Nutrisystem Reviews

Editor's Star Ratings:

Diet Features:
Fitness Features:
Community Support:
Expert Advice:
Extras:
Customer Support:
Ease of Use / Navigation:
Value for Money:
Overall Star Rating:

Joining Fee:

• There are a number of subscription options with NutriSystem, and these affect the overall cost of the program:
• • Womens Plans Month-by-Month: $333.28 + $18.95 shipping per month.
  • Womens Plans Auto Delivery: $299.95 (Free Shipping)
  • Mens Plans Month-by-Month: $366.61 + $18.95 shipping per month.
  • Mens Plans Auto Delivery: $329.95 (Free Shipping)

Features:

• Diet Features:
  • Simply select your foods (either the Favorites package or customize your menu), and they arrive on your doorstep.
  • No counting, weighing or measuring - lose weight through diet management and regular exercise!
  • Choose from a range of specifically designed programs:
    • Women's Program: Enjoy an affordable meal delivery program that's low in fat and based on the Glycemic Index. It features meals and desserts full of good carbs and protein.
    • Men's Program: With delicious, filling meals and a no-brainer plan, this program is tailor made for men and gives you a great way to lose weight and regain your confidence and energy.
    • Women's Silver Program: Want to look and feel years younger? Get the Silver program designed specifically for older women who want a convenient way to slim down. Perfect for today's active senior. Includes Nutrihance® Over 60 Multivitamin.
    • Men's Silver Program: Get the plan designed to help older men shed pounds simply and conveniently. This nutritionally supercharged weight-loss program is a great source of protein, fiber and 'good' fats, and includes a Nutrihance® Over 60 Multivitamin.
    • Women's Diabetic Program: This is a great meal plan designed specifically for women with Type II Diabetes. It lets you easily control your calorie and carbohydrate intake to help you lose weight.
    • Men's Diabetic Program: It's a totally satisfying meal plan for men with Type II Diabetes that lets you easily control your calorie and carbohydrate intake to promote weight loss.
    • Vegetarian Programme: more than 60 great-tasting, prepackaged vegetarian entrees, snacks and desserts.

• Fitness Features:
  • FREE exercise DVD and Mindset Makeover Guide
  • Online Weight Loss Diary helps you track your diet, exercise, water and vitamin intake, and also keep a journal about how things are going.

• Expert Advice:
  • A team of NutriSystem nutrition weight loss counselors and dietitians is available online or on the phone to answer any questions you might have, give advice about nutritional matters and customize a plan for those with special medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
  • Log on every day and get The Daily Dose Weight Loss Advice .
  • Online member newsletter contains a whole host of weight loss articles and information on current health and fitness trends, plus fast facts on various foods, NutriSystem news and even special offers and other fun stuff, too!

• Community Support:
  • Online classes: Twice each week, NutriSystem holds 30 minute long e-classes, where registered dietitian, Mary Gregg, shares her knowledge on weight loss and nutrition. The topic is different for each class, so you can always log on and learn with your fellow dieters.
  • Online Bulletin Boards and Chat Rooms - chat with other Nutrisystem dieters online to share tips, advice and experience.

• Help Files / Technical Support:
  • An extensive list FAQ grouped under the following themes:
    • NutriSystem® AdvancedT
    • Program Information
    • Meal Plan
    • NutriSystem Foods
    • Ordering
    • Shipping
    • Counseling
  • If your query is not addressed in the FAQ, you can:
    • receive LIVE HELP from one of NutriSystem's online representatives between the hours of 7 am 12 midnight (EST), weekdays.
    • telephone Customer Service on 1-800-585-5483 between the hours of 8:00 am and 11:00 pm (EST) weekdays and 8:30 am - 5:00 pm (EST) weekends.

Editor's Verdict:

Nutrisystem is a nutritionally managed weight loss program based on calorie-controlled meals delivered straight to your door. Nutrisystem has been supplying diet meal plans since 1972, firstly throughout the United States, but as of 2008, in Canada and from 2009 onwards, in Japan. The Nutrisystem program differs from other major meal delivery diet plans by focusing on the integration of low Glycemic Index carbohydrates into a low fat meal plan. Nutrisystem believes that this unique combination of low fat and 'good carbs' helps support stable blood sugar levels and healthy weight loss, whilst banishing cravings and feelings of hunger often associated with dieting. Despite having such a strict plan, customers are still free to choose which package they join and the meals they eat - producing one of the best, and most flexible, meal delivery plans on the market.

Nutrisystem prides itself on encouraging its dieters to lose weight through an effective combination of a balanced, calorie controlled diet with a range of counseling and community features intended to support the customers' weight loss efforts. Dieters can choose from 7 meal plans, each addressing the needs of a particular demographic: The Basic/Core Plan (Men and Women), the Silver Plan (Men and Women, Seniors), The Diabetic II Plan (Men and Women), and the Unisex Vegetarian plan. Each plan is specifically designed to incorporate meals that are nutritionally balanced, healthy and, perhaps most importantly, tasty. All of the Nutrisystem programs require customers to supplement the packaged meal plans with fresh fruit, vegetable and dairy items from the grocery store, so the diet is perhaps not suitable for those who would find shopping for such items difficult (e.g.. those who are sick, unable to travel or infirm). As well as the standard programs, Nutrisystem offers all food as part of a 'fresh-frozen' program, which is offered at a reduced rate, intended to make the program easier to follow if you have a busy lifestyle (and therefore need to freeze some meals) or don't mind cooking from frozen.

With each meal plan, dieters have the opportunity to select either a 'favorites' menu (where all meal options are selected from a collection of the most popular dishes in that menu plan), or a 'custom' menu (where users can select each and every meal that goes into their plan). Users can also choose from an 'a la carte' menu, to fill spaces between orders, cater for friends and family or stock the freezer. This flexible attitude carries through to the community features that are hosted online. Dieters can join the 4.5 million strong community online to get dieting advice from expert fitness and nutrition experts, use a weight and measurement log to track your progress, keep a food diary and exercise log, use chat rooms, live chat and a free counseling service and manage your new lifestyle with the '13 week interactive strategy tool'. With so much going on, we were impressed with the value of the Nutrisystem program. Forbes magazine found the Nutrisystem plan to be the best value for money compared with other meal delivery plans, deciding that "at $74 for women and $82 for men, Nutrisystem was the cheapest option...".

We were impressed with the Nutrisystem as we felt it offered a great deal of flexibility to the individual dieter, in terms of which plan they joined and what food they ate. In addition, the site had a good range of community features and online e-tools which help make the process of dieting easier and boost success rates. We did however feel that the system would benefit from a more developed fitness section, such as those hosted on other sites (eDiets, Abs Diet Online or Diet.com, for example).

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