The Nutrisystem diet works on the basis of portion-controlled, low-calorie snacks and meals. Its convenient home-delivery system takes the guesswork out of preparing healthy meals, and millions have achieved weight loss through the structured, easy-to-follow plan. When choosing a weight loss plan, you should research all features to ensure it suits you dietary needs, lifestyle and weight loss goals.
Plans
Nutrisystem has four plans from which to choose, and each plan has an option for men and women. The basic plan is designed for young and middle-aged adults without specific dietary needs. The silver plan highlights foods low in saturated fat and high in whole grains to prevent heart disease, a prevalent issue for older adults. The diabetic plan, created in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association, is intended for diabetics and contains food with very low-glycemic indexes to prevent extreme and potentially harmful blood sugar fluctuations. Vegetarians choose the vegetarian plan, which is the only certified vegetarian plan offered by a major weight loss program.
Food
The basic and silver plans have more than 150 meals and snacks to choose from, the diabetic plan has more than 130 and the vegetarian plan has more than 90. When customizing your 28-day plan, you choose a breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert for each day. Nutrisystem prides itself for offering fulfilling, "real" food that is normally forbidden with other diets, including pancakes and cinnamon buns for breakfast, creamy soups and pastas for lunch, pizza and hamburgers for dinner and brownies and cookies for dessert.
Supplement Food
The Nutrisystem diet requires you to supplement your delivered food with additional items that cannot be efficiently shipped, such as dairy products and produce. Nutrisystem suggests adding fresh fruit and vegetables to all of your daily meals or eating them as snacks. You can enjoy light yogurt and skim milk with breakfast; healthy carbohydrates, such as oatmeal and multigrain bread; healthy fats, like avocados and peanut butter; and lean protein, such as hard-boiled eggs and chicken breasts.
Online Tools
Ordering Nutrisystem automatically gives you free online membership with newsletters and daily weight loss advice. You use the website to plan your meals, track your weight loss progress, earn rewards for reaching your goals and communicate with fellow Nutrisystem members. You can also chat with counselors when you need additional support and guidance.
Pros
Many dieters and professional reviews applaud Nutrisystem for its straightforward simplicity, convenience and promotion of exercise that provide weight loss success. Its healthy, well-balanced meals provide all of the essential nutrients without a potentially dangerous severe calorie restriction that is common with other diets.
Cons
Since all foods are prepackaged, they contain relatively high amounts of sodium and are not delivered fresh. Also, relying on the meal plan prevents you from learning how to make your own healthy meals, which can lead to weight gain once you transition off the plan. Lastly, since the plan requires you to purchase food in addition to the delivered meals, it can grow more expensive than if you had purchased all of the prepackaged food and prepared it yourself.
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