Reply #3: Several years ago

[Coyote_Bandit]

I did NutriSystem with a good friend. We both stayed on the diet for about 6 months. We both lost weight. Both of us experienced slower weight loss than what was "projected". We both immediately gained weight when we left the diet - in both cases about a third of the weight we had lost. The food was expensive. Weekly required meetings took time and often did not adhere to expected scheduling. Sometimes we felt put down and bullied if we did not meet our weekly weight loss goals - sometimes even when we had lost weight but had not met the target weight loss for the week.

I think the NutriSystem diet is flawed because it requires the use of NutriSystem prepackaged foods. What you don't learn while you are on the diet is (1) how to prepare better foods; (2) portion control; (3) food choices and selection. Yes, these subjects are talked about - but it is not something that you have the experience of doing. You don't change your eating habits and preferences. At least not for the long-term. Those prepackaged NutriSystem foods go away after you complete the diet. That means that you are more likely to return to former eating habits. And, face it, if you eat NutriSystem chips as a snack while you are on the diet (which was an option when I was in the program) then chances are that you are going to continue eating chips as snacks after leaving the NutriSystem diet. I would not do NutriSystem again and I would not recommend it.

The Anne Collins weight loss program (http://www.annecollins.com/) was recommended to me and I have been following it. It is low cost and includes access to several diet plan options, an online support forum, etc. There are no gimmicks. And no supplemental sales pitches. You choose and prepare the foods you eat so you do learn how to make better choices, how to control portions, and how to prepare better foods. There are a variety of diet plans available - including those that make use of convenience foods. The diet plans are guidelines and can be modified and customized to meet your needs and preferences - even calorie intake can be modified based on how much weight you need to lose. Exercise is encouraged and there are a lot of resources available that help you learn how to make appropriate food selections. It has been slow but I have lost weight following this program. I have kept it off. Most importantly, I have learned to eat differently. This is a program that expects you to be responsible for your own weight loss choices. So it works best if you are self-motivated, have a buddy who also is on the diet or if you participate in the discussion forums. I have tried a number of diets and diet plans. This is the only one I would recommend. And the reason I recommend it is because it gives you the tools to change your eating habits.