Selvera Weight Loss Plan: First Consultation

A unique feature of the Selvera program is that you consult one-on-one with a registered dietitian.  She is basically a coach with the education and knowledge.  One thing that really turned me off to other  similar programs in the past is that the consultant you work with may or may not have had a weight issue and may or may not (may not in my experience) have actual knowledge about food and diet needs.  I don't know that my Selvera consultant has ever had a weight issue but I do know that she has gone to school for enough years to have earned an M.S. and an R.D after her name.  That does mean something to me.  Anyway, I was in the middle of a bridal shower SAYING NO to cake but eating salsa by the spoonful (because it seemed a better choice than the cake) when Amanda called for our scheduled first appointment.  As she began going over the basics of the program with me, I discovered what will be my greatest obstacle.  She's talking and I'm turning it off thinking yeah yeah I already know all of this.  STOP!  I need to just stop with that attitude because while I might think I'm a know-it- all when it comes to diet and weight loss, it SURE HASN'T GOTTEN ME WHERE I NEED TO BE!!!  (Yes I'm shouting and for a good reason.  I need to get my own attention!) I need to trust that maybe I don't really know everything and maybe someone who has earned four capital letters after her name does.  

So I tried to humble myself and open my mind to what she was saying and I really did get a new perspective.  As part of your diet week, you are allowed 3 "discretionary" exchanges.  These are meant to cover the moments that come up in our lives that include food and for which we don't need to just watch other people have all the fun.  As I was planning the week ahead and telling her about all the special events that might be coming up,  I realized that I have way more than three - and that this week is not unique or special in my life.  Hmmm - could this be one of my healthy eating road blocks. While I was trying to figure out which life events I wanted to make discretionary eating events,  I  mentioned to Amanda that I had a teacher appreciation luncheon this week.  There was a moment of silence on the phone and then she said "Well, do you HAVE to eat the luncheon food?  Is there any reason you can't bring your own?"  It was a revelation!  No indeed I didn't HAVE to eat the luncheon food!  But then a little voice in the back of my mind said "but you want to eat the special luncheon food.  You've earned it!"  Luckily Amanda's  larger voice added "I'm not saying that you can never eat at a luncheon again, but do you really have to this time?"  And there was the ah-ha moment.  Yes, there will be lots of other special luncheon opportunities in the future right now I need to worry about dropping weight.  It is and always has been my choice what I eat.  For now I'm happy I have someone on my side helping me to make the best choice.  

Selvera Weight Loss Plan: The Last Weight Loss Plan You'll Need

If you want to know the nutritional value of any food, just ask an overweight person.  If you are curious about the fat, carb, or protein content, just ask someone who is a veteran dieter.  We know how to lose weight, we've been doing it all of our lives.  So why do we continually fail?  Whoever can legitimately  answer that question should write a book; they'll make a lot of money.  I sure can't.   I have in fact reached a point in my life where I admit I have no answers.  I don't know what else I can do to lose weight.  I've been told by my doctor at Kaiser that I am not heavy enough to qualify for the surgery.  I am not diabetic enough for the medication that might actually help me lose weight.  I just need to "exercise more and eat a healthier diet".  Thanks doc, I had no idea.  So it was with some desperation that I  clicked on an ad posted on my Facebook page titled Selvera, the last weight loss plan you'll ever need.  Curious, I clicked on the Selvera site to learn more.  Selvera provides for $150 a month, personal nutrition counseling, a Bluetooth enabled scale and pedometer that go straight to your  counselor who is a  registered dietitian, and an optional pre-packaged food plan (about $450 a month).  After a lot of desperate consideration, I decided why not - I'm not getting anywhere on my own.  So I took the plunge and ordered.  Less than a week later, my box from Selvera Arrived.  This is what was included:

A folder with information about the diet plan and the support involved.

A fancy schmancy scale that connects to your nutrition consultant via Bluetooth.

Two weeks (yikes!) worth of food. You also need to purchase  fruits and vegetables on your own.

A cool Blue Tooth pedometer.

A personalized note from Amanda, the registered dietitian who I will talk to on the phone once a week.

Soooo we'll see.  It feels a little bit Big Brotherish…but maybe I'm at a point in my life where I need Big Brother.  I'm sure as heck not making it on my own.  Interesting true story:  today was the culmination of Teacher Appreciation Week and the kids were to bring in a sweet treat for their teacher.   Even though I had a desk full of goodies, I really didn't have big cravings or desire to dig in.  I won't actually start the food plan till next week but the idea of stepping on a scale tomorrow that goes straight to my dietitian kinda makes me want to avoid eating crap.  Interesting….so WE'LL SEE!

My desk filled with goodies!  I gave in a had a chocolate covered strawberry.  It's fruit right?    But really, nothing was very tempting.  

Disclaimer:  I am reporting on my Selvera experiences entirely without compensation or consideration.  Every opinion is my own based on my personal experiences, successes and failures.

FREE Rachel Ray Dinnerware at Albertson's

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for free stuff…or "free" stuff.  If you are of a certain age you will remember the Brady Bunch episode in which they family had diligently saved green  stamps from the Grocery store and finally had enough for…a sewing machine for the girls…or a rowboat for the guys.  They solved it with a house of cards stacking game and as I recall, it was the dog who knocked over the cards.  I think the dog was a boy so it was decided that the GIRLS won!

 Yay girls!  But in typical Brady Bunch fashion -where every show has a happy ending for all- the girls generously brought home a television set that they could all enjoy (cue the music, wise words from dad, and smiling head tilt from mom).   But really one of my favorite episodes ever!  The idea of getting "stuff" for a few measly green stamps.
I have always tried to take advantage of the freebies: movie tickets, free samples in the mail, fast food games, etc.  Imagine my excitement when I found out about Albertson's Rachel Ray  FREE Dinnerware.  And all for collecting a few measly stamps!  Please understand, it's not like I needed another set of dinnerware.  With over 30 years living an adult life I have managed to accumulate several (many several) sets of dinnerware.  But IT WAS RACHEL RAY!  and IT WAS FREE! and I HAD TO HAVE THEM!  So yes, Albertson's was the real winner here.  They indeed bought my loyalty when I switched almost exclusively to their store just so that I could collect the stamps.  At the end I had enough for seventeen pieces of dinnerware.  Let's see now, twenty stamps could get you 1 piece and each stamp  was earned for $10 spent.  If I'm doing the math correctly, that means that every piece was earned by spending $200…so 200 x 17= 3400…that means that I spent $3,400.00  for free dinnerware!

They're preeeety though aren't they!  

Cricut Recipe Cards - Or What is the Point of an Obsession?

Look what I used to do: 

Chicken Tortilla Soup - Cricut Style!

I spent countless hours making gorgeous recipe cards with my Cricut Cutting Machine. I have to tell you, these consumed all of my free time and "free" money (haha right?)!  What did I do with these recipes?  Never look at them again - that's what! It's not like I'm going to risk ruining that beautiful recipe with kitchen spills; so they were just packed away with all of my other scrapbooking "stuff". I was reminded of them when I was unpacking a box of scrapbook paper I had moved to my new house and ran across a few.

Why did I make them?  Sometimes I would enter them into recipe scrapbook contests - which I sometimes won.  Sometimes I would join a scrapbook-style recipe swap.   A recipe swap is when you get together with say 12 people and everyone makes a different scrapbook-style recipe card 12 TIMES! After that you distribute one to everyone so at the end you have 12 different recipes and only had to make one (12 times of course).  But I NEVER used them to actually cook with.

My recipe swap card for banana cookies.  

The truth is, I didn't always enjoy the recipe cards I got in return.  They may not have been recipes I would ever want to try and I KNEW how time consuming it was for somebody to make them- so I just tucked them away too.  What finally broke me of my scrapbook-style recipe addiction was when I joined an ABC cupcake themed swap.  This was back a few years ago when cupcakes were all the rage.  Do you know how many letters there are in the alphabet?  That's right - I had to make 26 copies of my recipe card.  Not only that but I signed up to do not one but three different letters!  So yeah, you do the math - that's 78 of those suckers.  Speaking of sucker….I was a big one because the woman running the swap flaked out on it and most of us never got our recipes.  Such a waste of time and money.  And fortunately for me the end of my scrapbook-style recipe card swapping obsession.

Enjoy a few more crazy time-wasting recipe cards I made!

A close up of my Banana Cookies recipe card.  This is probably my favorite one that I did.

Clam Chowder - do you get the ocean theme?

Cleaning Hard Water Deposits with Vinegar

Yuck!  Look at the hard water build-up on my bathroom faucet!

I wanted to see if regular white vinegar was really powerful enough to tackle a  heavy hard water deposit that had settled on my bathroom faucet. I know, I know….if I had been a better housekeeper (don't you hate that word) to begin with, it never would have gotten to this point.  Okay.  Moving on!

I poured some vinegar in a baggie and attached it to the faucet with a rubber band.

Look carefully and you can see the bubbles as the vinegar is working.

The next day (about 16 hours later) the vinegar had worked it's magic!  EWE! Look, you can see the hard water deposits at the bottom of the baggie!

I took off the baggie, wiped it clean and BEAUTIFUL!!!

Fab Fit Fun VIP Winter Subscription Box Review

I've been posting a few subscription box reviews lately. I guess that makes it an obsession right? The Winter Edition of the Fab Fit Fun VIP (FFFVIP) box arrived this week.  I really like FFFVIP boxes not only because they are usually super fun but also because they only come once a quarter - or every three months.  Even though they are a little pricier ($49.95), you don't have to pay for one every month.  This one had some interesting things in it; some to love…some undecided.  A subscription box is kind of like a box of chocolate…

So far every FFFVIP box has had some jewelry in it.  This month's had a necklace and a bracelet.  I guess these items are the ones I'm not sure about.  Usually when I don't like a piece of jewelry it's a generation thing and my 20 year old daughter loves it (and takes it for her own).  She wasn't sure this time either.  Both pieces have an interesting meaning behind them though:

The Giving Keys Never Ending Necklace features an engraved key pendant.  This one says "courage".  You are suppose to wear it and embrace the message until you run across someone else who needs the message more than you do.  You then pay it forward by giving them your necklace.  Kinda cool.

The Lorna Jane Bracelet.The bracelet is a symbol of sisterhood and is  worn as a reminder to "Move, Nourish,  and "Believe" everyday.  AND I think you could even wear it to the gym! Hmmm

The  necklace retails for $55 and the bracelet for $29.99.

The TruEnergy Inspired Earbuds retail for  $39.99 and are a bright flashy blue.  Love the color!  An awesome feature of these earbuds is the splitter so that you can share your music.

Fab Fit Fun boxes have always contained some sort of cosmetic.  My daughter's favorite in this box was the lip gloss.  It was pretty cool because the lid had a light in it and the lip gloss container had a mirror on the side. (You notice I talk in past tense.  That's because for me the lip gloss is in the past…long gone to my daughter.) 

Beauty for Real Lip Gloss- Retails for $22.

There was also a full size Simple Foaming Facial Cleaner ($7.50) and NYX Eye Shadow Palette ($8)

I'm pretty excited about the Bioxidea Miracle 24 facial mask ($19) and the Skyn Icelandic Relief Eye Cream ($45). I guess I'm showing my age…

Finally there is a code to get five online Physique 57 Classes for some "butt-lifting and tummy-toning workout fun".  It seemed a little sketch at first. Would they ask me to give a credit card number up front?  Is is a buy 5 get 5 type of "certificate"?  But it looks like the real deal.  You get to try out five lessons on FFFVIP - a $25 value.

All in all a mostly decent box with goodies retailing at….(drumroll)…..around $250.00 all for the price of $49.99!

Nature Box Subscription Box December Review

December's Nature Box came today! Yah! With all of the very unhealthy holiday treats lurking around, I'm looking forward to some (mostly) healthy snacking.  Nature Box foods tend to be healthier because they are minimally processed and made with more wholesome ingredients - you won't see high fructose corn syrup on the ingredient list.  Every month you get five different pretty decent sized bags of snacks for $19.95. There is a way to customize what you get but I like surprises so I never customize.  Here is what in this month's box:

Southern BBQ Sunflower Kernels - a perfectly tangy blend.

Antioxidant Boost Trail Mix with dark chocolate and berries.  Just look at the variety you get!

Lemon Pucker Pistachios - strangely addicting.

Italian Bistro Pretzels - great to munch on but could also be used as croutons in a salad or soup.

And finally, the Sun-Dried California Apricots.  No they aren't pretty but that is because the are the real deal.  No preservatives, added sugar, or coloring. If you look at the label you can see one ingredient on the list: Apricots.

Disclaimer: this does not look or taste like a fruit roll up.  This contains 100% actual real fruit!

See - just one ingredient!

If you would like to sign up and try your own nature box, use this link and save $5 off your first box!

(Disclosure: I am an affiliate and so will earn a commission if you click on any the above links when you order your box.  Thanks!         Any questions, please ask.)