Nutrisystem

I was lured in by the convenient meals and the promise of cake. Nutrisystem was pretty expensive to start out. I paid around $200 for my first “Basic Package” of meals. I was using the reasoning they claim on their site that you’ll save on groceries because you’ll have the meals instead. What they don’t tell you is that you’re still buying fresh vegetables and fruits to supplement your diet because the stuff they ship you in the boxes is sooooo tiny. (Also I was buying regular groceries for the Hubs because he didn’t want to diet with me.) The meals were tiny. Talk about an extreme portion control. The site claims the diet works on by utilizing the glycemic index but really it is extreme portion control and specific calorie intake.

At first the diet was new and exciting. Little color coded packages to eat with snacks and sweets for desert. It was fun for the first month and I lost about 5 pounds. So I ordered another month supply, this time picking my favorites out of the sampler pack I had the recent month. Then it lost its shiny new feeling and I’m out about $400. The food started getting really bland and I just didn’t feel like heating another thing out of a box. I wanted fresh and good tasting food. The meals were always the same kind of something in tomato sauce and it started getting repetitive. The stacks were good, but I always wanted more. The same with the bland meal packs, they always left me hungry. I thought that if I wanted to be hungry all the time I might as well eat fresh food in smaller portions and save myself some cashola.

All in all I lost a total of 9 pounds and as soon as I went off the meals, promptly gained it all back and 3 more pounds for good measure. I guess this diet would work if A) You lived alone or your partner does it with you, otherwise it’s just too expensive buying two sets of groceries and B) You have no taste buds and don’t mind the bland repetitiveness of the meals. Otherwise, save your money and invest in salads and low calorie foods and plan small portion meals throughout the day. You can accomplish the same thing without having it all pre-packaged for you.