Personal Pros and Cons of NutriSystem

I'll start off detailing how I came to be on NutriSystem and share the pros and cons of it for me personally.

Firstly, as I've mentioned in another post, I was facing an extremely hectic summer.  I decided to try NutriSystem for the summer because in being honest with myself and recognizing that the mom-is-last syndrome from which I suffer would get in the way of any real success if left to my own defenses, I gave it a shot.  I figured losing some would be better than the mere 3 pounds I manage to lose here and there during crazy times.

I'm glad I did because I have so far lost 22 pounds since April 19, but there are a few surprises I'd like to share with anyone who is thinking about joining.

Firstly, I called the advertised number and asked a lot of questions.  It sounded so easy.  I only wanted to become a NutriSystem member because they were going to provide the meals for me.  I thought this meant I would only meal plan for my picky kids and husband rather than cooking as much as I do when I'm trying to eat all the stuff they don't want to.  It didn't quite turn out that way. (There's quite a bit of prep in all the do-it-yourself participation involved.)

The food arrived and I accepted the introductory package, a little bit of everything, to taste it all and decide what I wanted from there.

When I opened the box, I was actually very insulted at what was inside.They had given me chocolate bars for breakfast, lunch, and dinner covered in chocolate, things like donuts and muffins for breakfast, and a ton of chocolate, cookies, and chips for the dessert/end-of-the-day snack.  I was offended because it made me feel like so many others have made me feel...that I must hole up in a corner of my house eating crap day in and day out and I therefore needed a daily dessert or chocolate every day.

I decided to turn the other cheek, as they say, and just go with it.  The following day I started only to discover that I was suddenly starving for the first time in my life, and with a raging headache.  I found it ironic that I was absolutely N-E-V-E-R hungry pre-NutriSystem and I start it and find myself ready to rip somebody's head off for food.  Food was all I could think about all day.  It didn't help that I was unprepared and that the sales rep wasn't totally forthcoming despite my interrogation.

I followed the directions in the journal they provide which goes like this:  [NS Breakfast Entree and NS shake], [PowerFuel], [NS Lunch Entree and PowerFuel], [SmartCarb], [NS Dinner Entree and SmartCarb], then [NS dessert entree].  NS = NutriSystem, PowerFuel=Lean Proteins from a very limited list provided in the journal, and SmartCarb=Starchy Veggies & other items from a very small list in the journal. You are also to take in 8 glasses of water daily, 4 non-starchy vegetable servings, and are allowed 3 what they call Extras from a limited list in the journal.

I found myself just fine in the morning since I had never eaten breakfast, snack, then lunch anyway, but I did question what on earth I was doing as I licked peanut butter from a 1-Tbsp measuring spoon. I thought to myself, "Am I really licking peanut butter from a tablespoon right now and calling it a power fuel?"

I'm guessing actual hunger kicked in because eating smaller portions and more frequently every few hours turned on a switch in my body.

Also, as I reached for the very small container of instant mashed potatoes with broccoli to rehydrate for my lunch (about 3/4 cup only), I asked myself "Really? This is the whole lunch?"

Since one of the very reasons I find myself Fat was being chained to a computer virtually every spare minute of my life for the past 12 years, I was very disappointed to learn that it was practically a requirement I join their online community and dig and search for answers to what was sure to ruin the NutriSystem experience for me.

It turned out there was a much larger list of these extras, powerfuels, and smart carbs to be found online to supplement the 4 entrees they provide and it turned out there is a recipe section there to turn some of these little things they give you into actual filling meals, i.e. some people turn the instant potatoes into potato pancakes, etc.

It also turned out that I did not like a lot of what they provided to me, but I stuck it out to figure out what I did and did not like to personalize my next order.  While you couldn't get me anywhere near that sloppy joe mix again, not even for a million dollars, there is quite a bit I absolutely adore, especially after I learned how to jazz it up, i.e. turning the burger patty into a gyro, or the very dry grilled chicken breast chunk into some chicken fajitas.

So, I do recommend NutriSystem to people, but I think you need to get real honest at what is holding you back before deciding if it is the right plan for you.

Personal Pros:

• Not having to fret about what I'm going to eat each meal with what family is going to eat. 
• Losing weight even when things are hectic. 
• A lot of it actually tastes good when spruced up a bit into recipes.
• I do not suffer from heartburn at all when following the plan. 
• I eat more veggies than I ever have. 
• I drink more water than I ever have. 
• It helped me to give up pop/soda.
• I've learned a bit about portion control.

Personal Cons:

• The headache I get after a few days off when restarting. 
• An automatic weight gain when I run out the door leaving my packed food behind (regardless how much I eat or what I choose). 
• I sometimes get tired off the shelf-stable food and stray to the fresh homemade version. 
• I get all veggies out and therefore do not get in my whole 4 servings of veggies daily. 
• They don't exactly have the nicest, most compassionate or patient people around in the chat rooms for support.
• I can't stand nor have time for automated answering services and therefore avoid calling their always available counselors.
• While my plan with joining was to cut down on my food prep for myself (cuz I'm prepping other things for family), I find myself in the kitchen 6 times a day now prepping little things for myself. 
• The expense. 

So, as of right now, my pros equal the cons in number, so I stick with it the best I can. 

Back on the Wagon Full Blast & Paying For It

 So today I made the decision to adhere strictly to my NutriSystem plan, mostly because I finally made it to the grocery store (which is required on NutriSystem unless you want to starve).  I'm paying for it because each time I do this I wind up with a raging migraine the very first day back on.  I am not sure why this happens, but if you are on the NutriSystem site and you search headache in the blog area, you'll get far too many posts about it. Some people say their headaches lasted three to four days.

It's a scary thought to me, but one for which I choose denial.  I can probably count on two hands how many headaches I've had in my lifetime prior to NutriSystem and probably on one hand how many times I've taken meds to treat a headache, but this headache is special enough to keep me up at night until I cave at around 3 a.m. and take the meds. Today I just took them around lunchtime and it's definitely lessened the severity.

Is it the preservatives in this shelf-stable food? Probably. I'm too scared to read the labels too deeply to find out.  I just wanna lose weight during this hectic time and not wait to lose it when everything calms down a bit.  Guess I could be trading off some potential health effects for weight loss.

Moving Ahead Despite Lack of Blogging Knowledge.

Sooo, anyway, I've been on NutriSystem since the end of April and have lost 22 pounds.  I haven't been religious with it, as I find myself getting tired of the shelf-stable food.  Anybody else?

I decided to jump on the NutriSystem wagon after analyzing my situation carefully.  Two major things that were sure to derail any honest attempts to lose weight on my own this summer were sure to be the demands made on my time with kids out of school and the gargantuan organizational project facing me after finishing the basement (everything was thrown into the garage by my unorganized husband).

When I saw they were having a 40% off event, I got to thinking....do I wait until everything is "just so" to best enable a success versus 3 pounds down here or there, or try this out WHILE I struggled through this summer and potentially lose even a few extra?

I don't like pre-packaged or frozen entrees, but I thought, maybe, just maybe, having everything laid out for me, almost like an itinerary, I could lose 10 in the process.  While I don't like pre-packaged or frozen entrees, I decided that spending a couple hundred per month was a good incentive to stick with their plan and I stood a better chance of losing more with NutriSystem than when left to my own defenses. (Note:  I thought being on NutriSystem meant I would not have to meal plan and less food prep, but that turned out to not be the case.)

Looks like my self-assessment of the "situation" has been right on for me to a benefit, aka an actual accomplishment.  Summer isn't over, but 22 pounds down with all I feel I have endured this summer is definitely something to celebrate, and I have yet to jump off that proverbial bridge as I've shared probably way too often this summer.

This post leads me straight into the next one.....What is it that is REALLY holding you back?

Uncle!

I've been unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to create that cutesie lil "banner" above. (Insert scream of frustration here).  It's driving me insane!  If anybody knows how to make it so that the white background showing now remains transparent, as it comes originally, then please do share!  I've tried leaving a comment on the TCBOTB Facebook page, but nada, zilch, zero.  Sigh.

Categorizing Fat People - Your Loss or Theirs?

Many people make the terrible mistake of categorizing.  For some reason, everything and everyone must fit into a category.  The problem with categories, however, is that some things and some people will just never fit into them.

Take, for example, childbirth.  Since the dawn of time, women have been giving birth by the millions.  The medical field has therefore created categories laboring women must fit into...categories like false labor, early labor, active labor, transitional labor, and delivery.  One of the categorizing criteria is a specific time span between labor pains.  Unless you fit into the category of "time to head to the hospital" with labor pains spaced a set amount of time apart, then "you are to stay home." If you are able to smile or joke through labor or be pleasant during it, you are put into a category as not really being about to deliver and your presence at the hospital is placed low on the priority list.

I used this as an example because it was really the only personal experience I had had about how wrong people can be when trying to categorize someone and something, prior to finding myself Fat, with Fat being the second situation in my life this became obvious to me.  You see, I didn't fit into the medical categories, and as a result, my husband missed the birth of his firstborn child (a son), the doctor delivering my second (a daughter) nearly missed that actual delivery himself, and I had hospital board members in business suits attending my third delivery (a son).  I will spare you the details.   The point being none of these situations would have been so had I just been "normal" and progressed the way THEY believed I should--you know, like EVERYONE else.


Do people, let alone professionals in any specialty, really believe we are all identical and that each and every single one of us will fit neatly into one of their designated categories?

With weight gain, I have had the displeasure of seeing firsthand just how differently overweight people are viewed in society.  Despite being the exact same person I have always been, I am treated differently.  What is worse, is that I have had to endure well-intentioned comments that are way off base that left me feeling horrible and almost defensive, but I wound up so shocked that I was actually rendered speechless.

I, unlike too many, am fully aware that overweight people are overweight for many different reasons.  Some people are obese due to medical conditions such as Prader-Willi syndrome, medications they take such as prednisone, for psychological reasons, for self-deprecating reasons, or from bad habits they have developed such as meal skipping (the opposite of gorging).  Some have a combination of factors and not just one.  Yet all I hear people say categorizes all overweight and obese people into three categories.....lazy, glutton, and impulsive. 

The impression I have been given is that all overweight and obese people simply have no self-control, that we are all hunched over in a dark corner of our homes with a bucket of food and chocolate drool running from our chins stuffing our faces, and that we are all simply lazy.

We've all heard that employers discount applicants who are obese or overweight, and I have to say that now that I have taken the time to get to know fellow overweight and obese people and their struggles, this "rumor" appears to be true.  I think back to the day when it seemed all I need do is smile and ace an interview and am fully aware that it wouldn't be so today.  Again, I am the exact same high-achiever I have always been.   

People wrongly assume that an overweight person is a poor manager, that they have no ambition, no desire to succeed, etc.   While that may be true for some overweight people, it is not for all.

I personally saw each year that I had gained 5 pounds per year.  At that time, it was "only 5 pounds more."  I made a conscious decision not to fret over it and told myself it was only temporary.  I haven't always been fat, and yet I watch people make that assumption about me too frequently.  Would it be that surprising that I wanted to do so much and actually did it and enjoyed every minute of it that I let the weight creeping on remain low on my priority list?  Would it still surprise you that I am a problem solver and had a future plan to get back into "fighting shape"?  That tending to this issue in my life was not a priority and completely acceptable to me to do later?  I haven't missed a day of work in 12 years.  In fact, I didn't get a moment of maternity leave, took my laptop to the hospital and was working 2 hours after delivering my last child.    

People need to know that one of the other reasons overweight people can be such is because they put themselves last and all else before themselves.  Some are actually workaholics and put their jobs before themselves and feel guilty about tending to themselves until a To-Do list is done.  Some can't sleep until a problem has been solved and they can't leave the office behind at the office.  You would think this would be an asset to any organization.  It definitely doesn't mean that an overweight person should be unemployable.   

Now that I am self-employed while finding myself fat, I can't help but wonder how different an interview would be today when I used to practically ace them with a smile.  I also can't help but wonder how many mistakes employers make as a result of this form of bigotry.  Maybe they inadvertently hire the opposite of what they wanted when they see what they see with only their eyes and wind up with physically fit people who can't wait for 5 p.m., who could care less that a problem they could solve just passed over their desk because it is, after all, not actually their problem, and who calls in sick all 10 allotted sick days when the Fat person never misses a day. 

If you don't take the time to get to know the reason why a Fat person is Fat, then who loses....you or them?

Legitimate Reasons or Only Excuses?

All Fat people simply eat too much, right?  This is an important question because I find myself becoming extremely annoyed when I hear people make the assumption that Fat people are Fat simply because they eat too much.  I get the feeling they picture us crouched in a corner stuffing our mouths and with chocolate drool dripping from our chins.

If you, as a reader, believe this to be the only reason a Fat person is fat, then you should leave this blog immediately.  If, however, you are smarter than that, please read on.  If you are Fit as a Fiddle and find it difficult to maintain an acquaintance or relationship with a Fat person, then maybe you should visit often as I discuss how "normal" Fat people really are and as the varying reasons one finds themselves Fat are discussed in general.

I know why I'm Fat.  The question is whether or not you either know why I am or why you are--truly and honestly.

Let me list the reasons I find myself Fat:

• Late nights with little sleep due to self-employment (Sacrifice)
• Running a business around the needs of clients, children, and spouse's job (Super Mom). 
• Being a huge soft drink consumer (Bad Habit).
• Not drinking water at all most weeks, let alone enough of it daily. 
• S-T-R-E-S-S
• Mom-is-last syndrome without the support to accommodate a desire to change this status (Guilt). 
• Meal skipping, eating only once daily (Time Demands/Lack of Hunger)
• Some type A personality traits (Perfectionist)
• Not thinking a 5-pound-per-year weight gain would get the better of me (Compartmentalist)
• Defeat
• Intimidation (Reflection).

I'll break these reasons down in future posts for discussion, but for now, why are you Fat?  Why do you think Fat people are, well, Fat?

Now Relearning

I've just logged on to start blogging after what I thought was learning sufficiently a few months ago to go for it, but now I see everything has changed.  I'm just going to go for it, so I apologize if being a novice or amateur is painfully obvious!