Nutrisystem, How Does It Work? Plus 4 Weeks Free Offer

Nutrisystem is one of the more popular weight loss programs out there along with Weight Watchers, Atkins and Jenny Craig. With over 30 years of experience (started in 1972) in the industry they have provided a complete diet solution and help tons of people lose weight.

If you are a night-owl and stay up watching TV Infomercials or if you are a overweight and have looked into various diet programs, it is likely you have heard of Nutrisystem before. But many people don't really know what it is all about.

Simply put, Nutrisystem is a program based on pre-packaged and pre-portioned meals that get delivered to your door and you eat these on a specific schedule along with some added store-bought ingredients. The idea is that you will be eating smaller and "healthier' meals which will help you lose weight and cut out the bad habits of over-eating and eating junk food.

But Nutrisystem is not just about eating already made meals, it actually is a whole system that includes an online membership with access to tons of tools that will help you along the way and 24-7 online or over the phone support.

Completely changing your diet is hard and Nutrisystem knows this. That is why they provide you with tools to help increase your motivation, keep track of your goals and interact with other people on the program.

I would say that Nutrisystem is more like a Community rather then just a Diet Program, as the latter seems much too simplified for everything that is provided.

Sloppy Joes, Burgers, Blueberry Muffins and Chocolate cake are all items you will find on the Nutrisystem menu. Doesn't sound much like a diet to me...But all these meals are focused mainly on calorie control and balanced macro-nutrients. So even though you eat basically the same things as usual, they are much smaller and on average have less fat.

The idea is that all meals are composed for the most part of 55% carbs, 25% fats, and 20% proteins and are for the most part low in sodium and trans-fats. This way you will be getting all the different nutrients and calories you need for your body to function well and lose weight without going through any drastic measures.

How Many Calories Do I Eat In A Day?

The Nutrisystem diet is set up so that on average women will be eating around 1,200 calories while men eat around 1,500 calories. This may be a lot less calories then you are currently eating, but this is the whole point of dieting. Getting as close as possible to eating the same amount of calories that you need for your daily functions and nothing extra - because anything extra gets stored!

About The Meals

All the meals come in a shelf-stable package which you can reheat in the oven and in just minutes have your meal cooked. So as you see, it is also a very convenient way to diet because you can buy all your meals in advanced, take them on the go (such as work) and cook them up really quickly so its fast and easy. Plus, everything is already pre-portioned so you won't have to count your calories, just follow the guide on what to eat when and you're good to go.

Are The Meals Healthy?

While the foods consist of meals poured out of non-refrigerated foil pounces or mixes that are reconstituted with water and heat (sounds very military-like) they are for the most part healthy. They provide you with the nutrients you need and Nutrisystem also recommends that you add some fresh produce to your diet which you can buy at a local grocery store, so you can get some really healthy and fresh food into your program.

The only concern I think is the sodium (salt) and preservative contents of the meals.Eating to much salt is not that good for you, especially if you have high-blood pressure. However, Nutrisystem is supposed to help you become a healthier eater, lose weight and learn to control your cravings. So you shouldn't be on the program for life. Once you are done you can switch over to all fresh food and even organic/preservative-free foods if you wish.

I was talking earlier about how Nutrisystem is not just a weight loss program but how it is basically a whole system and community.

Losing weight is hard. Anyone that has gone through it or is trying to lose weight right now knows how hard it can be to follow a strict diet and fight back the cravings. You probably feel hungry most the time, huh?

For this reason joining something like Nutrisystem can provide you with the motivation you may otherwise not have if you followed a diet at home by yourself.

When you sign up, you get access to a ton of online tools for keeping track of your progress and goals, a "Mindset Makeover Behavior Guide", an online "diary" and most importantly access to a community with over 4 million members just like you who are trying to lose weight.

The Nutrisystem Community is a great way to chat with other people on the program, motivate eachother and most importantly you can see what other people are doing to reach their goals and stay on track.

And who knows...if you are single maybe its a good place to find a partner :)

Nutribears - The Cutest Motivation Ever

Here is something I just recently found out about Nutrisystem and I thought it was really cool. After each 10 pounds lose you receive a cute stuffed bear (Nutribear) that says how many pounds you have lost so far. Sure its just a bear, but it is sort of like owning a trophy.

Plus, I think if you have kids or grand-kids it would be a great source of motivation so you can give them a cute bear. And the more you lose the more presents you can give them!

I added a picture to the right so you can see the nutribears.

Like with any weight-loss program, if you want to see results quick you need to exercise. Nutrisystem encourages exercise to their customers and they even include a DVD to help you get started with some simple exercise programs.

Here are a few tips so for incorporating Exercise into your weight-loss program.

1. Seek Help: There are professional fitness trainers out there that can give you some really great personalized tips and exercise routines that may be more effective then those you already know about or searched for online.
2. Keep A Journal: Write down everything down on an exercise log so you can look back and see how you did for that week. This is a great way to see the correlations between weight you have lost and the amount of exercise performed. It is also a great way to motivate yourself and push yourself a bit more every week.
3. Get An Exercise DVD: There are tons of workout DVD programs out there, from sexy dance routines to hard-core home weight-lifting. Choose a style or a few and try them out. You may be surprised to find out how fun and easy it is working out in front of the TV with someone guiding you along the way. I have done the p90x program before and really enjoyed it. It kept pushing me to the limits and helped me get pretty ripped.
4. Do What You Like: Exercising should be fun and there are tons of ways to exercise. You could go out for a jog, ride a bike, roller-skate, surf, go swimming, play tennis, hike up a mountain, work in the garden, lift some weights...There are tons of ways to get moving and burn some calories. Find some things you enjoy and do these. This way you will be motivated and you will be happy!
   

Nutrisystem Provides various Plans depending on your needs and they have been carefully planed to give you more "personalized" meals to help you lose weight. Below are some of the different plans they have available.

Nutrisystem Advanced: This is the "mother of all plans" because it goes the extra mile to provide you with meals that have extra omega-3's and soluble fiber so you can feel full longer and it can help promote a healthy heart.

Nutrisystem Select: This plan includes some frozen foods from Schwans Food Delivery Service, so that you can get some more variety in your meal options.

Nutrisystem Flex: Flex is a plan for those looking to save some money. It is the most economical plan and is designed to give you the weekends off so you can eat whatever you want.

Nutrisystem D: A special plan for people with diabetes.

NutrisystemSilver: Nutrisystem Silver is for older citizens who have different dietary needs then younger and middle-age people.

Just like every diet, Nutrisystem has its Pros and Cons. Here are a few of them and you can help me out by providing feedback in the comments if I didn't cover everything.

Nutrisystem Pros

• Food is convenient and easy to make
• Large variety of meals
• Huge online community for support and motivation
• Various plans based on different needs
• Includes many online tracking tools, weight loss articles and news
• Earn nutribears as you progress
• Daily weight loss advice
• Unlimited counseling and support services
  

Nutrisystem Cons

• Some meals may be high in sodium and preservatives
• Does not deliver fresh food
• It may be hard to keep your weight loss once you stop the program
  

OK, so now that you know pretty much everything about Nutrisystem I wanted to talk a bit about the special "Get 4 Weeks of Free Food" offer that is currently available and how it works, because it comes with a few stipulations.

The "4 Weeks of Free Food" offer can only be applied when you sign up for Nutrisystem and choose the auto-delivery option which means that you will have your meals automatically delivered and your program renewed at the beginning of every month until you cancel. But you won't get your 4 free weeks all at once. Rather you will receive 1 free week a month for the first 4 months, totaling to 4 weeks of free food.

Although you need to stay on the diet for a while I think it is a good deal, because it will probably take you longer then 1 month to achieve the goals you want anyway. Plus, you won't have to deal with re-ordering your food every month since it will all be taken care of automatically. Which is great for people that are super busy all the time and all they want is to get their meals without worrying about it.

Access The Special Offer

You can access this special offer by clicking HERE. This will take you to the official Nutrisystem site where you can learn more about it and order it.

Personally I have never tried Nutrisystem because I am a pretty fit person, I do a lot of weight-lifting and eat fairly healthy most the time. However, what what I know about the program it seems like a pretty good solution for those of you that are looking for some help and a complete weight-loss solution with meals included.

And while everything stated in this article is fact and personal opinion, due to some new FTC laws I must state the disclosure below. So please check it out.

Disclosure: The author (me) of this hubpage is an affiliate of Nutrisystem.

Since I do not have any personal experience with Nutrisystem, although my grandmother was on the program and I was able to see all the meals and tools first hand, I am very interested to know what your thoughts are regarding this weight-loss program and if you have had any good or bad experiences while on Nutrisystem.

If you have tried Nutrisystem or are considering it, please comment below since there are people out there (such as myself) that are interested in your thoughts/experience. And I am sure people will answer any questions if you have any.

Thanks!