NutriSystem: A Complete Review

The food smells bad and tastes worse. Avoid. It is hard to stay on a diet when everything tastes horrible!

Made it thru the first couple of days where I struggled with being hungry. Now I am not as hungry. I haven't stepped on the scale yet, I want to wait one week.
Is anyone out there?

But, I am staying on this diet till the food is gone.
Today, people have said I look slimmer, that means alot to me.

I ordered my food today, and am dismayed to read a lot of the comments. I'm hoping to be one of the people who excel on NS!

Oscar sounds like a creep. I have had none of the problems he is talking about. Some of the food is actually good. All of it tastes better if you cook it on the stove top. Like the mosticelli with meatballs. That was good.

I am staying on because I need to do this, and I ordered the food. I am glad I am trying this.

Stacey, I am still hungry, but I need to walk away and let the food hit my tummy. then I am fine.

Well I have been on NS for 2 days and I can say that some of the food tastes good but I do not like the desserts at all. I guess my biggest concern is that on my first day my blood pressure shot up really high and I had a severe headache. I was worried about this when I started this program but I was reassured that the food and very low sodium.I am 33 and have suffered with this for a long time (even when I was a size 5)so I wanted to make sure it would be ok to start this program. I am wondering now if I should go ahead and stop this or just wait it out hoping it will not get any worse. If anyone else has had similiar problems I would love to hear the TRUTH about what its impact on blood pressure might REALLY be.

I noticed people have been complaining about headaches. That might be from the low carb thing.

I've read that the first day or two of low-carb and/or low-sugar diets can trigger headaches.

I ordered Nutrisystem a month ago and the food is absolutely horrible. Most of it after opening and smelling it (not to mention the appearance of the food) is awefule. I had to throw it out to keep from getting sick. The breakfast muffins are like cardboard and the entrees are like dog food in smell and appearance. The dessert/snacks - biscotti are hard enough to break your teeth - SAVE YOUR MONEY. Get into shape by exercising regularly, eat plenty of veggies and fruits and drink plenty of water.

Now I know how everybody loses weight on this program....THEY DON"T EAT!

This is my fourth day on NS and it's going really well. Some of the foods arent great, but overall I'm surprised at how good they are. I'm also amazed at how much food it actually is. I find myself feeling full and never hungry, and actually have to schedule a time for me to eat my meals and snacks. So far I've lost 3 lbs in 4 days and haven't been excersizing, but I will start soon. I also really appreciate the NS support like live chat on their website. It's extremely convientent to be able to ask a question to a real person and not just wait around for a response that could take days. I recommend the program and its only my 4th day!!

I also have had stomach aches and diarrhea for a month or so. Actually, I googled "nutrisystem and diarrhea" and got this site. I have been on since August and thought, "it couldn't be the food". But after reading this, I am canceling my next order. On the other side, I love the soy chips for desert and the biscotti. I would consider buying that separately and using other prepackaged foods (weight watchers) for my other meals.

I spent a few months on this program myself. It certainly made things easier to not have to cook anything and the food wasn't half bad. All said I did well and lose the "typical" 2 pounds a week for the first month. After that I didn't find it as appealling and dropped off pretty quick. Still, I'd say it's worth a shot, just don't order the eggs... ever.

Holly said:
I am considering trying this diet. Has anyone tried Jenny Craig? I am interested to know how the food compares with Jenny Craig food. [...]

Update...

Since I posted on Sept 16, I have read some really off the wall posts about NS. Rather than debate the claims and accusations, I'll let the my results do the talking. All I can say is go back and read my post from September. It still holds true. ;)

Anyway...as of today, Nov. 22, I am at 188 pounds and 22.5% body fat. Starting on July 19 I was at 243 and 33%.

So you tell me, does NS work? :)

This will be my second go with Nutrisystem. I successfully lost weight with the program in the early 80's. I've tried lots of other programs by NS is the best for me. Everybody is different and some people don't like to try new foods or like their food bland. I like most of the food and what I don't like, I don't order again. I've lost 22 pounds since September on the Over 60 plan and don't have any plans to go on my own right away. The best part of the plan is it is totally on-line and there are lots of participants throughout the country that are on various Bulletin Boards. This is the support that I needed. Thanks to the Internet and packaged foods that don't need refrigeration, I don't have to go to meetings.

It works and that's what is important to me. When I do go on my own, I can still benefit from the support online.

I also commented earlier. I have been on NS food since January of '06. I also use my own food about half the time.

I am very happy with the program. I consider it to be more than the food because much of the benefit for me has been the online component - the live classes, the bulletin board, the live help, and the ordering system. I am not the kind of person who likes to weigh in with other people watching, nor have to go to a weekly meeting or weigh-in center. So this part of the program is what tipped the scales for me.

My stats are:

375 when I started.
241 today.

A total of 134 lost so far. If you're someone like me with a lot to lose, don't be put off by a negative review. Yes, I'm sure I could keep losing without NS, but I've found my favorites among their food and I don't WANT to give it up!

- Susan
http://susanlosin.blogspot.com

DO NOT order from this company. I wanted to exchange a box that was sent to me for my choice of food and so I sent it back like they told me to. They then told me that they did not have a record of the box being sent back and will not send me a new one or refund my money. I am now out $289.00. I am so upset with this company and their terrible customer service! By the way, the food is not very good and you will be hungry.

I started NS on 7/31/06, and have lost 34.6 pounds (about 2lbs/wk). At first, I thought the food was salty, which concerned me b/c I never salted my food. I asked a NS counselor about the amt of sodium NS puts in their food, and they said that a day's worth of NS meals has less than the RDA of 2400mg or 1 tsp of sodium). I did a little research, and they aren't lying. Now, I look at the labels on the foods I used to eat before NS and am shocked by the amt of sodium I was eating before! Just proves that sometimes a food that tastes salty isn't really high in sodium and vice versa.

Now, knowing that I've been on NS for over 4 months, you're wondering...do I like the food? YES! Overall, the food is good. But, let's be realistic...it's a means to an end. Any belly-achers that complain that the food doesn't taste good, should put their forks down and go to McDonald's...you're destined to be fat. For those of you that have the desire to lose weight, and are committed to sticking to a plan that works, go to NS website and order the food! They've just re-formulated a lot of the items (like the Blueberry Muffins...which are YUMMY!), and have added new items as well.

For the lady who made the comment on the discounts; I have never paid the full price for 4 weeks of food ($321). Sign-up for Auto-Delivery and you get 10% off, the first month you get a free weeks worth of food, then you can get $15 referral credits, $10 newsletter credits, and when you order your 4th month, you get 15%! If you want a $15 coupon good towards your first order, email me and I'll send you one.

Look, I started out at 187#, and now I'm about to break 150#. It's December 12th, and I'm not worried about gaining wt over the holidays...I'm in control. NS has taught me about portion control and body chemistry (what foods to eat together to maintain level blood sugar).

Now, don't get me wrong, I have started to add some of my own foods in, because I know I can't stay on NS forever. But, I scrutinize every nutritional label before I purchase, and when I get it home, it is immediately put into single serving size containers (ziploc, etc).

I had tried every diet known to man in the past...even had a personal trainer...nothing would take the weight off. NS HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.

Keys to success:

1) Eat what and how much you're supposed to eat, when you're supposed to eat it.
2) Drink AT LEAST 8 glasses of water every day.
3) Don't be sedentary...move your body.
4) Be 100% every day...cheating doesn't hurt anyone else but yourself.

Oh, and one last thing about returns...I have had to call NS every month b/c they substitute items for things I have ordered. Although, inconvenient, it's not an issue worth fretting over. I'm not sure why everyone else is having such a hard time with this, but NS has NEVER asked me to physically return anything! I simply call them, and they ask "What were you supposed to get that you didn't?" I tell them, and they send it! No questions asked! Same thing if I call them b/c something was damaged.

By the way, the posting by "Amy" on Dec 5th is obviously not me.

Nutrisystem is the worst investment big or small I have ever made. Food is lousy, overstaturated with sodium, advertising is deceptive.

I started NS four weeks ago today. I've lost 6 pounds, but I DO NOT attribute it to this food! The same day I started the diet, I started boot camp, three days a week, plus isometric exercises. There's more carbs in this diet on a daily basis than I've ever eaten, i.e., cereals, pasta, beans, rice. Maybe it's my metabolism, but I do not tolerate this quantity of starch, or processed foods very well. I share the effects of bloating and gas with many other dieters on NS.

As much as I've been physically working out, I'm sure by now I would have lost more pounds if I would have simply changed my eating habits, cut out most of the alcohol, chocolate, and large serving portions. This diet is very expensive, even on the auto delivery program. I decided not to continue with this program, but to continue with fresh foods without all of the sodium, preservatives and sugar alcohols.

The one positive comment I can make is that this diet has made me consciously aware of eating on a schedule. I used to "maybe" eat breakfast, skip lunch, then eat a late dinner, most of the time with a glass or two of red wine, followed by dark chocolate for dessert. Also, keeping a journal of what you eat and your exercise activities is "very" important. Since being on this diet, I have cut out the daily alcohol and the chocolate, and I have started exercising again.

I would only recommend this diet to someone who needs the convenience of pre-packaged food, or someone who doesn't cook at all. Otherwise, continue your search for a diet that suggests eating healthy foods without all the chemicals, sodium and sugars added, a/k/a "real" food. And most importantly, move around, excercise, and have a positive attitude towards yourself.

Now after reading everything from April til now, im more and more confused. I want to loose 30 to 40 lbs. I always do "my own" stuff and then when im more then halfway there, I fall apart and gain it all back. I have noticed that I am more of a protien dieter then carbs.. so would this be not useful to me since NS has lots of carbs? Also, some review said beef is good, some say bad.. im now more confused! Does anyone know how "a la cart" works? Can i just get like few things and try them? or do I have to get 28 days worth of food?

BC said:
Hi all,[...]

What sort of "medical professional" can't spell 'diarrhea' and uses words like 'fluctionation'? I looked that one up but I guess my dictionary missed it somehow.

I just got my order and 1) some of the packaged were broken and the food has spilled out 2) I received a "free week" of food I wont eat (I told them I don't eat meat- they sent me meat!)

So far, the food is tolerable- but as "professional dieter", I realized immediately that if I merely prepare food in advance and store it "to go", I can have something much tastier, fresher, and cheaper. The only benefit is that you save time and effort preparing meals- this is only valuable if you truly don't have 30 minutes every couple days to pre-cook some food. BOTTOM LINE: This is not a "tasty and fun" way to lose weight, it's just extremely convenient if you really never are home. But even so, you still need produce and protein available as well- I tried to an mere 8 hour work day just on the NS food, and it's just not going to saisfy you alone. Period.

I just started my program on Dec. 27, 06. So far I've experienced major bloating and occasional diarrhea. The food choices I've made has been good so far. I especially like the mashed potatoes. DO NOT order the eggs. Not so great. Edible but not worth it. When they say that it is portion-controlled, they really mean it. One dinner entree is probably like a 'Kids Cuisine' you find in the market or maybe even less. I'm not quite too sure on that. If you do not supplement with fruits and veggies then you will be hungry. I've only been on it for a few days and it feels like torture. Only because the portions are so tiny. As for weighing myself, I have lost 3.5 lbs so far. To conclude, if you have strong willpower than you can make it through this program. It's all about self-control.

I ordered NutriSystem once in the past and wasn't real happy with it. I called to cancel, a women tried talking me into delaying it for three months and I said "no thanks". To my surprise, I received another package a few days before Christmas. Having not expected this, I didn't budget for it and it cost me financial grief over the holidays.

With that said, I called and spoke with a Supervisor whom told me to call UPS, tell them that the package was unauthorized and that it needs to be picked up. I proceeded to explain my financial issue and she gave me her extension and said to call her when the package is picked up and she will process the refund right away. I left three messages, including one today, and still haven't heard from her. Needless to say, it is now 1-3-07 and there has yet to be a refund... 12 days later.

I called to speak with another Supervisor today and she told me that they have the package, but there is no documentation of a refund. What? A package came back and they don't know what to do with it?

This second Supervisor stated that she was going to stay on top of this and I should get my refund within ANOTHER 3-5 days.

In my opinion, the food doesn't taste good enough to deal with the problems that have arised for me, or my family for that matter. Customer Service just isn't like it used to be!

I'm on day 3, and so far the food's not bad. The eggs need some pepper, and I use a bit of Garlic Powder to spice it up. The dinners are pretty good so far. The soups for lunch are actually quite good. I work at a hospital, so we have a very healthy salad bar that I use for all of my supplements. There's no way that I can do 2 vegetables at dinner though, but so far, I've stuck to the plan pretty well. The 1st month was a Christmas present from my parents, so I'm pretty committed to sticking to it. Exercise is pretty tough for me, as my body is full of titanium from an accident. After I get used to the new eating habits, I'm gonna hit the cardio machines though, probably in about 2 weeks.

I just started NS yesterday. I am an extremely busy single mom, so I thought the pre-packaged meals would be an easier way for me to jumpstart my diet.

The dinner I chose last night was pretty good...beef tacos. I thought they were alright. Today I tried the eggs for breakfast..horrible!!!...I threw them out and had a small bowl of Cornflake with skim milk. For lunch today I had the pasta with broccoli and it was tolerable enough to eat most of it, but I would dread eating it ever again. To be fair, it may be better if prepared on the stove.

I am still going to stick with it if for no other reason than to learn portion size. So far I've been very hungry, but I have not gotten to the store to get the supplemental fruits and veggies.

I was leary about NS because of what the food would taste like. My mother tried it over 20 years ago and I remember her saying the food was awful. I thought after 2 decades that the food would have improved. So far I can't say that it has, but I have only tried a couple things.

I suspect that after this first month of food, I might purchase some dinners or desserts, but probably will try preparing my own food. But I'll let you all know.

I just started NS 3 days ago. I have been experiencing dizziness at night. Could this be a result of the sodium? Has anyone else experienced this? I am 22 years old and healthy.

Thanks

Please stop the whining. If you want to be fat your whole life you will suffer terrible health ailmends like diabetes, high blood pressure, bad Knees, hips, etc.

You have to expect to suffer a bit to lose weight.

I have not lost more than the 10 lbs, but I am happy. I have got the portions under control and now just eat Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine.

JJ, the sodium content on those ready meals is so high. They are not healthy to eat as your regular diet.

Get a $30 Off Coupon For Your First Nutrisystem 28 Day Order!

Free!

Plus...... they are currently offering 7 days of free meals when you place the order!

So you get 5 weeks of meals for the price of 4 plus the $30 discount!
I am losing weight with the NutriSystem program and I love it. The meals are delicious and it is so easy. I work full time, go to college full time and have two kids so this has been a blessing for me. No calories to count or list for grocery shopping. I am eager to have others try it and experience the same success that I have. I am so happy!

Email me for a $30 coupon off your first 28-day order of Nutrisystem.(coteras@bellsouth.net) No commitment. If you decide not to use the coupon just ignore the email. There is no risk involved. This is not a scam or gimmick. What's in it for me? When you use your coupon I will also get $30 off my next order. It is called the Nutrisystem Buddy Bucks.

YOU HAVE TO TRY IT. IT IS GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK.

I just started NS today and so far so good. I had the cereal for breakfast and chicken noodle and vegetables for lunch. It really wasn't so bad. When adding a fruit or protein and salad it really fills you up. I only have to lose 15 pounds, so I'm hoping that by the time I'm sick of the food I will have already lost the weight. Then I plan on watching my portions and trying to eat healthy! For anyone thinking of giving up....don't! Stick to it....You can do it!!!

I am not on NS but I am trying to create my own NS System (involves cooking). Basically 1500 calories per day (combination of good fats and good carbs). Three meals, multiple snacks etc, etc. It's cheaper than NS but you HAVE to prep and cook your food. I think of it as added exercise. I also added walking 2.5 miles per day. I have been on this for one week and I have lost approx 7 pounds. I have 108 pounds to go (yes, 108). Whether your on NS or you go your own way; I wish you all the best of luck and ask you to persevere. Keep it up!!!! Your'e doing good!!!!!

I have been on NS since 10/17/06. I've lost 20 pounds; it would be more, but I took a little "break" during the Holiday season. I love NS. Admittedly, some of the foods get kind of old, and most of the desserts leave much to be desired, but I'm impressed by the fact that NS constantly adds new items or changes recipes. I'm rarely hungry between meals and feel good about myself at the end of the day. A lot of people are saying that you have to be some sort of "idiot" to not be able to control your portions. However, I used to allow myself to get too hungry, ate "appetizers" before dinner, then ended up eating way too much. NS allows me to have my dinner on the table in less than 5 minutes, and that's really helpful for me.

Stacy said:
I just started NS....[...]

It's been a week now. I've lost over 7 pounds this first week. I'm pretty happy with that...thus motivating me to stick with it.

The foods have been around 50% tolerable. I've found several meals that I really like. The others I can't stand and will never eat again. But I'm finding real-life alternatives that I can fix quickly at home.

So far so good. Of course, exercise has helped me tremendously, but it seems sticking with a meal plan helps me stick to an exercise plan as well.

Good luck to all my fellow dieters!

This is my 3rd day on Nutrisystem. Food is okay; teaching me portion size. I'm following everything to the rule. However, I'm extremely bloated, stomach is swollen. My digestive system has slowed down to almost non-existent. I'm miserable. I talked to N.S. counselor online who said to choose juice instead of fruit. Anyone else have this problem?
sign me: clogged up by Nutrisystem

There are several errors in this review of Nutrisystem. Two errors are on the reviewer's part and the other is Nutrisystem's own misrepresentation of its food.

To start, the reviewer states there is no fee to join Nutrisystem (I'll refer to it as NS). While there is no up front fee, in order to use NS counselors and certain web features you MUST actively be placing orders. Actually, there is a seoond error also. NS FREQUENTLY substitutes foods and not just during holidays. You can choose to just have them ship an order of their choice to you (in which case you get MANY duplicate items) or you can choose every item you want, one by one. If they are low or out of stock they state they reserve the right to substitute food items...and use that "right" quite often.

One of the reasons I joined is that when you choose each food item you are presented with a complete Nutrition Label and ingredients list for each food item. I have several food allergies so when they exercise their "right" to substitute I have ended up with as much as a WEEK'S worth of food I can not eat! And if you read the disclaimer, that "right" to swap foods also states that they will not take back a substitution. It doesn't seem to matter if you have an allergy to it or not. It is a policy they are very stict about (a.k.a., a great way to make money and clear old stock out of the warehouse).

Finally are the NS foods themselves. About the only thing you can say for them is that they are portion controled...period. Read the labels on almost ANY item (breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack) and you will find ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, white sugar, white flour (all items containing pasta are made with enriched semolina flour...again, a.k.a., white flour). You can buy pasta in the local grocery store that is pure semolina, whole grain wheat or brown rice (the rice pasta actually tastes like regular white pasta where to me whole wheat pasta just tastes like boiled straw). They use white rice in "almost" (no quite) all their rice based dishes. Their foods contain MSG and half their desserts contain aspartame. I am sensitive to aspartame due to a medication I must take but can usually tollerate it in small quantities however I had one of their biscotti snacks and developed a full-blown migraine in under an hour! If you go on their OWN bulletin boards you will find others reporting similar situations.

While they have a wonderful explanation of what a "low glycemic" food is and how it effects your body it would seem as though they have never read their own materials. Like I said, just read the ingredients in their foods and they contradict everything they are telling the public.

There is also no real information or training that tells you specifically how to transition off their food when you meet your goal weight. The assumption, according to a NS counselor, is that 'by the time you lose the weight you need to you will be used to what constitutes a portion of any food group". That's quite an assumption.

I've spoken to the "counselors" more times than I can count. At one point I even had a counselor, 2 supervisors and a staff nutritionist on the phone. One of their meals is simply called beef and pasta in sauce. When I received this and read the ingredients I was appauled. With myself and the 4 people from NS on a conference call I sat in front of my computer. I had their product in front of me and the Chef boy r de web site in front of me on the computer opened to the page that lists the ingredients in their Beeferoni. Starting from the first to the last ingredients on the NS product and the Beeferoni, they were almost identical. From the white flour to the hydrogenated oils. The nutrition labels are nearly identical as well. The only difference is that NS adds soy protein to everything that contains meat or pasta (so if you are allergic to soy or soy flour, stay away).

After arguing with them to try to get them to take the product back (a single 1 cup serving, which is the standard size for the NS product, costs approx. $3.00 and change...their prices vary according to how much stock they have. If I am going to get the same nutritional value - or lack thereof - a can of beeferoni is only $0.98 at any Walmart and it would be TWO servings!). Even the nutritionist didn't believe my until she put me on hold and looked up the web site herself and found the Beeferoni ingredients.

When she came back on the phone the only justification she or any of the supervisors could come up with that they felt justified the high price for poor quality food was the fact that it was already portioned so there is no temptation to eat the 2 cups that come in a can of beeferoni! They couldn't argue the nutritional information and when I asked them to explain to me "exactly how this can be considered 'low glycemic'" I was told that it was too technical for me to understand and that the call had taken too much time from too many people. I was given no chance to respond; I was told "thank you for calling NS and if there are any other questions we can answer for you feel free to call back. Have a nice day." and they hung up.

And yes, I stopped ordering from them...

khantessa said:
This is my 3rd day on Nutrisystem. Food is okay; teaching me portion size. I'm following everything to the rule. However, I'm extremely bloated, stomach is swollen. My digestive system has slowed down to almost non-existent. I'm miserable. I talked to N.S. counselor online who said to choose juice instead of fruit. Anyone else have this problem[...]

Hi khantessa,

I just wrote a long comment on the NS program. If you read the ingredients on the food items you are eating you will find that it is pretty much most of the things any nutritionist would tell you to stay away from. As the reviewer said, Nutrisystem has gone through a major upswing in the number of customers. However, this is probably because most of the low carb, high protein, etc. diets are now starting to fade away so they are flooding the air waves with commercials. They (and Jenny Craig) seem to be the last diet programs out there (though there are many others).

The bloating feeling you are experiencing is not uncommon with Nutrisystem. They use inferior ingredients in most of their products (high fructose corn syrup, MSG, aspartame, white flour and rice and enough preservatives to keep a mummy looking good for years). The reason people lose weight on this program is simply portion control. Their claim about using "low glycemic" carbs is all hype. I am a diabetic. I started Nutrisystem, ate half the food I had been eating before starting the program and my blood sugar went crazy (and I did opt for the diabetic plan they offer...it is exactly the same food as everyone else gets. The only difference is that if they autoship to you they leave out some of the foods that have pure, white sugar in them. However, I did receive items that contained high fructose corn syrup and as I said before, white flour and white rice - both are converted and stored as sugar in the body).

Everyone has bacteria in their intestinal tract. It is normal and necessary. It is not uncommon for overweight people (a little or a lot), to have many forms of unhealthy bacteria in the small intestine or colon as well. It is generally caused by food that has not passed quickly enough out of the body and any bacteria ferments in the intestinal tract and causes bloating or gas.

Since Nutrisystem food is really not very different from what you were eating before (it's just in smaller portions), the fermentation process just continues but now that you are eating less there is more "open space" in the intestines for the fermentation to take place. To put it simply, you are more empty since you are eating less so any bacteria in your system will continue to grow and part of the growth process of bacteria is to give off gas which causes bloating.

I had the same problem initially and went on the message boards and a number of people suggested using Beano chewable pills. You can get it at any pharmacy, supermarkt or Walmart for that matter. You just chew a couple before eating and in about 3 to 5 days your system will adjust (usually) and you can stop taking them. Or you might try taking them and then tapering off slowly. But your body will adjust.

One last comment about the advise the Nutrisystem counselor gave you...wrong! As I said above, gas is generally caused by bacteria fermenting. They do this by eating what is in you digestive tract and one of their favorite foods are SUGAR. Fruit juice is the worst thing to take as it is a type of sugar known as fructose (but sugar no matter what you call it) so it just feeds the process. Your body needs something that bacteria that cause gas CAN'T eat. The only thing bacteria can't use to grow and give off gas in the process is fiber. The best type of fiber is one that not only won't feed the bacteria in your system but will actually help get rid of the type your system doesn't need. The best type of fiber is called psyllium husk fiber. You can also get it at any Walmart. Be sure to read the labels though; the only thing you want is pure psyllium. There are other types of fiber (like inulin which is popular because it doesn't taste gritty) but the other types won't solve your particular problem. Walmart sells pure psyllium husk fiber under their Equate brand name. It's cheap, it's natural, has no calories, sugar or carbs and it works in a few days. So try the Beano to solve the symptoms immediately and the psyllium fiber to solve the problem.

Hope you have better luck than I did. Try the Beano regardless of what the entree is and the fiber a few times a day for a while; it usually works. Good luck.

Steve A.
I agree with you; especially concerning whole wheat pasta (aaarrrrgggghhhhh). I like the rice based pasta but I also like Barilla Plus; check it out! It still has semolina but the second ingredient is a flour from lentils. The end result is a pasta that tastes like pasta but with fewer calories than pasta and fewer calories than whole wheat pasta!

To me; its about portion control, a combination of good fats and good carbs, and excercise.

Even though 'calorie counting' seems so mundane; it is the only real way to weight loss. In the most simple of terms:

If you consume less calories than you expend on a daily basis, then you will lose weight.

If you consume more calories then you exped on a daily basis, then you will gain weight.

Atkins: Sure, eat all the steak you want; but if you consume 3000 calories in steak everyday and you only burn 2500 calories then your gonna get fat.

Vegan: Same deal; 3000 calories in broccoli intake and only 2500 calories burned = gain weight.

What these particular diets have that cause you to lose weight is portion control because.....

nobody can eat 3000 calories of just steak or just vegetables; the end result is a reduction of caloric intake because of the huge list of 'forbidden' items that you cut from your daily intake.

Don't get me wrong; I think if you can lose weight on NS then I say Go for it!!!!!

But I do think you can recreate the same type of diet (with better food) with just a little more effort. You need the time to prepare your own food and you need to read labels to get the right type of food.

BTW, your right SUGAR = GAS; BUT....its the more complex sugars that are hard to break down that give the most gas.

A classic example is lactose.

Lactose is a double sugar made of glucose and galactose linked together and the breakdown of this large sugar creates a lot of gas within the intestine.

Lactose free milk (lactaid) is a good solution because it splits the lactose into the two simpler sugars so your body does not have to. The end result is a milk that is a little sweeter but with fewer calories and most important....does NOT give you gas.

Remember.....

PORTION CONTROL!!!!!!!

ONLY GOOD FATS and GOOD CARBS!!!!!!!

EXCERCISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all three are hard to do but worth the effort.