Thanks everyone!Has anyone tried Nutrisystem for weight loss?

[susanr613]

Maybe it's blasphemous here, but I am considering going on Nutrisystem for a couple months to knock off some pounds. Does anyone have experience with it or know someone who used it?

TIA

 

[DebbieJ]

Susan, I've done it.
It's expensive, and you still have to buy groceries to supplement.
The food is not very good.However, it WORKS. It really does. Check out Ebay--people sell excess food all the time.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

do you have a big lots nearby they have tons of their food
a neighbor tried it said it was so disgusting she threw them away (no, they weren't out of date)

 

[chefjeanine]

Susan, I've done it.
It's expensive, and you still have to buy groceries to supplement.
The food is not very good.

However, it WORKS. It really does.

Check out Ebay--people sell excess food all the time.

Agreed. They make it sound like all you'll need to eat will be in the box they ship but that's far from the truth. You'll still need to purchase groceries.

It worked for me too. . .but after my box of food ran out, I had the horrible experience of gaining back about twice as much weight as I lost.

 

[koima]

IMO, it's not worth the money. It doesn't address the reason you put on the extra pounds and doesn't teach you how to incorporate healthy eating habits into your life. As soon as you're not eating their food, you'll regain the weight, because what have you learned except how to reheat a meal in the microwave?

I've been on Weight Watchers for awhile now and lost 32 lb. in less than 6 months (well, a year and a half, but with a pregnancy in between! Still, I'm 32 lb. down from my starting weight, plus a new baby.) I'm learning not just what to eat and how much, but also tools to deal with the reasons that I became overweight in the first place. I'm learning strategies for dealing with food situations, like parties, food pushers (hello, Mom!), eating out, emotional eating etc. If I want to splurge on a brownie, that's okay. I can have any food that I want in moderation, which is really the thing I needed to learn in the first place.

My cholesterol is down 40 points, I've lost 42 inches (not including the baby waist, haha), and I feel much healthier. I also ate on plan with my doctor's permission while pregnant and had a very modest gain. When I went back after the baby was born, I was just .2 lb. over my last weigh in!

And I eat all whole, real foods, with ingredients I can pronounce. I've probably said here that I'm something of a food snob, but I wouldn't want to eat packaged food for three meals a day full of ingredients I couldn't identify. (I don't eat much packaged food in general, but that's just me.)

 

[ChefBeckyD]

IMO, it's not worth the money. It doesn't address the reason you put on the extra pounds and doesn't teach you how to incorporate healthy eating habits into your life. As soon as you're not eating their food, you'll regain the weight, because what have you learned except how to reheat a meal in the microwave?

I've been on Weight Watchers for awhile now and lost 32 lb. in less than 6 months (well, a year and a half, but with a pregnancy in between! Still, I'm 32 lb. down from my starting weight, plus a new baby.) I'm learning not just what to eat and how much, but also tools to deal with the reasons that I became overweight in the first place. I'm learning strategies for dealing with food situations, like parties, food pushers (hello, Mom!), eating out, emotional eating etc. If I want to splurge on a brownie, that's okay. I can have any food that I want in moderation, which is really the thing I needed to learn in the first place.

My cholesterol is down 40 points, I've lost 42 inches (not including the baby waist, haha), and I feel much healthier. I also ate on plan with my doctor's permission while pregnant and had a very modest gain. When I went back after the baby was born, I was just .2 lb. over my last weigh in!

And I eat all whole, real foods, with ingredients I can pronounce. I've probably said here that I'm something of a food snob, but I wouldn't want to eat packaged food for three meals a day full of ingredients I couldn't identify. (I don't eat much packaged food in general, but that's just me.)

I'm curious how you do this on WW? I quit WW for a couple of reasons - but biggest was their use of all kinds of fake foods - fat free cheese, chemical sugar substitutes, overly processed foods (the cake mix pumpkin muffins were HUGE at the WW I went to - you would have thought they were ambrosia from heaven!:yuck etc....and the way that they constantly pushed all of their packaged foods as snacks and meal substitutes. I couldn't believe what they called "healthy".

I AM a food snob - always have been - and I just couldn't do WW.



Sorry Susan, I guess I hijacked your thread.
But, I guess I could tell you that my SIL tried it, and also couldn't stomach the food. She ended up being one of those people who sold their food on E-bay. My brother said it reminded him of MRE's.:yuck:

 

[leftymac]

I'm curious how you do this on WW? I quit WW for a couple of reasons - but biggest was their use of all kinds of fake foods - fat free cheese, chemical sugar substitutes, overly processed foods (the cake mix pumpkin muffins were HUGE at the WW I went to - you would have thought they were ambrosia from heaven!:yuck etc....and the way that they constantly pushed all of their packaged foods as snacks and meal substitutes. I couldn't believe what they called "healthy".

I AM a food snob - always have been - and I just couldn't do WW.



Sorry Susan, I guess I hijacked your thread.
But, I guess I could tell you that my SIL tried it, and also couldn't stomach the food. She ended up being one of those people who sold their food on E-bay. My brother said it reminded him of MRE's.:yuck:

I do Weight Watchers as well. Yes, they have their own food, but you don't have to eat it. That's just for convenience and it's available if you want it. I rarely eat any of their packaged foods -- I only keep a few frozen meals on hand if I'm too lazy to make my lunch in the morning, and some of their snack bars for an occasional munch on the run.

 

[mscharf]

I agree I lost a lot of weight on WW- did it every time I had a baby (and that is 3 times in the last 6 years!!) I NEVER felt deprived of anything. I lost every week (including Thanksgiving and Christmas week!) Like the others said it is not pills or prepackaged food, it is CHANGING YOUR EATING LIFESTYLE! Which is usually what is needed! I should do WW commercials, b/c I am a big believer!!

 

[pcsharon1]

It's been several years since I was on WW but I didn't use all those fake foods they offered. They were options but not necessary so I opted not to use them. I have been considering going back and right now it is just a money issue. But I have all my own weight issues that go back a long way. I need to learn to deal with the reasons and WW seems to be the only place that teaches you that.

 

[Jean DeVries]

The Nutri-System macaroni & cheese is really good when you mix it with hot dogs and m&m's.

 

[koima]

I don't buy or eat the premade Weight Watchers foods. I am on the Core plan, and very few of the WW products are Core! That's a plan that really is all about the whole foods. I follow their 8 Good Health Guidelines, which are all about the whole foods.

I've really struggled with staying on Core and finding Pampered Chef recipes that fit my style of eating. I am also primarily pesca/vegetarian, which makes it harder! We eat very limited meat, and only when I know the farmer who grew the animal. So we'll occasionally (very rarely!) have a chicken from a friend who raises chickens, or beef from a grass-fed, locally grown, humanely slaughtered cow, but it's rare and is always an accent, never just a piece of meat on the plate. A chicken lasts a week at our house, not just one meal.

I spend less on food now than I did before WW, since I cook at home almost every meal now and don't buy convenience foods. We eat a whole lot of whole grains and bean combos, LOTS of lentils and brown rice, and those are cheap cheap cheap. $2.00 per serving is actually high for my food bill, so I was a bit surprised to see that as the low cost meal options from PC!

I have tried some recipes that were lighter and counted points for them, but I'm likely to use the products for my own style of cooking at home, and offer the lighter PC recipes at shows.

I made my own frozen dinners when I was pregnant with DD so I had Core meals at the ready after I got home with the new baby. That has been awesome!

Um, that ended up being a novel! Sorry! All this to say, follow Michael Pollen's suggestions: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." His book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" completely changed my life and my outlook on food, even before WW, so avoiding the packaged junk isn't hard.

 

[susanr613]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am a WW refugee - it worked really well for me twice, when I was living a happy life. The other 4 times have been failures.

I even did leader training which kind of ruined the mystique for me. It's a great program, but in meetings I'm following along with the leader's script in my head instead of listening. I applaud those of you who have found success with it

Ever since I started PC, I have not had any prepackaged frozen dinners, and very few frozen pizzas. DS had one the other day and said it's not as good as my homemade pizza Fresh and not processed really is soooo much better.

So...back to the drawing board - self control and movement!!

 

[pampered.chris]

I have a friend that did Nutrisystem. She lost a lot of weight. However, when she could no longer afford to do it, she gained everything back.

I agree with others that it is a lifestyle change that will get the pounds off and I wish you the MOST success!!