The Nutrisystem Advanced Diet

The Nutrisystem Advanced diet is a weight loss plan that helps control your metabolism, calories and nutrient intake through packaged meals four or five times a day. The Nutrisystem Advanced diet differs from its predecessor Nutrisystem diet in that it includes more omega-3 and fiber-rich foods. The diet is famously marketed on television and the Internet by famous sporting personalities like former NFL quarterback Dan Marino and coach Don Shula.

Features

While using the Nutrisystem Advanced diet, you select a meal plan designed by the company to provide you with all of your necessary nutrients while staying within a preset number of calories. You can also make a custom meal plan for yourself by selecting from more than 150 available foods. Nutrisystem promotes its food as being full of flavor while still being healthy. The chocolate muffin is an example of this, containing only 190 calories per muffin and 36 percent of your daily fiber.

Function

Breaking down your meals into smaller portions and eating more frequently throughout the day on the Nutrisystem Advanced diet helps to boost your metabolism and keep you from feeling hungry despite eating fewer calories. Nutrisystem also claims that its foods are designed by nutrition experts and the carbohydrates in the meals are slowly processed by your body rather than being broken down quickly like the carbohydrates in junk food.

Considerations

According to the November 2010 "Weight Reduction Services Quarterly Update" from consulting agency First Research, Nutrisystem has a dependency on third parties for its foods. This means that the foods offered by the company can be transient if a third-party vendor decides to stop selling products to Nutrisystem. The major benefit of the Nutrisystem Advanced diet is that you do not have to count calories while on it. You have control over the food you eat without the hassle of needing to resist going overboard eating a single meal.

Types

There's a total of seven different diets you can select from the Nutrisystem Advanced plan. There is a men's and women's diet for the basic plan and for the silver plan designed for people 65 and older. There is also a men's and women's diet for people with Type 2 diabetes. Nutrisystem has a plan for vegetarians as well, but it is a unisex plan because of the lower calorie intake. All of the plans allow you some leeway for snacks of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Cost

As of March 2010, Nutrisystem remains competitively priced compared to other popular dieting plans. According to Associated Press personal finance writer Candice Choi, Nutrisystem costs an average of $369 for men and $333 a month for women. This is less than Jenny Craig meal plans, which cost between $330 and $504 a month plus the cost of membership. Nutrisystem costs significantly less than the E-diets plan or Healthy Chef Creations, which cost $559 and $1,678.60 a month, respectively.