NutriSystem D: Significant Weight Loss For Diabetics

I would just take a look at what they are offering for food, just from the picture, I'm thinking this is similar to the Mediterranean diet.

I think the diet is not good enough because:
1. It is packaged
2. It is expensive
3. They are asking you to supplement this meal with fruits and vegetables giving the impression that the food is not healthy.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm is all I can say. Again, like Charles, you still have to supplement the meal. Why not save the money & just eat healthy. Bothers me that this was not an independent study! Money from NutriSystem drove this.

I'm really skeptical of any diet program that's based on prepackaged meals because they don't teach you how to eat in real life. My mom and aunt are on the Jenny Craig program and yeah, they've lost weight on the program. But they don't have to really think about anything...they just heat and eat the dinners up. I think it's probably better for diabetics to learn the proper types of foods to eat so they can prepare their own meals to lose weight.

This type of 'small study' shouldn't be given a lot of weight. If the company that sells the product also pays for and does the study, the results may be bias. Its just a way that many companies, especially pharma companies to promote their product.

in the past i tasted several of the regular meals and they were really awful. the pastas were gummy and the meats and sauces all tasted the same regardless of if they were chicken or beef. you could loose weight with this because it probably tastes so bad you cant finish it.

You are worried about a small study funded by the company that sells the product...you have never been in the Pharma business...every drug that is studied is funded by the company that sells it or there would be no studies performed...this is prepackaged food of course uncontrolled diabetics are going to do well they are uncontrolled because the can't control what they eat...this is a great option for theses people it teaches them what proper portion size is and also encourages them to eat fresh fruit and veggies come on how can it be bad because it is not fresh food they are killing themselves by what they are eating this can only help.

Actually, I thought the price ($280-$360) was surprisingly less than I thought it was. I probably spend about $200 a month right now, and the better I try to eat (more veggies etc) the more expensive it gets. My parents have been trying to pressure me to try Nutrisystem, and I've refused with the "It's expensive and I'll just gain the weight back". Admittedly, I have done the thing where I lost a lot of weight eating lots of packaged foods -- lean cuisine etc -- and did it for a long time, so I have to admit now and them I'm tempted... but I stopped because it just didn't seem normal eating everything from a box. It was so inelegant somehow.

Well, I don't like the price. As a family of 6 that's about how much i spend on ALL of us for 2 weeks. I cannot imagine spending an additional 300 dollars on just ME! However, I can say as long as you do learn how to portion your meals correctly w/out this program what's the harm in using it?
I already know how to eat better, and I've lost ALL of the *where the heck did this weight come from*-pre-diabetes-diagnosis-weight. I've recently been diagnosed w/Type II (in Dec 08) and see my doc and my nutritionist every 3 months, so far I've lost 30lbs. and I credit that to the medication really, since i was already eating properly before. I had gestational diabetes w/my last two pregnancies so i knew how to eat....it's just a pain in the butt sometimes w/toddlers running everywhere. That's why this program looked great for me, i could just (as someone said) heat and eat during the day, but still be fully capable to make a nice dinner for everyone in the evenings.

I wouldn't consider this a "main" diet but rather a supplement for my already good diet.
just a thought

I see many things wrong with this study:

-the extremely small sample size

-the fact that Dr. Gary Foster, the lead investigator, is also the Chairman of Nutrisystem's Advisory Council. If that isn't a significant conflict of interest....

-we really can't determine the 'success' of any weight loss study, valid or not, until the research subjects are evaluated at least 3 years out to determine if the weight loss has been sustained.

The fact is that the 'obesity crisis' was based on a seriously flawed CDC study (to which they were forced to admit) but they were never held accountable and the obesity industry was born.

As an unpublished pilot study without peer review and a small population base, I still have little doubt that the results are reliable and could be reproduced. Reason being, there is nothing magical about what these people ate. More protein, less inappropriate carbs eaten frequently in smaller portions. No doubt, an ideal diabetic food plan was proposed for both groups. The sole variable, dictating the disparity was that the patients eating the nutrisystem food did not have to shop for, calculate, measure, weigh and schedule their meals. Ultimately, the nutrisystem clients and the control group will either learn how to implement the program or suffer the consequences.

Please tell me why there is no information regarding the cost of your program on your home page?

Don't buy into the NutriSystem sales pitch. You don't need it no matter what they say. I lost 65 pounds and lowered my A1c from 8.4% to 5.3% in 6 months simply by riding my bicycle and being a little more careful about what I eat.

I started out riding a mile or so at a time and worked up to the average of 10 miles a day that I ride every day now. I didn't change my diet all that much either. All I did was start using Tuscan EVOO (that's Extra Virgin Olive Oil for all you non-foodies out there...) for cooking oil, eating more protein, and a lot less red meat. Overall it has worked very well.

So if I can lose more than 1\6th of my body weight and lower my A1c by 3.1% and then keep it low by doing something fun for an hour or so every day, why would I settle for a 0.9% reduction from what is basically no more that over-priced TV Dinners? So I'll pass on the NutriSystem D plan. My bicycle works much better...

I WAS VERY SCEPTICAL ABOUT THIS DIET BUT AT THE
URGING OF MY WIFE I DID IT, AFTER A MONTH I HAVE
LOST 15LBS AND HAVE NOT HAD A INSULIN SHOT IN 3 WEEKS.
I CHECK MY SUGAR LEVELD 3 TIMES A DAY AND CANNOT BELIEVE
THE CHANGE.I OFTEN TESTED IN THE 160-180 RANGE AND NOW REGULARLY READ 81-105. I AM VERY PLEASED, AND QUITE SURPRISED.

I ordered (and cancelled) the Nutrisystem D plan. Please if you are diabetic be cautious with this plan. My sugar prior to starting this plan was pretty much in check; I thought this plan would be more convenient which is why I went with it. However, after starting it I began to feel sick. My sugar levels went out of control resulting in me feeling ill. I called Nutrisystem to ask if they could tell me if the product I have in my hand is indeed for diabetics, but they were unable to do so. There is nothing on the packaging to indicate if it is for diabetics so I was unsure. They told me that they interchange many of the foods with the all the plans therefore nothing is on the labeling. I said that's awful that you don't have it marked to let people know they do indeed have the right food. I spoke to 5 different people; all of them had problems understanding what I was trying to say. All they could tell me was the invoice/paperwork says its the diabetic plan. I said I’m not talking about the paperwork; I’m talking about the actual food item. On the packaging there nothing indicating if its for diabetics. Finally the 5th girl, who was the supervisor, understood what I was trying to say. I said, the shipping box & paperwork may say diabetic, but I’m talking about the food inside the box. I asked how it was shipped, she said from a warehouse. I said yes, packaged by machine or person? She said, people, I said exactly, who’s to say that person didn’t place the wrong product in the box. That’s when she said, Oh, now I understand. Still she couldn’t answer my question and apologized to me for how I’ve been feeling. She explained that there are 5% or so of the diabetic people who order this product end up with higher sugar than when they started. She said the food just isn’t for everyone. I asked if that is marked somewhere, she said she didn’t think so. I said you should let someone know they should notify people of that, especially the diabetics that there may be a possibility their sugar may be higher than expected. I said your company is playing with people’s health; they deserve the right to know that this product may make you sick.

So I warn people who are diabetic to watch out for this product, your sugar levels may be fine now, but after starting this plan they may go crazy making you feel ill. Please be cautious.

Very enlightening! I considered trying this but now I think I will continue to educate myself more about diabetes. I think I also shall continue to perpare my own meals because I also believe I need to learn to rely on my own self to keep me healthy.

I want to thank all of the people who commented on nutrisystem D. But I especially want to thank Axel Slingerland and Susan M., for their input, it was most helpful and I am grateful to this website for hosting this format.