NuVal’s First ‘Mom of the Month’ a Hy-Vee Shopper

Sally Galvin, a mother of two in Olathe, Kan., made a commitment to getting healthier through better eating and exercise, and over the course of 18 months, using the guidance of NuVal Scores at her local Hy-Vee supermarket, she was able to reap a great reward: a 115-pound weight loss.

Galvin was named NuVal’s first “NuVal Mom of the Month” for January 2012. NuVal Scores rank virtually all foods on supermarket shelves with a score between 1 to 100; the higher the score, the more nutritious the food. Scores are available in more than 1,600 supermarkets across the country, including Galvin’s local Hy-Vee store in Olathe.

“I love NuVal,” Galvin said. “NuVal has really worked by helping me make lots of little changes, even while feeling like I’m not really sacrificing anything. But, making these little trade-ups day after day, week after week has made a difference for me.”

By using NuVal Scores, Galvin said she was able to compare a wide range of foods and, by simply looking at the scores that are posted on the shelf tags next to the price, she was able to choose more nutritious foods for her and her family.

“The (NuVal) system cuts through all the clutter and makes it easier to decide amongst brands or even between options offered by one brand,” she said. “That’s really been the biggest help that I’ve gotten from NuVal – seeing where can I trade up nutritionally and make better choices.”

Galvin said NuVal Scores were helpful to her, as a working mom, in making quick decisions on what was the best choice for the dinner table. “I have a family and a full time job, so I have to cook meals that my family will like,” she said. “I still have to balance the tastes of my family. It doesn’t do any good to make nutritious meals if no one will eat them. But I try to upgrade nutritionally every chance I get. NuVal helps me greatly in that arena.”

Using NuVal Scores, Galvin said she’s changed her eating habits and noticed how even seemingly similar foods can score very differently. “Just today we were looking at canned green beans,” she said. “The no-salt ones had a NuVal Score double that of the ‘regular’ green beans. That’s an easy trade-up.”

When asked the “secret” of her weight loss, Galvin simply said it was the basics—eating better and adding physical activity—that did the trick. She added, however, that NuVal was integral in the first part of that equation.

“My friends want to know what I did to lose the weight and how I did it,” she said. “They expect me to say it was a pill or a magic diet, but I really just exercise now and have control of my eating because of NuVal.”

Galvin said her goals for 2012 are to run a 10K (“which is crazy, because I’ve never done a 5K,” she said) and lose maybe 10 or 15 more pounds. “I’m happy to share my story with anyone because I really feel like I did it right,” she said. “I lost weight slowly, reasonably, and without feeling like it was taking over my life.”

NuVal Scores can be found at Price Cutter, King Soopers, Tops, King Kullen, Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, Meijer, Brookshire’s, Big Y, Skogen’s Festival Foods, Food City, United Supermarkets, Mariano’s Fresh Market, Lowes Foods, Scolari’s Food and Drug, Raley’s and select Giant Eagle, Coborn’s and Metro Market locations.