I guess if you look at it in terms of pounds lost, smaller clothes worn, and lifestyle changes, most would consider my journey with Nutrisystem a success. I have lost most of the weight I wanted to lose and kept it off. And I’m reasonably sure I’ll be able to maintain this and keep the weight off. I also look at food in a much healthier and less obsessive way.
So the other day a co-worker asked me what my secret was. Because he knew someone else who had been on this diet who hadn’t had the same kind of lasting success. I think she suspected that she was skipping meals or that she wasn’t adding side dishes to every meal or that she was exercising in a dangerous or unhealthy way. None of these things was true. There may be a few things that have helped contribute to my success. I’ll let you decide if you want to call them “secret” or not. But, I will share them in the next article.
Is “glycemic index friendly” the secret of Nutrisystem?: Most experts will tell you that this diet is primarily effective because the ratio of carbohydrates, calories, and protein in the foods you are given is such that it promotes ketosis. This causes your body to burn more fat for fuel since it doesn’t have free rein on continuous carbs (which you’ve probably been providing previously).
Now, I will certainly admit that this certainly helps. I mean, fewer calories and more calories burned or expended is fine and I know this works. But adding a little extra fat burning can only help, and can sometimes deliver better and faster results. This is always good because it is the results that keep you wanting to continue. Very few people will stick to a diet and resist it when they don’t get the reward of results. So yes, the glycemic consideration helps. And I’m a big believer in it, so much so that in the early stages of the diet I was never without ketone strips to make sure this diet was doing its job and putting me into ketosis.
What I think is the real secret of Nutrisystem (and for those who lose a lot of weight with it 🙂 As I hope you can see, I really appreciate the low carbs in these foods, but I think the real key to this diet lies a little deeper. I think the real secret to success with this diet is for the manufacturer to understand the psychological obstacles dieters face. The company seems to really understand the realities that no one wants to talk about.
What I mean by this is stuff like this: I’m inherently lazy. I don’t want to have to “work” too hard to get results. Yes, I am willing to change what I eat a little. I know that I will not eat my favorite foods every day for every meal. But, I can’t deny that I want to enjoy what I’m eating. I want to be able to wait for a meal once in a while. And I don’t want to be kept away from foods and desserts that I really enjoy. I mean, I don’t want to have to say goodbye to burgers and chocolate cake forever.
I also don’t want to be a gourmet cook. It shouldn’t be hard to think of foods that will help me lose weight. I remember trying to learn how to make an almond crusted cheesecake for the Zone diet. The cake was good, but it took me about two hours to make and I knew when I was enjoying it that I would never make that effort again. Working that hard is simply not sustainable over any period of time.
The company seems to understand this because they do most of the work for you. They provide most of the food you will consume. They have already counted sugars, carbohydrates, proteins and calories. They have made a list of everything so you don’t have to guess when, how or what to eat. They have provided free advice that only requires you to log into your computer or pick up the phone to use it. In short, they anticipated every objection or difficulty you might have and either eliminated it or addressed it altogether.
Finally, if I had to define what I do that I would classify as my “secrets”, it would be just a few things. For me, the real key to all of this is making good food choices. (I always go with the custom package so I can choose what I want.) I know that as long as I am happily eating the food, I will not be tempted to go off my regimen. And of course, Nutrisystem’s pizza, burgers, and chocolate aren’t exactly what I’d be eating off-diet, but they’re okay, taste pretty good, and mean my jeans continue to get smaller. I still buy ketone strips because this lets me know that I will be held accountable when I cheat.
And it finally crossed my mind that even a little exercise was going to make this go so much faster. I will never love the gym and probably never will. So, I accept this about myself in the same way that I accept my laziness in cooking. Instead, I just go for a brisk walk after dinner or walk home from my son’s school after I drop him off. It’s five miles and it was hard at first but now I enjoy this and recharge my MP3 every weekend in advance for next week.
