Nutrisystem...

SP00KSH0WBABY

BEFORE YOU READ ON: Please don't tell me the "EAT HEALTHY AND EXERCISE" crap... you think I don't already know that? My problem is I'm alone. I'm no good doing this... alone. If you have any tips or tricks or are in the same boat, I'd love to hear about it. But don't be that person telling me something I already know. :noway:

I am REALLY thinking about trying Nutrisystem... What are everyone's opinions on the product? Basically, I think my problem with dieting is that I am completely ALONE in this. I just moved to Kansas and my husband got deployed... I have a hard time shopping alone, getting healthy foods, and sticking to it... I'm thinking that the simplicity of the plan might work for me since it's ultimately already prepared. The cost would be approximatley $250.... What do you guys think? Also, how exactly does it work? Does anyone have any first hand experience?

Thanks everyone!!!

LuneBleu85

I don't have first hand experience. How long have you been doing MFP? I think that a lot of people have success with MFP without anything else. I'm so cheap.... I like free things! I wouldn't be willing to cough up 250 a month.

XXXMinnieXXX

is that 250 per week? in ny honest opinion its better to get your head around preparing and eating healthy foods so this can be a healthy lifestyle you can maintain. x

californiagirl1950

I have picked up a couple of their food items at a closeout store. Let me tell you, they did not taste that good to me. I think you would do better to stay here, People post a lot of good recipes and links to other recipe sites. Just my opinion. Plus my thought is when you use something like Nutrasystem or Jenny Craig etc. when you are done, how do you eat? I don't think you learn anything from them, so unless you can afford it all the time, what do you do? I am so sorry your husband shipped out, I thank him and you for your sacrifices.

evilcujo

I've done it, and it worked... but I wouldn't do it again. I found the food to be perfectly edible myself (some people hate the taste of the food), but it is expensive and you still have to buy things in the store that they don't offer (such as fruits and veggies). Now that I learned to make my own dishes and eat better, I wouldn't go back to it however as the cost + some of the food isn't really good was too much of a drawback. But there isn't any harm in trying it for a month, if nothing else it really did teach me portion control so it does have some potential long term assistance.

tripn404

Friend me I am currently doing it to kick my bad habits . I am just starting week to and i am SO glad I got it

amonroe1343

I agree with the idea of trying to work on eating actual foods and preparing things yourself. I live alone as well and I eat a lot of leftovers because that's just how it works for me. I make enough and either refridgerate or freeze leftovers to have them at another time. I only have food in the house that is healthy for me to have. Give MFP a shot on your own. Then you won't have to transition into real food. You don't want to live off of nutrisystem for the rest of your life and I think the hardest part is getting used to eating real foods after being on a program where they give you meals already.

tripn404

You can also check out my food diary to see what typical meals look like

suzieqcookie

i used to work for them!! I don't know if they still have store front locations or not, but they did when i worked for them. The success rate is EXTREMELY low, and the one year maintenance rates are even lower. I only ever saw 2 people make it to one year maintenance mark ever. You still have to buy all your own produce and if you have a family, then you are basically doubling up on your food costs. It teaches you NOTHING for long term success other than to always buy prepackaged foods. When i worked there, i had just lost 120 lbs and was not allowed to tell customers that. I was forced to do the program for one week to work there and i made it 2 days.

EatClean_WashUrNuts

Keep your money, eat right, exercise and WIN.

_Wits_

is that 250 per week? in ny honest opinion its better to get your head around preparing and eating healthy foods so this can be a healthy lifestyle you can maintain. x

This.

_Wits_

i used to work for them!! I don't know if they still have store front locations or not, but they did when i worked for them. The success rate is EXTREMELY low, and the one year maintenance rates are even lower. I only ever saw 2 people make it to one year maintenance mark ever. You still have to buy all your own produce and if you have a family, then you are basically doubling up on your food costs. It teaches you NOTHING for long term success other than to always buy prepackaged foods. When i worked there, i had just lost 120 lbs and was not allowed to tell customers that. I was forced to do the program for one week to work there and i made it 2 days.

And then this.

PayneAS

Sounds like a ripoff. If you have trouble planning healthy meals and buying healthy foods, maybe check out Emeals. They give you a weeks worth of recipes as well as a shopping list for those recipes each week. And a year is like $60. They also just added lunch menus (at additional cost) so all you would have to worry about is breakfast.

http://emeals.com/amember/go.php?r=116930&i=l0

nowakkk

I tried it about a year ago and the foods weren't that great. Some of it was ok and some of it I couldn't even swallow. The breakfast items were ok. The lunches and dinners... not so much. The meatloaf and spaghetti were actually room temperature. A lot of preservatives. A lot of sodium. I would definitely recommend trying something else and simplify it with real food.

For example, pick 5 breakfast foods, 5 lunch, 5 suppers that you actually enjoy like and swap them in and out through a week. Pick fruits and healthy stuff that's easy to carry with you. It takes about a half hour of planning on a Sunday, but if you can stick to this and hit up the grocery store once per week, it's just as simple as putting a nutrisystem meal in the microwave. Just a suggestion...

My honest opinion is there are so many better ways to diet other than nutrisystem.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/349078-what-is-bad-about-nutrisystem/

SLE0803

I did it. Food was gross and expensive. I would rather just eat what I wanted and track via MFP

BrianSharpe

The problem with any of these pre-packaged, pre-measured types of "diets" is that they don't do anything to help you develop better long term eating habits - they're a band aid. It's not at all unusual for people to lose quite a bit of weight only to have it all come back (or more) when they go back to their old ways.

It may be a depressing prospect but if you have a propensity to put on weight this is a lifetime project and you have two choices. Make sustainable changes (eating better, higher more activity) that you can happily live with for the rest of your life -or- you can go from one extreme diet plan to the next with your weight going up and down like a yo-yo.

MB_Positif

I can understand that it would be hard to do this when you are somewhat alone. Cooking for one is kinda boring. BUT if you find yourself a few great recipes for things you can freeze, you can make big batches of food and freeze in individual portions to pull out from day to day so you have some variety. I would highly recommend this over buying processed Nutrisystem foods. I have seen some of them at a local closeout store and they look yuck. I post recipes fairly frequently. Feel free to add me if you'd like!

Moxie42

You can definitely lose pounds on it but it only works by restricting your calories. I don't normally respond to posts by copying other threads but I thought you mind find this thread helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/574814-please-only-reply-if-you-have-tried-nutrisystem

Honestly, you can do the exact same plan by eating Lean Cuisines instead, which are cheaper, yummier, larger, and at least a tid-bit less unhealthy (I think there's something very wrong about foods containing "meat" and "dairy" that don't need to be refrigerated or frozen). To me, that makes it not worth the price, especially since you would still have to buy fruit and veggies anyway. I think Jennie Craig is also a pre-planned meal program but at least you would have interaction with experienced weight loss "coaches" (for lack of a better word), and you would have the accountability of weighing in regularly.

If you're difficulties lay mostly in having to do this alone, maybe try getting really involved in MFP groups, and adding friends who are in similar situations as you and also friends who have had a lot of success. A lot of people use MFP in conjunction with Weight Watchers as well, which would also give you in-person interaction and accountability.

Different things work for different people but I don't think Nutrisystem would do anything to help you learn how to be healthy in the long-run. You might lose some pounds but if you're not practicing healthy eating habits, what will happen when you're off the program?

Regardless of what you decide, best of luck to you! :flowerforyou:

SP00KSH0WBABY

No that's per MONTH haha I'd never even consider it for $250 a week. I mean I already spend $100 for groceries a month as is

Jenna9797

I am REALLY thinking about trying Nutrisystem... What are everyone's opinions on the product? Basically, I think my problem with dieting is that I am completely ALONE in this. I just moved to Kansas and my husband got deployed... I have a hard time shopping alone, getting healthy foods, and sticking to it... I'm thinking that the simplicity of the plan might work for me since it's ultimately already prepared. The cost would be approximatley $250.... What do you guys think? Also, how exactly does it work? Does anyone have any first hand experience?

I was on Nutrisystem for a while. I lost over 50 pounds on it. I started on it because I had a long commute and didn't have time to do the cooking that I had done before but I was trying to stay healthy. I couldn't maintain it though, the food was too bland for me. (I was doing the pop-it-open-add-water-and-microwave type plan, it looks like they have something new now.) But as other people have said here, when I came off it, I wasn't used to forcing myself to portion my food and I gained most of that 50 pounds back.

For what its worth, I browse Hungrygirl.com and Eatingwell.com and places like that for recipes and make whatever seems as if it would taste good. If a long-distance buddy will help you, I'd be happy to discuss recipes with you.

Jenna

Irish_eyes75

A few years back my husband and I were at rock bottom. We didn't have great role models when it came to nutrition and we just had no clue how to change our eating habits. My idea of dieting was saltines and plain tuna for lunch and supper. Seriously - we had no clue! We turned to Nutrisystem for a kickstart. I lost 50lbs, my husband lost 100lbs using their guidelines. I followed the plan 100% (buying their food, etc) for only one month then I took the stats and made my own recipes using their guidelines but with "real" food. I put all the stats of each breakfast, lunch, snack and supper in excel and took the average of each meal and used The Daily Plate to track the calories, fat, carbs, etc. So, one could say Nutrisystem helped us lose the weight but we (I) really did the hard part by figuring out what exactly we should be eating.

Here's the deal. The food is terrible and using their plan as it is does not teach you anything and that's really the point of all of this...to be informed so we can be successful for life! They don't want you to know what to eat to lose weight so you keep ordering their food.

You can do this on your own. Do some reading on low glycemic foods and use MFP to track your food and you'll be fine.

My husband is doing it again..he's gained back 40lbs just really from drinking beer and grilling too many burgers over the years. He likes the ease of just grabbing the package, heating it up and eating it. He doesn't want to to do the hard work it takes to meal plan.
That's what he has me for i guess.

Bottom line, speaking from experience, I don't think it's worth it and you can totally do this on your own!

anunley1

I agree with all those who have posted that it does nothing to teach you long term healthy eating. That is why everyone gains the weight back. Everytime someone tells me what new "fad" thing they are doing to lose weight, I always ask them - are you going to do it forever? If not, won't work... "Are you going to have packaged food shipped to you FOREVER? Are you going to drink shakes FOREVER? Are you going to take those pills FOREVER?" It absolutely HAS to be a lifestyle change. Also, I wanted to share this - it is strictly what my co-workers and I THINK and not confirmed by Doctor's or anything (even though one did say her Doc told her to get off the Nutrisystem)... BUT, 2 girls that I worked with that both had been on Nutrisystem and lost weight, got off and gained it back repeatedly both had to have their gallbladders out. They were not extremely overweight to begin with but my co-workers and I believe that all that fake crap that is in the "food" just cannot be healthy for the body.

jfrankic

My dad, who was severely obese, has been on Nutrisystem for several months. He was preparing for major surgery and he was pushing 400 pounds. The surgeon told him to lose weight or his risk of severe complications was drastically high. This would be the third time for this surgery due to his weight undoing repairs.

So, he and my mom decided for him to do it. He had never been disciplined in eating habits. Basically, he would not eat all day at work then binge at night. He has been severely overweight my entire life, and I'm 33!

Nutrisystem gave him the simplicity and structure he desperately needed to get on the right track. His mindset is right now. Plus he was determined from the beginning. He was not just "trying this out." It was literally life or death in his situation and my parents would have paid any price for his health and longevity. He has lost 87 pounds, his surgery (not weight loss surgery) was a success, and his life is changed. But he still has more to go and then the rest of his life to maintain.

Anyway, in a few more months, they plan to stop the program. My mom has lost 40 pounds just supporting him and making healthy sides and dinners for herself - and when he eats non-program food. I feel quite certain that he could have lost the weight without Nutrisystem but it would have been harder for him and probably taken longer to get in the routine of things. Time was definitely an issue as well.

This is something they did as a short term plan for a lifetime change to healthy lifestyle. He and my mom will be in this together, so they are accountable to one another and enjoying their new health. I know the failure rate for programs like this is high once you get off, but I really don't believe that will be the case with my dad. I don't know if this story helps you at all, but this is my only experience.

Personally, I would not do the a program like this, but I have my husband's support and I am like a bull when it comes to determination!! That said, this would not make you weak or weak-minded, just as it did not my dad. If anything, it has given him confidence that I never knew he could have. I am just thankful to have a healthy dad.

jericamom

Just another opinion: I love it. I'm on week four and have lost 12 pounds on it. It is teaching me new habits and portion control. The cost is somewhat prohibitive, but I think the food is delicious. Add me if you'd like.

msteresao

Hi


I was on Nutrisystem about 20 years ago when they had centers, and again 10 years ago, bought through QVC Oh you will loose weight and its easy you do not have to make any choices just grab a breakfast, lunch or dinner or even snacks, I lost 100 pounds both times just to gain them back , I never learned how to eat when I got to maintenance. I would never do it again. Just my opinion

Jessibear86

I tried it briefly about 5 years ago and thought all of the food tasted pretty horrible. I couldn't find a single thing that tasted good enough to be satisfying. However, I eat healthy now, and realize that my taste buds have really adjusted to the healthy food. I would say go for it. If you don't like it after the first month you can always cancel it- that's what I did!

ninerbuff

I did it for a couple months (it was free for me) and lost some weight. But like other "prepared" meals, unless you're willing to fork out the money each month (which doesn't include the cost of bread, veggies, etc.) for the rest of your life, you really only learn how to eat what's in front of you. If the portion sizes were double, people would eat all of it. You don't learn how to portion your food since it's already premade and determined.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

careyannal

For example, pick 5 breakfast foods, 5 lunch, 5 suppers that you actually enjoy like and swap them in and out through a week. Pick fruits and healthy stuff that's easy to carry with you. It takes about a half hour of planning on a Sunday, but if you can stick to this and hit up the grocery store once per week, it's just as simple as putting a nutrisystem meal in the microwave. Just a suggestion...

I agree. Why not look through some successful MFPers diaries, see what they're eating, get some other ideas and then you'll have a few meals you rotate out.

Mich4871

I did Nutrisystem many, many years ago.... worked great, lost a ton of weight. As soon as I stopped eating their food it all came back and then some....

aholly70

I did that program about 8 yrs ago i loved it,I lost all my i wanted to at the in 2 months, you should try it.

LaMiaVita

Did it, lost weight, stopped, gain weight. That was my experience and the experience of everyone I know who's tried it. Some of the foods are okay, but most of what I tried other than the breakfast scones and lunch bars was truly gag-worthy. Personally, in your position I would reach out and build a social support system here and lose weight eating real food.