Nutrisystem...

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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!

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.

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

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

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....

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.