As some of our readers may know, a few months back we dove into Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13 program and answered the question: Does Nutrisystem really work? Now at the time of this review, the program was brand new (Turbo 13 launched in mid-December) and we hadn’t been able to use the program in its entirety. Our conclusion was based on the history of Nutrisystem and how they’ve helped millions of people lose weight. This review is going to focus more on Nutrisystem in its entirety and dive deeper into the program itself.
What is Nutrisystem?
Nutrisystem is a weight loss and meal delivery company headquartered in Fort Washington Pennsylvania and has been helping consumers lose weight since 1972. The company focuses on sending consumers a month’s worth of food and snacks to help control portions which results in losing weight. It’s success in helping consumers lose weight can be seen in celebrities such as Marie Osmond, Dan Marino, and Melissa Joan Hart.
What are the differences in Nutrisystem’s Programs over the years?
Nutrisystem has launched several plans over the last few years with each program yielding higher average weight loss and inches lost around the waist during their studies. The original program was Nutrisystem’s Fast 5 that claimed up to 5 pounds lost in your first week. Then followed Nutrisystem’s Turbo 10 program that claimed up to 10 pounds and 5 inches in your first month. Next, Nutrisystem launched lean 13 that claimed up to 13 pounds and 7 inches in your first month. Finally, in December 2017, Nutrisystem launched a new program called Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13. The claim remained the same as Lean 13 (13 pounds and 7 inches in your first month) but they added in TurboBoosters, NutriCurb Bars, and Turbo shakes to all program orders. However, they recently removed the TurboBoosters from the program so now each plan includes NutriCurb Bars and Turbo Shakes.
Pros and Cons
Nowadays, everyone searches for reviews before buying anything online which is why we thought it would be helpful to list the Pros and Cons
- PROS
- Convenient
- Nutrisystem delivers the food to your door monthly meaning you don’t even have to leave the house. With auto-delivery, Nutrisystem makes sure to send the Turbo 13 program before the previous plan runs out.
- Ease of Use
- Nutrisystem does the work for you by sending each meal directly to your door so you don’t have to think at all. They recommend the numbers of times you should eat and even allow for up to 7 meals a day with multiple snacks
- Calories already counted
- Weight loss is directly correlated to calorie intake. Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13 does the counting for you which means you don’t have to worry about that at all
- Customizable
- Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13 (Core and Unique Your plans) allows you to customize your monthly meals. With over 150+ different menu options, customizing the program is extremely important and valuable
- Convenient
- Cons
- Price
- The first thing many notice is the upfront cost of Nutrisystem. If you go direct to site, the most popular program costs over $300 which is a steep cost. However, with our discount included, the price turns out to be $9.29 a meal which is cheaper than monthly food bills when factoring in dining out
- Long term weight loss
- Nutrisystem is designed to help you lose weight – and it will. However, when people get off the program, most fail to continue to monitor their calorie intake so they gain back the weight.
- Freshness of Food
- Nutrisystem ships their food monthly which means more preservatives. If you need your food to be fresh, then make sure to incorporate grocery items into your Nutrisystem plans
- Individual Plans
- The Turbo 13 program is designed for individuals and is not meant for the whole family so it only feeds one
- Price
Types of Plans
Within Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13 program, there are 3 different types of plans. We will dive into each one a little bit below
- Basic Plan: As implied by its name, this is the simplest form of the plan. The basic plan includes preselected meals that are shipped free with every auto-delivery order. This is the cheapest plan but doesn’t allow for customization of the menu
- Core Plan: This is Nutrisystem’s most popular plan – this plan includes 4 weeks’ worth of food along with the ability to customize your order (up to 100 foods). It also includes unlimited support through counselors, dietitians, and online/applications for tools and tracking.
- Uniquely Yours: This is Nutrisystem’s top rated plan – it includes everything from the core plan but with the ability to customize the plan with over 150 different foods. It also gives you access to unlimited amounts of frozen foods and allows you to mix and match as much as you’d like.
Our personal pick – we would recommend the Core Plan. This plan gives you access to all the tools/support and allows you to customize your foods, with a lower upfront cost than the Uniquely Yours plan.
- It should also be noted that they offer a Diabetes and Vegetarian plan within each as well as a Men’s program.
Types of Food included
If you do select either the Core or Uniquely Yours plan, you’ll have over 100 items to choose from for every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and shakes). Quick list of foods below. Please note that the lists below are not all inclusive and represent most of our favorite meals with the Turbo 13 program.
- Breakfasts include
- Waffles, cinnamon rolls, chocolate muffins, turkey sausage and egg muffin, pancakes, French toast, honey wheat bagels, baked banana and chocolate oatmeal, apple strudel bars, strawberry cheese crepe, blueberry lemon baked bar, chocolate chip baked bar, banana nut muffin, Nutriflakes Cereal, peanut butter granola bar
- Lunches include
- Hamburger, grilled chicken sandwich, spinach and cheese pretzel melt, double chocolate caramel bar, chocolate peanut butter bar, pepperoni pizza melt, fudge graham bar, tuna salad, red beans and rice, NutriCRUSH strawberry yogurt bar, steak and cheese melt, southwest fiesta noodle soup, chicken noodle soup, three cheese chicken, chicken fajita melt, turkey pot pie melt, creamy beef alfredo
- Dinners include
- Artichoke and spinach stuffed chicken breast, roasted turkey medallions, mushroom stuffed chick breast, Italian sausage and turkey pepperoni pizza, meatloaf sandwich, chicken and bacon ranch pizza, chicken parmesan, ravioli, lasagna, rotini and meatballs, meatballs in marinara sauce, chili with beans, Salisbury steak with mac and cheese, BBQ seasoned chicken, chicken fettuccine alfredo, sweet and sour chicken, beef stew, sesame ginger chicken, yellow curry sauced chicken and rice, chicken pot pie, chicken alfredo, mac and cheese with turkey sausage, chicken and BBQ beans, pork tenderloins
- Snacks include:
- Dark chocolate and sea salt nut bar, ice cream sandwich, chocolate cupcake, lemon zest cake, milk chocolate flavored pretzels, brownie sundae, fudge bar, white cheddar popcorn, peanut butter cookie, chocolatey pretzel bar, thin mint crisp bar, white chocolate chunk cookies, chocolate cake, chewy peanut bar, snickerdoodle cookie, chocolate caramel bar, fudge brownie, chocolate chip cookies, cheese puffs, stuffed chocolate pie, chocolate peanut butter brownie, bacon ranch chip, pretzels, chocolate and vanilla shakes
Is Nutrisystem Easy to Follow
This is a question our team gets asked a lot and for the right reason. When spending several hundred dollars to lose weight, people want to make sure the program is going to work and that it is easy to follow. This is Nutrisystem’s entire business model – making the process of losing weight as simple and easy as possible. Turbo 13 ships perfectly portioned meals directly to your doorstep every month and allows you to eat up to 6 times a day. They make sure to outline what you should eat for each meal and even add in recommendations for groceries.
How Does Nutrisystem Work:
Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13 program is designed to help you lose weight by controlling your portions with each meal. It doesn’t require you to count, measure, or even weigh in. By limiting portions and calorie intake with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, Nutrisystem successfully helps you lose weight.
What’s in Nutrisystem
- Nutrisystem prides themselves on their nutrition experts and dietitians who designed each plan themselves. Here are some of their keys to helping you lose weight:
- Low Glycemic Carbs – which helps stabilize blood sugar
- Protein – healthy and lean protein to fuel the body
- Fiber – the Turbo 13 program is high in fiber to help keep you feeling full
- Exclude unwanted ingredients
- No artificial sweetener or flavors
- No use of MSG
- No use of high fructose corn syrup
- No use of hydrogenated oils frequently associated with trans fat
- Perfect mix of nutrients to fuel the body in a healthy way
Benefits of Nutrisystem
If your goal is to lose weight, then Nutrisystem will help you achieve your weight loss goals (the main benefit of using Nutrisystem). Nutrisystem also helps you learn to control your portions which is key in keeping unwanted weight off. Another key benefit of the Turbo 13 program is that you get to customize when you choose the Core Plan or Uniquely Yours Plan. Since Nutrisystem is low in sodium and trans-fat but high in protein, fiber, and carbs, it helps prevent fatigueless while also reducing your appetite.
Support System
Nutrisystem’s Core and Unique Yours Plans give you access to unlimited support. This means access to their mobile app (Numi), counselors, dietitians, and all their tools/trackers. Losing weight is never easy to do and Nutrisystem makes sure you aren’t in the process alone
Cost Effective (Price)
This topic was briefly touched on already but one of the biggest complaints we see about Nutrisystem is the cost so we wanted to inform all readers on the full costs associated with Turbo 13. Depending on which plan you choose, the upfront cost ranges from $234.99 to $299.99 to buy the plan itself. We also added in our own grocery items (such as fruits and vegetables) so make sure to factor that in if you do the same. Nutrisystem also has a Money Back Guarantee where they allow NEW customers to get a refund if they send back the remaining food and cancel within the first 14 days of the program. A key note here – Nutrisystem will charge up to $100-$125 to pay for shipping of the product both ways.
Conclusion – Does Nutrisystem work
Our conclusion remains the same as our previous Nutrisystem Review: Yes, Nutrisystem works. As with most products, it is not for everyone but if you are looking to lose 10 pounds (or more) and inches off your waist, then we would strongly recommend Nutrisystem’s Turbo 13. Some of the foods aren’t the most tasteful but their main goal is to make sure you lose the weight. With a money back guarantee and nearly 46 years of experience in weight loss, there is no reason why you shouldn’t start losing weight now.
If you want to try for yourself Nutrisystem is offering 40% off.
