Anybody tried it? Any impressions or thoughts about it? Nutritionists or doctors know of any results/experiences with it?
As I see it there are definite advantages:
Preportioned
Controlled for fat content
Reasonably low sodium
They seem to add soy or whey protein and extra fiber into everything
Six meals a day
Calorie controlled
Portable
No refrigeration required
Relatively inexpensive (about $320/month)
And there are disadvantages:
Not fresh
Not organic
Additives and preservatives
Same-o same-o after a couple of months.
Switched over a few weeks ago and lost another seven pounds (i’m adding an extra meal = approx 2000 Kcal/day plus workout calories, training for IMAZ 11/08 but losing another 60 lbs or so in 11 mos), which is OK, but i’m wondering if anyone has any experience pro or con. So far, I’m liking not shopping for groceries and just nuking a meal when I get home from work. Thanks for any info.
Relatively inexpensive…relative to WHAT ? I feed a family of 5 for $250/month and 2 of them are teenagers!
Maybe I’m the last person anybody wanting to lose weight should get advice from because weight has never been an issue for me. BUT thats because I never let weight get to be an issue.
Very little healthy food comes from a box.
Dig down, find your will power, change your habits and save your money.
Lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins. Buy a pack of Dove Dark chocolate squares and make that last 2 weeks. 2 of those squares a day. You feel hungry…so do I. I’m always hungry. Learn to like it.
Absolutely no fast food !
I know the secrete to losing weight…Burn more calories than you consume…Don’t tell anyone.
Not sure where the rest of my post went but I also said:
Great job on the weight loss to date and don’t feel like you have to lose it over night. You didn’t gain it in a month. Don’t try to lose it in a month. Be patient with it.
And I also said…
I’m concerned about the ease of the meals. No grocery shopping, toss it in the microwave. Part of what you are doing is a lifestyle and when Nutrisystem is done you have to be able to shop and perpare healthy choices. Get used to thawing out the chicken breast before you leave work. Always have veggies and fruits around.
Having three kids I know how easy it is to give into the boxed meals but we all make an effort in our house to avoid it.
I want your budgeting skills. Myself and hubby (who IS a neverending pit) are at about $90 a week (okay that includes laundry detergent, TP, etc, etc as well), but am close to $80 anyway. Lots of veggies, fruits, some organic, etc. You are skilled!
Well OK. DH and I could easily spend $250 on a dinner out at a nice restaurant. Sheesh, a nice bottle of Opus One would bite into two hundred pretty easy. Money’s relative. I guess I was asking more if people had any experience with NS on the nutritional side. But thanks for the comment.
Just read the rest of your post … you’re right, NS does avoid making “real world” decisions. Insta-weight-loss in little boxes and packets. Kinda not reality-based, but it sure is easy. Takes the muss and fuss out of making nutrition decisions. Valid point & thanks.
I buy all meat, Beef, Pork and Chicken from a meat locker. 1/4 side of beef at a time, 1/2 hog and chicken/turkey when on special.
Here’s the biggest savings. We don’t buy individual packaged servings period. We buy the jar of applesauce…about 20 servings for the same price of six indivdual containers. (as an example) same with yougurt, I buy the tubs and dish it into the gladware containers.
Snacks and sweets…I love the sunbelt stuff and when it’s on sale we load up. I mean really load up. Put a few boxes in the cupboard and freeze the rest. I have a Hostess Wonderbread outlet store down the block from me and the bread and cereals are 1/2 price or better.
Very little prepared foods. No frozen skillet medly’s, chicken stirfry…etc. We make most of our own dishes.
My figure of $250 is only food. No toilet supplies, laundry soap, etc. That may have quite an impact.
We eat well.
We are at about our 16 month of shopping like this. When I sat down and actually did a budget and followed it and saw what we were spending on groceries it was an eye opening experience.
It’s worth the effort. (the budget process) This month I put $1100 in the bank and I’ve cut my overtime in half.
You spend WHAT on groceries every month? I have a family of four and I spend over $700/month. Granted, that is EVERYTHING – soap, toiletries, etc. But I doubt that stuff adds up to over 2/3 of my expenses. But with milk at almost $4/gallon, I spend almost $10/week on milk alone.
“Well OK. DH and I could easily spend $250 on a dinner out at a nice restaurant. Sheesh, a nice bottle of Opus One would bite into two hundred pretty easy”
Now let me clarify a few things. 1) I live in the mid west. My milk ain’t $4 a gallon. 2) That figure is for only what can be eaten. 3) It is an average over the last 6 months. Two months ago I had close to $500 spent on a 1/4 side of beef. But when you are not buying any meat for the next 4 - 6 months it all averages out.
K, I don’t want to hijack the good ladies thread so I’m not responding to budgets anymore.
The idea of packaged meals just strikes me as wrong. Buy, prepare, and eat real food, and exert some discipline to keep calories consumed low. Stay away from additives and eat plenty of different colored vegetables.
If you are planning on buying packaged meals, why in the world would you spend over $300 on a “system” which teaches you absolutely nothing about how to change your lifestyle habits? As an RD, I would have to advocate spending that money on nutrition counseling but if you are adament about getting boxed meals…Just as a suggestion, you can save a pretty decent amoung of money if you simply go to the grocery store and buy some Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, and Healthy Choice meals. The cost of those meals are much cheaper than any of the programs (21 meals a week would cost you less than $50 a week), you can at least choose your healthy meals yourself, and it will teach you a smidge more than just purchasing the system.
I agree 100% with this.
What is in the list of ingredients on these boxes? I try (note I said: try) to not eat anything if it is out of a package that has more than 4-6 ingredients in it and it all has to be stuff I recognize. Stay away from processed crap and eat your fruits and vegetables. If you have the $$$ to spend that much on a dinner out, you can afford nutritional counselling or something that can be helpful in the long run. If you are serious about being a tri-ATHLETE then you have to care about what goes into your body also.
Knowledge of what you are putting into your body and what it does goes a looooong way. Nutrisystem isn’t a real world weight loss solution. You can’t just think about “calories,” but what makes that total number (carbs, protein, and fat). This is especially true for an active pursue who has different dietary needs than a couch potato.
I think that Nutrisystem is a pretty big gimmick. You don’t need someone to pre-package nasty foods for you. Read up on dietary needs, and buy your own food.
(The most important point to start you off: look into GI/Insulin index)
I did nutra system in high school. i remember the “food” being pretty crappy and everything came from a box. probably didnt eat a veggie for 6 months. remember mixing the cocoa powder with the maple syrup making tasty chocolate sauce. lost weight…probably 15 lbs. then you go off it and you’re used to eating waffles and burgers but at small starving portions… here comes the weight again…filling out my thighs like a memory. like the other posters said… eat fresh foods. veggies. check out marksdailyapple.com and artdevaney’s site for some paleo goodness
best o luck. just dont eat out of a box