Candi

We have absolutely loved being part of the Nutrisystem Nation Program #nsnation!! It has been the best thing that could have happened to us to give us a great jumpstart on our weight loss journey. We have been through the struggle of losing and gaining weight twice before and it was a little bit depressing to have to face the reality of “here we go again”. Following the Nutrisystem program for the past 3 months has been losing weight so much easier in so many ways!

– Takes the guesswork out of “what do I eat today?” Just follow the plan, plain and simple. It really is super easy. It feels a tiny bit overwhelming the first week, but seriously after that it was so easy to know what you are supposed to be eating each day.

– No counting calories! There is no reason to count calories as long as you follow the plan Nutrisystem sets up for you. You will be eating no more than the allowed amount of calories each day without having to keep track. Of course you still can if you want to, like Ken did. But I said the heck with that and loved not having to worry about each and every calorie.

– You feel great on Nutrisystem! I don’t know about you, but some diets I have tried I have felt horrible; Jittery, headaches, tired, and even stomach pains! I felt like I had so much more energy, which was probably from the milkshakes, and overall just felt good about not putting junk food into my body every day.

– A great support system! Nutrisystem counselors are the bomb! They were amazing to talk to on the phone and so knowledgable about Nutrisystem. If they weren’t sure they absolutely found out for you. One time I was really struggling with chocolate cravings and my counselor worked with me on how to curb that craving each day or substitute it for the chocolate milkshake or one of the yummy snacks that are part of their meal plan. I never got active on the NS forums, but I heard that those are even more amazing and a wealth of information can be found there as well as a ton of recipes. I never got into all that part of NS only because I focused on keeping NS simple while I also had to prepare meals for my kids.

Seriously, I am not plugging Nutrisystem just because we received the plan for free. Yes, we were blessed with an amazing opportunity to receive NS in exchange for our HONEST opinion on the plan, but I would never recommend something to others that I didn’t totally believe in. I have tried the Atkins diet and felt sick eating all that meat. I tried the Dukan diet which was short lived because I had the worst stomach pains ever and feared I did major harm to my body. With Nutrisystem I felt like I was able to eat all the normal types of food that I LOVE…. HELLOS PASTA! There are tons of pastas….and lose weight in the process. There was ice cream, and brownies, and popcorn! Who gets to eat this kind of food when they are dieting? Well on NS you can. If you can make the investment on their meal plan and on your health it is so worth it. Ken and I both believe in the plan whole heartedly.

Okay, now onto the technicalities.

Our total weight loss on Nutrisystem:
Ken lost a total of 32 pounds and I lost 26 pounds.
I will admit I thought the number was going to be higher. When I lost 12 pounds the first month I thought for sure that I would lose over 30 pounds for the 3 months. But after some research I found that typical results are to lose 1 – 2 pounds per week. We were on the plan for 12 weeks so that would be no more than 24 pounds total. So really, I did great! And Ken losing 32 pounds was amazing! Each month our weight loss total did decrease and I would imagine for any diet or weight loss program that would be pretty typical. Also we did not exercise 30 minutes each day as suggested. I can only imagine how much better we would have done if we would have stuck to an exercise program. We are business owners though (meaning time = money) with 4 kids who take up all of our time when we aren’t working, so having an exercise routine that doesn’t take away from our work time has always been a struggle.

Pictures! Well I know what everyone wants to see when you lose weight is before and after photos. And we did discuss this briefly when we got started and never got around to taking formal photos of ourselves to “officially” share before and after photos. And I know we should have been better about this, but as I said in our video. This was never about vanity or appearance for us. We seriously know we need to be in better about our eating and weight for our health. We are both in our early 40’s and it’s serious business, especially when you have heart disease that runs in your family.

We did take after photos the day we filmed our last Nutrisystem Update video and we have the before photos that we shared when we started Nutrisystem. These were not taken the day we started Nutrisystem, but we were at the same weight range that we were when we started as in these photos.

Before Photos

After Photos

Final thoughts:
I would most defiantly go on Nutrisystem again to lose weight. I don’t think I could have done more than 3 months in a row, but I would suggest maybe taking a month or two break and then get back on the program if it works for you. If I had the time I would be more active on the Nutrisystem boards if you don’t have a partner/spouse/friend that you are on Nutrisystem with. Going through this together made it that much more easy for the both of us.
And…drumroll. Here we are, over 1 month of being off Nutrisystem, and I have maintained my weight loss 100% and Ken is about 85% because he has gained a few pounds back. I’ve been getting on him for giving into some of those comfort foods that we all just love to give into, especially in these winter months. It’s not a myth that most of us pack on 3 – 4 pounds during the winter months. We are also so busy work-wise this time of year that it’s easy to give into the stress snacking. Anyways, I think for me I have gotten so used to the smaller portions that I certainly get full much quicker. I find it easy to keep portions small when eating at home. My only crutch is eating out, which we love to do. We are still both a work in progress. Thank you to everyone who has followed us along in our weight loss journey and we will continue to keep you posted on our progress! And who knows what we will try next. I would love to try crossfit, but I think I need to get into a little bit better shape first. Haha! :-)

Thank you most importantly to Nutrisystem for choosing us to be part of the Blogger/Vlogger Nutrisystem Nation!

Other Nutrisystem Posts :
#1 – Our Frozen Food Unboxing – http://ourfamilynest.com/nutrisystem-frozen-foods/
#2 – First Box Unboxing – http://ourfamilynest.com/nutrisystem-unboxing/
#3 – 2 Week Update – http://ourfamilynest.com/nutrisystem-2-week-update/
#4 – 1 month Results – http://ourfamilynest.com/month-one-on-nutrisystem-results/
#5 – 6 week Results – http://ourfamilynest.com/nutrisystem-6-week-update/
#6 – 8 week Results – http://ourfamilynest.com/nutrisystem-2nd-month-results/
#7 – Month 3, Week 2 – http://ourfamilynest.com/nutrisystem-10weeks/

Disclaimer: We are receiving 3 months of Nutrisystem in exchange for our honest opinion on the program. We are not getting paid by Nutrisystem. Everything shared on our blog and in our videos is our opinion and should not replace professional advice.