I only recommend products I use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

All right ladies, did you find yourself eating seconds or thirds to much of turkey, dressing, pies, ham, cookies and other holiday goodies? Then as a haunting reminder that you ate to much your pants are in need of the lay down and suck it in to button and the beside the bed squat to loosen them up just to get them on? One of the top 5 New Years resolutions is to "lose weight/ get healthier". If you are one of them many that made this 2011 resolution then you may want to read Cinch! written by the coauthor of the Flat Belly Diet Cynthia Sass. Cynthia, with her 30 day weight loss program Cinch! wants to help end overeating, leave dieters feeling full and satisfied while still being able to enjoy food that will help burn fat and boost metabolism.

I was provided an advanced copy of Cinch! back in December before the book was released to the public. On the book cover it states that you can lose up to 7 lbs. in the first 5 days then by the end of the plan most people can lose up to about 15 lbs at the end of the 30 days. Once I started reading Cinch! I figured out how you lose those 5 lbs so quickly. The first 5 days of the 30 day plan is a fast. Sass labels it the 5 day, 5 food "fast forward". There is a quiz in chapter 1 that asks 6 questions. If you answer yes to 3 or more of those questions then you start the 30 day program with the 5 day fast and move on to the core part of the program for 25 days. If you have more no's than yes's then you do the Cinch! core program for the full 30 days. You'll have to read the detailed plan and decide for yourself if Cinch! and the 5 day fast is for you. I believe that Cinch! is not a one size fits all plan its more a eating strategy.

I have done calorie counting in the past and let me tell you for me it was a pain in the pa-toot. Way to much trouble than I was wanting to do for weight loss. With Cinch! there is no calorie counting, only healthy lifestyle changes. Cynthia does a pretty good job explaining the foods she chose for Cinch!, why all calories aren't created equal and why timing meals is important. My favorite section of Cinch! was chapter 8: Conquer Emotional Eating. I have dealt with emotional eating most of my adult life. I love the chocolate chip exercise too! I never had 10 little pieces of chocolate ever taste so good!

Cinch! includes shopping lists, food diaries, a "cheat sheet" and a month's worth of recipes that are supposedly customizable for us carnivores (meat eaters), vegetarians and vegans. Each Cinch! meal is constructed of 5 pieces like a puzzle. The 5 pieces being lean protein, produce, a whole grain, plant based fat (the 'good' fats) and natural seasonings. With this you can get the right type of calories in the right balance with the right nutrients. Cinch! says we should be able to follow the Cinch! plan at home, at restaurants, even on vacation with no adding of calories or points but I found there are only a handful of listings for restaurant options where as Weight Watchers gives way more variety. So if you want to ditch your calculators and give Cynthia's Cinch! 30 day program a go you can get Cinch! on Amazon for $14.29 or if you have an e-reader you can get it for $12.99. This is a regular $25.99 book!

After reading the book front to back I don't think Cinch! is for me. The recipes sound good but most are not my family friendly. I have picky eaters here. Another not so good thing for our house is it's not really that 'on the go' friendly either unless you are up for all the doings of make and take meals which I am not. I get bored with eating the same foods all the time and this plan has restrictions all over it. If there were more food variety I would be more likely to give it a go I think. I'm not saying the Cinch! isn't a good plan I'm just saying it's not a good plan for me and I am only 1 woman. And of course what doesn't work for one may always work for another. To each their own right? I think that Cynthia Sass has a wealth of knowledge and tips though (as I said I loved her chapter 8 on conquering emotional eating). Cinch! is a good read whether you decided to follow the 30 day plan or not. There is still plenty of information about healthy eating and such that you can benefit from. If you'd like you can follow her on facebook and twitter if you have Cinch! questions for her.

disclaimer: I received a preview copy of Cinch!, free of charge, from One2One Network for the purpose of this review.