foods for a while.
I started the Cinch diet today. Im ok with the foods but the raspberries are sooo tart….ugh…is there anything to do about this? My Husband is frustrated with me (of course he is doing it with us) and feels that we can accomplish the weight loss by cutting back. We are normal weight (130lbs) and he is 170lbs. But before I had kids I weighed 110lbs. I want to accompish that! How is it going for you?
I found the same thing with the raspberries. They were so tart, I had a hard time eating them. I had to pull out for a while because I got sick and I had to eat bland foods. I'm hoping to get back to it next week.
I just bought the book and all the supplies for the first 5 days. It sounds reasonable to me — I'm looking to stop the sugar and processed food and lose 3-35 lbs. ALWAYS looking for that! 🙂 Are there any community sites available for this? Everything follows back to Shaklee Cinch — which is not at all the same.
I like the review of the book as well. I got the same impression — eating this way for 5 days or 55 is not a quick fix, but rather it is a new life style….
I wonder how others are doing…
I like that it also deals with the emotional side of eating. Many "diets" or eating plans completely ignore that.
hi ,
i was thinking of buying this book and following her rules, but I was a little worried when I heard people lost 7 pounds in 5 days (usually it's a puond per week)? is this diet safe?
thank you
It's just the first 5 days where you are eating foods that will help to clean out your system and you drink a lot of water. Most people tend to lost more in the first week. I am not a doctor so I can not "officially" say whether it's safe or not. But with the qualifications that the author has, I felt very comfortable that she created a plan that was safe. But if you have concerns, talk with your doctor before starting the program.
what does one do if they are vegan, I can eat all the other foods but EGGS I can not eat. Is there a substitue for eggs? I would like to lose 5 to 10 lbs. Iam 5'3'' and I weigh 119lbs. I work out 4 day a week Im very active. I am 54 years old
Marita,
She does give you vegan alternatives in the book for the 5 day portion and the Core plan.
Marita, you are 5'3'' and 119 pounds, you DO NOT need to lose 5-10 pounds, you need to stop being so hard on yourself and love your body because I am sure it is great!
Looking forward to hearing more!
is splenda ok? its not artificial?
I started the Cinch diet today. Im ok with the foods but the raspberries are sooo tart….ugh…is there anything to do about this? My Husband is frustrated with me (of course he is doing it with us) and feels that we can accomplish the weight loss by cutting back. We are normal weight (130lbs) and he is 170lbs.
But before I had kids I weighed 110lbs. I want to accompish that! How is it going for you?