Evaluating The Nutrisystem Diet Program

With so many different diet programs available, it’s hard to know which one will be right for you. I have spent the last month on the Nutrisystem diet program and would like to share with you what I’ve learned.

Nutrisystem is a unique plan which requires you to buy their particular food products. The most common method of ordering is to buy a month’s worth of food at a time, which includes 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners and 7 desserts. You can choose a pre-planned program (women’s, men’s, diabetic, vegetarian or senior) or simply choose the foods that sound good to you. You have the option of ordering online if you prefer, or you can speak to a representative over the telephone. A month costs about $300 if you have your meals auto-delivered. There is currently a special offer, which gives you an entire week of food for free. The website quotes that you will receive your shipment within 7-10 days of placing your order (mine took about 7 days).

Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks I experienced on the program:

BENEFITS

-Nutrisystem is definitely a good way to lose weight if you can stick to the plan. Even if you don’t follow it exactly as the prescribe and choose not to exercise, you will still most likely lose a significant amount of weight.

-The foods are low in calories and fat and high in protein and fiber.

-You get to eat 5 times throughout the day, so you are never too hungry.

-You are also allowed to eat fruits, veggies and dairy products as prescribed along with the Nutrisystem foods, which adds nutritional value and helps fill you up.

-There is support available online in the form of counselors, informational articles and discussion boards.

-You aren’t required to attend any meetings or counseling sessions like you do with Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.

-You can cut down on your trips to the grocery store, as nearly all of your food (with the exception of fruits, veggies and dairy) will be delivered right to your door.

-None of the meals need to be refrigerated, so they are easily portable. You can keep your meals in your purse or backpack all day without worrying about them spoiling.

-You can return any unopened foods that you don’t like for a full refund. However, you must pay for shipping costs and your return must be postmarked within 30 days of the date that you received your order.

-You can order items ala-carte if you prefer, but you must pay a hefty shipping cost for each item.

DISADVANTAGES

-In my experience, the food was not very good. I have been eating diet foods for many years, so I assumed that I would be able to follow the program fairly easily. However, I found many of the foods to be almost inedible. They were no where near as tasty as Weight Watchers dinners or Lean Cuisine meals (However, most of them are lower in calories and fat and higher in protein). I found the foods that required you to add water to be the worst tasting and I read similar comments on different online reviews. I am fairly picky however, when it comes to food, so do not take my word as fact.

-There are not as many foods to choose from as I would have liked. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you will probably get sick of eating the same foods over and over again.

-At around $300/month, it is rather expensive, especially considering you will still need to spend money on veggies, fruits and dairy products.

-Although the program helps you to understand proper portion sizes and gets you more accustomed to eating smaller, healthier and more frequent meals, you still may have trouble maintaining your weight loss when you discontinue the program. Nutrisystem meals are specially formulated to have just the right amount of calories, fats, sugars, fiber and protein – it might be difficult to emulate this diet when shopping on your own.

-If an item you order is out of stock, they will substitute a different item that doesn’t necessarily have to be on your list. I received at least 15 substitutions, which were all things that I didn’t like, such as split-pee soup. It wouldn’t have been that bad if they were at least replaced with other things on my list, but they were things I purposely didn’t order as I knew I wouldn’t eat them. There were several notices provided with my shipment that claimed that the problem was in part due to changes they were making in the program and the high demand for their products. They gave the impression that this would not be as much of a problem in the future, but did not make any definite promises. The only way to avoid this situation completely would be to order ala-carte, which is more expensive.

-Finally, some people may benefit from the support and personal contact provided by meetings and one-on-one counseling sessions, such as those offered by Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. While Nutrisystem does offer counseling sessions via the Internet and telephone, as well as discussion boards where you can converse with other people on the program, it is more impersonal than actual physical contact with another human being.

As you can see, the benefits outnumber the disadvantages, but for me the draw-backs nonetheless out-weighed the advantages. I simply could not stick to the program if I didn’t like the foods, especially on a long term basis. I also don’t have the extra money to waste on foods that I might not eat. However, I would suggest giving it a shot if you are at all interested. You might find that you like the meals more than I did, especially if you enjoy a wider variety of foods. You can always return foods that were not to your liking for a full refund, albeit minus the cost of shipping. However, beware that you may not receive all of the foods you order and that Nutrisystem has the authority to substitute any meal that they want.

I hope this gives you all some insight into the program and will help to make your decision easier if you are considering trying a commercial diet program such as Nutrisystem.