A perfect NuVal score!
Here it is. The experiment. I’ve been asked both in person and via email what I’ll be doing. Friends have said that they are excited about “the experiment,” not even knowing what it is! Others have said they love experiments – again, not knowing what mine is. All have asked, “What is it?” So, without further adieu, here it is.
Full disclosure: both of my sons, Stephan and Mitchell, work for Lowes Foods (www.lowesfoods.com) in the Promenade on Providence (Charlotte, NC). Stephan works in the front end and Mitchell is in produce. A few months ago, they told me about a nutritional system coming to Lowes – the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System (visit www.nuval.com for all the details). Prior to the “unveiling,” we walked through the store and they explained it to me. My first thought was, “This is great! This will change the way people shop.” I got so excited about NuVal and trying to figure out a way to make it work for us. Craig suggested that I eat according to NuVal and blog about it. Thus, the plan was devised. I told the three men in my house that they didn’t have to do the experiment with me; they could still eat what they wanted to eat, but Mitchell said he wanted to do it with me (it’s great that he works in produce, because he knows most of the scores by heart).
Further disclosure: I am not getting any compensation from Lowes Foods or NuVal to conduct this experiment.
The Cliffs Notes
NuVal scores food on a scale of 1-100. The higher the NuVal score, the better the nutrition. No more reading the labels to make sure the calories are low and the fiber is high. No getting out the calculator to determine a food’s point value on a commercial diet plan. The bottom line is that eating healthy (or healthier) has never been easier. Just read the label on the shelf. The aisles have signs that give the ranges of the foods located in that aisle. For example, frozen foods (not frozen vegetables) have NuVal scores ranging from 1 to 64, with the average being 20. Cold cereals are between 2 and 96, with an average NuVal score of 27. Hot cereals, on the other hand, fall between a NuVal range of 9-99, with an average score of 44 (I haven't researched everything on that yet, but I'm really hoping that grits aren't the highest).
The Plan and the Expected Outcome
There’s no time limit on the experiment. We’re going to progress in decades. For our first week (which began today), we’re living in the nineties. We cannot eat any food that scores less than 90. In week two, we’ll add foods from the eighties, without eliminating the nineties. Foods from the seventies will show up in week three, and so on. I think that what we’ll find after this first week is that we’re not as hungry as many would expect, we have more energy, we’ve lost weight, and that we can’t live only in the nineties. While grocery shopping yesterday, Mitchell said that it looks like our world will really open up when we move into the eighties. One important note: we are living in a controlled environment while in the nineties. I have purchased the food for the week and there is very little, if any, eating out.
What we won’t give up in any decade – creamer for coffee. Coffee itself doesn’t have a value; it’s what’s added to it that does. I use a sugar substitute, which doesn’t have a score, but my creamer does, and it’s low (below 20, I think). But I’m not going without my creamer and I’m certainly not going without coffee. I figure I only have two cups a day, so it’s okay. Beer and wine are not rated and I don’t know if they will be. But, I’m a home brewer! I have my monthly Carolina Brewmasters meeting this week and I’m volunteering at our annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 8. Everything in moderation; one beer, instead of two.
We’re also not giving up mustard. (You may be thinking, “Do you guys love mustard that much that you’re not giving it up?” No, we don’t.) We’re not giving up mustard (plain – 14) because we can use it on foods in the nineties – Mitchell said he’d like it on baked potatoes (93). Plain mustard is basically a zero condiment – zero calories, zero carbs, zero fat, zero protein. The score comes from the 60 mg. of sodium (per serving).
Size Doesn't Matter
Serving size isn’t the focus when living in the nineties. Fruits and vegetables are unlimited because of their chemical makeup and high score. The Post Shredded Wheat cereal I had for breakfast (no sugar, no salt; NuVal score of 91) was one serving – one cup of cereal to one-half cup of skim milk (also a 91). I added a whole banana (believe it or not, it’s a 91). So far today I’ve had cereal for breakfast and fruits and vegetables. If I want to have another bowl of cereal, there’s nothing stopping me; I’m not keeping track of the volume of food.
Tomorrow: The Menu and the Grocery List
Full disclosure: both of my sons, Stephan and Mitchell, work for Lowes Foods (www.lowesfoods.com) in the Promenade on Providence (Charlotte, NC). Stephan works in the front end and Mitchell is in produce. A few months ago, they told me about a nutritional system coming to Lowes – the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System (visit www.nuval.com for all the details). Prior to the “unveiling,” we walked through the store and they explained it to me. My first thought was, “This is great! This will change the way people shop.” I got so excited about NuVal and trying to figure out a way to make it work for us. Craig suggested that I eat according to NuVal and blog about it. Thus, the plan was devised. I told the three men in my house that they didn’t have to do the experiment with me; they could still eat what they wanted to eat, but Mitchell said he wanted to do it with me (it’s great that he works in produce, because he knows most of the scores by heart).
Further disclosure: I am not getting any compensation from Lowes Foods or NuVal to conduct this experiment.
The Cliffs Notes
NuVal scores food on a scale of 1-100. The higher the NuVal score, the better the nutrition. No more reading the labels to make sure the calories are low and the fiber is high. No getting out the calculator to determine a food’s point value on a commercial diet plan. The bottom line is that eating healthy (or healthier) has never been easier. Just read the label on the shelf. The aisles have signs that give the ranges of the foods located in that aisle. For example, frozen foods (not frozen vegetables) have NuVal scores ranging from 1 to 64, with the average being 20. Cold cereals are between 2 and 96, with an average NuVal score of 27. Hot cereals, on the other hand, fall between a NuVal range of 9-99, with an average score of 44 (I haven't researched everything on that yet, but I'm really hoping that grits aren't the highest).
The Plan and the Expected Outcome
There’s no time limit on the experiment. We’re going to progress in decades. For our first week (which began today), we’re living in the nineties. We cannot eat any food that scores less than 90. In week two, we’ll add foods from the eighties, without eliminating the nineties. Foods from the seventies will show up in week three, and so on. I think that what we’ll find after this first week is that we’re not as hungry as many would expect, we have more energy, we’ve lost weight, and that we can’t live only in the nineties. While grocery shopping yesterday, Mitchell said that it looks like our world will really open up when we move into the eighties. One important note: we are living in a controlled environment while in the nineties. I have purchased the food for the week and there is very little, if any, eating out.
What we won’t give up in any decade – creamer for coffee. Coffee itself doesn’t have a value; it’s what’s added to it that does. I use a sugar substitute, which doesn’t have a score, but my creamer does, and it’s low (below 20, I think). But I’m not going without my creamer and I’m certainly not going without coffee. I figure I only have two cups a day, so it’s okay. Beer and wine are not rated and I don’t know if they will be. But, I’m a home brewer! I have my monthly Carolina Brewmasters meeting this week and I’m volunteering at our annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 8. Everything in moderation; one beer, instead of two.
We’re also not giving up mustard. (You may be thinking, “Do you guys love mustard that much that you’re not giving it up?” No, we don’t.) We’re not giving up mustard (plain – 14) because we can use it on foods in the nineties – Mitchell said he’d like it on baked potatoes (93). Plain mustard is basically a zero condiment – zero calories, zero carbs, zero fat, zero protein. The score comes from the 60 mg. of sodium (per serving).
Size Doesn't Matter
Serving size isn’t the focus when living in the nineties. Fruits and vegetables are unlimited because of their chemical makeup and high score. The Post Shredded Wheat cereal I had for breakfast (no sugar, no salt; NuVal score of 91) was one serving – one cup of cereal to one-half cup of skim milk (also a 91). I added a whole banana (believe it or not, it’s a 91). So far today I’ve had cereal for breakfast and fruits and vegetables. If I want to have another bowl of cereal, there’s nothing stopping me; I’m not keeping track of the volume of food.
Tomorrow: The Menu and the Grocery List
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