Nutrisystem?

In the past year, I've added about 15 unwanted pounds. I understand good nutrition and how to diet (I've done it successfully in the past), but since I now work from home, I find it too easy make countless trips through the kitchen, grabbing a bite to eat each time. This time around, I needed something with a little structure and discipline, so recently I broke down and ordered a month's worth of food from Nutrisystem.

Does anyone else on LTH do Nutrisystem? I've found that some meals are decent (as prepackaged food goes), but others need some doctoring. I'd love to trade tips if there's sufficient interest. (And I'd be happy to answer questions if anyone's considering Nutrisystem.)

yes it really really does work! My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! Give it a try good luck <3

55 pounds, in a month, or two?

jessicasteven wrote:yes it really really does work! My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! Give it a try good luck <3

Interesting first post. Welcome to LTH Forum. So what restaurants do you like?

Hard to believe I was doing Nutrisystem a year ago. Bottom line: I did it for a month and lost no weight. Since going off of Nutrisystem, I've lost about 15 pounds through a combination of exercise and careful eating.

The problems I had with Nutrisystem:
1. I actually gained weight at times eating the meals as exactly proscribed by the company.
2. The food is high in salt.
3. The food is very processed and tastes pretty bad. I can remember only a couple dishes that I looked forward to eating...I had to force myself to eat many (and some are still sitting in my pantry).
4. The Nutrisystem food is lower in fiber than the food I normally eat.
5. Once you add the supplemental foods that are required on a daily basis, this is an expensive diet plan.
6. The individual foods vary wildly in their nutritional profiles. So you could eat one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner & one snack and, if you chose poorly, have a very unbalanced diet.

This is the saddest thing since they started talking methadone on the William S. Burroughs board.

chgoeditor wrote:2. The food is high in salt.
3. The food is very processed and tastes pretty bad. I can remember only a couple dishes that I looked forward to eating...I had to force myself to eat many (and some are still sitting in my pantry).
4. The Nutrisystem food is lower in fiber than the food I normally eat.
5. Once you add the supplemental foods that are required on a daily basis, this is an expensive diet plan.
6. The individual foods vary wildly in their nutritional profiles. So you could eat one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner & one snack and, if you chose poorly, have a very unbalanced diet.

Sounds exactly like the stuff they serve in schools, except for # 5. Thanks for taking one for the team, chgoeditor - I've often thought that I might lose weight if I didn't have any control over what I was eating, having the same issue of being near my kitchen all the time. The expense always stopped me before, good to know there are other reasons.

Mhays wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:2. The food is high in salt.
3. The food is very processed and tastes pretty bad. I can remember only a couple dishes that I looked forward to eating...I had to force myself to eat many (and some are still sitting in my pantry).
4. The Nutrisystem food is lower in fiber than the food I normally eat.
5. Once you add the supplemental foods that are required on a daily basis, this is an expensive diet plan.
6. The individual foods vary wildly in their nutritional profiles. So you could eat one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner & one snack and, if you chose poorly, have a very unbalanced diet.

Sounds exactly like the stuff they serve in schools, except for # 5. Thanks for taking one for the team, chgoeditor - I've often thought that I might lose weight if I didn't have any control over what I was eating, having the same issue of being near my kitchen all the time. The expense always stopped me before, good to know there are other reasons.

I think there are certain types of people for whom it would be great. If you really don't understand portion control or how to count calories, it makes things very easy. But there are less expensive ways to accomplish the same results through similar methodology. For example, my then-boyfriend started eating Lean Cuisine while I was doing Nutrisystem, since it's less fun cooking for one person, and he lost weight. Personally, I think there are some decent frozen foods out there (brands like Amy's, etc.), and if you limit each lunch & dinner to one of those entrees plus a steamed or roasted vegetable, you'd have similar results. But if you like tasty food, understand the fundamentals of calorie counting and like to cook, you'll be more satisified preparing your own meals.

chgoeditor wrote:Hard to believe I was doing Nutrisystem a year ago. Bottom line: I did it for a month and lost no weight. Since going off of Nutrisystem, I've lost about 15 pounds through a combination of exercise and careful eating.

The problems I had with Nutrisystem:
1. I actually gained weight at times eating the meals as exactly proscribed by the company.
2. The food is high in salt.
3. The food is very processed and tastes pretty bad. I can remember only a couple dishes that I looked forward to eating...I had to force myself to eat many (and some are still sitting in my pantry).
4. The Nutrisystem food is lower in fiber than the food I normally eat.
5. Once you add the supplemental foods that are required on a daily basis, this is an expensive diet plan.
6. The individual foods vary wildly in their nutritional profiles. So you could eat one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner & one snack and, if you chose poorly, have a very unbalanced diet.

If you are looking for low fat and lower sodium, try Seattle Sutton.

Honestly, what you should do is to prepare your OWN meals using the portion sizes as a guideline. My only problem with that approach is that I work 12-14 hours and don't have the time to mess with it.

Darren72 wrote:Interesting first post. Welcome to LTH Forum. So what restaurants do you like?

So just because this poster registers here to bump a year-old, single-post thread about a commercial product unrelated to the primary purpose of the forum to unreservedly rave about said commercial product, we have to treat him/her with skepticism and hostility? Surely we are better than that?

And for the other negative person who doubts that someone's mother could lose 55 pounds in a month or two -- it can be done. Just look at these testimonials!

I think we all owe this poster an abject apology and look forward to many interesting posts in the future.

I wish the thread had gotten this much activity a year ago when I actually asked the question!

Despite what the hucksters & shills say, my personal experience is that after spending about $300 and eating *&^%$ food for a month, I didn't lose a pound. And my experience doesn't seem to be unusual...I was reading the Nutrisystem message boards at the time, it sounded as if a lot of people had the same problem. I'm not sure how jessicasteven's Mom sustained almost a 1 pound/day weight loss for 2 months eating the 1800-calorie Nutrisystem diet unless she was working out at a pace similar to what they do Biggest Loser. She should write a book!

cilantro wrote:And for the other negative person who doubts that someone's mother could lose 55 pounds in a month or two -- it can be done. Just look at these testimonials!

To save folks the trouble of clicking the links, here are the above-referenced testimonials:

Angele-Cass, a registered member of UsertainmentWatch.com, says:
yes it really really does work! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! weight loss with coconut oil Give it a try good luck My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds!

Meanwhile, Alyssa, a Yahoo! Answers member, says:
yes it really really does work! My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! Give it a try good luck <3

Finally, right here on LTHForums:

jessicasteven wrote:yes it really really does work! My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! Give it a try good luck <3

So there you have it, three glowing reviews about NutriSystem from totally independent people.

Khaopaat wrote:

cilantro wrote:And for the other negative person who doubts that someone's mother could lose 55 pounds in a month or two -- it can be done. Just look at these testimonials!

To save folks the trouble of clicking the links, here are the above-referenced testimonials:

Angele-Cass, a registered member of UsertainmentWatch.com, says:
yes it really really does work! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! weight loss with coconut oil Give it a try good luck My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds!

Meanwhile, Alyssa, a Yahoo! Answers member, says:
yes it really really does work! My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! Give it a try good luck <3

Finally, right here on LTHForums:

jessicasteven wrote:yes it really really does work! My mom has been on it for like about a month i think maybe 2 and she has lost 55 pounds! its so convenient because like they send you foods, and like you can eat basically anything you want... its just smaller proportions and you get to pick the food on line that you want, so yeah it works good! Give it a try good luck <3

So there you have it, three glowing reviews about NutriSystem from totally independent people.

Wow, you're even getting the snarky shill-spotting aspect of the board right. Another rookie-of-the-year candidate!

Santander wrote:Wow, you're even getting the snarky shill-spotting aspect of the board right. Another rookie-of-the-year candidate!

We really don't encourage "snarky shill-spotting," we would rather it was reported because people have been known to be wrong on whom they target.

Any chance they were improving Nutrisystems image missed the target badly. The responses after jessicasteven were hardly a glowing testimony. Better than any snarky statement, because it was personal experience. jessicasteven would have been better off keeping quiet.

Regards,
Cathy2 for the moderators

If I wanted to lose weight without cooking, calorie counting, portion control and so on...I'd follow Jared to Subway! Five dollalla subs a lot cheaper than most weight loss systems!

Or, better yet, a la Mark Bittman.

chgoeditor wrote: I'm not sure how jessicasteven's Mom sustained almost a 1 pound/day weight loss for 2 months eating the 1800-calorie Nutrisystem diet unless she was working out at a pace similar to what they do Biggest Loser. She should write a book!

If you are seriously obese and you can adjust to an 1800 cal diet and start a medically supervised diet, you may lose as much as 5# per week for the first several weeks, especially if you are younger.

Unfortunately, the pace of weight loss slows down after a while.

I just stumbled onto this thread or I would most certainly have responded soon. I did Nutrisystem twice: once in 1983 and once later. It worked both times, at enormous expense (c. $1000). I lost on the order of 75lbs, pretty much on schedule. The only changes I made were 1) I had one of my medical students figure how many free alcohol calories I could get everyday [it worked out to c. 400 calories per day. Don't try this at home, kids: in order to use the 'rapid burn' (my name) path you have to be a serious drinker; research starting point here] --I'm not going to diet whilst sober; and 2) I played with the food until it was quasi-palatable. That was the most interesting part of the diet.

They have (or used to have, don't know about the present version) book lessons, group sessions, etc., all the social/team stuff you need to keep on the program. Smartly designed.

But losing weight was duck soup. Anyone can lose weight if they really really really want to. Really. But keeping it off is a total life project. It got to the point where the only thing I could think about was how not to gain weight. It sapped all my energy, keeping the weight off. Harder than staying off cigarettes. I finally concluded, several years later, after the second $1000, that my life was not about living in order to keep weight off. So I gave up. Things got better. My dept. chair said, one easy-going day, "A fat George is a happier George; I like you happy."

However, recent science might have just made a breakthrough: As reported in The Times here, as we've all suspected, but nutritionists have always denied, folks differ in respect to how they burn calories. Hooray for Brown Fat!

Geo

Back in my younger days, my best weight loss trick was to get still another job in the kitchen and work 14-18 hour days. Running in a kitchen for that many hours will fill you appetite and when you ever are at home, you head straight to bed for a few hours of sleep.

I tried Nutrisystem about a year ago. The food is not good tasting to me. It is easy though and I liked the idea of not cooking. I could come home from work and in ten minutes be eating dinner. After a week or so, I just could not keep eating the food because of the taste. I especially could not stand the lunches.

A better idea. You can create your own "nutrisystem like" diet using Lean Cuisine. Lean Cuisine tastes much better and its easily available, there are many choices and you don't get stuck with things you don't like. The calorie content is similar. Also canned soup you can get in the stores as well as canned ravioli and stuff is about the same calories and actually tastes better than the stuff you get from Nutrisystem. You don't have to pay for shipping.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to stick to a diet. Boo hoo.

I did Nutrisystem for about a month when I hit a plateau in my own weight loss plan. I did the plan designed for folks with diabetes as my whole weight loss initiative was all about less carb and sugars. It worked well for me though I contribute its success to the fact that, for the most part, I never wanted to finish the crappy food even given the miniscule size of the servings.

You might want to look into Weight Watchers. There's a (relatively) low monthly fee until you reach your weight goal, and then it's free as long as you "weigh in" once a month to be sure you're holding the (waist) line.

They initially prepare and provide you with a detailed program, mainly in terms of calorie intake expressed as "points".You get an exhaustive book of "points" for every food known to man, including fast foods and virtually every manufactured product. You can eat any darn thing you want, as long as you stay within your points budget.

Of course, you still have to do the cooking.

It has worked quite well for my wife over the years.