I figured as much, especially when Don Shula was the celebrity of the moment. I mean really... the guy makes a living selling the most obnoxiously huge (yet delicious) steaks you could ever imagine. I couldn't see him eating NutriSystem for a year.

If it's on an infomercial, it's probably not a good thing.

That's funny, I didn't know that about Shula. Turns out he even has a steakhouse here in L.A., although I'd never heard of it.

Infomercials are such big business. A good one can really suck you in, the way Nutrisystem did to me.

Shula the steak king, Ditka the pork chop maestro.

Thanks for the article. Years ago a friend of mine took a good 30 pounds off using the Nutrisystems.... I don't think he dug the taste either, although he did state that the chili was his favorite.

It was painful, but he did loose the lbs.

Thanks for the comment Condor. I admire your friend for sticking with this plan and getting results, nice to know someone got their money's worth. Wish I'd had the same result.

Thought I would throw my 'two cents' worth in here. I have never tried NutriSystem, and never will. However, I came up with my own "NutriSystem" -like meals and they ARE working!

I am almost 63 years old - I have learned never to pay attention to weight loss product commericals if they mainly show success stories among those who are pre-menopausal. Both women and men's bodies change as they get older because most of them have less calorie demands. I have lost almost 60 pounds in two years and I am close to my ideal weight. I have tried everything in the past decade, but finally found something that worked for me. No pills, but sadly, those who wish to lose weight must be absolutely capable of feeling hunger pains. Forget the commercials - "you won't be hungry on this diet!" or, "you are doing something wrong if you are hungry". This simply is not true, even if you are adding enough fiber! But if you get a food scale (I purchased a digital one - under $30) and you are willing to measure and/or weigh every morsel that goes into your mouth, you WILL lose.

Exercise is important too - but not enough if you don't cut calories. I walk about an hour a day, or go to a place like WalMart or a mall when the weather is bad. I try to get in 10,000 steps daily, although I can't reach that goal all the time. No alcohol either! Not only does it add calories, even if you incorporate the calories into your daily total, it still gives most people an added appetite - I don't need that! Worse of all, alcohol slows down your metabolism. If you are trying to lose, when your body recieves a drink, it uses energy from it instead of going into your body fat. Not good! I very slowly started to lose weight three years ago on a healthy, 1400 calorie diet. However, it was entirely too slow. I was still somewhat hungry but got so impatient. My physician told me to drop to 1300. I did, but not much happened.

At my age, I found out that my body cannot consume more than 1200 calories a day, with less than 45 grams of fat if I am wanting to lose. Yes, you MUST count fat grams too - I keep a journal and sometimtes I mess up. Even if calories are low, there have been times that at the end of the day I have consumed more than 50 grams of fat. Thirty is better. You MUST invest in one of those books that gives the calorie intake on all foods including fast foods, and the fat grams. I love those 100 calorie snack products and eat at least one a day, but I also have a couple servings of fruit, which has no fat grams. Just be careful with the 100 calorie snacks as they do have fat grams and sodium. One BIG important thing IF you are serious about losing and keeping it off. No more eating at restaurants! And I am not even talking about fast food - the only exceptions are those places who have a menu for low calorie - low fat entrees. Then go ONLY if you know you have the control not to order something else.

This all may sound rigid, but unless people (especially in my age group) are willing to follow the above rules, you won't lose weight. Or if you do, and then go back to your old life style, you will gain it all back. Hopefully, I will soon be able to increase my calorie intake to around 1300 calories. I am an active woman, but that isn't very many calories. I am thoroughly convinced that America's biggest problem with obesity is that nearly everyone eats entirely too much food - from childhood on up. They have no clue as to what portion control really is.

I totally understand where Melinda is coming from because me and my husband tried it for 2 months. She nailed just about every aspect of the "Nurisystem" experience. What really angered me is that I'd get a shipment with the most popular "replacement" foods. Just the very items I abhor. I just can't believe they have THAT MANY "Shortages".....right.

My husband and I have cancelled our "membership". I'm sure our tummies will feel a little better, too.

everybodys taste is different. The food is good and tasty even especially the italian dishes. Why get on here and bash a diet program that may not suit you and might be right for someone else. Let people find out for themselves. The key to this program too is convience and peple that are working heavy schedules love it. You can loose on it if you follow the diet and add the the additional foods you are suppose to. All those pepole on the adds can't be wrong and being they are celebrities are not going to lie expecially Marie Osmond. So be positive and let people decide for themselves and you keep eating your high sodium lean cuisines Melinda and see how much you loose. NS is 8 to 10 pounds a month!

Funny, I am getting ready to mail back the super huge box of food that has just sat on my counter for a week now. After 3 meals I am done. The funny thing I noticed right off of the bat is, you don't need their actual food to lose the weight, just implement your own versions of what they have and add in the fruits and salads and proteins when they tell you to in their "diary" book and I am sure you would get the same results if you did the same portions with let's say a lean cuisine or regualr oatmeal. I actually laughed out loud on day 1 when I cooked their "pizza" I kept loking at the pic on the box and looking at my plate and would have paid BIG bucks for a camera at that moment to post on this blog. It was about as comparable as Porky Pig and Jennifer Aniston saying they are identical twins.

The turning point for me was when I opened the "scrambled eggs" yesterday morning, It was a orange powder and after microwaving it, I was surprised at how much it actually did look like eggs until I bit into a bite and got a rubbery hard rock substance that made me dry-heave for the next 5 minutes. I too could not get past how none of it has to be cold and how could that be healthy? it just honestly grossed me out, I guess I should have looked into it, because I guess I thought it was going to all show up frozen...

All in all, you are right, the celebrities are getting something different, and I don't know where they are getting their advertising pics but they are downright deceitful and LYING!

My box is going back on Monday and I am just wondering what it is going to cost me to mail that big heavy thing back...

NOT HAPPY!

Chasity

In response to Susy I would just like to say that is true-it is to each their own, but what I think we are trying to say is it is false advertisement when they show you pics of paradise hotel and then when you get to your room it is a roach motel!

It is FALSE ADVERTISEMENT with their pictures!!

Susie, if this food agrees with you and you lose weight with it, great. I found it to be terrible, especially compared to how it's advertised. On the other hand, I've heated up WW and LC meals at work for lunch and countless times someone who wasn't on a diet would comment on how good my food smelled and looked. They thought it was a regular non-diet meal.

It's common knowledge that frozen meals are high in sodium, it's what preserves them. Something was preserving all that NS food so that it didn't even need to be refrigerated, much less frozen. So those two things negate each other in my opinion. The only real difference is that I can find a lot more WW and LC meals that are edible.

Another thing that really irked me was they sent me a bunch of food I didn't order and had to return. I don't understand the logic behind that: I'm free to return something and exchange it for an item of my choice, but why go through all that in the first place? Not good customer service.

PFG's comment hits the nail on the head: there is no absolute magic pill or plan that makes weight loss easy for everyone. The best "plan" for weight loss and maintenance requires sensible eating, attention to portion size, exercise and in many instances sacrificing what you'd like to have for what you should have. In other words it takes work.

Also from Susie's comment: "Why get on here and bash a diet program that may not suit you and might be right for someone else. Let people find out for themselves...So be positive and let people decide for themselves..." First, this is an opinion/review piece (noted as such at the top of the page) and not a direct order to the rest of mankind to do as I command. Second, my experience with this plan was not positive, hence the negative review, like any other type of review. If it had been positive I'd have written something in support of it, hell I'd be volunteering to be in their ads. It's a food plan and in my opinion the food was lousy, so that's what I wrote. People are free to do whatever they want with this information, including disregarding it.

I have used Nutrisystem and found it a very good way to lose weight especially for a busy person. The food is not as good as home cooked food but it is good and there are some entrees that are very good. It is highly convenient and well balanced. Also, if you get the "weekends off" plan ( and I bought mine from QVC so it only cost about $200.00 a month) on the weekends the food diary guides you as to how to replicate the balanced menu of Nutri. Can you create you own meals of low fat proteins, low glycemic carbs and fresh fruits and vegetables ? Of course, you can. And we should all learn how. But if you have weight to lose and need to re-educate your mind and body, this is a good way. It is a healthy way to eat and I feel better when I am on it than when I backslide. Ms. Lomis says she eats junk food and considers chocolate one of the food groups. Clever. But you can't lose weight with that attitude. That's like saying exercise isn't as good as sex. No kidding. But a more mature attitude is : I got myself fat. I want/need to lose weight. It won't all taste like Haagen Daz and Dove chocolates but that's life. In time I will feel better and look better and be healthier.

I understand that a lot of people don't like NutriSystem, and I'm not here to speak poorly of those who don't like it because no diet is one size fits all. That said, I'd like to share some of my experience.

My husband and I were given a box of NS meals by a friend who tried it and didn't like it (much like some of you), and I was instantly hooked. I actually like the food (call me strange) and I get full on what I eat.

See, most of my problem, even with the WW frozen meals, is that I was never truly full even when supplementing with veggies, etc. I always felt like I wasn't satisfied.
With the NS meals, I am FULL after I eat. It almost doesn't matter to me that some of the selections might not taste great. I eat on a schedule because of my blood sugar, and I can't afford to be craving food between every single meal and/or snack.

That's what won me on this program. I eat, I get full, and I'm done until my next meal/snack.
I really am sorry that so many people hate the food. Maybe I'm deprived or something, but I have liked all but one meal so far, and even the one I didn't like was tolerable.

But I'm seeing results, and that means everything to me right now, because the next step in this parade is surgery, and I really don't want that.

Continued success to everyone on the road to weight loss, no matter which program you're on!

Thank You Melinda for your right to the point comment. I appreciate it when people are up front and tell it like it is.

I too...am one of those who is hooked on the before and after of most any weight loss program. However...I can't bring myself to watch The Biggest Loser for anything.

I have to agree...get off our duffs, stop the processed garbage and move and eat healthy foods. Healthy foods I guess would be to most who understand that...like you do...is to not eat processed anything...eat whole natural foods...the way nature made them...whole grains like wheat and rice and oats...not mixed in cookies and cakes and crackers...eat fruits and veggies...lots of them...eat lots of cruciferous veggies and lots of greens! I think that is the answer in a nutshell!

You saved me a ton of money! Thanks!

I have been on the Nutrisystem program for 5 months and have lost 55 pounds. While it is true the meals are not exactly gourmet, I find them filling and satisfying. As a binge eater, I must say that the first week on this diet stopped my binging cold. This is the first time I feel like a "normal" eater. I eat a meal, feel full and manage not to eat everything in my path, and think about food all day. Yes the portions are small, but hey, this IS a diet after all. There are a bunch of veggies that are unlimited, and I eat a huge salad at lunch and dinner that fills me up. As for the cost? I was spending a heck of a lot more per day when I was binging. Like everything, it's not for everyone, but it has been a very positive thing in my life.

I cannot believe the commentary regarding Nutrisystem..I have been trying dietr fads since the beginning of time. I agree some of the entrees are foreign, but if you wnat to lose weight you have to re-learn how to eat, hold on, gulping some black bean soup...I guess if you dont keep an open mind it wont matter what type of diet you try, it will always fail. Would I normally eat black bean soup for lunch, no!, but if you prepare it properly it is really good. So sorry if you grew up on hamburgers and hot dogs, you must re-learn how to eat healthy.

I'm not a huge fan of "space food" meals, but I found the nutrisystem program to be surprisingly tasty. Yes, some meals were duds, but if you order a wide variety to begin with, you'll have a better chance of finding out which ones you like. The big plus for me with nutrisystem was the convenience. Very little cooking, no measuring, no calorie counting -- and very easy to take to work (or anywhere) and prepare.

I followed the plan pretty faithfully (Birthday cake was an exception) but didn't lose as much weight as expected, though I did lose some. Honestly, I think it may have been a little more food than a person of my age and height requires.

Whenever you're trying a new eating plan, you must keep an open mind. I'd say at least for a few weeks. And even if one of those nutrisystem meals seems "unnatural", it CAN'T be any worse than the fast food we've cheerfully eaten.

I tried Nutrisystem for one month and lost about seven pounds. I do eat mostly healthy food, but I think my problem is the portions. So it helped me see what a "serving" really was. I even kept one of their trays to serve as a visual aid when I was serving myself a portion. Or if a recipe says "serves 6" I will now divide it up into six equal portions and eat no more than 1/6 of the dish. Where before I would eat however much I could.

I still get on their message boards from time to time. I do like the support you can get from members. Many of them no longer get the meals, but have learned how to control portions and the right types of foods to eat now.

At first I enjoyed most of the food, especially the pasta dinners. The food has the same taste to it that any canned or packaged meal would. The pasta for example has the "beefaroni" taste to it. I also was uneasy with the idea that the food was loaded with preservatives. How can that be healthy? At the end of the month, I cancelled. I couldn't take eating it anymore, and I wanted to just continue eating smaller portions of what I felt was home-cooked healthy meals.

Maybe $11 a day is cheap for some people, but since I usually make everything from scratch, that's expensive to me. My husband and I usually both eat for around $400 or less a month in groceries. Spending $300 for one person, plus you still have to buy extra side items, such as salads, diary, salad dressing, etc. is almost double our food costs. Because I still had to purchase food for my husband on top of that. Not a good buy. What it comes down to is Nutrisystem is a calorie-restricted, portion-controlled weight-loss program. If you restrict your own calories and limit your portions, you'll get the same results with food you actually like, for much less than what you will pay on the program. Buy yourself a good healthy cookbook and enjoy.

I tried Nutrisystem for 1 month.I lost 9 lbs. I got tired of the food fast. It was too expensive for a girl who is on disability. I do believe it works if you stick with it but my favorites would either be discontinued or out and they would supplement something I would not eat. I finally wound up donating the remaining food to a Manna House. By the way, I gained the weight back.

I tried this diet last year. It was so gross and one tiny meal had my sodium intake for the day. I now eat lean cuisines and other frozen meals and try to generally eat fresh and healthy items. the amount of chmicals in this food is so gross. And nothing tastes like it should I don't like salty foods and that's all I received. I ended up donating my couple month supply to the food shelter becuase it was making me sick and my cravings for food were worse. I know just go to the gym before to avoid the excuse later in the day of talking myself out of it and I eat lots of food high in fiber and protein and I feel much healthier now

I totally disagree with your comment that the Nutrisystem entrees are smaller than WW and LC. In fact, just the opposite. And since I sit at the "dieter's table" in the lunchroom at work we often compare our lunches. Nutrisystem is almost always bigger.

On the Nutrisystem message board someone always starts a thred about which foods they hate and everyone comes to the conclusion that for every one they hate, it's someone else's favorite and vice versa.

Yes, I've benn on Nutrisystem for 2 months now and I've lost 42.5 lbs. 3 of the people in my office have signed up because they have seen my results and tasted my food.

I figure after 3 months on the system I'll have the program down pat. I'll do my own breakfasts and I'll keep some of their dinners on hand to make life easy but I'll stick with their lunchs because it's hard to get healthy food at the office. And that's the good part about the program if you actively participate in all aspects of it, especially the wonderful support system. You learn.

I've never been happier or more successful on any other diet. Nutrisystem rocks.

I have been on the Nutrisystem diet for two months and already have my third shipment in house. After two months I agree that the food is no where near what you see on TV. But, when supplemented with salads, fruit and by following what you should eat when dining out I have lost 30 lbs. I will finish the third shipment and then go to weight watchers with my wife. She has lost 17 so far.

I guess my position is more neutral. I loved the breakfasts, lunches and snacks. The dinners, however, gagged me. Even though I couldn't eat a lot of it, I did not send it back--I feel 'a deal's a deal'. I gave the dinners away to a friend (she can tolerate them) and I ate the other foods. The foods do fight hunder the program gave me the jumpstart I needed to lose weight. Have lost 20 lbs. PS The company is great to work with too.

to lose you have to use. less is more

after reading all comments, it seems that the NS will probably help you lose weight but its likely that you wont like the taste and probably will be frustrated by substitutions. for me, the only way i could lose was to take a couple months long vacation so i could devote my entire concentration on shedding pounds. i would be careful what i ate and take several walks each day.
of course, most people cant take off time like that,so i am fortunate to be able to. i always end up losing the pounds i want to. i am 180 now, down from 230.

I ordered the month long Nutrisystem plan in August, thinking that the food would at least be palatable. Most wasn't. The mashed potatoes that came with the meatloaf were gray. The rice in the pepper steak and rice was a gray blob, and the pepper steak did not exist, it was just a bunch of gravy with some small chucks that could have been meat and/or pepper. The rehydrated eggs were disgusting, even with lots of ketchup that probably negated the carb/calorie content of the eggs. The minestrone was your worst dehydrated cup of soup ever. The only thing that was fair were the sour cream and onion soy chips.
I couldn't go in trying to eat this stuff so I stopped. I called customer service and advised them that the food was disgusting and that I wanted to stop the program. Rather than be concerned, they first tried to talk me into continuing to order anything that I had found edible and just eating that. I had to re-use the word disgusting to convince them that my business was gone. Then, she says that they will charge me for the discount I had received when I placed my order. I had to invoke the 30 day money back guarantee, at which time she transferred me to someone else.
The new person whose name I didn't catch was even less sympathetic. Then I was told that I could send the uneaten food back at my expense and she gave me an RMA number. All anyone had to do was be a little more concerned that it was a really bad experience and offer to take the food back, not make me bring it up and not try to sell me more awful food. It would have been really nice to be able to ship the stuff back at their expense, but oh well. So I'm off to the post office to spend probably another $15 to $20 or more because there is so much food I couldn't bring myself to eat.
While I was disappointed by the food, I was even more disappointed by customer service. If this system works for you, that's great and I'm very happy for you and wish you the very best. But this was soooo not for me.

okay,I've been reading comments.I'm 5ft. and 1 inch tall.I weigh 175 pounds.will this work for me?I haven't tried it,but I was thinking about it.I need to lose the weight by November 25,2008.there is a wedding.I don't want to be ugly in the pictures.(I'm not the bride,if that is what you are thinking.)someone talk to me!

Well, Kitty, here's the thing. You will probably lose weight with Nutrisystem. How you lose it is the issue. I had my appetite completely turned off for a week (see my post above about gray mashed potatoes), so I lost weight because I wasn't eating anything. I also felt like a beaten dog most of the time. If it turns out you like the food, then you may be able to follow the program and lose weight (many have been quite successful). Since you are looking at losing weight in a very short and specific time period, I will tell you that you would probably be much better off spending the $300+ on a nutritionist who can tailor something for you that will not only taste a lot better, but teach you long lasting skills to keep the weight off. That is what I am going to do.

Jill,you're comment is the one that made me think I shouldn't do it.BUT,there is a tea called wu-yi or something like that.I was thinking about trying that.

After using Nutri-system for 3 months here is what I experienced:

Pro) Easy to use and store, most items were tasty and I lost weight.
Con) Expensive, some items were horrible and I couldn't eat it and I regained most of the weight only after a few months of being off the program.

Would I recommend it: Probably not.

TONY HORTON'S 10 MINUTE trainer!TRY IT!my brother is dropping pounds and he isn't dieting!it's only been 5 days for him also!!!I'm going to start it tommorrow!LOOK IT UP ON THE INTERNET!It'll change your LIVE!!!!!!!!

Wow, I'm shocked at so many unhappy people. I went from a size 14 to a size 4, kept it off for over a year and couldn't be happier.

I tried every plan out there and this is the only one that worked for me and I feel great. I only bought the food for about three months and stretched it out by addin my own food.

Just like the commercial said, it's easy and I lost 45 lbs like nothing.

Everyone needs to find what works for them. Best of luck everyone with your dieting endeavors.

the thing i notice about a lot of folks who want to lose weight is that they can not stay with it for more than a week in general. and much of that is because they do not choose a nutritional lifestyle. instead, they rely on some kind of spartan diet that does not satisfy their hunger, which consists of a very limited kinds of foods. so they just get weaker and hungrier as time goes by until finally they just cant stand it anymore and POOF! so much for that. they dont realize that is not they way to go and its small wonder most that go that route fail. or they try pills, which usually contain a lot of caffiene and are not very effective. the key to weight loss is patience! if you dont get a lot of exercise you can not expect to lose very rapidly.People have expectations that are totally unreasonable. they want to lose a lot and fast. it just does not work that way.for inactive people trying to lose you should expect 3 to 5 pounds per month. thats not a lot when you are extremely overweight and thats why a lot of folks just give up. it will happen but you have to give your body a chance. if you were perfectly lean do you think you could get to being fat in just a few weeks? ok then. you should know what you can eat. knock out the pop, sweets, fried stuff. most diet books can tell you what you should eat. try wheat bread. keep your portions down to one serving. try to get in a walk or some type of exercise. eat good nutritional foods of the right kind and watch your portions. dont starve yourself, just dont over indulge. the key is patience. if you break down and eat a sundae, dont just give up. its not the end of the world.dont worry about the scale or the mirror every day. check your weight twice a month and expect it to take 4 to 5 months to lose 20 to 25 pounds. the more exercise the quicker you will lose.

I have been on the program almost 8 weeks and have dropped 30 pounds...I have been very disciplined with both the program and the addition of exercise. the key is that you don't have to think your way around the diet...you learn portion control and that multiple meals actually speeds up your metabolism. as far as the taste goes...the foods are good....not great...but you can find the ones you prefer and stick with those...also, don't forget this is a diet...we all pigged out to get here...is a diet supposed to be great??...it's not fun...more reason to try and keep the weight off once I hit my goals.

Hi, Try the vegetarian entrees: Pasta Fagioli, Vegetarian Lasagna, and Cheese Ravioli with Basil Tomatoe Sauce are delish! Eat a huge, fresh salad with it, or sliced cucumber. Not impressed with the vegetarian lunches, except the Fudge Graham bar, which will be morning snack with coffee - unbelievealbe! Rich, chewy chocolaty - a surprise! For breakfasts, I'm sticking with Scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs with veggie sausage crumble, pancakes, and blueberry pancakes. You add your own egg or 1/2 cup egg substitute, so it makes it alot of breakfast - my favorite meal! I'm with you, Melinda, the cookies are outstanding. Did you try the white chocolate chunk? I'm going to order 12 on my next order.

Louise

I can't agree more. These foods are a scam and just nasty. Plus all the other fruit and veg's you have to buy with it. I saved $127.15 just by buying the LC and other like stouffer's and got the results I needed. Oh lets not forget if you do the Auto delivery plan and cancel, they bill you for the difference of the one time delivery and the auto delivery. About $52 buck's. Overall this was the worst diet ever.

Randy

A food bank might be a good place to give extras or leftovers if anyone else has this predicament.

It always strikes me that weight loss pills and programs say "with a good exercise program and proper diet." Seems like one could skip the pill or special meals and just go for the proper diet and exercise, if that's the case. Of course weight loss is often more complicated than that. Unhealthy packaged meals filled with chemicals and preservatives do not address possible underlying health issues or metabolic issues, etc.

As small as those meals are, it would also lower the metabolism I'd think, which can be counter productive. The Zone personal meal plan sounds good but it is very expensive, beyond most people's means. Also, for a picky eater, most of any of these meal plans' menus does not sound good. I'm picky but I do love mac and cheese. Lol =) Sometimes, anyway. As a former vegetarian I almost lived off the stuff at times! And, it's cheap.

I like most of the food. the white chocolate chip cookies i received were like cardboard, i love this cookies i make it myself with applesauce to lower the fat and calories  the black bean and tortilla soup was awful, when i called the customer service they were telling me to add water to the cookie and microwave it,and were nasty when i asked about not sending things out that i do not eat. this type of customer service is not helping people loose weight. when you get discouraged you give up, they should be concerned with the goal of helping the customer and customer satisfaction rather than their free week is what they choose, free is not free if you have to pay to send it back.in reality it cost them and the client more, just give the client what they need to achieve the goal that they set not get them upset and  have them give up.

I have lost 17 pounds on NutriSystem in two months. Yes some of the food is crapola, but I plan I losing 30 more pounds. The portion control is what I needed to be successful.

Total waste. I have been active all my 55 years. I have tried other controlled diets with mixed results. This was a total sham. First, these are not 'meals' -- they are entrees or part entrees. Second, the food was awful -- 'muffins' were like sawdust, pizza was a shmear of ketshup-like sauce on flat bread; hamburgers were like boards. Drink meal substitutes were full of sodium. I was always hungry. The "big names" that 'endorsed' this stuff should re-look at their lives and try to do something respectful. Don't waste your time and money.

Had to pop in here to express my surprise and delight that this article is still generating comments. Especially since my next move is to go check the comments on a politically themed article I posted this morning that I'm expecting to get hammered on. This feels like a safe haven :)

What I've gotten out of all this is that different diet plans work for different people. I maintain that my biggest gripe about NS was the actual quality of the food versus their claims that the food is so incredibly delicious. But if you can eat this stuff, stick with it and lose weight, then good for you. Whatever works.

There is just no magic pill yet and I think that's the problem with the weight loss industry - they promise that in so many words, even though we all know there's really no such thing. What I remember most about the NS infomercials is being hyped that "all you have to do is eat!" It's just not that simple. Weight loss is a tough road.

In defense of NS, there were a couple decent entrees and I'm still tempted to go over to their website and order some of their cookies. It's been a while so I don't really remember which ones I had, but I do remember one of them was peanut butter and it was yummy. If all their food was that good, I'd be their biggest fan.

Just wanted to share that I am just starting my second month of Nutrisystem, along with my wife, and we think the food is perfectly fine. I have lost 16 pounds and she has lost 8. We have come across 2 people who have told us that they tried NS but could not stand the food. We just scratch our heads, because the food is fine and the program works. We plan on doing 2 or 3 months to get down to target weight and then see if we can use the Flex schedule after that. Yes, I think about food all the time. Yes, I wonder if I can/will ever go back to eating everything within reach, but one step at a time.

Prior to NS, I had tried every 'easy' way to lose weight I could think of; cutting back on foods, eating more salads, jumping-rope, weight-lifting. In every case, the scale didn't budge.

Nutrisystem blew me away because every day I would step on the scale, the needle was going lower (although I think it took a week to get moving).

In summary, unless you are a finicky eater (George Carlin says 'finicky eater' is a nice way of saying 'pain-in-the-ass'), the food is fine and the program works.

Just my 2 cents.

Best of luck to all with whichever program you choose!

I just ordered the five-day-a-week plan. I am trying it for one month because I know I am not good at portions and have put on about 10 lbs. as a result. I work out regularly and am toning up, but those 10 lbs. have to go. I don't expect dehydrated food to be particularly tasty, but I need that portion control to get me going. I did not pick any beef dishes, because from experience with microwaveable entrees, they always taste bad. So hopefully the veggie, chicken and pasta dishes will be ok. Interesting reading all the comments here. I guess in the end, dieting is a pain and cutting back on what we eat is not easy.

Just to update - my package arrived yesterday. I had the pasta fagioli for dinner and it was really tasty! Had a bit of spice to it,too. If you eat all the salad, veggies and dairy as well you wind up feeling really full. I think with the Nutrisystem Advanced, the extra fiber they add really helps. I was feeling stuffed until I went to bed. I wasn't hungry, but was curious to try a dessert, so I picked the little chocolate drops. They were sweet and delicious. Breakfast this morning was good, too. So far....I am very impressed with the quality. I also did not receive one substitute in the entire box, I got everything I ordered.

Couldn't disagree with the negative comments on Nutrisystem more. I found the food very tasty and lost 25 pounds in two months. In fact I had to stop so as not to lose too much weight. Am 6' 2" and now weight 178 pounds.

There is nothing "tasty" about the foods. One time was more than enough for me. I tried it and couldn't hack it. Their ad says "Marie Osmond lost 40 lbs." It does not say she lost it all eating NutriSystem food. While Marie was competing in Dancing With The Stars, she alluded to losing weight practicing the dances.

Well, I absolutely agree with you. The green pepper steak is what did it to me. On top of that, the "sugar alcohols" in many breakfast, desserts and snacks cause sever explosive diarrhea....

I was very disappointed. About 7 years ago I did the Jenny Craig, and I did love the food, just not the cost :)

Thanks for this article, you took the words out of my mouth!!!