Nutri/System Diet
Nutri/System is another commercial diet program that dieters have found to help them lose weight.Nutri/System: The Premise
Nutri/System began more than 30 years ago as just another diet program offering prepackaged meals and dietary counseling. But several years ago, it morphed into an almost exclusively online weight-loss program, complete with online counseling and menu planning. Nutri/System's latest Nourish program features meal plans based on low glycemic-index (GI) foods and optimal amounts of protein, fat, and fiber to "help keep your blood sugar levels stable and your metabolism burning strong, so you can burn more fat." Targeted programs are offered for women, men, women over 60, men over 60, people with type 2 diabetes, and vegetarians.
Membership in the online weight-loss community is free of charge. Newcomers are assigned to a personal weight-loss counselor, who will track their progress and give advice as long as they follow the program. New members also receive a menu plan, a catalog of products, a food diary, a weight chart, an online weekly newsletter, and a few other goodies to get them started. Other services include online bulletin boards, chat room support groups, and a free diet analysis. You can purchase prepackaged entrées and snacks, but unlike Jenny Craig, they are not mandatory for you to be enrolled in the program. However, Nutri/System's menus incorporate its Nourish foods throughout, making it difficult to follow the plan without buying the products.
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Like Jenny Craig, the rationale is that preplanned menus incorporating prepackaged, preportioned foods make it easier to stick with a weight-loss program. Nutri/System's shift to an online dieting service offers more flexibility to people with irregular schedules and little free time to attend meetings. Most areas of the Web site are available round-the-clock so dieters are never more than a few clicks away from information and support. You can make an appointment with your assigned counselor or log on anytime for help from any counselor who is available. Members also have the option of talking to fellow Nutri/System dieters.
What's for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner?
The diet plan allows for eating five times a day -- three meals and two snacks -- and includes one dessert each day. There are more than 100 different prepackaged, shelf-stable, microwavable entrées and snacks to choose from. You can make your own menus from the prepackaged foods or you can choose from a 28-day meal package. The meal plans are based on low-GI, low-fat food choices. You add a specific number of servings of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products to them. The products don't have to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, a definite plus as long as you have access to a microwave oven. But shelf-stable foods never taste as good as frozen, and certainly not as good as fresh. New offerings to the program are NutriPeptide™ bars and shakes as lunch options. These are promoted as containing a unique blend of amino acids and minerals designed specifically to work along with the NutriSystem Low Glycemic Index program. The bars and shakes provide up to 11 grams of protein and 50 percent of the RDA of calcium.
Fact or Fiction: What the Experts Say
The claim that "bad" carbs, those with a high GI, break down too quickly and cause your insulin levels to spike and your body to store fat is not exactly the full story. While experts believe that GI scores can be helpful for guiding food choices, there is no evidence that eating mainly low GI foods will promote weight loss. In fact, GI scores are based on single foods eaten by themselves, which doesn't happen in real life. When you eat a combination of foods, the fat, fiber, and protein in them all affect the GI score, usually lowering it. Other factors, such as how the food is cooked, also affect the GI value. Another concern is that all the preplanned menus with packaged foods may be too much of a crutch. But the program does offer some advantages. Chat rooms and online counseling may be useful weight-loss aids for some people. And, as with any prepackaged plan, it offers the no-brainer approach as a kick-start to a long-term goal of weight loss.
Gains and Losses/What's the Damage?
Anyone who follows the Nutri/System diet plan will get a well-balanced, reduced-calorie diet that, combined with regular physical activity, should result in weight loss of one to two pounds per week. Despite the focus on the glycemic index rating of foods, the diet provides a sensible approach to eating with emphasis on lowering overall fat intake and increasing fiber. One small study of the Nutri/System program by the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York found that postmenopausal women who followed a 1,200-calorie plan for 16 weeks lost an average of 21 pounds. To follow the Nutri/System Nourish program with their suggested foods costs about $60 a week, so you need to examine your budget before signing on to the program.
The next method is joining Weight Watchers. Click to the next section to find out more.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.
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