NutriSystem Review
Nutrisystem is a commercial weight loss program that has made the transition from weight loss center-based, like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, to an online weight-management program. Nutrisystem is a reduced calorie diet that focuses on balanced nutrition which follows the food guide pyramid. They offer plans for women, men, over-60, diabetic and vegetarian. This basic strategy is where your focus should be and is recommended by most dietitians, nutritionists and doctors. Their twist on it focuses on the "glycemic index" which measures the quality of carbohydrates. "Good" carbs are complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, while "bad" carbs are refined carbohydrates such as white sugar and flour.
The Nutrisystem approach revolves around the consumption of their prepackaged mail-order meals, which are definitely convenient and especially helpful in dealing with controlling portion size. A wide variety of food selections are available. The main drawback of this approach is that it often fails to prepare the dieter for food preparation once the diet ends. Therefore, the key to success on Nutrisystem is the transitional period where the dieter goes from prepackaged to regular, prepared meals. Unless of course you plan on eating Nutrisystem's prepackaged meals indefinitely.
The second part of the Nutrisystem program is access to their members-only website which includes weight loss counselors, tracking tools, logs and diaries, community groups, chat rooms and blogs, and an interactive strategy tool for long term success. Regular exercise is emphasized and their website has an excellent virtual trainer that shows you how to do innumerable exercises the safe and healthy way. A 28 day meal plan costs $330 and includes online membership.
Nutrisystem might seem at first to be more expensive in comparison to other programs, but when taking into account that any diet (including the one you're on today) is going to require the purchase of food, it is less than most, and certainly much less expensive than continuing on the never-ending roller coaster of fad diets, pills and other weight loss scams. In fact, Forbes.com and the National Business Research Institute studies found Nutrisystem to be the least expensive popular diet program.
On my life-changing diet, which I lost 75 pounds, I followed a similar plan, added daily exercise and have kept the weight off for 15 years.
In the end, the biggest problem with meal delivery services is they face a very steep uphill battle against the ease, low cost and vast array of frozen food choices at your local grocery store.
