Nutrisystem - Weeks 1 and 2

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned I was beginning the Nutrisystem program.  At that time, I had completed day 1.  I continued with the program that week and this past week.  The first week was rough.  It was rough.  I kicked-off my weight loss with Nutrisystem's Fast 5 program.  That program is designed to help you lose at least five pounds that week.  Monday through Friday, I followed the program pretty much as designed.  I was hungry for the first few days.  I was not a pleasant person for the first few days.

The Fast 5 program gives you meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You also get two shakes - an energy shake and a craving eliminating shake.  The energy shake doesn't taste all that great.  The craving shake was actually pretty tasty.  I was also allowed to include non-starchy vegetables during that first week.

The breakfast muffins are good.  I had the banana nut muffin on day 1 and it was very good.  The cinnamon streusel muffin on day two was also very good.  They're not very large, but I think that's the point.  =)

The shakes are pretty easy to prepare.  I bought a shaker bottle since I think I may include the shakes in some capacity ongoing.  This is the energy shake.  It has a funky aftertaste that's a little odd.  They're definitely drinkable, but not something I really looked forward to.

The loaded baked potato lunch was tasty.  Again, I could have eaten four of these.  I had this entrée again yesterday and it wasn't as good.  I don't think I added enough water the second time.

This is the craving eliminating shake.  It's actually pretty good.  I enjoy this shake.

Dinner that second night was a chicken pot pie.  Something I find interesting about the dinner entrees is that they're not frozen.  They look exactly like frozen food in the package, but they're stored at room temperature.  This makes heating take no time!  Some of the entrees require you to build them.  The chicken pot pie included the veggies in the tray and the topping/pie in a separate packet.  You heat the veggies and then top with the pie piece.  As you can see, the pie was very flaky.

Justin is being supportive by eating a bagel with cream cheese in front of me.

He's so proud.  =)  He has actually been supportive.  He had a moment of weakness here.

Here is the blueberry muffin.  It is good.  I had one again this morning.  Yum.

I had chili with beans and beef one night.  It was very tasty.  I could have eaten twice this much!

More support from my hubby.  =)

The kung pao noodles lunch entrée was good.  I love pasta so the noodles were plentiful and made me happy.

The Italian flatbread pizza was tasty.  It was one I had to build.  The crust was in one package, the sauce was in a pouch, and the cheese was in another pouch.  You assemble and heat for about a minute.  The crust was a little chewy, which I like.

The lasagna didn't look terribly appetizing, but it was good.  I don't really remember if it had cheese, though.  It was very good.

I love spaghetti, so I was hoping the spaghetti with meat sauce would be delightful.  It wasn't.  It had an odd flavor.  I think it was a spice, but I'm not sure.  I could eat this again, but I likely won't order it.

Last night's dinner was macaroni and cheese with beef.  This was a lot like Hamburger Helper's Cheeseburger Macaroni.  It was yummy.  You add boiling water and let it sit for about ten minutes.  That was hard because I was hungry.  This is one I'll eat again and look forward to.

I don't know why, but I got into the habit of transferring the food from the Nutrisystem container to actual plates and bowls.  I think maybe it makes the food seem more like home cooked food that way.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the program.  I've cheated a little, but have stuck with the program for the most part.  I did cheat badly Thursday night.  I've avoided alcohol since beginning a couple of weeks ago.  I gave in on Thursday night.  I went to happy hour with some coworkers.  I did drink vodka sodas instead of my usual cosmopolitans.  The cosmos have a lot of sugar/fruit juice.  The soda water has a lot less calories.  I also ate some questionable food.  I got a chicken BLT without the bread.  That was a massive piece of chicken.  It was grilled, but still too much meat.  I ate the gouda cheese and bacon, too.  Bad, bad, bad.  I should also mention I blew off the gym to do this, too.

The first week, I went to the gym (Orange Theory Fitness) twice.  The first visit was rough.  The second one was easier.  I went once this week and was supposed to go a second time.  I'm signed up for a class on Sunday morning and another one on Monday evening.  My goal is to go at least three times per week.  More is better, but three is good.  Each class is an hour long and my heart monitor shows I burn about 600 calories each class.  I don't know how accurate that is, but I work hard, so it might be correct.

What are the results?  The Fast 5 program guarantees you'll drop five pounds.  Even with a little cheating, I dropped nine pounds that first week.  When I last weighed on Thursday morning, I am down twelve pounds total.  I've avoided weighing since then due to my cheating on Thursday.  I stuck to the program on Friday and so far today.  I'm hoping that will help make up for Thursday.

I've got seventy-eight pounds to go.  Let's do this!

Nutrisystem

I've posted in the past that I struggle with my weight.  That hasn't changed.  My current weight and BMI have me in the obese category.  There's no sugarcoating it.  I'm obese.  That statement reminds me of a Dr. Phil photo I saw a few years ago:

It's certainly not funny, but I would rather laugh about it instead of crying about it.

On the Fourth of July, I was watching television and it hit me that I have to do something about my weight.  It's out of control!  I've tried dieting before and knew that just doesn't work for me because I won't stick with it.  I knew I needed something that tells me what to eat.

A coworker had a lot of success with Medifast.  I almost signed up for it but decided I wanted to try Nutrisystem instead.  I ordered the starter kit on July 4 and eagerly waited for it arrive.  The starter kit included food for twenty-eight days plus the Fast 5 kit.  The Fast 5 kit is your first week's food and it's designed to help you drop five pounds that first week to get you motivated.

Forty pounds of food arrived in a big box on July 10:

I unpacked the box that evening and decided to begin the program on July 14.  I knew I had an event to go to on July 12 and decided starting before that date would not be wise.  I'm not going to lie - I enjoyed as much food as possible before starting on July 14.  I hit some of my favorite restaurants and enjoyed some of my favorite food.  That was probably not the best decision I've ever made, but I did it.

I've been dreading July 14, but it arrived and proceeded with my plan.  The day before, Justin and I hit the grocery store so I could grab some items to supplement the Nutrisystem meals.  Yes, that is allowed.  The night before July 14, I grabbed my meals and put them with my work bag so I could remember to take the food with me.

Breakfast was a banana nut muffin:

It was good.  I could have eaten two or three, but that wasn't an option.

Mid-morning, I had a hunger quencher shake:

It's part of the Fast 5 kit.  It was pretty good.  It had a funky aftertaste after the first few sips, but it wasn't terrible.

Lunch was a small cup of cheese tortellini with tomato sauce.  I forgot to take a photo, but it was pretty good.  Again, I could have eaten three servings.  I supplemented lunch with a salad from the cafeteria downstairs from my office.  It was basically a pile of lettuce with a few cucumber slices and tomato slices.  I topped it with a tiny cup of salsa.  I'm supposed to supplement the Fast 5 week with vegetables, so a salad seemed pretty easy.  I'm not allowed to have dressing right now but salsa is ok.  It wasn't terrible, but actual dressing is much better.

I had an energizing shake around 4:00 p.m.  It looked and tasted a lot like the shake from the morning.  Not super tasty, but not inedible either.

I was starving when I left work at 6:30 p.m.  Dinner was chicken alfredo.  I needed to incorporate more veggies, so I heated some frozen broccoli and tossed it into the entree contents.

The entree was pretty good.  The broccoli was a nice addition.  When I eat this entree in the future, I'll likely add broccoli again.  Justin even tasted a small bite and said it was good.

I ate about two hours ago and am hungry.  I've consumed less than 1,000 calories today, which is probably why I'm hungry.  I'm used to eating close to 2,000 each day.  I tried to sign up for a class at the gym this evening, but it was full.  That was a blessing in disguise.  I probably would have dropped had I tried to workout today.  I did schedule a class for Tuesday and Thursday so hopefully I'll feel up to it both days.

My goal is to lose eighty-two pounds.  That will get my BMI and weight at healthy levels.  Hopefully I can stick with this.  I've struggled today, but know I can do this.