Nutrisystem Review: How I Lost the Weight

Nutrisystem Review: How I Lost the Weight
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Marie Osmond made Nutrisystem a household name when she used it to lose 40 pounds. After seeing one of the commercials she shot for Nutrisystem I decided to give it a try.

Nutrisystem has seven programs you can choose from: Women’s Program, Women’s Silver Program, Women’s Diabetic Program, Men’s Program, Men’s Silver Program, Men’s Diabetic Program, and the Vegetarian Program. I chose the Women’s program because I am not diabetic, elderly, or a vegetarian.

There is no cost to join Nutrisystem per say. The only cost is the food which runs about $300 per month. When you sign up you have a choice to take the automatic shipment or pick your own foods. I can be a picky eater so I picked the foods I thought I would like. When I received the food I thought that it wasn’t that bad. In fact, the apple strudel scones are the best scones I ever had.

The foods are sent color coded so you know which ones to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. The breakfast meals come in blue, lunch meals come in green, dinner meals are red, and the snacks are a pink color. You get 28 of each every month. You will also get a daily schedule that tells you what to eat and when. You will need to purchase additional food on this plan from your grocery store. You will need dairy servings, fruit and vegetable servings, and protein servings. I found that this plan was getting a bit expensive for my taste, but I was determined to stick it out one full month to see what happened.

The Nutrisystem plan also involves exercise. I am never good at sticking with any exercise program, but this one was very easy and likable. You are taken on a two mile walk right in the comfort of your living room. There are no complicated steps (I can’t keep up with my mom’s Billy Blank’s Boot Camp exercise DVD). I continued using the exercise DVD for the entire month about four times per week.

After sticking to the plan for one month I lost nine pounds. That proves the system works.

The downside is that I still felt hungry a lot of the time. The portion sizes are very small. For breakfast I would eat an apple strudel scone, one yogurt, and half of a banana (which is one serving of fruit). It takes a while to shrink your stomach back down so that it doesn’t feel so hungry. I also found that the sauce they used in there foods seemed to taste the same. For example, the sauce on the meatloaf tasted just like the sauce in the chicken Parmesan meal. I can imagine getting sick of the sauce after awhile.

The upside is that they have a great forum where you can get recipes and advice in sticking with your weight loss goals. I found that after the first month I was better equipped to judge portion sizes and I know what times of the day to eat the servings I need from the food pyramid. In fact, I still have the daily chart stuck to my refrigerator as a reminder.

If you want to try Nutrisystem without committing to the $300 per month, you can buy some samples on eBay. Then if you like them you can take the plunge. Nutrisystem even offers you two free weeks when you join.

Here is the list of foods currently available at Nutrisystem:

Breakfast:

  • Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
  • Apple Granola Bar
  • Apple Strudel Bar
  • Apple Strudel Scone
  • Berries & Multi-grain Flakes
  • Blueberry Flavored Pancake Mix
  • Blueberry Muffin
  • Chocolate Chip Granola Bar
  • Chocolate Chip Scone
  • Cinnamon Bun Bar
  • Cinnamon Swirl Granola Bar
  • Cluster Crunch Cereal
  • Cranberry Granola Bar
  • Cranberry Orange Pastry
  • Egg Frittata
  • Scrambled Eggs with Veggie Sausage Crumble
  • Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese
  • Scrambled Eggs
  • Harvest Nut Bar
  • Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
  • Low-fat Granola Cereal
  • Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
  • NutriCinnamon Squares Cereal
  • NutriFlakes Cereal
  • Bran Flakes
  • NutriFrosted Crunch Cereal
  • Pancake Mix
  • Peanut Butter Granola Bar.

Lunch:

  • Beans & Ham Soup
  • Black Bean Tortilla Soup
  • Black Beans and Rice
  • Cheese Tortellini
  • Cheesy Home-Style Potatoes
  • Chicken A La King
  • Chicken and Barley Stew
  • Chicken and Pasta in Cacciatore Sauce
  • Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Chicken Salad
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar
  • Chocolate Raspberry Bar
  • Fettuccine Alfredo
  • Fudge Graham Bar
  • Hearty Minestrone Soup
  • Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
  • Pasta Parmesan with Broccoli
  • Pasta with Beef
  • Split Pea Soup
  • Tomato and Corn Chowder
  • Vegetable Beef Soup
  • Red Beans and Rice with Sausage

Dinner:

  • BBQ Sauce over Beef
  • Beans and Rice
  • Beef and Mushroom Gravy with Pasta
  • Beef and Noodles In Teriyaki Sauce
  • Beef Pot Roast with Vegetables & Gravy
  • Beef Tacos
  • Cheese and Spinach Ravioli with Meat Sauce
  • Cheese Ravioli with Basil Tomato Sauce
  • Chicken Breast Patty
  • Chicken Pasta Parmesan
  • Chicken with Dumplings
  • Zesty Cajun Style
  • Chicken and Sausage with Brown Rice
  • Wedged Potatoes with Sliced Beef Steak
  • Stroganoff Sauce with Beef and Noodles
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken With Noodles - Made with White Chicken, Mashed Potatoes with Meatloaf and Tomato Sauce
  • Tender Beef with Vegetables
  • Vegetarian Chili
  • Vegetable Lasagna with Basil Tomato Sauce
  • Vegetable Fajita
  • Turkey Tetrazzini- Made with White Turkey
  • Three Cheese Pasta with Chicken
  • Thick Crust Pizza
  • Teriyaki Sauce
  • Rice, Beef and Vegetables
  • Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
  • Sourdough Pizza with Cheese
  • Mushroom Risotto
  • Rotini with Meatballs and Tomato Sauce
  • Pasta Primavera with Tofu
  • Oriental Steak with Green Peppers and Noodles
  • Pasta Fagioli
  • Macaroni & Cheese with Beef
  • Macaroni & Cheese
  • Lemon Butter Sauce with Chicken and Noodles
  • Lasagna
  • Chili with Beans
  • Home-style Beef with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
  • Home-Style Chicken Noodles with Gravy
  • Hearty Beef Stew
  • Grilled Chicken Breast
  • Flame Broiled Beef Patty - Cooked
  • Flatbread Pizza
  • Green Pepper Steak with Rice
  • Florentine Sauce with Chicken Fettuccine

Dessert:

  • Almond Biscotti
  • BBQ Soy Chips
  • Blueberry Lemon Dessert Bar
  • Caramel Popcorn
  • Cheese Puffs
  • Chocolate Caramel Dessert Bar
  • Chocolate Chip Cookie
  • Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding
  • Chocolate Crunch Bar
  • Chocolate Macadamia Nut Biscotti
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar
  • Chocolaty Nougat Bar with Peanuts and Caramel
  • Double Chocolate Almond Cookie
  • Fudge Brownie
  • Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks
  • Hot Cocoa
  • Microwaveable Chocolate Cake
  • Milk Chocolaty Delight Bar
  • Mint Chocolate Crunch
  • Nacho Crisps
  • NutriChocolates
  • Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
  • Peanut Butter Cookie
  • Pretzels
  • Sour Cream and Onion Soy Chips
  • Strawberry Shortcake Bar
  • White Cheddar Soy Chips
  • White Chocolate Chunk Cookie
  • Zesty Herb Snack Mix.

Resources:

Nutrisystem

by Alicia Bodine