Losing Weight With Nutrisystem 

Deciding to try and lose weight is a challenging thing. Weight loss requires a great deal of commitment, and it’s often difficult to achieve on your own. That’s why programs like Nutrisystem are so popular; the support systems they provide you with make the weight loss journey all the easier. 

But why should you partner with Nutrisystem specifically? Here, we’ll dive into the reasons that Nutrisystem stands out from other weight loss programs. You can see for yourself how this system works to take the stress out of dieting.  

What Is Nutrisystem?

Nutrisystem is a dieting program that helps you lose weight by delivering healthy, calorie-light meals to your doorstep. Depending on the plan you choose, you’ll be able to cook some of your meals, but most will be provided ready-to-go for you.  

As you embark on your journey, you can access Nutrisystem’s plethora of resources, including recipe guides and expert advice designed to help you lose weight as healthily as possible.  

How Does Nutrisystem Work? 

Nutrisystem’s meal plans deliberately cut your calorie intake to produce a calorie deficit. This deficit tricks your body into using fat stores to provide you with the energy you need to enjoy your day. As your body uses those stores, you’ll lose weight. 

Not only that, but the foods that Nutrisystem’s various programs provide you with help to restore your body to a healthy balance. This one-two punch will see you come away from the program having met your weight loss goals, while also having improved your health by leaps and bounds.  

Nutrisystem’s Support System 

Losing weight doesn’t have to be a lonely, solo venture. In fact, Nutrisystem will readily provide you with assistance to help you stay on course. If you ever have questions about the food you’re eating, your exercise plan, or other elements of your diet, you can ask one of the team representatives.  

Contact is made simpler with Nutrisystem’s app, NuMi. You can reach out to a representative via the in-app chat or via a phone number, which you’ll be provided with upon sign-up. 

A Money-Back Guarantee 

If you find that you’re not satisfied with the meals you’re receiving from Nutrisystem, or you’re not seeing the weight loss you hoped for, you can receive your money back from the program.  

You’ll need to call Nutrisystem’s representatives (1-800-727-8046) within the first two weeks of your dietary plan if you’re unsatisfied. Nutrisystem will require you to return the food that you’ve been sent. Once you have, you’ll receive a full refund on your program, save for the shipping and handling necessary to return the meals to the program. 

Nutrisystem’s Plans

When you sign on with Nutrisystem, you don’t have to commit to one boring diet. You have many options available to you. Nutrisystem’s various dietary plans include: 

  • Basic – The basic plan via Nutrisystem is the least expensive plan in their collection. Through this program, you’ll receive 10 meals – breakfast and lunch – as well as snacks to get you through the day. The basic plan does not provide you with meals for dinner, which means you’ll be on your own in the evenings. The NuMi app can help you generate healthy ideas for this mealtime. 
  • Core – The core plan is one of Nutrisystem’s most popular weight loss programs. You’ll receive breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals in four-week increments, as well as snacks and desserts that you can enjoy at your leisure. However, there will be meals designated specifically for the first week of participation. In this first week, known as FreshStart, you’ll undergo a sharp drop in your caloric intake. You can’t vary your meals during this week from the presented schedule, as doing so would prevent you from receiving the best weight loss benefits that Nutrisystem has to offer. 
  • Uniquely Yours – If you want to bring a little more originality to your diet, you can sign up for the Uniquely You dietary plan through Nutrisystem. This plan provides you with the same number of meals that the core plan does. However, you’ll have the opportunity to choose your own meals on a four-week basis. That said, the FreshStart week will remain pre-planned, as you’ll still need to cut your caloric intake sharply. 
  • Uniquely Yours Plus – The Uniquely Yours Plus is a new offering through Nutrisystem. When you sign up for this program, you’ll receive FreshStart probiotic shakes in addition to your meals. You’ll use these shakes during the first week of your diet to help you retain your normal levels of energy. 

So, whatever your ambitions are, Nutrisystem can help you meet them.  

Individualized Meal Plans 

Nutrisystem recognizes that not everyone eats in the same way. Furthermore, some individuals have dietary restrictions that keep them from eating certain types of food. Because Nutrisystem wants their program to be accessible for everyone, their plans have a vast menu that keeps potential dietary restrictions in mind.  

Vegetarian Plans 

If you’re vegetarian or vegan, don’t worry – you won’t have to compromise your values or dietary restrictions to lose weight with Nutrisystem. All of Nutrisystem’s programs let you choose from over 90 vegetarian meals that have been approved by dietitians to help you receive all of the nutrients you need throughout the course of a day.  

Examples of meals you may enjoy include: 

  • Pancakes. 
  • Egg-white spinach crepes (vegetarian, not vegan). 
  • Stuffed shells with sautéed spinach. 
  • Chocolate brownie bars. 

If you want to stick to a strictly vegan diet, be sure to reach out to one of Nutrisystem’s representatives. They can brainstorm plans and present you with meals that will serve your weight loss journey best.  

Plans for Diabetics 

If you’ve been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, you know how difficult maintaining a consistent diet can be. If you’re looking to lose weight without having to fuss over the type of foods you’re able to eat, Nutrisystem can help. Regardless of the program you choose, Nutrisystem will provide you with a flexible menu of diabetes-friendly meals, designed to help you decrease your A1C.  

All meals on Nutrisystem’s plans for diabetic participants are low-glycemic and assembled to help you prevent any spikes in your blood sugar over the course of a day.  

Samples of these meals include: 

  • Apple cinnamon oatmeal. 
  • Cheese tortellini with sliced vegetables. 
  • Rotini and meatballs with a side salad. 
  • Peanut butter cookies. 

Don’t let a diagnosis keep you from losing weight. With Nutrisystem, you can healthily embark on your weight loss journey. 

A Tasting Menu 

As mentioned, Nutrisystem will provide you with a varying number of meals every day, so you can lose weight without thinking about what you’re cooking. With that said, you’re the one who chooses the type of meals you receive through the Nutrisystem program.  

You can opt to receive surprise meals every week via the Chef’s Choice option. If you’re a little pickier, though, you can dive into Nutrisystem’s extensive recipe book and find the meals you think you’ll enjoy. 

Take a gander at some of the options you can choose from here: 

Breakfast 

  • Turkey, ham, and cheese omelets with fruit and yogurt. 
  • Pancakes with an accompanying latte. 
  • Double chocolate and almond muffins. 

Lunch 

  • Hamburger with accompanying celery sticks. 
  • Chick fajitas melt with bell pepper slices. 
  • White cheddar macaroni and cheese with sugar snap peas. 

Dinner (only included in certain Nutrisystem programs) 

  • Margherita pizza and carrot sticks. 
  • BBQ seasoned chicken with mashed cauliflower. 
  • Four cheese manicotti with sautéed spinach. 

Snacks 

  • Unflavored yogurt. 
  • Nuts of various kinds. 
  • Almond butter and celery sticks. 
  • Apple slices and peanut butter. 
  • Low-fat cheese and whole-grain crackers. 

Desserts 

  • Lemon zest cake. 
  • Chocolate chip cookies. 
  • Stuffed apple pie. 

As you can see, dieting doesn’t mean you have to cut the chocolate, caffeine, or sugars out of your diet. Nutrisystem’s success is based on its portion-controlling measures. While you won’t be eating as much food as when off the diet, you can still enjoy the foods you like best. 

Tracking Your Progress With Nutrisystem 

We live in the age of the app. As such, when you decide to work with a Nutrisystem diet, you can use their affiliated app to stay on top of your weight loss.  

But there’s more to the app than that. Nutrisystem’s app, called NuMi, will provide you with free recipes if you want to experiment with cooking. Likewise, you’ll receive daily tips designed to make your weight loss journey a little bit easier. 

Using the app to track your daily caloric intake isn’t difficult. Take a few minutes of your time to pull out your phone, and you’ll find that you don’t count the calories you’re eating yourself. Instead, NuMi will have you enter the following information: 

  • The food you’ve eaten in a day. 
  • The drinks you’ve had in a day. 
  • Your current weight. 
  • Your level of activity. 
  • Any daily exercise you’ve completed – how long, and at what level of intensity? 

Once you’ve entered the above information, NuMi will be able to calculate your calorie intake for the day. 

Nutrisystem recommends that, if possible, you pair your NuMi app with the other fitness apps you have active on your phone, or with the smart devices you wear. This can include a FitBit, your Apple Health App, and more. By pairing these data collectors with your NuMi app, it can more accurately let you know the results of your weight loss progress. Specifically, it can track how you’re handling your diet and what behaviors you can change to help you lose weight faster. 

NuMi makes your weight loss journey an entirely unique one. The data you enter will be used to help you create entirely specialized exercise programs, diets, and more. As you progress through your diet, you can use the rewards you earn through the app to receive discounts on your delivery costs and other prizes. Even logging in to the app for the first time can reduce the price of your meals. 

While you can, arguably, complete a stint with the Nutrisystem diet without using the NuMi app, doing so is not recommended. The app makes it significantly easier to stay on target, and it even makes the work you’re doing a little fun.  

Exercise and Nutrisystem 

Unfortunately, just limiting the calories you ingest on a daily basis won’t help you lose weight quickly. Nutrisystem acknowledges this and, in turn, encourages all of its participants to partake in weekly exercise if they want to lose weight. Additionally exercise will not only help you shed pounds, but it will get your blood pumping and improve your health in other ways. 

Nutrisystem, on average, recommends that all of its participants partake in at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. However, do note that your gender, weight, and physical ability will impact your options for exercise. Don’t feel as though you have to jump into moderately intense exercise all too quickly. You can work your way up until you feel comfortable in the gym. Exercise, after all, is a celebration of what your body can do – so let it get comfortable with doing things again, before you decide to push it to its limits.  

The good news is? Nutrisystem won’t let you take on your exercise journey alone. When you sign up for a membership with the program, you’ll become part of a My Daily 3 Plan. This plan drives you to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. The metabolic exercises that the program wants you to undertake can be performed all at once, or in increments over the course of your day. So, if you don’t know where to start when it comes to exercise, you can follow My Daily 3’s two-week schedule until you feel more confident in your ability to stay active. 

Once you’ve completed your two-week schedule, you can either repeat it or take on an exercise plan of your own making. Nutrisystem, at a minimum, wants you to discover a form of exercise that you enjoy, so your workouts can not only benefit your body, but can make you happy.  

Costs 

Every dietary plan comes with its expenses, and Nutrisystem is no different. The program is one of the more expensive types available on the market. If you sign up for food deliveries in four-week increments, you’ll spend between $240 and $380, depending on your gender and dietary needs. Each of the different plans has a different cost, as the foods Nutrisystem will need to invest in will vary based on your preferences and restrictions. 

It’s worth noting that these are the prices you’ll receive by signing up for auto-delivery. If you forgo that benefit, you could pay up to 35 percent more on your meals per month. 

Seem like a lot of money? Working with Nutrisystem definitely requires a significant financial investment. That’s why Debra Moorhead has such an expansive catalog of coupons and promo codes for you to browse. You can save up to $100 on your first Nutrisystem order with the promo codes currently available on the site. 

Nutrisystem also offers all of its participants a money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with your first order or aren’t seeing any physical results, then you can reach out to the company and receive the cost of your first delivery back. With that support system in place, you can safely test out the program and see if you’re satisfied with the dietary plan it creates for you. 

Choosing the Right Dietary Plan For You 

When it’s time to pick from the many dietary plans out there, which is the best one for you? This will depend entirely on your weight loss goals and level of comfort. Before you decide how you want to move forward, ask yourself: Will this program help me meet my goals? Will I be able to stick to the requirements set for me by this program? 

Nutrisystem is an intense weight loss program that’s been proven to work, so long as you’re willing to put in the concentrated effort. The cost of the program is high, but if you budget appropriately, you won’t notice its impact on your wallet too much. 

One of the distinct benefits of working with this program, though, is the way it takes the thought out of dieting. By providing you with the meals you need to get through a week, Nutrisystem takes the stress out of eating. You won’t have to count calories on your own. You won’t have to feel guilty about indulging in a little dessert. If you have dietary restrictions, you can still enjoy a plethora of food that, again, you don’t have to cook from scratch yourself. 

In short, if you’re looking for an effective weight loss program and are willing to commit to the goals Nutrisystem lays out for you, then consider investing in the program. When you do, you’ll find that it’s all the easier for you to introduce healthy foods into your diet while also shedding pounds.  

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories will you eat a day when working with a Nutrisystem plan?

Even when you’re not trying to lose weight, the number of calories you should eat over the course of a day will vary based on your height, weight, gender, and level of activity. Weight loss results when you create a calorie deficit, or when you eat fewer calories than you need to during the day. On average, men in their twenties need to take in 2,200 calories per day. When you start with Nutrisystem, the program will jump start your weight loss journey by reducing your consumption to 1,000 calories per day during the first week. In the weeks that follow, men will take in roughly 1,500 calories per day, while women will eat roughly 1,200 per day. Again, though, these amounts will differ on your body, not to mention your weight loss goals.

How does Nutrisystem help you lose weight?

As mentioned, Nutrisystem deliberately forces your body to experience a calorie deficit. This deficit, which results more from portion control than it does from actively rejecting food, makes your body reach into fat storages to provide you the energy you need to get through your day. As your body continues to do this – and as you pair your deficit with increased exercise, which requires more energy – you’ll find yourself losing weight.

How much weight can you lose when you work with Nutrisystem?

You’ll lose the most weight on Nutrisystem during the first week of your journey. After the first week of your diet, you should expect to lose between one and two pounds per week. Most participants report losing up to 13 pounds and 7 inches off of their waists within the first month of participation.

How quickly will you start to lose weight when working with Nutrisystem?

Because Nutrisystem so drastically lowers your calorie intake during the first week of the diet, you’ll see yourself losing between one and three pounds within seven days of getting started. In fact, the vast majority of participants report losing the most weight during the first week of their time with Nutrisystem.

You should expect to lose between 10 and 13 pounds within the first month of your diet. However, you won’t continue to lose weight at the same rate you did during the first week. Take it slow, and don’t try to manually lower your calorie intake to retain that first-week pace.

Can you drink coffee while on Nutrisystem?

Nutrisystem isn’t a program that works by denying access to the foods you like. Instead, the program encourages deliberate portion control. With that in mind, you can enjoy a cup of coffee during the day while dieting with Nutrisystem. However, instead of filling your cup with lots of milk and sugar, consider transitioning to black coffee. Alternatively, have a smaller cup of your regular coffee in the morning, instead of your normal amount.

In short, so long as the beverage you’re drinking is low-calorie and low-sugar, you can enjoy it at your leisure.

Contact Nutrisystem

Customer services is provided free of charge for all customers and is available in Mon-Fri 8am-10pm EST Sat-Sun 9am-9pm EST

  • 600 W Office Center Dr, Fort Washington, PA 19034
  • customerservice@nutrisystem.com
  • (800) 585-5483