Cynthia Sass - Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches with Real Food, Real Fast

For Jack Bremen
and Diane Salvagno
thank you for always
being there for me.

M ost women I meet are incredibly interested in nutrition and health. They love hearing about new research on which foods will protect their heart, make their skin glow, and boost their energy. These women enjoy eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods, like greens or green juices, fruit, oats, hummus, and quinoa. But heres their dilemma: though they feel fantastic when they focus on eating healthfully, theyre secretly disappointed because they dont lose weight.

As a result, most fall back into old diet traps like counting calories; eating processed, low-calorie, or low-fat meals; or completely cutting out carbs, including fruits, whole grains, and even many vegetables. Yes, they start losing weight again, but they also feel drained of energy, irritable, and plagued by nagging hunger. They also struggle with the unpleasant side effects of dieting, like headaches, trouble sleeping, constipation, and a dull appearance. Yet these women push on because theyre just not ready to give up on getting slimmer, and they dont know how else to get there.

This book offers another path. Its a simple yet powerful meal-building strategy that will allow you to enjoy healthy foods, feel satisfied and energetic, and lose weightall at the same time. This intersection of weight loss and cutting-edge nutrition is what so many women tell me they desperately want to find but cant. I will get you there.

Heres what Im offering: a 30-day challenge during which youll take a break from your usual weight-loss methods and adopt an entirely new approach to food, health, and weight management.

In one months time, youll learn exactly how to eat the healthiest foods on the planetincluding one special group Ive chosen as the star of this planin the right amounts, in the right balance, and at the right times. My strategy will allow you to feel amazing and get the weight-loss results you want, and its far simpler than you might think.

My plan has two parts: the four-day Rapid Pulse and the twenty-six-day Daily Pulse. The cornerstone of both is a unique and awesome class of protein-rich carbs called pulses: the edible goodies that come from plants in the legume family, which include lentils, chickpeas, and many varieties of beans. (The term pulse is popular in Europe, Latin America, and India but is less well known in the United States.) Scientists have published an amazing amount of research on pulses, and Im convinced that making pulses a daily staple is the key to weight loss and good health. In my opinion, pulses are the single most underrated superfood.

The latest science shows that just as not all calories are created equal, not all carbs are created equal. Pulses have been shown to boost calorie and fat burning, whittle away belly fat, enhance fullness (to curb appetite and prevent snack attacks), and support all-day feelings of energy. Whats more, they protect your heart, lower your risk for type 2 diabetes and cancer, and improve your overall nutrient intake. Theyre also gluten free, they dont trigger allergies, and theyre affordable and readily available. I know youll find them to be incredibly satisfying, rich in flavor, and versatile! I bet you already love at least one healthy dish that contains a pulse, like hummus or White Bean and Kale Soup. But you probably dont know half of the amazing things you can do with pulses. Youll learn about their incredible weight loss and health benefits in chapter 4, and you wont believe the creative ways Ive built them into this plan.

During the Rapid Pulse, youll make just one quick and easy recipe: a pudding, which youll eat three times a day. Im confident that youll fall in love with its flavor (you actually get to choose from three delicious options) and thick, creamy texture. In fact, I bet youll want to keep making my unique pudding recipe long after the Rapid Pulse is over. Even my hubby, whos hardly a health nut, regularly asks me to make it, and kids love iteven though Ive snuck a pulse (black or white beans) into the recipe! Now, before you think No way! and snap this book shut, trust me. You wont even know the beans are in there. (Ever tried black bean brownies or Chinese red bean ice cream? Both are delicious!)

This Rapid Pulse phase is ultra simple, because the pudding can be whipped up in five minutes and enjoyed chilled or warmed. Or you can add water and ice to turn it into a smoothie. Plus, you can make two days worth of servings ahead of time, so you only need to prepare food twice in four days. Sound easy? It is. The repetition of the single recipe serves a purpose, as I explain in chapter 2, and I chose the ingredients carefully to maximize your four-day weight loss without leaving you feeling hungry.

The Rapid Pulse will help you shed up to eight pounds in four days, so youll be well on your way to your weight goal. Then youll transition to the Daily Pulse, which will keep you losing straight through day thirty. As you may guess from the name, this phase includes one serving of pulse each day. Thats the secret sauce in this plan. But its not the only critical component. Youll incorporate the pulse serving into a simple meal-building strategy that doesnt require you to count calories, points, or grams or memorize any complicated numbers or charts. The power of the Daily Pulse comes from enjoying a specific combination of three food groups in the right portions at the right times. Once you master this strategy, youll discover how simple it is, how much sense it makes, and how easy it will be to apply no matter where you are. The final essential component of the plan is learning precisely how to add other healthy, carb-rich foodslike sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, bananas, and quinoato your meals without compromising weight loss. I refer to these foods as energy accessories.

From day five through day thirty, youll enjoy hearty, filling dishes, like savory quiche, chicken cacciatore, shrimp scampi, lemony hummus, lentil soup, and oven-roasted potatoes. And Ive dedicated an entire chapter to desserts! Youll get to savor luscious brownie bites, vanilla cinnamon chocolate truffles, frozen cherry coconut pops, and my favorite, pumpkin-spice mini muffins. Incorporating these indulgences into the 30-day challenge will give you sweet treats to look forward to and help you stay on track. So instead of battling to stay on an ultra-strict dieta battle youre destined to loseyoull maintain a consistent eating pattern all month long.

Meanwhile, you wont be running yourself ragged trying to maintain an intense workout regimen. Part of this 30-day challenge is letting go of traditional notions of exercise. Youll adopt a whole new approach to movement that doesnt feel tedious or punishing and is based on a less-is-more philosophy thats backed by research. For countless people I talk to, the forms of physical activity associated with weight loss, like running, boot-camp classes, and elliptical machines, are a major turn off. So people skip their workouts altogether or they fizzle out fast, rebounding right back to inactivity.

Im going to help you find ways to move that feel fun. Youll actually look forward to being active over the next thirty days! Ill also share the science that explains why less exercise, rather than more, can actually set you up to be more successful at weight loss. And Ill reveal how to strategically remove the two biggest obstacles that get in the way of being active: stress and time constraints. When you ditch the no pain, no gain idea, youll not only lose weight but also find yourself healthier and in a better mood.