Unoffical Review of The Cinch 5 Day Fast Forward

**Edited to add...I totally forgot I managed to get a few pics of our yummy food from last week. Scroll down a little to see:)**

Somehow I forgot that yesterday was a holiday...which meant that the boys were out of school, Jason was off work, and we {mostly Jason} spent the long weekend working on a few home improvement projects! That also means that I didn't manage to type up the post I promised on Friday! So here is my take on the new Cinch 5 Day Fast Forward diet plan.

**disclaimer**

The first thing I have to mention is that I didn't actually read the book {it is at the top of my shopping list though}, but I do recommend the book to anyone who is going to try this diet/cleanse. I watched the Rachael Ray segment with Cynthia Sass the creator of the Cinch plan, and then I did a little research online. I tried to buy the book, but my Target didn't have it in stock. Jason & I were ready to start last Monday morning, so instead of waiting for the book to be mail or searching all over town to find it, we just worked with what we knew and took it from there.

The Basics

This is a type of cleanse that allows you to eat 5 foods for 5 days, and the program promises that you will lose 8 pounds.

From Cynthia Sass's website:

"I selected these foods because each is filling, rich in detoxifying and health-protecting nutrients, and has been scientifically shown to specifically support weight loss. You’ll eat these five superfoods in specific combinations daily for five days to give your body, mind, and taste buds a fresh start and achieve the results you need to feel motivated and confident - up to an eight pound loss in five days."

The Food

The 5 foods that you can have on this program are spinach, eggs, almonds, raspberries, and plain yogurt. Jason and I bought all these things for the week, but we did end up modifying the plan to work for us. From what I researched you are allowed:

breakfast: one egg scrambled with one cup of spinach

berries and almonds

lunch: yogurt parfait with berries and almonds

dinner: large spinach salad with berries and almonds

boiled egg

snack: yogurt smoothie with berries

Again I have to say that because I didn't read the book, this is just what I have gathered from researching online. Jason and I ended up substituting blueberries for the raspberries because we aren't fans of raspberries and we also ended up mixing half flavored yogurt with the plain yogurt because the plain was a little to bitter for us.

The Results

At the end of the 5 days, Jason was down 8 pounds and I was down 9 pounds! A huge success if you ask me! During the week, I found that I wasn't nearly as hungry as I thought I would be. I actually ended up not eating all the spinach that was allowed per day {because I wasn't a big fan and because I really wasn't that hungry}. I highly recommend this plan to anyone who wants to see quick results but also to anyone who is trying to not just lose weight, but to eat healthier too! I plan on getting the book soon so that we can start the rest of the 25 days of the Cinch diet plan!

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If you have any other questions about the diet or just want to know more before you purchase the book, there is a great Q&A section on Cynthia Sass' website HERE!

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Valentine's Cupcake Inspiration

Last year I made the cutest heart shaped cupcakes...using marbles:)

Click HERE to see original post and the step by step!
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Today, Tip Junkie shared 8 really cute cupcakes including these SUPER fun cupcakes in a cone and these adorable cherry cupcakes.

Hoosier Homemade shared these yummy Raspberry Cordial Cupcakes.

Be Different, Act Normal shared a ton of yummy cupcakes that she had found at Cupcakes Take the Cake.

And I adore these Handwritten Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart website!!

And now that I've got you all drooling over these gorgeous cupcakes, check back on Monday for my very unofficial review of the new diet Cinch that I told you about earlier this week. FYI: So far it is awesome and I highly recommend buying the book and checking it out yourself:)
Have a great weekend...don't eat too many cupcakes!!

Valentine Hula Hoop Wreath

The supplies for this project are pretty simple...a hula hoop, some pretty fabric, yarn, and a little bit of cardboard. I picked up my hula hoops at The Dollar Tree for $1 each. They come in a few different sizes, and the smallest one that they have is the perfect size for a wreath....and a lot cheaper than most large sized wreath forms out there. I also picked up some fun Valentine fabrics at Hobby Lobby...30% off! You can use scrap fabric for this project too, but for some reason I have very few pink and red fabrics in my collection:)

You start by wrapping the hula hoop with yarn. I tied a knot in the end of my yarn to get it started and then held the end in place while I wrapped a few times. You could also hot glue the end down to make it a little more stable. Wrap the entire hula hoop with your yarn...it probably took me a little over an hour to do while I was watching tv.

The next step is to cut a heart shape out of cardboard. You can use anything you have around your house...cereal boxes or some heavy cardstock should work fine. I used a baby wipe box which is a pretty heavy duty cardboard. Punch a hole in the heart shape where you want to add your hanger. I decided to hang my heart a little crooked, but you could do it right in the center also.

Cut you fabric into strips. I did mine about a 1/2 inches wide and as long as my piece of fabric.

Fold the strips of fabric in half with the wrong sides together and then twist. Once you get them twisted put a small bead of hot glue around the outside edge of the cardboard heart and carefully put your strip of fabric on the heart.

Continue to add your twisted strips of fabrics around the heart shape. Be sure to leave the hole you punched earlier open so that you can thread a piece of fabric or ribbon through as a hanger. I also added a little tulle ruffle to the back of my heart. I simply added a little hot glue to the back and folded and glued the tulle in place.

To finish your wreath, take your completed fabric covered heart and tie it to your yarn covered hula hoop using a strip of fabric or some coordinating ribbon.
This is what two wreaths look like on my front door:

FYI...It is really difficult to get two wreaths perfectly level when the hook is a good 3 feet over your head:)

Wordless Wednesday: Mom's Little Anti-Helper

**In non-Wordless Wednesday related news**

Bonus points from Monday's post go to Amanda for being the first to identify the hula hoops in my picture, and to Mimi for being the first to guess that I was making a hula hoop wreath! Check back tomorrow to see the finished project:)

Miscellany Monday

I.
Monday blogging has become particularly difficult for me lately. I think mostly because I haven't been crafting or taking pictures as much as usual, which means I don't have any posts pre-scheduled. So on Monday mornings I feel a little pressure to be creative {or talkative} and post something while still trying to do the regular Monday morning mom routine!
II.
Jason and I are attempting a new diet/cleanse/torture treatment this week. I actually saw this on the Rachael Ray show and then I saw a book review on a blog. It sounds pretty easy....except not really! You eat the same five foods for five days and they 'guarantee' you will lose 8 pounds.
The 5 foods are:
Eggs
Spinach
Yogurt
Almonds
Raspberries
I figure I can torture myself for five days and hopefully see some results...though I have a feeling I am going to be starving by Saturday and I'm going to be sick of eating eggs:)
III.

 I picked up a few crafting supplies this weekend! I love having an excuse to make something fun and girly...and Valentine's Day is a great excuse for something pink! Because you know a mom of three boys NEEDS an excuse to make something girly every once in a while:)
*Bonus points to the first person who guesses what craft I'm working on and what materials are in this picture*
IV.
My SUPER awesome hubby spent part of yesterday working on some new shelves for our laundry room. We already had the bottom layer of cubbies, but we had too much stuff and not enough space....so he made a second shelf to add to the top. Now I just need to work on getting it organized and possible cute:) I love all the fun and decorated laundry rooms out there....and mine is SUPER boring! I'm hoping these new shelves inspire me to dress up my laundry room a little.

V.
Click on the button to check out everyone's miscellany Monday...plus Carrisa also has a giveaway going on today too:)