Nutrisystem - Pro's and Con's from a Fellow Dieter

Like most Americans who diet, I have tried almost every program imaginable. I've done Weight Watchers, TOPS, Optifast, and more. I've had some success with them but it was usually temporary. In fact, my usual pattern is I start out like gangbusters and then lose interest in the program after a few weeks. Feeling deprived usually contributes to the resolution's demise. However, until this year, I had never tried Nutrisystem. After another shocking weigh-in and all the self-recriminations about how I let things get this bad, I started reading about different weight loss plans on the internet. I had heard of Nutrisystem but didn't really know anything about it. I was surprised to read that most of the reviews were positive. People said the plan was "easy" although I couldn't imagine anything "easy" about dieting.

Basically, I read that the Nutrisystem program consists of buying their pre-packaged food and following a plan around it. My only concern was how the food tasted, and not wanting to spend a great deal of money on another diet plan only to fail a few weeks later, I decided to only buy one week's supply of food and see how I liked it.

Nutrisystem food is sold by a week's supply, or a month's supply. Usually offers are made for some amount off if you select "autoship" so that your food is shipped to you on a monthly basis without having to reorder. If you order directly from Nutrisystem's website at www.nutrisystem.com, you can choose your meals, and many members on their bulletin boards offer fifteen dollar off coupons to use on your first order. However, you can also buy Nutrisystem food at Amazon or QVC. I think the Amazon and QVC offers are less expensive, but you get a package of food that has been pre-selected and don't get to choose. I ordered a one week supply from QVC and proceeded to have my last week of eating whatever I wanted. Prices range from around sixty dollars for one week of food to around two hundred eighty for a month's supply.

My food arrived quickly, and on opening the box, I was surprised by the variety of meals. Each shipment consists of breakfast entrees, lunch entrees, dinner entrees, and dessert entrees. I decided any diet that offered chocolate desserts as an option was the diet for me. You have to supplement the Nutrisystem food with dairy products, salads, vegetables, and fruits. I also stocked up on no-cal beverages, such as coffee, tea, and no-cal drinks are allowed.

The breakfast meal on the women's plan consists of one Nutrisystem breakfast entree, a fruit serving, and a dairy serving. Lunch is a Nutrisystem lunch entree, a salad with fat free dressing, and a dairy. In the afternoon, you have another dairy and a fruit for a snack. Dinner consists of a Nutrisystem dinner entree, with two vegetables, a salad with diet dressing, and a fat of your choice from a list. Then later in the evening, you can have a Nutrisystem dessert. The men's program is similar except they get to add an extra carbohydrate at breakfast and dinner, and an extra fruit at lunch. You also have to drink a minimum of eight glasses of water a day.

Nutrisystem offers a wide variety of entrees to suit a wide variety of tastes. Breakfasts can be a choice of several types of cereals, eggs, muffins, oatmeal, pancakes, or granola bars. Lunches can range from a variety of soups to Fettucini Alfredo to Veggie Sloppy Joes, and also includes Chicken or Tuna Salad. Dinner choices range from Italian dishes like Ravioli, Lasagna, or Pizza to beef dishes like Beef Burgandy, Beef with Orzo Pasta, Beef Stroganoff, or a Cheeseburger. There are also many chicken dishes, including oriental or cajun and even dishes that are strictly vegetarian. Variety is not a problem. Any entrees purchased directly from Nutrisystem can be returned within thirty days for an exchange, so if you try one dish and don't like it, you don't have to eat the rest of that kind, but can get something more to your taste.

The entrees do not require refrigeration, so they are very portable to pop into a briefcase or purse to take to work. Most are just heated in the microwave, or cooked by adding boiling water, and some are ready to eat as they are. Only a few have any cooking at all involved, like pancakes. I liked the convenience of being able to take them anywhere without worrying over refrigeration.

Nutrisystem no longer has "centers" or weekly meetings like they did under the "old Nutrisystem" but there are e-classes on their website, bulletin boards, and online counselors available if you have any questions. I have found the people on the bulletin board to be very supportive and helpful with hints and motivational tips. Most members have "member pages" where they can chart their weight loss journey, and these can be very inspirational. You chart your weight loss on their website and are rewarded by "ten pound bears" for each ten pounds you lose. These look similar to Beanie Baby bears.

I began Nutrisystem on a Sunday. I had stocked my refrigerator with fruits, veggies, salad mixes, non-fat yogurt and salad dressings, and skim milk. As with most diets, I was concerned about feeling hungry but never had that problem on the Nutrisystem plan. I did however have times I just wanted something to munch on even with eating every three hours as the plan dictates. I contributed this to appetite and not hunger, and found after the first week, this wasn't a problem. I can be a big eater at times, but some days I found it difficult to eat all the food I was suppose to have. However, Nutrisystem cautions you not to skip any meals or foods on your plan. I liked the taste of most of the foods, but I found a couple out of the eighty or so I've tried that I didn't care for. I returned these for exchange. There are sites online that offer reviews from people on Nutrisystem on each of the entrees, so you can read how other people like or dislike each one before ordering.

Nutrisystem also recommends exercise, as do most weight loss programs, but I had always been a couch potato and never felt much energy to do exercise. I did find after the first couple of weeks on the program that I started to feel better, have more energy and getting out to do exercise became easier. I decided to mostly stick with walking, but also did some rebounding on a mini-trampoline.

The first week on the program I was pleased to have lost six pounds. My weight loss continued after that at a pretty constant weight of 2-3 pounds per week. I did hit a couple of plateaus where my weight stayed constant but I stayed with the program and it began to come off again. However, weight loss can vary from person to person depending on your metabolism and how closely you follow the program, as well as exercise. After a month on the program, I began to get excited that I could actually do this!

I would say Nutrisystem is a great plan for a lazy dieter like me. I don't like to deal with measuring or weighing my food, or planning and cooking my meals. I like the fact that the dishes were easy to prepare and tasted good. I didn't have to count calories or carbs or fat grams, as all that had been done for me by Nutrisystem.

There are some negatives with the program. Some people feel the plan is expensive, with food for one person averaging about ten dollars a day. I found myself with all the eating out I had been doing, I actually saved money. You do, however, have to add to that ten dollars with some groceries of your own for your fruits, veggies, etc, so that cost figures in, too. I don't eat out a lot with businesses lunches or social activities, so I don't know how convenient this would be for that. QVC offers some packages with Nutrisystem foods during the weekdays and "weekends off", when you go by a plan to manage your weight loss yourself on the weekends. I chose to do the week-long program because I don't do well with making my own choices.

I'm not sure how the maintenance program works. I could not find any long-term data on how well people keep the weight off after losing on Nutrisystem. Most members suggested, that after reaching their goal weights, they weighed themselves regularly and if they gained, went back on the program for a few days.

I think Nutrisystem is easy, convenient, and varied enough to make me feel satisfied with the food and not deprived. I've had good success with the weight loss and the cost factor has not been a big consideration. Some people on Nutrisystem bulletin boards do the program with their own foods, by cooking and planning their own meals. Nutrisystem Nourish is a book that can be purchased at most bookstores can tell you how that works, if that is something you would rather do.

All in all, I think it's one of the best programs I have tried, and I'm looking forward to continued success with the program.