When I initially took advantage of a Woot daily deal on a Rival Food Vacuum Sealer, I thought maybe at best, I was going to be able to really take advantage of my Costco membership and actually start buying some of the bulk meat packages. I was looking forward to taking advantage of the discounts available for buying in bulk because now I’d have a way to actually save the meat in the freezer without getting freezer burn by the time I finally got around to using it all up. The last thing I expected that it was going to lead to two additional purchases and drastically change how I cook in my own home.

When the vacuum sealer from Woot showed up, I was hooked. I got a good deal on the unit, I spent a total of $24.99 for the sealer which was very reasonable for an entry level machine. The unit came with four bags, so I went to the store and bought some bags in the form of a FoodSaver roll that lets you custom make bags to your choice of size. And within a few days I was really enjoying the ability to vacuum seal food and finding the Rival unit to be decent but lacking in the ability to cut off the vacuum and move directly into sealing if I didn’t want to completely remove all the air. Also the Rival unit operated by applying pressure to the lid until the hands free operation light came on, at which point it would then take over and continue sucking out all the air until it could suck out no more then activate the sealing mechanism. The lid required quite a bit of pressure to activate it, which is fine, but I could see the complaint I later saw from a lot of people commenting on the unit in online reviews. But ultimately, I decided I was going to need a fancier vacuum sealing unit for my needs.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

When I originally started on Jorge Cruise’s Belly Fat Cure Program just about a year ago, the large majority of people weren’t yet aware how dangerous sugar can be to the human body. While it’s still arguable how well aware the public is now, it’s considerably more aware now than a year ago. Truvia and PureVia were just hitting the market and most people still unaware the Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola are the major backers behind the companies that make these Erythritol and Stevia combinations and helped push their rapid approval through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used as a sweetener.

A year ago, you’d be just starting to see Truvia and PureVia hitting the shelves of the average supermarket, and now they’re pretty much a guarantee to be seen there. Both are starting to make their way into beverage products made by the respective cola giants although they’re yet to make their way into the cola giant’s diet versions of their signature products. Perhaps one of the signs that things are changing in a good way is that packets of PureVia are now available in the bulk purchasing giant warehouses of Costco. The super-sized boxes of packets which contain 300 packets are humongous compared to the 40 and 80 count boxes you can typically find in a regular supermarket.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

I was checking through my local Costco Membership Warehouse the other night, mainly to see if they had the 12 pack of SoBe Lifewaters I had heard they were now carrying. When I passed by the DVD section, I just took a quick look and what caught my attention was that they had a set of display boxes containing the various seasons of the show Bewitched. They had all eight seasons of Bewitched available for $12.99 each. A great bargain if you are looking for a deal on getting the episodes from the show.

I didn’t realize Sony had finished releasing the entire series, I had been buying them as they came out for the first four seasons, but didn’t buy the fifth season as it was more expensive than I was willing to spend at the time and I never heard about the subsequent seasons being released after that. I was certainly presented with a case of temptation as it would be quite easy to just get the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons right here for a bargain price. I decided I would give it some thought but since it’s Costco, I would definitely have to think quickly as things there tend to sell quickly and they may not be there when you come back.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

To help promote the Belly Fat Cure book, Jorge Cruise has been making a couple of appearances to sign books for the public. At the moment only two appearances had been scheduled, an appearance earlier in the month at a Costco membership warehouse in New York, and today at the Morena Boulevard Costco here in San Diego. The signing started at noon.

I wasn’t planning on attending but I had an appointment to check out a room for rent in the Pacific Beach area at 2 pm and Pacific Beach is just a couple of miles from the Costco location. I took care of my morning errands and got to the Pacific Beach area at about 1 pm and since I had an hour before my appointment, I headed right over to the Costco. I wasn’t sure if it was still going on but thought I’d check it out just in case.

Sure enough, the signing was still going on and Jorge was busy talking to folks and as soon as he saw me he introduced me to the group of people around the table. He invited people to ask me questions and I did field a few from people who had seen the sugar video I did with Jorge. Overall it was really nice to meet some people interested in losing weight. Also there was Michelle McGowen, a fellow Belly Fat Cure success story. Jorge then shared samples of his sugar free brownies with the crowd and amazed them all with how sweet tasting a sugar free treat can be.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

Now that 2009 has come to a close and 2010 has begun, I can safely say that it’s a year that has been very challenging and although I am not the least bit sad to see 2009 go, it certainly was not without some really incredible experiences for me that I would like to highlight before wipe the slate clean and start fresh with 2010.

This list was especially difficult to narrow down since 2009 was the year I kicked my blogging into high gear. I had started Ryan’s Incredible World in 2007 didn’t actually start blogging until 2008 and I would maybe make no more than five entries a month. So picking my highlights of 2008 was relatively easy since there wasn’t so many blog entries to go through to pick out the defining moments.

I had joined a couple of 30-Day blogging challenges which requires 30 blog entries in 30 days and it essentially got me into the habit of making almost daily blog entries. Now it’s pretty safe to say that each month sees about 25 new blog entries. The constant blogging has actually helped bring a bigger audience to my blog, so if your first time reading any of my writing has been in 2009, then no doubt something I wrote in 2009 caught your eye and is why you’re here reading this entry now. I am grateful for the many folks who’ve read my blog and left me comments, it’s been a pleasure to hear your feedback throughout the year. In any case, I looked through every post of 2009 to select what I feel were the 10 Most Incredible Things about 2009 that happened for me. You’ll note I combined a few complimentary things to narrow it down to 10.

I do hope you enjoy my reflection on 2009 and continue to join me on my quest to find the most incredible things of 2010. Without further ado, in no particular order.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

Now that the Belly Fat Cure Book is out and available, Jorge Cruise is going to be getting out there to meet folks and one of the ways to do that is by book signing events. At the moment, only the first two are scheduled, and for lucky Costco members, both events are at Costco stores.

For Costco members in the New York area, Jorge will be at the Costco in Westbury, New York on Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at Noon. And for Costco members in the San Diego area, Jorge will be at the Costco off Morena Blvd. on January 30th, 2010 at Noon. Come bring your books or buy one there. Jorge want as many people as possible to come down and get their books signed, he wants to meet you, take photos with you and more.

I know two signings doesn’t cover a whole lot of the US and I’m sure more dates will get added in other places. In fact, Jorge is soliciting suggestions from his blog readers on where he should go to do future book signings. You can send in your destination suggestions by clicking here and leaving a comment on Jorge’s Blog.

More specific details on the book signings including the address and phone numbers of the two Costco locations are as follows: (more…)

Share on Facebook

Yesterday, I braved the heavy rains that hit San Diego to visit Kim Barry, the wonderful lady who has been my contact at Jorge Cruise‘s office since my very first day on the Belly Fat Cure program. She’s the one I’ve been in touch with on weekly basis during my time on the Costco 100 case study group and ever since that group ended I still keep in touch with Kim. Every time I try out a new recipe I always keep Kim in the loop and I always keep a sample of it for Kim to bring to her any chance I get.

Well I haven’t seen Kim in a while so I had a variety of samples to bring to her. Kim was out of town the last time I stopped by Jorge’s office on September 2nd to deliver some samples of my “Almost Sugar Free Black Forest Cake” and Nanaimo Bars. I wanted to make sure Kim had a chance to enjoy them too, so saved a slice of the cake for Kim and it’s been in the freezer since September. I would have given it to her sooner, except we couldn’t quite find a day where she would be in the office that would line up with when I had a chance to head into San Diego to stop by.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

The Internet has certainly made the world a more interesting place for people to connect with one another. Recently I was contacted by Kirsten Sherlock. Kirsten found me on YouTube through Jorge Cruise’s “Death By Sugar” video that showcases the sugar experiment I assisted Jorge with. (Click here to see the video on YouTube and click here to read more about the experiment.) I had left a comment on YouTube identifying myself as the Ryan in the video, and Kristen found the comment and got in touch with me.

Kristen is a distributor for a brand new product called Yoli. It’s a new beverage product that employs a brand new technology called “Blast Cap Technology.” This innovative technology is designed to counteract three problems with the current beverage industry. Those problems are heat pasteurization, plastic leaching, and loss of nutrient potency.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

In addition to seeing the Speak & Spell when I was browsing through the channels, I also came across an infomercial for a weight loss program called “The Food Lovers Fat Loss System” by some mysterious guy named Robert Ferguson. I stopped to watch the infomercial out of curiosity to what the gimmick of diet program is. And from what I saw, it looks to me that the program is very similar to what I’ve learned on Jorge Cruise’s Belly Fat Cure program.

The infomercial claims that its possible to still eat all your favorite foods and do so in a way that makes it so that it will speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight. It then has some older lady with lesbian-esque spikey hair proclaims she can eat chocolate, pastas with cream sauces, pancakes, and has kept the weight off for over four years. My first thoughts were, yeah, all of those can be done on the Belly Fat Cure, but how can this lady have kept the weight off for four years if this a program that looks pretty new? Robert Ferguson then says you’ll eat so you’ll never be hungry, never have food you don’t like, and never deprive yourself of the foods you love.

(more…)

Share on Facebook

Today I received a phone call from Kim from Jorge Cruise’s office. I was being offered an invitation to take part in the 12 week Belly Fat Cure online coaching program that started last week. Thanks to the suggestion by Lynne who wrote has written some comments here on my blog she wrote into Jorge’s staff suggesting I should be part of the program. (Click here to see the blog entry Lynne commented on) According to Kim, Jorge agreed and was calling to give me the details.

I feel honored to be invited to participate. I strongly believe that the Belly Fat Cure program is one of the easiest to apply programs that really works. I feel the folks who have joined the 12 week program are in for a life changing experience. The original 10 week program for Costco members that I was part of ended quite a while ago and it was the trial model for the program Jorge is offering. I learned a lot and have changed my eating patterns for life as a direct result of that program. I am over 65 pounds lighter and 10 inches smaller around my waist because of that information. And I am still using the program to continue on my path.

I really appreciate being invited to participate in the 12 week program especially due to the fact that a number of the participants who have joined the 12 week program have taken the time to write in comments and questions here on my blog. I am definitely happy to help out answering any and all questions about the program that I get here to the best of my ability as a successful student of the program. Having access to the 12 week program makes it easier for me to be able to answer specific program related questions from program participants. (Just a reminder to the folks on the program, I do not work for Jorge Cruise and my responses are not officially sanctioned by Jorge Cruise or his group, but I will answer the questions to the best of my ability.) I am more than happy to share my experiences on the program so that you too can have success with the program. Please do continue to use my blog as a resource and anything I can help you with, submit a comment in response to any blog entry and I will respond as soon as I have opportunity to do so.

(more…)

Share on Facebook