My Review: Nutrisystem (For Men & Women) – Are Its Meals & Diet Plan Worth It?

Shortly – it's based on ready-made meals, following a specific (low-calorie) diet plan.

So is it actually worth it?:

• great weight loss results (in previous users)
• extremely easy to use
• allows you to lose weight really fast

Now, are there any chances that Nutrisystem is a scam?

Not really – I would actually say it's the best diet plan for losing weight.

But let me give you all the reasons why – in the following lines.

Note: This review is based on my own research + analysis of Nutrisystem.

Review Summary

Full Name: Nutrisystem by Nutrisystem

Product Type: Weight Loss Food

Best Actual Price: Between $10-$13.5/day (depending on the plan)

There's also a 6-months version that costs around $6.5/day.

Cheapest Place To Buy: Its Official Website

It's not available from any retailers.

Note: The website is only available in the US, so you won't be able to access it from another country.

Designed For: Losing weight fast easily and in a healthy manner:

• offers ready/made meals & snacks (for the entire day)
• its foods have an optimized number of calories
• works really fast

It has lots of satisfied customers behind it, so it's really effective.

My Rating: 9.50 out of 10 – My top-rated weight loss diet plan

Recommended?: Definitely – it makes the best diet program for weight loss:

• helped thousands of people lose weight
• works easily (and very fast)
• really safe to use
• allows you to customize it for your own needs

So if you want to lose weight without much effort, Nutrisystem is the program for you.

What I Liked About It

• Works extremely well for weight loss in most cases
• Doesn't require intense exercise/training
• Leads to a pretty fast weight loss 
• Offers ready-prepared meals for 5/7 days
• Extremely convenient and easy to use
• Very safe and well-tolerated (no health risks)
• Several studies conducted on it with positive results
• Lots of previous users that swear by it
• Has been on the market for 50 years
• 3 main plans available (and 5 customization features)
• Allows you to customize your plan especially for your needs
• Affordable for what it offers
• Full money-back guarantee (for the first 7 days)

What I Didn't Like About It

• Meals are frozen
• Only available in the US
• Official website can't even be accessed outside the US
• Certain plans are not that affordable
• Servings are rather small

#1 – What Is Nutrisystem?

In a few words, Nutrisystem is a program that allows you to lose weight through your diet.

Shortly – it offers you some specially prepared meals:

• low in calories (1200-1500/day)
• high in proteins [2]
• low on the glycemic scale

Now – you may think this program it's going to make you starve yourself.

But that's not true at all.

Nutrisystem's meals are based on “balanced nutrition”.

For this reason, many of its foods are focused on certain types of ingredients:

1. Smart Carbs – carbs with a low glycemic index
2. Power Fuels – lean proteins

Now – Nutrisystem has a very clear schedule:

1. First week – you only consume their meals, snacks, and shakes.
2. Week 2-4 – you consume their meals and you're allowed 8 Flex Meals/week.

Regarding Nutrisystem's “Flex Meals” – they are some dishes you can consume outside your regular plan.

In other words, they are some sort of “cheat meals”.

However – they have to meet some criteria:

• must contain specific ingredients (Power Leans/Smart Carbs)
• must follow Nutrisystem's recommendations

Other than that, the program itself is very easy to follow.

You're not even required to work out, as you can lose weight with Nutrisystem even without exercising.

However – if you can exercise, do it (starting from the second week).

But overall, that's what Nutrisystem's plan is based on.

#2 – How It Works & History

Let's start with some essential facts you should know about Nutrisystem:

• its exact mechanism of action
• in what cases it works best
• its history

1. How It Works

Shortly – Nutrisystem's main goal is “a healthy weight loss”.

In other words, it promises to help people lose weight and live healthily.

And it actually does this by delivering some low-in-calories but rich-in-proteins foods.

Here's how a typical month with Nutrisystem looks like:

1. The first week is designed to boost your weight loss.
2. In this, you should ONLY consume the foods and snacks given by Nutrisystem.
3. Exercising should be limited in this week.
4. From the second week, you get some “flex meals”.
5. They consist of several nutrients you're allowed to consume (outside the Nutrisystem plan).
6. Starting from week 2, you get 8 “flex meals” in total every week.

As you can see, Nutrisystem is pretty easy to follow.

But how exactly does it help you lose weight?

Basically, it works by creating a calorie deficit. [3]

In this way, it forces your body to lose weight – while nourishing it properly:

1. You get the necessary amount of calories every day (not more).
2. In the past, your body was used to receiving more calories.
3. Now that it doesn't, it still burns the same calories daily.
4. But this time, it takes the rest from your fat stores.
5. This is how you end up losing weight without much effort.

So your body gets all the nutrients it needs through Nutrisystem – but nothing more.

That's the reason why you absolutely have to stick to their diet plan.

Any increase in your calorie count could slow down your weight loss.

But other than that, Nutrisystem allows you to lose weight very easily:

• no need to exercise 5 hours/day
• you don't have to starve yourself
• no time spent preparing your meals

You simply get all your foods ready-made.

All you have to do left is to eat them – isn't that too easy?

Honestly, it sounds too easy to be true – but this time, it really is true.

So all in all, Nutrisystem works in a very simple (and logical way) – but it's still very effective.

If it wasn't, it wouldn't be so popular and it wouldn't have so many satisfied users behind.

2. History

Nutrisystem is so popular because of its long-term success.

And that's also because it's been on the market for many years:

• founded in 1972
• has been helping people for 50 years
• created by Harold Katz 
• initial strategy was based on its founder's own weight loss story

Now – Nutrisystem's creator had a lot of success with a low-calorie diet back in the 1970s.

He adapted that diet and this is how he created Nutrisystem.

His goal was to help people lose weight easily, without spending hours cooking/working out.

And judging by Nutrisystem's current results – it seems like he reached his goal.

Still, a lot of things have changed about this program since its original plan.

However, its main strategy is exactly the same:

• delivering (healthy) ready-made foods
• preparing their meals on a specific calorie count

Nutrisystem's current program has lots of improvements (from its initial days):

1. NuMi app
2. 1-to-1 coaching
3. Personalised nutrition plan

So their main strategy is the same, but it has some improvements.

Judging by its long history and success, Nutrisystem is a brand you can surely trust.

#3 – Weight Loss Plans (9.50 out of 10)

Like any high-quality program, Nutrisystem covers several weight loss needs.

For this reason, it has 3 main plans:

• Basic
• Uniquely Yours
• Uniquely Yours Max+

It does seem a bit complicated at first sight, that's true.

But once you understand each of them, it's super easy.

Now – you can customize these plans even further on:

1. Women's Special Plan (1200 calories/day)
2. Men's Special Plan (1500 calories/day)
3. Diabetes Plan (sugar-free)
4. Partner (for 2 people)
5. Complete (6 months supply delivered monthly)

Honestly, this versatility is a great advantage that Nutrisystem has.

It's true that most plans have some mutual points.

But there are some significant differences between them as well.

So let's take a closer look at the main plans and analyze them in detail.

1. Basic Plan ($9.99/day)

This plan is the most “budget-friendly”, according to Nutrisystem's website.

In other words, it's the cheapest (at $9.99/day).

However, it brings in the most essential features of this program:

1. Offers full meals for 5 days/week.
2. You can choose from 100+ recipe options.
3. Shakes are included for free in the first week.
4. You have full access to NuMi Weight Loss App.
5. There's unlimited support from their coaches.

The only downside of this plan is that it only covers 5 days (instead of 7).

However, you have access to a lot of food recommendations for the 2 days left.

It's only that you will have to prepare them yourself.

But luckily, the other plans cover those 2 days – so you have options.

Still – the Basic plan is great if you want to lose weight without spending a lot.

Honestly, it's probably the best plan for first-time users.

2. Uniquely Yours Plan ($11.79/day)

This is Nutrisystem's most popular plan.

Honestly, it offers pretty much the same as the Basic plan:

• 5 full meal days per week
• free shakes for the first week
• access to NuMi App
• unlimited coach support

However, the Uniquely Yours plan is focused on more variety.

In other words – you can choose from 150+ meal options.

Compared to the Basic plan, that's way more.

Besides, you can choose Nutrisystem's alternative to your restaurant's favorite dish.

This program works with lots of restaurants – so you will surely find your favorite one here.

3. Uniquely Yours Max+ Plan ($13.57)

This is Nutrisystem's most varied plan.

And there are 3 features that make it superior to the rest:

1. You can choose from 160+ meal options.
2. Plan can cover all 7 days of the week.
3. You have access to an enhanced version of NuMi Weight Loss App.

In other words – it offers more versatility than any other plan.

However, its overall cost is also higher.

So it's definitely up to you – but its benefits are worth it.

4. Customized Plans 

As I said, you can customize the 3 main plans based on your needs.

In fact – there are 5 customization plans:

1. Women's Plan – meals are designed to bring you 1200 calories/day.
2. Men's Plan – meals are designed to bring you 1500 calories/day.
3. Diabetes Plan – meals are designed to manage type 2 diabetes,
4. Partner Plan – it's designed for 2 people (price/day is about $1 less)
5. Complete Plan – it's actually a 6-month subscription (with a significant discount).

Basically, you will have to choose one of the 3 main plans.

Once you select it, you can choose from these 5 customizable options.

Nutrisystem is automatically set to Women's Plan.

So if you're a male or if you have diabetes – you will have to customize the plan for your needs.

Trust me, it's a lot easier than it seems.

Conclusions

Nutrisystem comes with a unique approach to weight loss.

And its huge advantage is that it offers lots of plans (+ an extra customization).

So in terms of options – there's nothing to complain about.

There's no weight loss need that Nutrisystem fails to cover.

That's why I totally recommend it from this point of view.

#4 – Meals & Menu (9 out of 10)

You probably read enough about Nutrisystem's plan.

Let's get a little practical now and talk about its exact foods and recipes.

1. The Menu

Nutrisystem requires you to eat 6 times a day (main meals + snacks).

Now, depending on the plan – you can choose from a variety of menu options:

• 100+ meals (Basic Plan)
• 130+ meals (Uniquely Yours Plan)
• Over 160 meals (Uniquely Yours Max+ Plan)

Additionally – the last 2 plans also allow you to choose from several restaurants' dishes.

They will then select a Nutrisystem alternative for you that is very similar.

In this way – you can enjoy your favorite foods, even if they're not on Nutrisystem's menu.

Other than that, you also receive:

• daily snacks
• daily shakes (free for the first week only)

Regarding Nutrisystem's menu, you have 2 options:

1. Pick the meals you want yourself.
2. Go for “Chef's Choice” (the program's most popular dishes).

The entire menu is given out on Nutrisystem's website, so you can have a look and decide.

Honestly, I feel like their meal options are very varied.

So it's impossible not to find the foods you like there.

2. The Meals

As I promised, we're going to get a little more practical here.

Let's see some breakfast options offered by Nutrisystem:

1. Apple Walnut Oatmeal
2. Cinnamon Roll
3. Granola Cereal
4. Buttermilk Waffles

As for its lunch options – they are also very varied:

1. Classic Hamburger
2. Cafe-Style Creamy Tomato Soup
3. Mushroom Parmesan Soup With Chicken
4. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

Let's move on to Nutrisystem's dinner recommendations:

1. Grain-Crusted Pollock With Vegetables
2. Red Pepper Chicken & Pasta Sauce
3. Italian Sausage & Turkey Pepperoni Pizza
4. Lemon Caper Chicken

And lastly – this program also offers some free snacks to consume in between meals:

1. Chocolate Flavoured Pretzels
2. Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich
3. Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Nut Square
4. Orange Cream Bar

Honestly – all of these foods sound delicious.

But you have way more options to choose from (depending on your plan).

My only complaint would be that the portions tend to be rather small.

However – you're planning to lose weight, not to test the best restaurant in town.

Plus, most of these foods are frozen, which I'm honestly not a big fan of.

But in terms of taste and versatility, they are great.

#5 – Results (9 out of 10)

Since it's been on the market for so long, Nutrisystem has lots of user reviews.

For this reason, I will avoid those opinions from its official website.

Instead, I would focus on user experiences from 3rd party websites.

Note: I only considered authentic reviews, not fake/promotional ones.

1. Positive Opinions

This program has a huge percentage of satisfied users.

As I said – if it wasn't effective, it wouldn't have been popular for so many years.

So here's what most previous users say about Nutrisystem:

1. A big part of them claims they lost a lot of weight with this program.
2. Others praise its meals' taste and convenience.
3. Lots of people say they became recurring customers of this product.
4. Many praise its customer support and coaches.
5. A lot of users praise it for delivering foods that are so easy to eat.

Now – Nutrisystem has lots of positive reviews on many websites.

So I really encourage you to check them out for yourself.

Honestly, I'm not surprised it has so many satisfied users behind it.

It has helped so many people lose weight in all these years.

Besides – it's one of the few weight loss programs with studies behind it.

So judging after all these praises it has, it's more than helpful.

2. Negative Opinions

As any legit product, Nutrisystem also has several complaints.

But most of them cover some mutual topics:

1. High program price
2. Frozen (not fresh) foods
3. Small servings

Now – I agree with all of these negative reviews.

The program is indeed pricey, but all you have left to do is to eat your food.

You're saving a lot of time compared to if you had to cook them manually.

Doesn't time matter to you?

The foods are indeed frozen – but how could they be delivered to you otherwise?

As for the small servings, that's also true.

But again – your goal is to lose weight, not to test out a restaurant menu.

So honestly, all these complaints are real (but not right).

Conclusions

Nutrisystem has a lot of satisfied users behind it.

And even though its opinions are quite mixed up, most of them are positive.

It seems to have worked great in lots of people.

I wouldn't recommend a diet plan if it didn't have any results behind it.

But in this case, Nutrisystem is really worth giving a shot.

#6 – Side Effects (8 out of 10)

One of Nutrisystem's advantages is that it has zero complaints about side effects.

It has lots of reviews – but no complaints in this chapter.

Since it's a pretty healthy diet, it's really well-tolerated.

However, some people complain about it not being too healthy:

• based on frozen meals
• lacks fresh foods
• can contain specific additives

As I said – freezing foods is the only way to deliver them to so many people.

If they weren't frozen, they would go bad pretty fast.

And certain additives are necessary for freezing – that's why you can find them in Nutrisystem's meals.

However, they are definitely not as harmful as those from processed foods (not even close).

Besides, Nutrisystem does recommend going for specific non-starchy vegetables:

• asparagus
• carrots
• beets
• tomatoes
• mushrooms

In fact, the program advises you to have (at least) 4 servings of these vegetables a day.

You won't receive them frozen, but you have to buy them yourself.

In this way – your body gets some fresh nutrients daily.

So if this was your main worry, it shouldn't be anymore.

#7 – Price (8 out of 10)

Nutrisystem's price isn't indeed on the lowest side.

But judging after what it offers, it's more than worth it.

Besides, it allows you to choose from several plans – which is again an advantage.

1. The Exact Price

Nutrisystem's price depends a lot on 2 factors:

• the plan you choose
• the further customization you go for

In other words, the Basic Plan costs differently for women and for diabetics.

Now – let's start with the initial pricing of the 3 main plans:

1. Basic Plan starts at $9.99/day.
2. Uniquely Yours Plan starts at $11.79/day.
3. Uniquely Yours Max+ Plan starts at $13.57/day.

However, these prices are available only if you go for a monthly auto-delivery.

The discount price is around 50%, which is a lot.

As for the standard price, it also varies depending on the plan.

But even the cheapest one (Basic Plan) costs around $18/day for a one-time delivery.

That's why it's not really worth going for a one-time delivery only.

In this case, Nutrisystem can indeed seem pricey.

But its regular price makes it a really decent option:

• you get all meals from a day
• there are also some snacks
• free shakes are offered in the first week

Basically – you won't have to spend much on extra things.

Plus, Nutrisystem does offer a money-back guarantee for first-time customers:

1. If you don't like the plan, you can send the left foods back.
2. They will refund you for the entire amount you paid.
3. Shipping is the only non-refundable cost.

But overall, it's more than a decent option.

2. Worth Or Not?

It's surely worth it.

Just think about it – it saves you a lot of time and cooking skills.

Your meals are waiting for you – you only have to eat them.

For me, this makes Nutrisystem really worth it:

• its price isn't even that high (with the discounted 50%)
• makes a very convenient option
• losing weight with it is very easy

Now – if you're on a very tight budget, this program is probably not right for you.

But I personally don't know what would be, honestly,

That's because most weight loss products and programs require some investment.

Even the cheaper ones require you to cook using lots of expensive ingredients.

That's why Nutrisystem is way more affordable than it seems at first sight.

Conclusions

Nutrisystem's price is surely not the lowest – but it comes with several options.

But judging after all the time (and food) it saves you, it's really worth it.

Honestly – you wouldn't spend much less even if you cooked your own food.

Besides, Nutrisystem has lots of great results behind it.

So all in all, it's really worth it.

#8 – Nutrisystem In 3 Ideas

Here's how I would sum up my opinion on this program (in 3 ideas).

1. Weight Loss By Calorie Depletion

Nutrisystem has a very simple mechanism of action.

It allows you to lose weight through calories depletion:

• meals have a lower amount of calories than your usual diet
• they still manage to keep you full
• your body starts burning calories from your existing fat

In this way, you lose weight easily and in a healthy manner.

As long as your body gets the essential nutrients it needs – there's no health risk.

And Nutrisystem's meals are specially designed to bring you all the nutrients you need.

2. Several Plans Available

Unlike most weight loss programs, Nutrisystem comes with several options:

• 3 main plans available 
• 5 customizable plans

Shortly – you can choose one of the 3 main plans.

Further on, you can customize your plan even more.

In this way, it can suit your body's needs better (than a standard plan).

3. Has Been Working For Years

Nutrisystem has been on the market for 50 years.

If it wasn't a successful program – trust me, it wouldn't have been selling all this time.

I don't know any weight loss program that lasted that long.

But Nutrisystem has a lot of evidence behind it:

• huge rate of satisfied users
• many customers praise its weight loss benefits
• several studies conducted on it

So if you want a weight loss program that works, it's surely Nutrisystem.

My Verdict – Is Nutrisystem Worth It?

Short answer: Definitely.

It makes by far the best weight loss program I know:

1. Has been (working) on the market for 50 years.
2. Lots of previous customers swear by its weight loss results.
3. Leads to a fast (and easy) weight loss.
4. Promotes a healthy and safe diet.
5. Comes with several plans that can be personalized even more.
6. Extremely convenient and easy to follow.

Nutrisystem has lots of advantages overall, that's why it's been so successful.

It even has some studies conducted on it – which speaks for itself.

However, it's definitely not perfect.

It's not suitable for very tight budgets and it's based on frozen foods.

Besides, it's only available in the US.

But compared to its benefits and weight loss results, these downsides are insignificant.

So if you want to lose weight safely and rapidly, Nutrisystem is what you need.

It's the best weight loss program I know – so you won't regret giving it a try.

References:

1 – https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/-show/NCT01252303

2 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/-11707556/

3 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/-25926512/