What Do You Think Of Nutrisystem?

What Do You Think Of Nutrisystem®?

That's a question I received from a site visitor the other day, who wondered what my take was on the service. After all, in the nearly 13 years UltimateFatBurner.com has been in existence, I've never once written about Nutrisystem.

I guess now is the time. So here goes...

Nutrisystem, for those who don't know, is a weight loss "system" that works a little differently. Instead of the usual—you know, telling you what to eat and then leaving you to your own devices—Nutrisystem does one better; they simply skip the "middle man" and the complex explanations about how dieting works.

Yes, they just provide you with what you need to eat; your meals; breakfast, a protein shake, lunch, dinner and a dessert. If you visit their web site, you'll be able to browse dozens of "mouth watering" meals in each of the various categories.

These meals can be supplemented with "fun, fresh, grocery foods"—that's their description, not mine (I never realized food could be "fun"). You'll get a list of these, divided into "Smartcarbs", "PowerFuels", "Vegetables" and "Extras." These consist mostly of your typical dieting fare; a couple of macadamia nuts, 1/2 cup peas, 2 oz turkey breast, 1/2 cup water-packed tuna and so on.

So how are their meals? How do they taste?

Well, I personally have not tried them, and since I haven't written about NutriSystem in the past, it's not like I received a lot of comments about them. One person told me they tasted like cardboard. That's all the feedback I've received (if you've tried the NutriSystem meals and would like to comment on them, send us a note. Let us know if you're OK with your comments appearing here!).

The cardboard comment doesn't surprise me much; these are fresh frozen foods alright, but they are seriously low in calories (women's meals total 1200 calories per day, the men's—1500).

The issue with taste (if the visitor's assessment was accurate) isn't necessarily a fault of NutriSystem. The "stuff" that makes foods taste good—fats and sugars—can't be present in significant amounts in their meals, or they wouldn't be low calorie dieting fare, would they?

The fact is, if you have to make small, low calorie meals at home, they would be pretty bland too.

That's the nature of the beast, I'm afraid.

That said, does Nutrisystem work?

Well, sure.

Any program that focuses on calorie restriction and reduction is going to work. And as already mentioned, calories definitely are reduced; 1200 per day for women, 1500 per day.

So yes it will work, but this isn't due to some miraculous combination of speciality foods or anything (to be fair, Nutrisystem does not claim that it is) it is simply that the system adheres to the fundamentals of weight loss; consume fewer calories than you expend, and you will lose weight.

These numbers seem simplistic to me, but I don't have access to the entire program so it's not fair to comment. After all, you have 150 pound men and 260 pound men, and it doesn't make sense that they would both consume 1500 calories. Same goes for women. But whatever.

So should you try Nutrisystem?

Well, Nutrisystem really is best for...

• People who have a bit of extra cash on hand: Sure, you can save a bit of cash (20%) if you sign up for the auto delivery plan ($259.99 for the Core Program and 309.99 for the "Select" program which features "gourmet" foods). The "Select" program is only available with auto-delivery, and if you decide to go month by month, the Core program will set you back $394.98.
  
  When you do the math, $394.98 for 84 meals (28 days X 3 meals per day), 56 snacks and 28 desserts doesn't seem too bad. It's only when you add this to your regular family grocery bill that the numbers may become daunting.
  
  
• People who want all the guess work out of dieting. This is probably the biggest advantage a meal plan system like Nutrisystem offers—you don't have to think. You don't need to count calories, weigh foods, or determine the caloric content of what you are eating for each specific meal. You simply take out your meals for the day and eat them.
  

At the end of the day, what Nutrisystem offers is a "plug and play" weight loss system. As long as you stick to their calorie reduced meal plans, and don't cheat on other foods, you'll do just fine. While I think you can make low calorie meals at home for much less money, I certainly see why Nutrisystem will appeal to some of you. Three of the biggest detriments to successful weight loss that I've seen in my years owning UltimateFatBurner.com are...

• Most people have no idea how many calories they should be consuming per day.
• Most people have no idea how many calories are contained in the foods they eat.
• Some people don't have the time to prepare smart, low calorie meals.

Nutrisystem eliminates these problems entirely by providing you with your meals. All you have to do is eat them. While it may not be the cost efficient or possible practical way of dieting, there's no doubt that it can be effective.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, you can learn more about Nutrisystem here!

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