The Nutrisystem Arrives!

So, wanting to give the Nutrisystem folks a fair shake in this blog, I placed an order for both the regular Nutrisystem Plan and the new "Nutrisystem Select" plan to see what I'd get.


The regular NutriSystem for Men plan came first. It was a HUGE box delivered by a UPS guy, who made the comment, "this box is heavy". The poor guy had to carry it up two flights of stairs. Ironically, he's the one that might be losing the most weight because of this company.


The first thing I noticed was the box was non-descript. Good idea. The last thing someone needs is to have a big box delivered emblazoned with the words "Delivery for Chubby". For all the neighbors know, it could be a new home stereo system or something.


Opening the box was like Christmas morning. I had no idea what to expect. Here's what I saw:

I have to say, I was pretty excited. Normally, it's me spending hours at the supermarket and lugging bags and bags up the stairs. But this was a very well presented array of a ton of food. Let's just say if Y2K were to hit today, I'd be good for a whole month.

There are bowls of cereal, bowls of soup, snack bars, taco kits, bags of pretzels and chips, and cups that look like those cup-o-noodles where you add water (in this case, instead of fat-filled noodles, they're dishes like pasta parmesan, macaroni and cheese, and black beans and rice).

There are also entrees like lasagna, pot roast, pasta fagioli, cajun chicken and rice, and more. I won't kid you--I'm a little skeptical about these. It looks like they don't need refrigeration until they're opened (it took me a while to figure that one out). They're plastic trays which seem well sealed and there are instructions on how to cook them in a microwave or on a stove top. Ever the trooper, I'll give them a shot and let you know what my honest opinion is.

The best thing is that each meal is labeled very clearly. You have "Breakfast Time", "Lunch Time", "Dinner Time" and "Dessert Time" marked out. Using the handy book, you can plot out exactly what you'll be eating each day. The breakfast portions are easy to eat when rushing in the morning, and the lunch portions are perfect for bringing to the office.

But as I was saying, as if that weren't enough I decided to also sign up for the frozen NutriSystem Select program.

If the regular NutriSystem package was like Christmas morning, getting this delivered was like Christmas morning, my birthday, and winning the Publisher's Clearing House all in one.

A big bag was delivered to the door by someone with a Schwann Food uniform:

I opened the bag and on top were two big ice packs (so the package could stay fresh at your door even if you weren't home". Underneath it I found this.

"Okay, this is looking good", I thought. Then I saw the rest of the package.

If you can't see the package, it's chock full of amazing meals, again perfectly portioned and demarcated for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, or Dessert. You've got breakfasts such as a Steak and Cheese Melt, a Garden Vegetable Omelet, and pancakes. Lunch options include frozen pizza, ham and cheese sandwiches. And the dinners look amazing. Chicken alfredo, ravioli, roast turkey medallions, asian beef tips, and a lot more. And of course the desserts jumped out at me. You've got ice cream sandwiches, a blueberry parfait, a fudge sundae, and more.

I think the main point of the Nutrisystem diet is not to give you some kind of magical pill or potion to lose weight instantly, but to train you in good eating habits. I admit, it's going to be hard for me to go from eating two meals a day to eating six meals (as the plan dictates), but when all is said and done, the good Lord didn't design our bodies to be hungry all day and then gorge at night. That's like running a car on empty, and then at the end of the day trying to fill a 15 gallon tank with 30 gallons of gas. With good eating habits, supposedly my metabolism will be such that my body will take in only as much energy as it needs, and not have to store excess in the form of fat. At least we'll see.

The diet starts soon. Get ready!