I have been provided with a Nutrisystem plan in exchange for sharing my honest experience and results on my blog. All opinions are my own.
Since we moved back in November, it seems like we’ve been sick a LOT. We’ve only been living here for about 3 months but we’ve been sick three different times since then. We’ve also just been busy with holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentine’s day, plus adjusting to getting moved in, setting up our household services like internet, and trash and we’ve had vehicle trouble twice. It’s been a real roller coaster the last few months.
I thought I would share how Ryan handles being on Nutrisystem when we’re in transitional times like tough times (sickness) as well as celebratory times like holidays where food is often part of celebrating.
When sick, staying with Nutrisystem is easy in terms of sticking to the foods. Almost everything that Ryan orders from Nutrisystem can be cooked in less than 5 minutes. In fact, everything he orders could but he has a couple of items that he prefers to cook in the oven instead of the microwave and the oven versions take longer. So not having the energy to cook isn’t a problem when on Nutrisystem.
Pictures we took after Christmas and a day of relaxed food goals.
Dealing with celebratory times is a bit tougher. Many people believe that even for very food-centered holidays like Thanksgiving that you should stick with your regular meal plan. I don’t doubt that avoiding unhealthy foods at all times would be wonderful. It’s definitely a good idea, but after a lot of discussion we have decided that it’s not realistic for us personally. We want to eat with our family members at Thanksgiving including a piece of pie, and we occasionally want to eat at restaurants. We’ve never went out to eat more than once or twice a month, and when we do it’s truly a celebration for us so we don’t want to choose the lowest calorie menu items.
For us, we have decided to have occasional cheat days. I think indulging our cravings on rare occasion is a better plan for long term success than trying to never eat certain foods ever again. Ryan’s plan isn’t just to use Nutrisystem to lose weight, but to make a long-term lifestyle change. We just make sure that those “cheats” or “indulgences” are very rare. For us, we limit them to holidays for the most part, but we occasionally will have a ‘just because’ cheat day, but always less than once a month.
Nutrisystem seems to support this theory because when you sign up you get a restaurant guide. They know you will occasionally eat out, and want to help you make smart choices when you do.
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Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
This post currently has 10 responses.
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Dandi D
This is good to know–it’ good to have cheat days and reward days.
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Amber Ludwig
” indulging our cravings on rare occasion is a better plan for long term success” <—so absolutely correct!! Eating healthy is a lifestyle and something that should be reasonable and a life changer, not just a temporary fix 😉
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Natalie
It is best to adhere to a plan that you can maintain long term. I see your point about how it is hard to stick to a certain plan like Nutrisystem over the holidays.
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Sarah L
It’s not a jail sentence, it’s learning how to eat better.
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That is nice that the meals are quick to prepare. I’m sorry you guys haven’t had the best past few months. I think it’s okay to have some cheat times too. We usually do that with some holiday treats.
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Deb E
I think that really is the key, to have healthy accessible food all the time. I don’t like that people call it cheating. There are acceptable substitutes and it’s a food plan for life. You shouldn’t feel guilty for cheating/eating with your food choices. I could go on but looks like Ryan gets it and is doing so well with it.
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Deborah D
This sounds like a great program. Wish you success.
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gala
I like the idea of cheat days and that even the company supports you. It’s better than to feel depressed if you can follow the program
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kathy downey
It comes right down to making smart choices its so easy to cheat.
That’s a good idea to have some cheat days. Sounds like y’all are doing a great job with Nutrisystem!