Musings

So it's now been ten days on the new Nutrisystem program, and while I did manage to get through Turbo Takeoff, so far I can honestly say that where there has been any change in the program, I personally find it to be a disappointing one.

I was having a discussion with my friend and he asked me why I didn't just eat more of the frozen portion controlled entrees from the grocery store, like Weight Watchers Smart Ones or Healthy Choice. I told him that I found myself with some sort of frustrated mental block about them. I like them sometimes but I really think of them as "diet" food. And I don't (didn't?) feel that way about Nutrisystem for some reason that I can't fathom. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I can jazz up Nutrisystem meals while a frozen meal pretty much is as-is, take it or leave it. And of course, here in Canada we still can't get the Nutrisystem frozen meals for some reason. But, I digress.

Portion sizes have never been generous on Nutrisystem, and for someone like me who enjoys large portions, even if I have to move things around to make it so, that's been an issue. But I was so sad today looking into the lunch cup of cheddar broccoli rice. I will say that it tasted absolutely delicious... but man, I don't think I could ever get used to having a cup of rice as my main meal. I used a Powerfuel and had a piece of salmon and a salad, and had this as my side dish. It was an excellent side dish... but I simply cannot see it being the main entrée. Perhaps it's supposed to be used like this? But if a Powerfuel is no longer standard with lunch anymore, that seems a bit off, too.

I had the same issue with the dinner entrée meatballs in marinara sauce. While they were yummy, the serving size was pathetically small. There was literally five meatballs the size of marbles in a few spoonfuls of sauce in the pouch. I was so disappointed to see that. I realize I am getting a lot of mileage out of this word, but that's how I have been feeling. I took one of my usual tricks and measured out a portion of whole wheat pasta for the carb that you add, and also cooked up half a spaghetti squash to mix in with the pasta, which I topped with meatballs and a little bit of low sodium tomato sauce. I personally find that throwing a little "real" pasta in with the spaghetti squash helps with both taste and satiety. I did pick up a pack of Tofu Shirataki noodles though, to give them a try- that might work better even than the spaghetti squash although normally I give tofu the big sideeye.

The other entrees I've sampled recently are the thick crust pizza, walnut chocolate chip cookies, and white chocolate chunk cookies. Fortunately, there has been no deterioration here; both the pizza and the walnut chocolate chip cookies are as I remember them. The white chocolate chunk used to be a single cookie, and I do prefer it in the new way where you get multiple tiny cookies like with the walnut ones- so there is one small improvement at least!

Honestly though, while I am losing weight (7lbs lost as of this morning), I don't see how I could stay on this program long term anymore. Disappointment truly is the word of the day. I guess Nutrisystem wouldn't want to hire me to be their staff blogger again anyway (although I don't even think they have a blogger program anymore) since I don't have much good to say right now other than it does work if you follow it.

They Killed It!!!

One of my favourite dinner entrees in the past was the flame broiled beef patty. It was only 90 calories, so you could even use it as a protein serving to add to other entrees, which I did many other times. Sometimes I'd save up a protein serving so I could make a double burger for dinner, which was always decadent and filling.

I had noticed that the calories had gone up on this newer version of the burger, so I was hopeful that it had gotten even better. I mean, it's tough to screw up a burger, right? Before, it came dehydrated and you just poured a little hot water in the tray. I preferred to pan fry mine in a little PAM afterwards for best flavour.

When I opened up the pouch, the stench of wet cat food hit me in the face. And since I had literally just fed the cat, that's a closer comparison then I'd like it to be.

I did eat the burger (put it on a Weight Watchers' sandwich thin with my favourite burger toppings) and it wasn't totally repellant, but the smell was enough to put me off. My fson, meantime, was cooking up a Compliments Blue Menu lean beef burger at 170 calories and 9g of fat, and not only did it look much larger but it actually smelled like a burger. I was so disappointed. I am glad that I only ordered three of them because I'd have hated to waste any more money.

I most certainly will not order this item again.

Regular Women's Program

So I chatted with a counselor today, and here is what I learned:

The regular program for women with 100+lbs to lose is approximately 1500 calories daily, and here is how it is comprised. The counselor clarified that I can indeed move the additional servings around to suit my level of satiety, so that's a positive thing.

Breakfast: Nutrisystem entrée plus Powerfuel

Morning snack: Powerfuel plus SmartCarb

Lunch: Nutrisystem entrée plus Powerfuel

Afternoon Snack: Powerfuel plus SmartCarb

Dinner: Nutrisystem entrée

Dessert: Nutrisysten entrée

Then you add four vegetable servings throughout the day.

That actually doesn't look too bad, and it bodes well for me being able to move things around in a way that will keep me happy. I am not one of those people who likes eating multiple small meals in a day- while conversely, my fiancé is. I would rather have larger meals less frequently, but feel full. Feeling full to me is really important, and I don't know how to describe the difference in feeling "full" from salad, and feeling full from something like pasta or soup, but it is noticeable to me. It's nice to have options.

I'm feeling much more optimistic than I was the previous week. Let's see how it goes!

It's Over!!

Hooray for Turbo Takeoff being finished! Like I said, while I enjoy bars, I really don't like eating them two or three times a day. I really would like at least some real food, even if it's in a much smaller portion than I'm accustomed to.

But to no one's surprise, the program works. I am down 5.6lbs today, which is a great first week. I see my seamstress on May 21, so I'm looking forward to seeing what I get to by then. I think the 10lbs I was hoping for is achievable, but we'll have to see. I don't really actually care about the number on the scale, as long as the dress zips!

I don't think I will be ordering the shakes or the Nutricurb bars again, though. I really prefer eating my calories to drinking them, and I can get cheaper (and not peanut) protein bars.

So now I've got to start reading the literature they sent me about how to do the new "regular" Nutrisystem program. I know I need to add additional servings because of needing to lose more than 100lbs, but I also need to figure out how they have moved the foods you add around and whether or not I can recombine them and it's okay. I assume I can eat them in any way and order I want, but perhaps there has been changes. I am planning to do a Live Chat with one of the Nutrisystem counselors today.

I also tried a new entrée today, the white cheddar mac and cheese. I have to say, this was actually really good! Although I have an association with eating mac & cheese with chicken fingers, I found that I really enjoyed the flavour of this entrée and while the portion wasn't huge, I did surprisingly find it pretty filling. I can't see myself doing much modification to this one because I prefer my mac & cheese plain even though I don't mind adding stuff to other pasta dishes. I would definitely order this one again.

I guess I am going to have to learn all over again what I like and what I don't. This should be interesting!

I'm feeling a lot more positive today. The number on the scale and the reinforcement that this is something I can do if I want to is a mood booster, and of course the idea of more food today doesn't hurt either!

Turbo Takeoff Day Six

I feel like I have to relearn all over again which foods I like, and then think about what to do with them. I am not sure if all of the tricks I used to use still work, and then the foods themselves are just different.

I've tried now nearly everything in my Turbo Takeoff box, with varying reactions. I know I generally loved the Nutrisystem breakfast baked items, but once again I was disappointed. The chocolate chip baked bar was just as awful as the blueberry lemon one- cardboard that tasted of chemicals. Even the double chocolate muffin had a strong chemical taste. It really makes me miss the cranberry orange pastry and the apple strudel scone!

I had some issues with the texture of the loaded potato, too. I used to do all kinds of magic with that, but I found myself unable to fry it into potato cakes. I don't know if it was user error this time (I didn't use a non-stick pan and perhaps didn't use enough Pam) and I'll have to try again, but I was sad about the results if not the flavour. I did definitely enjoy the taste, though!

I am wondering why the dry cup entrees are no longer add boiling water; I really hate adding room temperature water and then microwaving, because items often boil over and then I lose part of my lunch as well as make a mess. The boiling water was easy and worked well. Yesterday though when I tried the three cheese chicken lunch, the sauce didn't coalesce properly when I used boiling water. Surprise surprise, then it boiled over even on lower power in my microwave (when the instructions clearly say high). I am finding these to be small but annoying frustrations.

The BBQ seasoned chicken dinner, I really enjoyed. I cooked up some diced onion and green pepper in a little bit of low calorie BBQ sauce in a pan, then poured the entrée over top. I took a Flatout wrap for a carb serving and then added lettuce and tomato to that before filling it with the rest of the meal. It made a really filling and delicious dinner- one of the first times I've felt satiated this week.

I was a little skeptical of the Italian herb flatbread pizza since I couldn't use any of my usual modifications. I was pleasantly surprised that the included cheese is a little better than it was before. I did miss being able to add turkey pepperoni, but it was still acceptable when I topped it with onions, peppers, and tomatoes.

I am looking forward to this week coming to an end, so I can start playing again. While I am glad I have the convenience of the food, I am looking forward to being less hungry and still losing weight!

Turbo Takeoff Day 4

So, I'm tired and grumpy- my body is definitely NOT impressed with Turbo Takeoff. I would love to do some more reading behind why they think eating such a low number of calories for the first week is a good idea. I am no dietician so I can't offer a professional opinion, but I don't see why we need to be shocked quite this hard. A person with less than 100lbs to lose would be averaging under 1000 calories daily. I get a few more since I'm quite obese, but not too many. I am finding myself to be constantly feeling mentally slow, yawning all the time, and irritable- these are not good things to deal with! I can't wait for this week to be over so I can go on the "normal" Nutrisystem plan, although I still have to do some reading on how different it is now from what I remember before.

So, these are the Nutrisystem TurboShakes. The box suggests adding a tiny bit of mint extract to make a chocolate mint shake, so I tried that. Personally, I am never really a fan of drinking my calories unless they're alcoholic, so I'd much rather be getting my usual Nutrisystem desserts than these shakes. 

Honestly, though, they're not terrible... they're just not good. I would never buy them, and I'd never choose to drink them, but I can get them down okay. The powder blends pretty well with water and it's not chunky or lumpy, which helps a lot. It's best when it's really cold.

The NutriCurb bars are okay, but I'm not as much of a fan. I like some of their other peanut butter products better. I don't find these to be any more satiating than their other bar products, despite the additional grams of protein. I have no issues eating them, but they likely wouldn't be a thing I would order since if I want a protein bar there are lots of good choices at the grocery store for not much money, and way more flavour selection.

I don't mean to be so negative this week... but I'm really, really hungry. I knew that this was going to be bad, but again, I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. I'm also using the an app to track my calories, and I'm way below where it recommends I should be. While I am more sedentary even than its most sedentary setting due to my health, this is still a significant caloric deficit over and above what it says will cause me to lose 2lbs/week. I am really looking forward to next week when the calories go back up to "normal" for Nutrisystem. Hopefully then I won't feel so deprived.

I still have no pictures, and I'll admit that it's again because as soon as I open food, I wind up cramming it in my mouth, so it's not very photogenic. I am starting to come to the end of the Turbo Takeoff, so there is less choice.

Surprisingly, many of the entrees are still at least similar to their 2011 incarnations, although there are several that I miss. Yesterday I tried the chili with beans. I did add a little bit of sour cream as my extra, but I missed being able to throw a baked potato or some sweet potato fries underneath it. It's still pretty tasty though, and I wished for more. 

Today started with the blueberry lemon baked bar. Since I used to love the dessert version, I had high hopes for this which were unfortunately dashed as soon as the fake lemon hit my tongue. It was just not right. The texture was somehow dry and chewy at the same time, and it was much like eating flavoured cardboard. This one needs to go back for a reformulation, in my opinion. What would be so terrible about using a little lemon zest?

For lunch, I had the chocolate peanut butter lunch bar, which I think might be exactly the same as it used to be. It's still delicious. My only objection to it being in this box is that it's a little annoying to have that for lunch followed by the peanut butter NutriCurb bar for afternoon snack. Two bars already was irking me, and to have them both be peanut butter flavoured (and the second one less tasty to boot) felt like insult to injury.

Dinner was the chicken pasta parmesan, which seemed similar to the one they used to make although now it comes in a little pouch instead of a plastic tray. I am not sure why, when the other pasta dishes have come in the trays. Either way, I was so hungry by dinnertime and I felt so disappointed when I poured it into a bowl and saw how small the portion was. It was gone within minutes and I was sitting glumly looking at an empty plate. The flavour was fine, and while this wouldn't be one of my favourites, it was serviceable, though. I really miss the old Sloppy Joe Mix though. I never ate it as a sloppy joe but I put it over pasta so this entrée reminded me of it. 

Only three more days to go... since they pick the food in the Turbo Takeoff week, my choices are starting to dwindle. I never had a shortage of selection when I was on the program in the past, since I liked having several months' worth of food on hand so that I could have what I wanted when I felt like it and not feel like I had to eat something because it was the only thing left in the box. I'm looking forward to getting into the other items I selected, and hopefully I will like them!

Turbo Takeoff

I have to admit that I am really not enjoying the Nutrisystem Turbo Takeoff week. It is extremely low calorie, so much so that they state very clearly only to do it for one week and even to curb your exercise. While it's easy to follow, that's because for the first week you are pretty much only consuming the Nutrisystem food plus fresh veggies. There is no adding in any Smartcarbs or Powerfuels (I still feel silly writing that and I wish they gave them better names!) anywhere, so there really isn't much you can do with the food besides heat and eat. I can be 100% straightforward when I say that if this was how the program continued, I would prefer to be fat.

My next complaint is that they prepack the food that is in the Turbo Takeoff week, and there are just way too many bars. They give you a Nutricurb bar for your afternoon snack, which has stats similar to your average protein bar. So some days, you get a breakfast bar, a lunch bar, and a Nutricurb bar. There just isn't enough bulk even when you add in your four veggie servings. I don't like being hungry all the time. Even though the regular entrees are still small before you bulk them up, they're more satisfying than just eating a cold bar for a meal. I have had several moments when I have felt lightheaded from eating so little, and I'm definitely crankier than usual. They didn't have a kickstart like this when I first did Nutrisystem back in 2010. However, since it's only one week, I will persevere.

Today at least has been better. I had the granola cereal for breakfast, and it was pretty close to what I remembered. Instead of adding in the skim milk as required to complete the entree, I added in a 1/2 serving of Greek yogurt. It's much more filling that way and I can't stand cereal so this is the only way it works for me. It was tasty and for at least a little while I didn't feel deprived! I missed being able to add the fruit, though.

I haven't really been taking many photos this week because I've been so hungry that as soon as I grab my food I just want to put it in my face. I will try to be a little more conscious of my record keeping here!

So far I have tried: beans & ham soup, harvest nut bar, fudge graham bar, macaroni & cheese with turkey sausage, chicken alfredo, cinnamon streusel muffin, in addition to the granola cereal and chicken noodle soup.

The beans & ham soup is also much as I remember it. I couldn't add my usual veggie dogs, sadly, but I did still add the ketchup and mustard and it left me with the familiar baked bean type dish that I remembered. While it was small, it was pretty filling and I enjoyed it. I would order this again.

I seem to have been grabbing things that looked familiar, which I suppose makes sense! The harvest nut bar is a little on the small side, but it tasted pretty decadent and I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so hungry that I was stuffing it in my mouth. While it was good, I prefer to have something for breakfast that feels more like a treat and I probably would not order this again.

The fudge graham bar is yummy and exactly as I remember it. In the past, I used it as a meal replacement when I was on the go, or else as the "dessert" to a meal which was a big salad with a protein serving on top. That isn't an option this week (or apparently at all anymore unless you borrow the powerfuel from a snack and I have to ask if that is still okay), so I ate the bar, liked it since it used to be a favourite of mine, and then looked regretfully at the package when lunch was over.

The mac & cheese with turkey sausage was pretty good. I'm actually not sure what I would do to modify this entrée but I haven't put much thought into it. The sauce was creamy and delicious and the sausage chunks tasted good. It was much better than I expected and I would order this again.

I felt similarly about the chicken alfredo, although I still miss the Florentine entrée that was discontinued years ago. That was SO good. I wish they would put more vegetables right in the Nutrisystem entrees but I can understand why they don't and just have you add your own. This one I think could definitely do with some onions and peppers and spinach mixed into it to bulk it up a bit, but the flavour was pretty good on its own. The chicken was a little dry but it was okay.

The cinnamon streusel muffin was yummy! I love their baked breakfast treats and was not surprised that I enjoyed this. I would most definitely order it again.

Three days into Turbo Takeoff... only four more to go thankfully. I hope I am losing inches this week and all this hunger is worthwhile! 

Chicken Noodle Soup

I remember there was chicken noodle soup in my previous incarnation of Nutrisystem. It was never one of the items I ordered because I don't really think there is all that much you can do to change/bulk up soup, and I was never a big chicken noodle soup fan anyway.

While the portion is disappointingly small for soup when one is used to eating a whole can of Campbell's, the flavour is fine and I don't notice any real difference from if I was in fact eating Campbell's. 

I do miss the addition of what used to be a dairy/protein serving here in addition to lunch. I think I'm going to find that I am stealing my midmorning snack items to add to lunch on many days since most of my recipes involved using that extra protein serving in my lunch. But I don't usually snack in the mornings so I don't think that will be an issue for me.

However, since I am on Turbo Takeoff this week, there are no snacks or foods outside what comes in the Turbo Takeoff box with the exception of vegetables and "extras" which can be used to season the vegetables (unless the entrée specifically calls for it like the cereal or the BBQ chicken). They include a few recipes in the booklet which indicate that you can use sauces like soy sauce or sugar free maple syrup, but if you don't go through the other materials you won't see the specific guidance that these extras must be 10-35 calories each and limited to three per day. On the previous program, these were called free foods.

So, this is my lunch! I'm going to be having some cucumber slices in fat free ranch dressing to munch on afterwards while I eyeball that chocolate TurboShake that was supposed to be my morning snack and talk myself into trying it.

Bon appetit!

Well, hello again...

I somehow doubt if anyone is reading this blog after six years, but I decided I'd write in it again. The past few years haven't been good to me. I lost over 110lbs on Nutrisystem and kept it off for four years, but then I hit some serious life stress, got divorced, developed several serious health issues, and regained all my weight and then some.

I had been really proud of keeping off my loss for so long. While I didn't go all the way down to what BMI considered to be my goal weight, I was happy with it and how I looked, and the extra energy that I had. I was not losing weight to look good in a bikini, but merely not to be "fat" anymore. I'm still the same me, regardless of what body I am in. But it is nice to be able to shop in regular stores, and to be able to get around as best I can given my health issues without being winded.

So, here I am again. I've been wanting to lose weight for a while, but more in that wistful sort of way than in any decisive manner. I know that I have the skills and ability to do it once I put my mind to things, but I haven't been able to spare the time or the energy. Plus, I have to admit I have really been enjoying eating dinner as a family and it's just not the same when you're eating out of a box.

I will also admit that what gave me the kickstart was not necessarily appearance based, but in that regard. My best friend is getting married soon. I bought my dress months ago, and it fit just fine through my first and second dress fittings. Then, last week I went back for the third fitting, and not only did my dress not zip up, but it gapped by a good two inches.

Now that, my friends, is what you call an emergency! The seamstress told me that my dress didn't have a lot of seam allowance, which means that any late adjustments would really change the way it looked (as well as cost me a lot of money). So, I have exactly three weeks to get back into my dress!

I don't have a lot of time for meal prep right now and I wanted this to be a sure thing. I know Nutrisystem works. So, I restarted my Nutrisystem order and my box is here! I have to admit, I am really disappointed in some of the program changes since I was last here. I really miss my cranberry orange pastry and my apple strudel scone, and the veggie fajitas. Thank goodness the mashed potatoes are still here- I did so much cooking with those in the past that I don't know what I would do without them. I was so disappointed to see the pancake mix gone. I used to love the recipes I made with that. I'll need to see if I can find a substitute somewhere. If any readers have any ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

The program was just changing into its current incarnation when I left- the lingo moving from dairy/protein to "powerfuel" which I have to admit sounds pretty stupid to say, and "smart carb". I do like that change, since before you only added carbs to a few meals or were otherwise directed to eat fruit. As a carbaholic, this sounds great to me, but of course recognizing that replacing fruit with bread all the time is likely not the best choice.

So I was sent the Turbo Takeoff package, which is supposed to help you hit the ground running. It is much lower calorie than the regular Nutrisystem program, which is why the first portion lasts for only 7 days. I suppose they figure that since you're going to be hungry anyway the first few days, that being a little more hungry won't make too much more difference, and also that seeing a big number on the scale after the first week will be enough of a mental reward to most people to stick with the program especially once more things get added back in. I actually don't even think that you get dessert in the first week.

They do give you TurboShakes and NutriCurb bars for the first week, though. I haven't tried either yet. Normally I hate protein shakes and so I'm a bit skeptical of exactly how bad these are going to be. But I figure I can survive anything for one week, so I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.

I will continue my past trend of taking pictures of the food I'm eating and giving updates on what I think of meal items and the program in general. One thing I know for sure- Nutrisystem does in fact work, when you follow the program.

I'm going to rock my dress and have an amazing time with my family and friends in three weeks! And maybe use this as the nudge to get back on the wagon a bit. I think I might finally be ready to lose the weight again.