How Does Nutrisystem Work?
Let's take a look at how Nutrisystem works and how it can be incorporated into your own daily life to help you lose weight.
Nutrisystem provides dieters with selected programs according to their budget and needs. With separate programs for men and women, plus specific plans created for vegetarians, and those with type 2 diabetes, most needs, tastes and pockets are catered for.
Each plan provides the dieter with three meals per day plus a between-meal snack for women (two snacks for men).
When you visit the official website for Nutrisystem, you are presented with three plan levels. These are:
Basic
Uniquely Yours
Uniquely Yours Ultimate
Each plan offers slightly different choices of cuisine.
Customers receive portion-controlled meals on each plan, as well as having access to certain online tools as well as a smartphone app.
If you choose one of the two higher rated plans (Uniquely Yours and Uniquely Yours Ultimate), you have the choice of your own meals from a wide selection of 160+ fresh frozen and non-frozen meals. These higher cost plans include a wider variety of options for customers in terms of meal and snack choices.
Basic plan customers are restricted to choosing meals from the non-frozen range (shelf-stable), which consists of mostly processed freeze dried meals. You can also choose to have meals selected for you by opting for "Chef's Choice."
It is also possible to personalize meal choices based on a variety of criteria such as your body type, your weight loss goals and your food preferences. When you select this option, a short automated quiz is first taken.
The company also provides weight loss counselors who are available by phone to answer customer questions, resolve any concerns and deal with requests for general support.
The first week of the diet program is specifically designed to "reboot your body," as the website states. What that basically means is that it is more restrictive on what you can eat than subsequent weeks.
During this initial week, you are limited to only consuming Nutrisystem's food and shakes. The reason for this is to initiate fairly quick weight loss (typically less than 10 pounds). The one-week plan can be purchased separately without needing to invest in a longer-term meal plan if you want to.
Progressing with the Diet
After the first week has passed, Nutrisystem customers are able to incorporate two "flex" meals during each subsequent week. What this means is that you can prepare your own meals using ingredients purchased by you separately from the meals provided.
Customers are provided with grocery guides to let you know what foods are compliant with the diet. Restaurant meals are also allowed as flex meals (as long as they comply with the diet rules).
The handy smartphone NuMi app provides you with specific guidance for which menu items you can select as well as which ones to avoid when eating at a restaurant.
As soon as you subscribe to a Nutrisystem program of your choice, the food is packaged up and delivered to your home. If you sign up for auto-delivery (this is automatic if you take advantage of one of the company's big promotions with money off your first month), you'll continue to receive and pay for repeat orders every four weeks.
This will continue until you cancel your subscription, which must be done by telephone and not via the Nutrisystem website.