S*A*S*S! yourself slim: A Review of the Bestseller by Cynthia Sass

Pin It Cynthia Sass, a registered dietician and coauthor of "Flat Belly Diet!", has written a New York Times Bestseller, entitled "S*A*S*S! yourself slim". The first edition of this book, in hardback,  was published as "Cinch!: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds, and Lose Inches". This second edition, in paperback, contains new material, including "sensational swaps"(tips on how to effectively substitute certain foods and still remain within the guidelines of her food recommendations) and seven new success stories.

Despite a possible overdependance on exclamation points in her book titles (!!!), I'm pretty excited by what I've read in this book. So much so, that I'm actually thinking I might just give it a whirl myself for a month this summer, as soon as I make it through one more trip to "Mangia Nashville", and the end of the school year celebrations, parties, and house guests that we have coming up. I'd be glad to shed a few of the pounds I've packed on this winter.

The three key principles that Ms. Sass lays down for her diet are related to portions, proportions, and timing. It's a 30 day program with three key rules:

• Rule 1: Eat like clockwork. Meal timing is critical. You eat within one hour of getting up, and then space your meals evenly throughout the day, 3-5 hours apart. She believes that the timing is critical to your success, because it helps you regulate your blood sugar levels.
• Rule 2: Think, "Five Pieces, Four Times a Day." That's because each meal is constructed from 5 pieces:

1. produce
2. whole grain
3. lean protein
4. plant-based fat
5. natural seasonings (her S*A*S*S! Seasonings: slimming and satiating seasonings, which she outlines in her book)

• Rule 3: Make flavor your focus. Here she lists her seasonings that not only add flavor, but also rev up your metabolism as well.
• And best of all, she insists on a mandatory daily dark chocolate break!!! 

How great is that???

The book is filled with specific strategies and recipes to help you successfully complete her program. There is also an optional quick start component to the diet, where for the first five days, you eat 5 foods only, in various combinations, those foods being: eggs, almonds, spinach, yogurt, and raspberries. The fast forward program claims to potentially offer you quick results: up to an 8 pound weight loss in 5 days!

It appears to work for Cynthia Sass, huh?

I haven't tried it. I cannot truthfully tell you from personal experience that it works. What I can tell you is that I was impressed by quite a few of the recipes she offers. They do look flavorful. And a lack of flavor is what causes so many of us to abandon eating more healthily.

To get myself ready to try her plan, I've decided that I want to try making her chocolate truffles, to have them on hand in my refrigerator, so I'll have dark chocolate in the house, ready for my mandatory dark chocolate break. The downside? She only wants you to eat 50-100 calories of dark chocolate a day. That's one. lone. truffle.

Here are the titles of her truffle recipes: Balsamic Truffles, Citrus Zest Truffles, Spicy Chipotle Truffles, Green Tea Truffles and Peppercorn Truffles. I'm quite intrigued. Which to try first?

So, as best as I can determine, my problem is this:

1. I'm going to have to use self-control myself, to stay out of whatever kind of truffle I make, except for that one truffle a day, as the diet dictates.  And 
2. I'm going to have to keep use a cattle-prod and a install a combination lock on my refrigerator to keep my husband and my son out of my homemade truffles.

I really cannot see this ending well.

So...when I have made my truffles, I'll share some pictures, and the recipe, and I promise to let you know if they actually taste good or not. 

I was given the book as compensation for doing this post, but all opinions here are STRICTLY my own.