Nutrisystem... Friend or Foe?

Is it worth the cost?

Ive contemplated nutrisystem for a while.. and Im just wondering if anybody knows much about it or anybody who has been on it with results..

Thanks!!

The way nutrisystem works is the same way any other weight loss diet works..."You take in less calories than you burn". There is no reason, in my opinion, to pay for prepackaged meals if you have the ability to count calories and have basic nutrition knowledge.

I do think that a planned diet like Nutrisystem can work well for some people who have lots of weight to lose and very little access to healthy food and/or basic healthy eating guidelines. Also, some people like the rigid structure of prepackaged meals. But, overall, statistics show, the majority of people who lose weight on these types of diets gain the weight back after they go "off" of the diet and simply revert back to their old eating habits over time.

The key is to learn to eat healthy for a lifetime. Making lifestyle changes in your eating habits, portion control, calorie counting and exercising are the only things that have been shown to produce sustained results.

I lost 10 lbs on Nutrisystem, but I gained it back when I quit (in all honesty, I started to eat total crap and stopped going to the gym). 

The food is ok...I'm not a picky eater, and I've liked about 90% of their food. Of course, you have to take into consideration that these meals wont be totally super scrumptious, but I dont have to force myself to eat it. 

It seems like you eat A LOT on the program so I was surprised when I dropped weight. Not only do you eat their prepackaged foods, but you add in fruit, veggies, dairy and protein. 

I ordered mine through QVC, and I think they have the best prices.

I'm going to start using Nutrisystem again now and be serious with it and the gym. The program works if you stick to it, in my experience. 

Nutrisystem is just diet food composesd of complex carbs (whole grains) and has you eating 1200-1600 calories a day. I would rather just buy protien bars and lean cuisines. They taste better than nutrisystem and are pretty much the same.

Meal replacement diets will help you lose weight because they control your intake.  Lots of people lose weight successfully with Nutrisystem (and Slim Fast, Lighter Life and others) But losing weight is the easy part....   Maintaining weight-loss is what sorts a good diet from a fad diet.   If the way you lose weight is too contrived and if you fail to retrain your fundamental eating and lifestyle habits then you'll very quickly go back to your old weight as soon as you stop the programme.

For long-lasting results and good health (which is the whole point) you're much better off putting in the effort to change to better foods, control the portions and do more exercise. 

I have personally not used Nutrisystem to lose weight myself, but my mother did. She used it twice and both times it helped her lose a lot of weight and to get back down to really low weight ranges. The only problem was the minute she went off eating their food (which lets face it, you have to) she slowly ended going back up over time both times. The company even conveniently sent her a "friendly reminder" to reorder their product to lose weight (I guess they figured she would have gained it back by then hahaha)...I mean like others have said too, you can easily construct similar meal arrangements on your own...all it is is portion control...things that a prepackaged like this and 100 calorie packs make me laugh...all you're paying for is the packaging when you could have just bought the product and counted it out....(I do recognize this is hard for some people, and that is understandable so don't take this as I am saying they are bad for everyone-I know when some people have a whole box of something they have less control and portion control already done for them helps a lot)....

as for the food itself, I ate quote a few of the meals/snacks my mom had left over and really can't say they were bad at all...some were odd, but for the most part it met my expectations for a diet and portioned meal like this...and the snacks are normal, just smaller....

so I think it's a good product, just watch out for what happens AFTER you go off eating their food and following their specific plan...but this is really the case with any arrangement where one alters their daily diet to lose weight...what happens after is sometimes more imperative than what happens during (hence why sooo many weightlosses rebound upward after time)

I believe it is a good plan, take in less calories, loose weight. But a waste of money in my opinion and nutritionally probably not that good. Have not researched it but would think it is processed, not fresh food. Better to buy fresh whole foods yourself and put together similar meals.

A close friend is on that program- she lost safely and did well, so far.  She also went on a cruise with the group. She loves it.

I have seen it work for people but like littleshellys I believe it is all processed and you would do better nutritionally if you put together your own meals. Get some plastic containers or zip lock bags and put together meals from real food that you can freeze. You could do enough for a week and put yourself on your own nutrisystem. You would save $$$ too.

I agree with everyone else saying that it's not exactly a revolutionary idea, and that it's pretty expensive for what it is, but...

I have a friend who started this system a few months before senior prom. She lost a good deal of weight (don't know how much, but she looked great) didn't have trouble sticking to the diet, and somehow managed to keep it off after prom. I'm not endorsing nutrisystem or anything, a year ago I would have said it was bull. But I am personally kind of curious now.

Maybe if you have extra money kicking around anyway...? haha.

Good luck

At first I thought it could be a good idea and it didn't seem too expensive compared to a normal grocery bill but then i researched it and you have to buy fruits, veg, snacks, milk, etc to go with it so it seems like a waste of money and the food doesn't look all that great either.

I have been told that these types of prepared, packaged food have lots of transfat.  If that is true it would be a real negative to me.  Transfat is bad for your cardiovascular system.  It may be something to really look into. 

I just checked a bunch of my Nutrisystem stuff and all of it says O g trans fat. I totally get everyone's opinions about it, and it isnt a perfect system at all! But no trans fat

Thanks for checking the transfat.

When all is said and done you still haven't learned to eat in the real world.

IMO i think its a waste of money in the end. why not try something like weight watchers where you can incorporate real food into the diet plan? it seems to me like, yes, nutrisystem will work because you're eating pre-packaged, perfectly portioned meals... but what about if you go to a party or on vacation? are you supposed to bring these pre-packaged meals with you? to me it doesn't seem like a diet you can stay on for a lifetime, and once you go off, the weight will most likely go back on.

Hi, there. I just wanted to share my thoughts on nutrisystem. I agree more or less with what people say about that when you get off the program, the weight will maybe come back. But that's true with anything. You have to keep it up. And if you keep in mind how many calories the meals have and that they are essentially higher protein, you could make your own meals if you wanted to.

BUT, I am NOT on nutrisystem. I found on ebay a store comparison guide for $5 which tells you how to do the nutrisystem program using STORE BOUGHT food. So I've been doing this and it's cheaper and I've lost a couple pounds already! (even though I cheat almost everyday).

The ebayers name is Cuddlykoula.

Hope this helps!

• I was on Nutrisystem about 2 years ago for 6 months.
• It works in th sense that it teaches you all about portion control.
• You still have to go out and buy fruits and veggies for the snacks and the salads at lunch and/or dinner.
• The food starts to taste the same after about a month and then once you think about the way the food is prepared it starts to gross you out!
• I found it hard to stay on because I am a college student who couldn't eat at the same time everyday and my weekends were always out with friends.
• The weight does come off, BUT the weight will come back on after you stop.
• Best chances is you can learn about portion control easier, cheaper, and better from CC.

That was my 2 cents about it.

Thanks for asking this questions and thanks to those who reply. I was debating this myself but I'm going to not do it.

The meals are about $350.00 per month.  And, I'm learning how to proportion out my meals for reasonable calories but a good filling meal.   I think its best for me to learn how to make the meals instead of having them made for me. 

I agree with the point about the 100 calorie packs.  You can save money and just portion it out yourself.  Plus, for me, it was too easy to eat a 2nd or 3rd.  It was more like a tease where when I portioned it out, I didn't feel the need to eat another portion.

I lost weight with nutrisystem after using it for two months.  I got down to 219lbs.  Then, like everyone else said, after I could no longer handle eating their food anymore and stopped, I gained it all back and more.  I shot up to 252.   Now, Ive been eating healthier, doing my own thing and I weighed in yesterday at 218.2 lbs.   So basically, I lost even more weight naturally than on nutrisystem.  Granted, it took me much longer to lose that weight(about 34 lbs in 13 months), but the longer you work at something the better you get at it.  Thats part of the reason why losing weight slowly is recommended for success.   Good luck to you if you choose nutrisystem, but you can do it on your own too with time.

I think that Nutrisystem is a good way to lose weight for people who have trouble with portions and planning out their meals. That being said, it really doesn't help in the long run because once you stop buying the meals, you won't know how to eat to maintain your weight. In my opinion, the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to learn how to make healthy choices yourself and measure and plan out your meals yourself.