Cinch Diet Review
The Cinch Diet or the Sass Yourself Slim Diet or the 5 Day Fast Forward Detox is a weight loss plan by Cynthia Sass. She is also co-author of the Flat belly diet, a NY Times Best Seller. What is the Cinch Diet? The Cinch Diet offers dieters a 30 day plan to end over-eating. It teaches you to eat foods that are high in nutrients, in the right portions, to keep you feeling full and satisfied. How Does It Work? The idea behind the Cinch Diet is that in one month, your body and your brain will adjust to a healthy eating lifestyle. In 30 days, you will eliminate cravings, boost your metabolism, and maximize fat burning. You begin the Cinch diet with a Five Day Fast Forward Plan. For five days your focus is on five foods, yogurt in a number of forms, spinach, raspberries, eggs, and almonds. These five foods are high in nutrients, low in calories, and filling. Your first five days also help your body to detox. The claim is that you can lose up to eight pounds in your first five days. Next, you move to the Cinch diet Core. You can now increase your food variety. Your focus is still on foods that help to maximize fat burning and boost your metabolism. The Core Program meals consist of a balance of protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and plant based fats. You are allowed four meals per day each of which is created to help you lose weight and feel satisfied. Your fifth meal is your chocolate escape. Your fifth meal is a serving of chocolate (70%+) which actually has positive weight loss effects. You can choose when you want to have your daily chocolate escape.  The Core Program also requires that you choose at least five vegan meals each week. The plan revolves around three simple rules:
You can have whole grains, produce, one cup of coffee, lean protein, and chocolate. You have dozens of fruits and vegetables to choose from. You are allowed reduced-fat and nonfat cheese, yogurt, and milk You can eat boneless and skinless chicken and turkey, shrimp, scallops, salmon, and more. .Whole wheat bread and pasta, barley, brown rice, quinoa, and oats are OK. Nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, and coconut oil are on your Cinch menu. Dark chocolate that has 70% cocoa is a must every day. 50-100 calories. Beef and pork aren't allowed, because this is a Mediterranean-style diet. Also alcohol and sodas are not allowed until you reach your goal weight. At least 30 minutes of exercise daily (5 days a week) is recommended, except your first five days. Walking is acceptable exercise, brisk walking is preferred.  Does It Work? Yes. Reducing your intake of calories should result in weight loss. Positives: You can buy your foods at the grocery store, organic foods are recommended. Animal studies involving chocolate shows that it supports weight loss. The Cinch diet includes helpful tips on maintaining weight loss. It also includes tips to avoid emotional eating. Healthy foods Relative simple to follow No counting calories Chocolate required Vegan or vegetarian options  Negatives: Cooking and meal preparation are involved. There is no real support, you're on your own. Your food choices are somewhat limited. Rather strict and structured Eating out makes following this diet difficult Cinch Meals: For your first five days: (choose organic and read labels to avoid added sugar) About 15 cups of spinach (approx 20 oz,) 2 cups of almonds 20 cups of raspberries (approx. 80 oz.) 10 tablespoons of raw almond butter (about 6 oz.) About 60 oz of plain non fat yogurt 10 large eggs 4 tangerines Seasonings salt free, sugar free cinnamon and nutmeg, balsamic vinegar  Sample meal plan (1st five days)
Breakfast Blueberry smoothie with almond toast Lunch Zesty bean and summer slaw pita Afternoon Snack 1 cup red seedless grapes 1 serving all-natural whole grain crackers 1 mini Babybel spreadable cheese 10 whole black olives 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary Dinner Fish tacos with cilantro-jalapeno guacamole Fifth Meal Dark chocolate  Conclusion: The Cinch Diet is well thought out, balanced and healthy and should help you to lose weight. My biggest concerns are that it is limited, structured, and without support. One of the things that I look for is a 'safety valve', which helps during maintenance. A small serving of chocolate satisfies that safety criteria. I give the Cinch Diet a thumbs up, but it is definitely not for everyone.  Advertisement:  |
