Keep on plugging away!

I lost another two pounds this week to bring my total loss so far to eleven pounds! I'm pretty excited. This also means that I have earned my first Nutribear. Nutrisystem has a program where, for each ten pounds you lose, they will send you a little teddy bear. There's a different one for each ten pounds up to 100lbs, then for each 25lbs up to 200lbs. There is also a gold bear for goal. It's just a little thing, but it's so nice to have your achievements recognized and celebrated.

Sometimes it can seem daunting if you have a lot of weight to lose, like I do. You can ask yourself, how am I ever going to lose all that weight? It seems impossible. With the Nutribears, you are never more than ten pounds away from your next goal. Anyone can lose ten pounds, right? All of a sudden, your mountain has become a molehill.

I can't wait until they have to send me my goal bear!

Dan was actually jealous tonight...

My dinner was so good tonight, Dan was actually jealous of it! That's one heck of a milestone for Nutrisystem. I decided to jazz up the Thick Crust Pizza a little bit. One of my favourite foods pre-lifestyle change was BBQ chicken pizza. So today, I saved two proteins from earlier in the day for dinner, and I made a chicken pizza!

It's permitted to sub out the tomato sauce they give you with BBQ sauce (as long as it's less than 20 calories per tbsp), so I did that, and I cut up a serving of chicken into little chunks. Then I topped the pizza with my favourite veggies; onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and green pepper. I grated a little mozzerella on top to supplement the NS cheese (since I had saved enough protein servings), and baked it for ten minutes. It was amazing! This is definitely something I plan to eat again.

Even with boxed entrees like this, there is definitely room for creativity. On the Nutrisystem site, there are message boards where people post their favourite recipes. I definitely plan on trying them out!

Here are some more meals I've sampled lately:

Rice, Beef, and Vegetables in Teriyaki Sauce (Dinner):


This one was another meal where I needed to adjust my expectations. Rice? What rice? There was literally one tablespoon of rice in the little plastic compartment on the side! I know rice is starchy but this was ridiculous. Also, teriyaki sauce is supposed to be sweet, and this was more of a beef broth than anything else. This was certainly edible and there was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn't what I was expecting and frankly I'd rather have a dish that tasted more carb-y. The meal was filling, but left me feeling unsatisfied.

Chicken and Noodles with Lemon Butter Sauce (Dinner):


Like the above meal, this just wasn't what I expected. In fact, I didn't taste any lemon at all. Was it good and filling? Sure, but it just wasn't what I was hoping for. It tasted good and I liked it, but I probably won't order too many more of this one.

Vegetable Lasagna with Basil Tomato Sauce (Dinner):


Unless you're a vegetarian, I see no reason to choose this instead of the lasagna with meat sauce. I usually love vegetable lasagnas because I expect them to be full of chunks of vegetables. This one, not so much. I missed the meat and took this one off my order list.

Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables (Lunch):


This was pretty good. It was like chicken noodle soup, but with a thicker sauce. I actually thought when I pulled it out of the cupboard that it was another of the chicken and barley meals, so I was a little disappointed when I opened the cup. Then I looked at the label and realized that it was something different. Chicken noodle soup really isn't my favourite thing so this wasn't a huge hit for me, but it was tasty and I did like it.

My next month's box should be here in a few days. It'll be nice to have some variety again- I'm running out of choices!

Wow

Tonight my dinner was absolutely unbelievable. I wouldn't have guessed that it was designed for weight loss! SOOO good. I had the Beef Taco and it was amazing. I made it into a taco salad with romaine lettuce, tomato chunks, cheddar cheese, and fat free sour cream, and I added diced onion and green bell pepper to the meat and sauce. It also came with three taco shells which I crunched up and put on top. It was one of my favourite meals!



Here are some other meals I have tried recently:

Cheesy Homestyle Potatoes (Lunch):


I confess to having been a little leery of this! Not only just at the idea of having mashed potatoes as a main course for lunch, but just generally instant mashed potatoes. I was pleasantly surprised by how rich and cheesy they were. I had them with steamed broccoli and a serving of fresh salmon and it made a yummy lunch.

Rotini with Meatballs and Tomato Sauce (Dinner):


This meal was pretty much what you'd expect- rotini pasta in a chunky tomato sauce with little meatballs. I found the meat plentiful and since I love pasta, this really hit the spot for me but wasn't anything special.

Beef and Noodles with Stroganoff Sauce (Dinner):


I love beef stroganoff, so I was hoping for a creamy beef and noodle dish. It wasn't really what I had in mind though (although I guess I was thinking of Hamburger Helper Stroganoff which isn't all that great anyway). The sauce was a little too thin for my taste and it was more of a broth based dish than a cream sauce. Would I eat it again? Sure, but I've adjusted my expectations.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding (Dessert):


This was the first thing I actively disliked, but then again, I'm not really a pudding person. I thought it would be really great to enjoy it as a fondue, so I cut up strawberries and bananas and got some graham crackers to dip in the pudding. It still just didn't cut it for me. This one is definitely not on my order again list.

But, the bottom line is, so far so good. I'm sticking to my program, I'm losing weight, and the food is definitely not bad. Nutrisystem is a win for me.

Discount for New Signups

***Just to let you all know that I am not getting anything from sharing this with you- I thought I might be able to help some people out.***

I just got an email from Nutrisystem.com (the American site with more choices) that says that if you use the link in the email, you save $50 for the first two months in addition to the two free weeks and the 10% auto-delivery discount. You have to sign up by March 1st to get the discount.

If you are interested in getting a copy of this email, please comment here and leave your email address and I will forward it to you. If you're considering trying Nutrisystem, now's a great time because the price is so low. For Canadians, it comes to $269 and for Americans, it's $249 after all the discounts.

I was planning on waiting until the end of March to re-sign up on the American site but to save this much money, I'll order now and just make some extra cupboard space!

Slightly disappointing

I was really hoping to break into double digits today but I only lost 2lbs. It's probably because I was only able to exercise one day this past week instead of the three days I'd been doing before. Matthew's been teething so he's needed a little more attention and things have been busy.

On the other hand, who am I to complain about a 2lb loss? That's still awesome and I should be proud of myself. This brings my total to 9lbs in 3 weeks!

I have a wedding to go to in May and I really don't want to have to buy another dress so I hope I will be able to fit into something I already own by then. I'm not sure how feasible that is but I guess we'll see!

My next Canadian shipment is being sent on Tuesday so I had to go through the menu and pick out what I wanted for my next box. It's a little frustrating to be stuck with the same choices again but I am looking forward to next month where I will get to order from the American menu and have many more options!

I'll have some more photos of meals to post soon, I've just been pretty busy. But again, no cheating, so I'm pretty happy with myself!

Exciting News!

Remember how I said in a previous post that I was annoyed that the American site had so many more options than the Canadian site? I called Nutrisystem and complained that I didn't think it was fair that I was unable to select from the larger menu since everything was coming from the same shipping location anyway.

Well, the customer service agent told me that there was a recent change so that orders on the American site can be shipped to Canada! They do charge a $19.95 delivery fee and you pay for pricing in $US instead of $CDN, but it's not really that much more and the selection is so much better! I mean, I just made my choices for my second order on the Canadian site (I have to do two months on the Canadian site to get my two weeks of freebies and free shipping), and I am having to pick 3 or 4 of each thing I like because I am running out of choices. I did a run-through on the American site, and found myself constantly having to go back and reducing the quantity to 1 or 2 because there are more things I want to try!

The best part is, since it counts as a separate site, I believe I get two weeks of freebies from the American site too when I sign up. That means I'll have gotten an entire month of food for free.

All of a sudden, I'm a much happier camper and I can see myself doing this for longer before I get bored of the food!

I must be doing something right!

I weighed in this morning and found that I had lost another three pounds for a total of seven pounds so far! It's really exciting to be seeing positive results! It also definitely motivates me to keep sticking to it.

So far, I'd definitely give Nutrisystem a thumbs up. It's so easy to just walk to the cupboard and pick out a meal, and I've had a different dinner every night except for the veggie fajitas which I've had twice because I like them so much. Except for the hamburger, everything has been at least decent and a couple of things have been really good. It makes losing weight easy and I don't feel deprived!

Well, today when Dan and I went to see Avatar, I did want some popcorn. But seeing that drop on the scale made it easy to say no. It was our first date since Matthew was born and it was so nice to get out of the house without a diaper bag! Matthew enjoyed some time with Grandma, too.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Lay off the chocolate!

Still here!

I haven't written in a few days but things have been pretty busy on the home front. My son is getting so interactive and playful! He's four months old and full of wonder. I have to share, yesterday he rolled over for the first time! I'm one proud mama.

I'm starting to run out of new breakfasts and desserts to review, since I pretty much only ordered a few things that I thought I'd like. Here's what I've had the past few days:

Chicken Pasta Parmesan (Dinner)


This was pretty good! Noodles, chicken, and cheese in a zesty tomato sauce. I love having my pasta dishes with Caesar salad and a slice of garlic bread. Despite the small serving of main course, it's pretty hard to feel deprived when you have all that to eat!

Nacho Crisps (Dessert)


I'm not really a salty snacks person but they got to choose the items I'd get for my free week, and this was one of the things they put in my box. They are actually pretty good. They are thicker than regular tortilla chips but they have a satisfying crunch and made a great snack.

Black Bean Tortilla Soup (Lunch)


My only question about this was, where on earth are the tortillas? If they just called it black bean soup, there'd be no question it was what it said. To put it simply, if you like bean soup, you'll like this. Beans are generally low fat and high fibre so they probably didn't change a regular bean soup that much. I must admit I was wishing for a dollop of sour cream, some tortilla chips, and cheese to eat with it though. I might sneak a little fat free sour cream on top next time but I guess I'll have to skip the rest.

Chicken with Dumplings (Dinner)


This tasted like good old fashioned comfort food. It's hard to be unhappy with a dish full of chicken chunks and little dumplings in a thick gravy. I was using my slice of bread to mop out every drop!

Homestyle Chicken Noodles with Gravy (dinner)


This disappointed me, not because of the taste, but again because of the description. I was expecting something similar to the chicken and dumplings but with noodles instead. What I actually got was basically chicken noodle soup. If it had been marked chicken noodle soup, I would have known what to expect (and probably wouldn't have ordered 3 of them). I really like sauces and gravies, so thin stock just didn't do it for me. I'm going to save them for when I'm not feeling great and would normally be wanting chicken noodle soup and I think I'll enjoy them a lot more then.

Honestly, after nearly two weeks, I don't have too much to complain about. I can see myself eventually getting bored with the limited menu (especially since Canadians get even less choice than Americans!) but Dan suggested I just set up a 2 week rotation where I don't eat things more often than once every two weeks. That really isn't so bad and I think I can manage that. I'll have to have some of my favourites more often though! In general, the food is pretty good, although some of the dishes could use a little more flavour. On the plus side, spices like black pepper and chilies are all permitted so I can jazz them up myself.

My elliptical machine and I are becoming buddies again, so hopefully I'll have another good number on the scale this week. My plan is to exercise at least 3 days a week and so far I've been doing that.

No real urges to cheat yet... not even for pizza!

Woohoo!

I lost 4 pounds this week! Way to get some positive reinforcement that I am doing the right thing! It's been so nice to eat things I'm enjoying and still lose weight.

Today was a pretty yummy day. It's hard to beat pasta and sweet stuff! I wish the free week they sent me didn't include so many salty snacks because I don't really want them. Oh well... I can at least try them.

For breakfast, I had the Apple Strudel Scone. This was the first thing I tried out of my Nutrisystem box the day it came and I still think it's really good. It's dense and apple-y.



I felt like comfort food for lunch, so I chose the Cheese Tortellini. The serving size was adequate and I enjoyed the pasta. It was nothing special but nothing shabby either. Pretty basic pasta dish.



I had some green beans in the fridge that I wanted to make, and since I like cheesy things with green beans, I decided to make the Macaroni & Cheese. I was impressed at how cheesy it was! It reminded me of Kraft dinner but with a thicker sauce.



For dessert, I chose the Double Chocolate Almond Cookie. I almost forgot to take a picture again since I was ready to dig in! It's rich and chocolatey and has a generous serving of nuts.



It's nice to be off to a fast start- not quite a week and four pounds. I know the weight loss will slow down after the first few weeks but it helps to keep me motivated!

So far, so good...

I can't wait to see the results on the scale this week. It's always exciting the first week of a weight loss program, especially when it's going well.

I'm starting to run out of new breakfasts to try, since I picked lots of the things I figured I would like. I had the oatmeal again for breakfast and it just cemented for me that I probably won't order it often again. It just doesn't have the same texture as the Quaker Apple Cinnamon oatmeal that I was eating before. I like my oatmeal fairly thick but not dry, and this was coming out pretty dry.

For lunch, I tried the Broccoli Parmesan Pasta. Like the Fettuccine Alfredo, this comes in a container like a Cup A Soup, and you add boiling water to it, stir, and let it sit for 8 minutes so the noodles can cook and soak up the excess liquid. I didn't really taste much broccoli in it- it could definitely use more. But the sauce was creamy and parmesan-y, so it was a pretty good meal.



I was pretty hungry by dinnertime so I wanted comfort food. I picked Cheese and Spinach Ravioli with Meat Sauce. I was a little disappointed when I opened the container and saw there were only two raviolis but they were pretty large. I tried to eat slowly and take small bites so they'd be more satisfying. I find if the food lasts longer, it's more filling. Those are probably good habits for me to get into anyway, since before I'd probably scarf those down in a couple of bites and look for more, when I really didn't need any more.



For dessert, I chose probably my favourite so far; the Fudge Brownie. That is not diet food, I'm telling you. They stuck normal brownies in my box by accident. The only thing that would make it better is walnuts or maybe some icing but it's pretty darn good without. I gave Dan a bite and he agrees.



So far, I'm still enjoying the program. Not sure how I'll feel down the road but we'll take it one day at a time.

Mmm...

It's been a pretty good day. I tried four new things again, and liked them all!

For breakfast, I had the Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. My bad though, I left it in the microwave for too long and it dried out a bit. If you order this, put it in for 2 1/2 minutes, not 3! It still tasted pretty good but it was nothing special. It doesn't look great in the picture but then again, oatmeal isn't all that photogenic anyway, especially when it's been nuked for too long. Honestly, I probably won't order this much next month but that's only because I really love the baked goods like the blueberry muffin, apple strudel scone, and cranberry orange pastry.



For lunch, I decided to try the Fettuccine Alfredo. This comes in a little container like those ramen bowls, and same idea; you add water, let it sit, stir, and eat. At first I had my doubts... I saw all those noodles just floating in white tinged water and it didn't look very appetizing. But I followed the directions and covered it up with a tupperware lid while I ate my salad, and when I came back for it and stirred it up, the sauce had thickened and it looked pretty good. It tasted pretty good, too (which I am glad about because I ordered four of them and got two more in the free week of food that they choose for you!). Unfortunately no picture today since I didn't get lunch until after 2:30. The baby decided napping was for sissies, and I just wanted to eat! I'll get one next time.

Dinner was absolutely phenomenal. I decided to have a Veggie Fajita. When I opened the pouch and poured it into a bowl, I was starting to have reservations about it. It smelled really strongly and looked like nothing so much as one of those boxed Stouffer's stuffing mixes. You add a cup of water to it and microwave it for 5 minutes, stir, and microwave it again. I was still a little nervous about it when I spooned it onto a wrap (you provide your own) but Dan thought it smelled good. I took a bite, and WOW. It was fantastic. It was spicy (but not too hot), filling, flavourful, and delicious. I wish I had ordered more of these but I only have one more in my cupboard. I would definitely recommend this meal to everyone who tries Nutrisystem. The best part was, it kept me full all night. I wasn't even really hungry for my dessert! (Yes, there is a plate under the wrap- it's just a really small plate so you can't see it.)



Of course, I had to eat my dessert anyway- it's part of the program. I decided to try the Chocolate Nougat Bar. Also a great choice- when I bit into it, it tasted just like a regular candy bar. I was very impressed! It's on the small side but it's very rich and sweet so I didn't feel like I needed or wanted any more.



I really enjoyed my meals today- probably more than I would have if I was just eating random crap lying around the house. I certainly didn't have yummy desserts every day before I started Nutrisystem. Who woulda thunk it- go on a diet to eat dessert?

Cheating Already?!?!?

Yes, it's true. I admit it. I've already cheated. Well, sort of. You start eating healthy, and your brain already starts to sabotage you... I dreamed that my husband and my mother bought a pizza and some fries and were encouraging me to eat them. Gee, thanks guys.

I'm starting to really feel positive and optimistic about succeeding on Nutrisystem. So, there's been one meal I didn't like. There have been lots that I did and I'm enjoying having a nice selection to choose from each meal. I also noticed in the paperwork they sent me, there are meals listed that weren't in my original package, so I think I get an even wider selection on my second order! I'm looking forward to trying some more new things.

Today for breakfast, I had a yummy parfait. I used the Nutrisystem Granola cereal and substituted yogurt for the milk and had it over strawberries. It was delicious and satisfying. I couldn't fit all the granola on the parfait for the picture- I had to add more after I'd eaten a little bit!



For lunch, I tried the Chicken with Barley & Vegetables in Sauce. It was more of a stew like consistency but it was pretty good.



I had to deal with that pizza craving somehow, didn't I? Fortunately, there's a Nutrisystem meal to fill the gap, and I had a Thick Crust Pizza for dinner. I threw on a bunch of vegetables and it was pretty good, although not as cheesy as the real thing of course. It was a great dinner with Caesar salad (well, romaine lettuce and fat free dressing) and garlic bread.



Dessert was a White Chocolate Chunk cookie. It was pretty good, but it didn't have that rich sweet texture I was hoping for. I love, love, love white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and I wanted something like that. I will probably stick to the fudge brownie next time instead.



So far, so good! I love that there's still lots of new things in the cupboard for me to try. It's almost like being in a restaurant and having a whole menu of things to choose from for each meal.

It's not all sunshine and roses...

Well, I suppose I had to find something I didn't like eventually! Otherwise everyone would do Nutrisystem. But oh well, I just don't have to order it again. I'm hoping this blog will help show people exactly what they are getting so they have a better shot at picking foods they do like if they choose to order from Nutrisystem. At this point, I would definitely still recommend it.

Today for breakfast, I had a cranberry orange pastry that was pretty darn good. So far, all the baked goods have been scrumptious and for a carbohydrate addict like me, that's saying something.



For lunch, I chose the chicken salad. This was pretty good, although I like my chicken mayonnaise-y and that's the way this was served. It was heavy on sauce- I would have preferred a little more of the chicken and veggies. With a little black pepper though, it was enjoyable. I am not sure why Nutrisystem chose this type of package for it- it's in a plastic pouch so you pretty much have to squeeze it like a toothpaste tube to get out all the chicken salad. I would have thought a dish-type container like the lasagna tray would be better so you can actually get it all out.



For dinner, I decided to have a hamburger. Condiments are allowed on Nutrisystem in moderation, so I was picturing a nice juicy hamburger on a whole wheat bun (you provide your own) with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and relish. Sounds good in theory, doesn't it?

The hamburger comes in a box containing a little plastic tray with something I can only describe as dessicated shoe leather in a circle. To "rehydrate" the patty, you pour boiling water on it until the tray is full and let it sit for 2 minutes. Well, OK. Maybe it would magically morph into a hamburger the way those little kids' foam toys turn from tiny little things into giant animals and monsters.

My hopes were dashed when I returned from making my cauliflower and saw a wet, dessicated shoe leather type object floating in the tray. I tried to pick it up with a fork to put on my bun and it fell apart. Not very appetizing. Fortunately, when you add enough stuff to it, all you really taste is bun and condiments, so I suppose it passes the edible test (I mean, I could EAT it, I just didn't WANT to) but this is not an entree that I will ever choose again. Unfortunately I have two more in my cabinet and I will be sure to take a picture next time for your viewing pleasure!

The saving grace to the meal was my cauliflower "mashed potatoes". I'm sure a lot of you have heard that mashed cauliflower can pass as a reasonable substitute and it wasn't bad at all. I steamed the cauliflower in my Starfrit silicone steamer and then put it in the food processor with a little milk and some garlic and pepper. It wasn't exactly potatoes, but it was pretty yummy and took care of my veggies for the meal (I get bored eating salad all the time).

For dessert, I asked Dan to choose something for me and he brought me a double chocolatey almond cookie. This didn't last long enough to have a picture taken of it! It's a yummy chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and almond bits. I love soft, chewy cookies and this was perfect.

I noticed that I was less hungry today, which was nice. I didn't even eat my extra carbohydrate serving that I am allowed at dinner since I have so much weight to lose. I didn't really want one and I was already comfortably within my range for calories, carbs, etc (I track on Sparkpeople to make sure I'm eating a balanced diet and am adding the right things when I have choices) I chose not to eat it. Hopefully my body is beginning to adjust to eating less and more often.

OK, you could hear the rumbling today...

Today was a little harder than yesterday. By midafternoon I was starving. I know my body just needs some time to get used to the program and I'll be fine so I am toughing it out.

There's definitely lots of food on the program, it's just not what I'm used to. Yesterday for breakfast I had the Blueberry Muffin, which was delicious! The food definitely doesn't taste like diet food. I have been giving Dan little bites of my meals and he agrees with me. I am really impressed so far with what I've been eating.



With my breakfast, I was also told to add a serving of carbs, fruit, and my choice of dairy or protein, so I had an egg on toast and a banana. Pretty filling, actually!

In fact, I was still full around lunchtime so I decided to have something that felt lighter for lunch. I picked the Minestrone Soup. It was easy to make- just add water and let it stand for 8 minutes, and eat. The bowl was brimming with noodles and beans and it was quite tasty. I ate some baby carrots and a cheese string with it for lunch, and grapes for dessert.



For my snack, I chose a container of Silhouette fat free raspberry yogurt for my dairy serving and a bowl of fresh strawberries for my fruit serving. I was really hungry by this point but I figured the snack would hold me over to dinnertime.

I wanted something hot and filling for dinner, so I chose one of my favourite meals- lasagna! This was microwave and eat, and add a carb, two veggies, a fat, and some fruit. I had a small whole wheat roll with margarine and garlic (yay garlic bread!), romaine lettuce with fat free dressing for a Caesar salad, and grapes for dessert. I decided to save my other veggies for snacking on later and I had celery and cucumber. I really enjoyed my dinner! Of course, I wished there was a little more of it but it was very good all the same!



Oh, the real dessert was the best part! I had a Fudge Brownie that was rich, chewy, and delicious. It was very satisfying! In fact, I was so eager to dig in that I forgot to get a picture. I'll have to post one next time I have one!

So Day Two was a success. I followed my program exactly and also did 8 minutes on my elliptical machine. Nutrisystem encourages exercise but they don't insist on it to guarantee weight loss. I started slow because I admit to being woefully out of shape and my elliptical kept flashing warning messages because my heart rate was too high. I used to be able to do 45 minutes easily and I'll be working my way back up there soon. My goal is to use the elliptical at least 3 days a week.

I can do this!

It's Here!

My Nutrisystem box arrived today! It was kind of exciting to get that huge brown box delivered and open it up to see all kinds of goodies. Everything is colour coded so you know which meal it's for.





I must confess that I was a little skeptical of the portion sizes at first. The meals are pretty small, but I guess that's the point of a weight loss program- portion control. With all the food you add though, it's still a good sized meal and so far I am not feeling hungry. In fact, I am struggling to fit in everything that I need to eat!

When I told friends and family that I was doing Nutrisystem, I heard a lot of negative remarks. No one thought the food would be edible and at least one person told me she'd rather eat cardboard. Honestly, I am wondering if we're eating the same food? I know Nutrisystem had a menu makeover, but it must have been awfully good!

So far, I have tried three items from my box and they've all been good. For breakfast, I had the Apple Strudel Scone, for lunch I had the Chocolatey Peanut Butter Bar, for dinner I had the Chili, and for dessert I had the Nacho Crisps. I was really impressed that this was diet food, to be honest! The chili was full of beans and "meat", and the sauce was delicious. It was not spicy at all however so spice lovers should add some red pepper to give it some kick.



I think this is really something that can be sustainable, since the food is definitely edible. Hopefully all the meals will be this good, but I'll keep you posted!