A 30-day journey into a food plan that is so mouth watering, I'm not even going to say I'm on a diet. (Although, the underlying plan is to lose some pounds that have been clinging to me since I had my son almost 2 years ago). At my happiest weight, I was 20 lbs lighter than I am now. If I can lose half of that (10 lbs.) in 30 days, I will be on my way to my goal!
In the past, I've always felt that I'm a healthy eater; choosing mostly lower fat foods, watching calories, etc. After reading most of this book, I had a reality check and I get a C+. My past weight loss attempts have been good & bad. Counting calories helped me lose most of my baby weight, but more recently, it wasn't working because I got lazy with writing things down. The only success I've ever really had was the year before my wedding with my 3 support group girls. We had weekly weigh-ins, had to pay $10 if you gain weight and $5 if you weigh the same each week, and we met a few days a week to workout together. I lost 23 lbs in 8 months. Then, I got married, had a baby/gained 33 lbs., lost some of the weight, but then haven't lost any for over a year now.
The Cinch! Plan promises that I can lose up to 8 lbs. in 5 days. Realistically, and knowing my body, I will probably lose 5. I've never been a big supporter of quick weight loss; feeling that the pounds will always creep back on. I've always supported the "slow and steady wins the race" mantra. And I normally cringe at the thought of restricting my calories below 1,500 per day, but after reading most of this book over the past 24 hours, what the heck?
The 30 day plan has an optional Fast Forward (FF) phase where you eat the same 5 foods for 5 days: almonds, eggs, spinach, raspberries, and yogurt. Then, during the next 25 days, you have a serving each of produce, lean protein, whole grain, plant-based fat, and spices/seasonings (4 times per day at regular intervals), and a daily dark chocolate indulgence. You drink 8 cups of water, and you can have coffee with no more than 1/4 c skim milk and no more than 5 c. unsweetened tea. I'm not sure how I will do over the next 5 days as I debated for quite awhile on whether to even do the FF phase, probably because it was "optional". I love all of the 5 foods, but I think I will struggle the most with the yogurt. It is plain yogurt only. Need I say more? I'm used to all those yummy Yoplait or Dannon flavors. Some people on the plan describe it tasting similar to sour cream. (I like sour cream...maybe it won't be so bad).
So, I made my grocery list for the next 13 days including the yummy meals post- the FF phase since I do the bulk of my shopping every 2 weeks. I have to say, I'm a bit nervous about the total cost for everything. Because of course, I had to add foods to my list for my husband and toddler son who won't be doing the plan. I usually spend about $200 on groceries every 2 weeks for all 3 of us. I started at Trader Joe's tonight, and I'll finish the rest tomorrow at Acme. Looking at my cart tonight, I'm sure the cashier at TJ's was wondering what I was up to with 5 bags of spinach, 5 bags of frozen berries, 5 huge dark chocolate bars, etc. "Just wait, I'll be back buddy! Because in only 5 days, I will have eaten 15 c. spinach, 20 c. raspberries, 4 c. almonds, 10 eggs, and 60 oz. yogurt."
Tomorrow is Day 1 of the FF phase. I'll update after the day ends... wishing me luck.
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