NutriSystem - Day 14 - The Dream Is Over

Well, I just canceled my membership at NutriSystem and got a return authorization for the remainder of my food. I just can't do it anymore. I weighed in this morning UP 0.2lbs - enough was enough. And for you naysayers who tell me its not appropriate to track weight more than once a week, even if I had just weighed in each Friday, I have officially GAINED since this day last week. I am UP 0.3lbs from last week. That means one whole week making myself miserable with no results and an in fact the opposite of the desired effect. I'm done.

I'm going back to Weight Watchers. I realize it will be slow going - at least slower than I want - but it is the only thing that has worked for me. I can eat the things I want, not feel deprived and still say within my appropriate range. I'll also be throwing in an evening walk or bike ride with hubby now that things are warming up.

With all the bad effects (gas, bloating) and the bad taste (bland food, weird aftertaste, limited menu), and the concern over quality (grade of beef/chicken, no need for refrigeration, high preservative content) it was just not worth sticking with something that cost me $300 a month.

This does not mean I will be going hog wild. I will not have biscuits and gravy for breakfast, lasagna for lunch and Chicago-style pizza for dinner. For instance this morning I'm having an egg beater omelet with tomato and shredded cheese. But I will be able to be a normal person, functioning in a normal manner, and not feel either deprived, left out, or boxed in.

END RESULTS:
Overall Grade: C-
Weight GAIN s of morning weigh in: 0.2
TOTAL WEIGHT LOST: 4.4 lbs

Yes, 4lbs in 14 days is not shabby. But when you look at how it all played out, most of that loss was in the first three days and was likely merely water weight. For the money (and the misery) it just wasn't worth it for me. Best of luck to you, dear reader, should you try and make the NutriSystem Journey.

NutriSystem - Day 13

Ok, so almost 2 weeks gone on this little diet voyage.  The problem is that - while I had a nice loss today of 0.4lbs - I'm still not any further than I was a week ago.  And that is a real bummer.  But it seems that my body was really in starvation mode because I ate more yesterday than I had any other day prior and lost more than I had all week.  So we'll just try to stay around 1200 - 1300 and see what happens.  I also broke today and had to have something not prepackaged and not salad.  My family was having fried chicken and I picked a few pieces off hubby's serving.  Yes, I've resorted to vulturism.  I may have over-estimated the amount of chicken I ate when figuring calories but I'm trying to be rather safe than sorry!

I also noticed along this journey that I seem to have more - um - gas than usual.  I just happened to be talking to a friend who is a nurse who looked through the ingredients of my foods I had that day. She noticed a lot of Sorbitol.  This is a sweetener/preservative apparently that the body cannot process so it shoots right through.  Bottom line its known for giving you gas.  Mystery solved.  I wonder if this is what is contributing to the weird sweet/bitter aftertaste.  

Breakfast:

• Yoplait Light
  
• Nutricrunch Frosted Cereal
  

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Lunch:

• Garden Salad (no cheese) w/ tomato, carrots, black olives
  
• Light Ranch Dressing
  
• Diet Rite Soda
  

Afternoon Snack:

• NS Fudge Graham Bar
  
• String Cheese
  

Dinner:

• Flatbread Pizza
  
• Fried Chicken (approx 2 oz)
  
• Green Beans
  

Dessert:

• None as of publication time (trying to hold out due to cals already consumed and the thought of the aftertaste is really starting to turn me off to the foods)
  

Grade:  B

Caloric Intake: 1228.8

Weight lost as of morning weigh in: 0.4 lbs

Weight lost overall: 4.6lbs 

NutriSystem - Day 12

Bottom line here is that I weighed in UP 0.1 lbs today.  *sigh*  However after posting a message on the NS support boards I'm pretty convinced I'm actually not taking in enough calories and my body is in survival mode.  So today I tried to up my cals to at least 1200 and succeeded.  

There isn't anything new to review so nothing to comment on below.  I will say that as of today I'm really jonesing for SOMEthing that does NOT come in a vacuum-sealed pouch!

Breakfast:

• Yoplait Light
  
• NS Nutrisquare Cinnamon Cereal
  

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Lunch:

• Garden Salad (no cheese)
  
• Light Ranch
  
• Imitation Crab 
  
• Chow Mein
  
• NS Fudge Graham Bar
  

Afternoon Snack:

• Almonds (6)
  
• Starbucks Decaf w/mocha & caramel (one pump ea)

Dinner:

• NS Thick Crust Pizza
  
• Green Beans
  

Dessert:

• NS Chocolate Caramel Bar
  

Grade:  C+

Caloric Intake: 1227.5

Weight GAIN as of morning weigh in:  0.1 lbs

Weight lost overall:  4.2 lbs

NutriSystem - Day 11

Ok - new format here.  I'm only gonna review things I haven't reviewed before.   Today's weigh in was a little better... down .3 but still not what I was hoping for.  All I can do is keep going!  I can say that the cravings are going away quickly and now when I go down to my office cafe to eat don't even bother looking at what's on the menu - just head to the salad bar - and don't feel deprived because of it.

New items:  

• Cheese Ravioli in Tomato Basil Sauce
  

It was ok.  The rest of the fam was having spaghetti so I really wanted pasta to feel a part.  The ravioli (you get 2) were large - larger than you get in most restaurants - and it wasn't all sauce the way past entrees.  The cheese was a little chalky but not bad.  All in all I'd eat that again.

• White Cheddar Soy Chips
  

Not as bland and "rice cake-y" as I thought.  Not great - a bit of a weird after taste but all in all nice white cheddar taste and salt (ooooh how I've missed salt).  If you like Vic's White Cheddar popcorn - these will suit you.

I tried to skip all snacks and even my lunch entree today to make up some calories.  I also went for a bike ride last night to kick up my metabolism.  I also had NO caffeine today.  We'll see if it helps!

Grade:  B+ for the lack of hunger even with low caloric intake

Caloric Intake: 990.7

Weight lost as of morning weigh in: 0.3 lbs.

Weight lost overall:  4.3 lbs.

NutriSystem - Day 10

Another pretty disappointing weigh in.  Down exactly 0.0 lbs.  *sigh*  I'm being told that it may be my body going into a little calorie shock but only time will tell.  I didn't have much for snacks today (instead using my lunch entree as my snack) in hopes that the little extra kick would get my weight loss going again. My goal of 20lbs is pretty outta reach now so I'm hoping for 16lbs.

Breakfast:

• NS Chocolate Chip Scone
  
• Water
  

Nothing new here

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese 
  

I would have skipped this snack all together but I had a late meeting before lunch and was afraid I'd get hungry then splurge on lunch.

Lunch:

• Garden Salad (no cheese)
  
• Light Ranch Dressing
  
• Imitation Crab
  
• Chow Mein Noodles
  

Again nothing new here.

Afternoon Snack:

• NS Fudge Graham Bar
  
• Almonds (6)
  

Dinner:

• NS Beef Tacos
  
• Lettuce
  
• Sour Cream
  

Nothing new here either.  Wow I'm boring.

Dessert:

• NS White Chocolate Chunk Cookie
  

The cookie was a little weird at first bite and kinda hard (which was also odd) - it had its usual weird aftertaste.  But the white chocolate chunks saved it and made it something I was ok with.

Well today was anti-climactic.  On one hand I'm glad I didn't gain anything back I suppose, but I'm also really disappointed I didn't lose any either.  But as I suspected it was much easier to focus on other things at work and there was no "cheat food" calling my name right at hand.  The only thing I can do is keep pressing on and hope to get to my goal!!

Grade: B

Calorie intake: 1094.2

Weight lost as of morning weigh in:  0.0 lbs.

Weight lost overall:  4.0 lbs.

NutriSystem - Day 9

Today it all came crashing down - my delusion of 5lbs a week weight loss.  At this morning's weigh in - I GAINED .9 lbs.  Curses to yesterdays cheats!  Ok you know how you don't really miss Oreos until you have one.  Then somehow the day AFTER the Oreo is the hardest day to try and NOT have an Oreo.  Well after cheating yesterday... and then after today's REALLY disappointing weigh in ... it was very hard to get through today.  For some reason I was just CRAVING "normal" food.  Today for lunch my hubby had a bologna sandwich and my daughter had a hot dog.  It about killed me.  But I just keep reminding myself "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

Breakfast:

• NS Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
  
• Decaf Coffee
  

Ok, I've reviewed the maple brown sugar before and this one is pretty much the same with the addition of a few pieces of apple within.  

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Lunch:

• NS Chicken Salad
  
• Wheat Bread (1 pc)
  
• Water
  

To try and feel normal I pulled out the little foil packs of Chicken Salad.  Whatever it shows on the packet must be an artist's rendition.  It shows nice chunks of chicken - I had my light mayo and wheat bread ready to go.  Then I looked on the ingredients and found the might mayo and relish was already mixed in.  I opened the packet and pulled out a gloppy mess.  There were no flaky pieces of chicken.  There was instead a creamy-lumpy pile.  To be fair, it tasted fine.  I just needed to have a "sandwich" to feel normal.  I would have LOVED to have had some baked chips, or a cookie after but contained it.

Afternoon Snack:

• Cherry Coke Zero
  
• Peanut Butter (2tsp)

Dinner:

• NS Thick Crust Pizza
  
• Green Beans
  
• Water
  

Nothin new here.  I am noticing the aftertaste of most ALL of the NS items, more and more lately.  Tonight I was kinda psycho about it and had to have my last mint crisp bar just to help get rid of the after taste for fear the standard chocolate crunch bar would leave a similar taste. I don't know if its the added fiber, whey proteins, or the preservatives (doesn't seem quite natural to have cheese and chicken breasts that don't need to be refrigerated).  Whatever it is its kinda starting to get annoying.  On top of that my hubby and family had his famous chicken out on the grill (coated with butter, butter and more butter) of which I could have none!

Dessert:

• NS Mint Chocolate Crisp Bar
  

I'm looking forward to the day I'm done with this diet.  First just due to the hopeful weight loss goal.  Second just to be able to have normal food again.  That's starting to be my sticking point.  I'm sure I'll do better during the week at work since I'm keeping busy and since I won't have my mother bringing home bakery cakes and setting them out on the counter *eye roll*.  I have a feeling once this first month is over, I'll go back to Weight Watchers.  It is a lot more labor intensive (having to track and record points) but I get "cheat" days and I get to eat normal food. So if I'm craving a hot dog I can have one and then eat sensibly the rest of the day.  Don't get me wrong - NS is exactly what I need right now - something to jump start my better eating and to help train me that I don't need a ton of food to be full.  However once I've got it down and made a good start, I can try and handle it on my own from there.

Grade:  D

Caloric Intake: 1017.8

Weight GAINED as of morning weigh in:  0.9 lbs

Weight lost overall:  4.0 lbs

NutriSystem - Day 8

Ok, today I let myself down.  This was the first day I actually cheated.  Twice. The first was totally within my control and a bad choice (m&m cookie after lunch) the second, I did the best I could but went out to dinner (already planned and you can't live life in a bubble) and the menu was not diet-compatible. I did the best I could with a salad but it came with a ton of shredded cheese on it (which I tried to pick through) it was huge (I only ate about 1/8 of it) and they had no light dressings.  Argh.

Breakfast:

• NS Blueberry Flavored Pancake Mix
  
• Syrup - 1Tbls

Still like em.  Not much else to say.

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  
• Starbucks Decaf + Mocha/Caramel (one pump ea)
  

Lunch:

• NS Fettuccine Alfredo
  
• M&M cookie
  

Yeah.  Cookie.  Freakin weekend.  

Afternoon Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Dinner:

• Garden Salad w/ Shredded Cheese & Chicken
  
• Ranch Dressing (1 Tbls)
  
• Diet Pepsi

This was where things continued to go downhill.  The most "diet" thing I could find on the menu was the buffalo chicken salad. I ordered it without blue cheese, used only one small strand of chicken and left the other two, ordered the dressing on the side, and only ate less than 1/4 of the salad.  I didn't have any NS entree to try and do everything I could.

Dessert:

• NS Chocolate Chip Cookie
  

Ok this was better than the double chocolate almond one.  Almost like a real cookie, but again, it still had that weird silghtly vanilla/sweet/bitter aftertaste.

Grade: C  (for the cheating)

Caloric Intake: 1119.7

Weigh lost as of morning weigh in: 0.2 lbs

Weight lost overall: 4.9  lbs

Nutrisystem - Day 7

One week down!  Woo hoo.  Ok its Friday night so this will be quick.  I'll edit tomorrow with deets.

Breakfast:

• NS Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins w/ ICBINB Spray
  
• Water
  

Once again I was pleasantly surprised at the muffins.  I warmed them in the microwave which helped.  They still had that taste that seeming all NS items have - some kind of weird aftertaste I just can't place.  But I'm getting used to it I suppose.

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Lunch:

• Garden Salad
  
• Citrus Vinaigrette
  
• Edamame w/ Soy Sauce
  
• NS Fudge Graham Bar
  
• Diet Coke
  

Nothing much new to review here!

Afternoon Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Dinner:

• NS Chicken & Dumplings
  
• Water
  

This was a little questionable.  It was a little bland which is no big deal - I can add salt.  The odd thing was that you couldn't really tell chicken, from glumpy gravy from "dumplimgs".  No kidding.  I didn't even know when I was eating a dumpling - never "found" one.  I assume they were in there somewhere.

Snack:

• NS Cheese Puffs (3 puffs)
  
• NS Zesty Herb Mix (1/4 pack)
  
• NS Nutrichocolates
  
• Water
  

Ok, here is where we ran into to some serious trouble.  I wanted to try and branch out from the chocolates into some of the more "savory" snacks.  Big mistake.  Apparently whatever they can cover with the chocloate and sugar does not translate to cheese puffs and snack mix.  Stick the the chocolates.

Grade: B-

Caloric Intake: 1178.0

Weigh lost as of morning weigh in: 0.9 lbs

Weight lost overall: 4.7 lbs

NutriSystem - Day 6

Well things are going much better.  Either day 3 really was my low point due to detox, or who knows what.  But since day 4 I've been doing great, not feeling hungry and my energy has been good.  Not even contemplating quitting now.

Breakfast

• NS Cinnamon Squares Cereal
  
• Yoplait Cinnamon Roll Fat Free Yogurt
  
• Water
  

I'm not a cereal girl.  Even normal cereal.  Its just not my thing.  So I got a few NS cereals for one purpose - putting them in yogurt.  It worked out great.  The cereal tasted fine and stayed nice and crispy in the yogurt.  This felt like a "normal" breakfast and the Yoplait diet yogurts are amazing and come in so many flavors.

Morning Snack

• String Cheese
  

Lunch

• NS Pasta Parmesan with Broccoli
  
• Garden Salad (no cheese)
  
• Light Ranch Dressing
  
• Imitation Crab
  

It seems each day has to have a dismal failure.  The NS Pasta was today's.  Its another "cup o noodles" deal so I filled it up with my hot water and waited 5 minutes.  The smell of overcooked broccoli was almost overwhelming.  When I tasted it, I got through 3 bites before I had to just throw it away.  Good thing I had my salad (which I sprinkled a few chow mein noodles to make up for my disappointment... or that's what I told myself).  I actually really didn't need the NS entree - the salad did fine for me.  [and for those of you wondering, yes, I actually DO like broccoli normally]

Afternoon Snack

• String Cheese
  
• Almonds (12)
  
• Mandarin Orange
  
• Cherry Coke Zero
  

Dinner

• NS Beef Tacos
  
• Decaf Coffee
  

I wasn't sure about beef that comes freeze dried in a packet that you have to add water to and then microwave.  However I was very pleasantly surprised.  It tasted, for the most part, just like taco meat.  I was also really surprised at the serving.  The package shows 2 round "shells" (more like chips) and I figured there would only be 2 and that they would be the size of Tostito round chips.  There ended up being 3 shells and they were about the size of a coaster each.  I put some lettuce and a very small dollop of sour cream on each (you are allowed a dairy serving with dinner).  I didn't need anything else with dinner.

Dessert:

• NS Mint Chocolate Crunch Bar
  

Nothing else to say.  These are awesome.  Lurve them.

Ok well its almost been a full week.  I'm kinda dreading the weekend since that is prime snacking time since my family is around and food is within reach at all times.  Plus, there are chips, cookies, ice cream, and other baddies ALWAYS staring at me.  *sigh*  But I found the NS community boards today and posted a few messages.  Hopefully I can strike up some weight loss buddies to help me through the journey!

Grade: A-

Caloric Intake: 1033.3

Weigh lost as of morning weigh in: 0.6 lbs

Weight lost overall: 3.8 lbs

NutriSystem - Day 5

Today was a bummer wake up call. Hopped on the scale this morning and only lost .1 lbs. Point one. As in one tenth of a pound. Argh. That did not set my day off right. Dunno if it was the extra 1/2 a banana, the non-fat-free salad dressing, or merely my body clinging to what is left as a "starvation reflex". Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day.

Breakfast:

• NS Blueberry Muffins
  
• Decaf Coffee with Mocha/Caramel (one pump each)
  
• Water
  

The last time I tried NS, the muffins were one of the worst things I'd ever tasted.  They literally tasted like someone had mixed sand into the batter.  I was UBER hesitant to order more this time around but had heard someone say they liked them so ordered the blueberry.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  While you can still tell something is a little off (probably the stuffed-with-fiber thing) but they were fine.  A lot like the little hostess mini muffins if you've ever had those.

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Lunch:

• Small Garden Salad (no cheese)
  
• Light Ranch Dressing
  
• Imitation Crabmeat (2 oz)
  
• NS Fudge Graham Bar

Nothing much new here.  I did find out that the light dressing on my salad bar at work is only 45 cals for a 1/4 cup.  That was heartening.  I also found out that 2oz of imitation crab is only 50 cals.  So I could have a nice salad, a few small pieces of "krab" and feel pretty good about lunch. The NS bar was fine.  Nothing great, nothing bad.  Just your typical diet or energy bar.  I wouldn't want to try it as my only lunch item though.  

Afternoon Snack:

• String Cheese
  
• Almonds (6)
  

Dinner:

• NS Sourdough Pizza with Cheese
  
• Baked Potato & ICBINB
  
• Rib Eye Steak (1 oz)
  
• Decaf Coffee
  

The fam had steaks with baked potatoes today.  Argh.  For dinner you're allowed a small protein or dairy so I cut a small slice off one of the steaks and had that with my pizza.  Steak and pizza... totally makes sense.  Right.  But hey I was pushed to my limits.  You're also allowed 2 veggies each dinner so I subbed in a baked potato plain save for ICBINB.  I'm hoping that's ok - we shall see!   Ok so the pizza was fine.  Baked it in the oven and with everything else dinner was all I needed.  Feeling guilty for the potato I skipped dessert tonight.

Dessert:

• None
  

Grade: B+

Caloric Intake: 1068.1

Weigh lost as of morning weigh in: 0.1 lbs

Weight lost overall: 3.2lbs

NutriSystem - Day 4

Ok - MUCH better day today.  I had always heard that the 3rd day of any major diet change (carb deplete, detox, etc) is the hardest.  Judging by yesterday I hope that is accurate because yesterday SUCKED.  I was very ready to quit, and in fact, "cheated" and ate 1/2 a banana around 9:30 last night.  I just couldn't concentrate on anything else.  Even watching TV was too much effort.  Today is much improved. I can honestly say I didn't ever get ravenous the whole day.

Breakfast

• NS Chocolate Chip Scone 
  
• Water
  

Already reviewed the scone - still love it.  Wish I had more.  And note - no coffee this morning.  Maybe that was part of what helped but I really did try and suck down the water today.  I also slept with my humidifier on 45% last night to try hydrate some overnight.

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese
  

Lunch

• Garden Salad (no cheese)
  
• Light Ranch Dressing
  
• NS Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar
  
• Diet Pepsi
  

I'm guessing having the large salad was part of the key today.  After eating the salad (at lunch with a friend) I walked back to work and decided to have my NS item about 30 mins later - so probably an hour after I finished the salad.  The PB Bar was not good.  It wasn't horrid, but when I opened it (after having it in the fridge with my lunch), it had a VERY strong chemical smell.  I almost didn't eat it (but who are we kidding).  It literally smelled like vinyl - like the pages from an old photo album.  After I got into it I guess I either got used to it or it warmed up and was ok.

Afternoon Snack

• String Cheese
  

Almost didn't even need this.  Ate it on my way out the door of work at 4:30 just in case I would get hungry before I could get home and make dinner.

Dinner

• NS Stroganoff Sauce with Beef and Noodles
  
• Green Beans
  
• Water
  

The NS entree was good.  Really nice portion, lots of mushrooms and carrots, and the beef was not scrungy!  I would definitely eat this one again.

Dessert:

• NS NutriChocolates
  

Loved em last time.  Love em now.  They taste great and you get a ton of them in a pack.  It doesn't feel like until you open it and start munching, but if you eat them one at a time they last a long time.  I'm sitting here now totally satisfied and almost what I would say is "full".  

Overall today was probably my best day hunger-wise and food-wise.  I almost felt like a normal person.  I did have "light" ranch instead of fat free dressing, but I accounted for it in my calories for the day and reconciled it with not having as many snacks later.  The down side was that I only lost .6lbs at this morning's weigh in - even after having a horrid day yesterday.  Bummer.  But I knew at some point the mega loss had to stop.  Unfortunately.  So we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings!

Grade:  B+

Caloric Intake: 1068.7

Weigh lost as of morning weigh in:  0.6 lbs

Weight lost overall:  3.1lbs

NutriSystem - Day 3

Breakfast:

• NS Chocolate Chip Scone
• Coffee

Folks we have a winner.  The scone is the best (i.e. closest to "real" food) I have had so far.  I would give it a solid A.  Its a little dense however that is the normal texture for a scone.  Its not going to have the flaky outside that a bakery scone would so hence no A+ but still darn good. I'd eat it even if I weren't dieting.  Plus the portion was very generous - 2 substantial triangles.

Morning Snack:

• String Cheese

Lunch:

• NS Fettuccine Alfredo
• String Cheese
• Water

This was one of the heavy paper cups where you add boiling water (think Cup O Noodles).  It was ok.  The sauce thickened up somewhat... I still wouldn't call it a cream sauce but it had good flavor.  Just make sure you don't use any more water than it states.  The portion was fine.

Afternoon Snack:

• 6 Almonds (x2)
• String Cheese
• Mandarin Orange
• Cherry Coke Zero

Ok  this is where we ran into trouble.  By 2:00 I was starving.  I ate my 6 almonds, a string cheese and my little Clementine type orange.  By 2:30 I had to get a Coke Zero for the caffeine.  It didn't help enough. At 4:00 I caved and ate 6 more almonds.  By the time I got home at 5:30 I was ready to chew my hand off. I had a huge headache and my muscles were tight/aching like a stress ache.  

Dinner:

• NS Thick Crust Cheese Pizza
  
• Water
  

This time I did the thick crust pizza I remembered liking from last time.  I also made sure to do it in the oven.  It is only slightly larger than a coaster.  Its about the size of a "Gladware" lid.  I cut it into 4 small "slices" to help myself feel like I was eating more.  The pizza was fine.  There's still a little something wonky with their sauce (its too sweet) but its doable.  I felt better after eating but not full. I chugged a glass of water before running to a 6:30 meeting.

Dessert:

• NS Double Chocolate Almond Cookie
  

It doesn't exactly taste like a cookie.  A little powdery, a little dense and not rich chocolate. But its a cookie, its something else to eat and it does have almonds in it.  I'd give it a B-.  

Today was a hard day.  It started off great with a good breakfast where I didn't even feel like I needed anything other than the NS entree.  However it started to go downhill with lunch and by the afternoon it was realllly hard.  In fact I'm hungry as I type (about 30 mins after my cookie)  I'm feeling VERY low energy, my shoulder muscles are tight and achy and I get headaches quite often.  I'm going to try and up my water intake to see if that will help.  All I can say is that tomorrow better show some nice weight loss or I'll be pretty cranky (ok so I'm already cranky).  I will say that after today, had I not paid $300 to do this, I would be really likely to quit.  But I can't look hubby in the eye if I do so onward we go.  [note: NS does have a money back guarantee, but you have to ship everything back and shipping a 40+lbs box is no small trick]

Grade:  C- 

Caloric intake: 1064.1
Weight lost as of morning weigh in: 1.3 lbs
Weight lost overall:  2.5 lbs

NutriSystem - Day 2

Ok day 2 ... harder than day 1 and unfortunately, more calories taken in on top of that.  Definitely noticed being hungry and had some odd side effects?  Here's the report:

Breakfast:

• NS Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
  
• String Cheese
  
• Mandarin Orange
  
• Maxwell House Coffee
  

The oatmeal wasn't what I expected. I'm used to microwaveable instant oatmeal.  This stuff you put the water in but then microwave the whole thing for 5 minutes (which I thought was quite a lot).  It wasn't bad necessarily - just bland.  And a different texture - more "whole oaty" - you could actually "chew" each oat.  I wouldn't say it was bad... just bland and not great.

Lunch:

• NS Cheese Tortellini
  
• McDonald's Side Salad
  
• Newman's Own Light Italian Dressing (1/2 pack)
  
• 2/3 pack Croutons 
  

The Cheese Tortellini were also bland.  The pasta sauce was almost too sweet and the cheese in the tortellini was chalky.  Also, when I was done I noticed that the container was mostly tomatoes and pasta sauce though I can't say I left the table hungry. My fun find for the day was that a pack of McDonald's croutons only has 60 calories!  (yes I survived a trip to the golden arches with my hubby and kiddo!)

Snack:

Ok here is where I got REALLY hungry.  I think the 2-3 o'clock hungries are going to be my challenge.  I ate my whopping 5 green olives (seriously) for my "fat" for the day.  30 mins later I couldn't take it and caved and ate 1tsp of peanut butter.  I also finally went and got a cherry Coke Zero.  I'm worried about the caffeine I'm taking in, but its the only thing that helps stem the hunger between meals.

Dinner:

• NS Teriakyi Sauce, Beef, Rice & Vegetables
  
• Non Fat Cottage Cheese (1/4 C)
• Water
  

I give this a resounding "ok".  The meal itself had good flavors and did taste Asian-inspired.  However note the title of the entree and it will give you a clue as to what order the quantity of ingredients is based.  At least half of the weight of the product was sauce.  There was a fair amount of beef but it was certainly not prime beef - I actually had to put aside a few pieces due to gristle and fat.  It wasn't horrid and I admit I'm a picky eater when it comes to beef, so take that for what its worth.  There was only about 1/8C of wild rice in a small well to one side of the entree.  I think, apart from water chestnuts, I saw three other veggies total.  The one thing I find odd about this one is that most calorie counters know that the easiest place to find hidden calories is in sauces - we usually steer clear of them.  I didn't finish more than half the sauce and so this makes me wonder if I saved significantly in calories.... but since NS doesn't break that out, I'll never know.  I'd eat this one again though. 

Treat:

• NS Microwavable Chocolate cake
  

This is where things went horribly wrong.  Horribly, horribly wrong.  I was so excited to see a microwaveable chocolate cake.  So excited in fact that I ordered 4 of them.  Big mistake.  I did not expect them to taste like Betty Crocker, but I DID expect them to taste.  My first warning was when I licked the batter off the fork while it was in the microwave... it tasted like some bland mixture of weak cooking cocoa and water.  Then after the suggested 5-minute cool, I tasted it.  The only way I could describe it would be if someone created a water-based spongy paper product and then BARELY flavored it with chocolate. I felt like I was eating a wet newspaper that someone had spilled a drop of hot chocolate on.  Knowing full well I only have one snack a day allotted to me, I actually threw it away and got out another chocolate bar like last night's.  We'll let Future Me worry about what to do about that missing dessert....

NOTE:  I'm noticing some weird things going on with my body.  I don't know if its the diet, if its detox, if its the caffeine, or if its coincidence.  I'm noticing a lot of the same symptoms that I had when I tried to do the juice detox (the Lemonade Diet - you have only juice for 10 days... I made it 2).   My chest, from time to time, feels "restricted" or as if its a little harder than normal to breathe - I notice this more when I'm having one of my "hungry" times.  I'm also noticing the glands in my neck feel swollen - especially on the left side.  Its almost to the point I'd call it a sore throat but not really.  And I have a headache often.  It could be that the Whoppers and onion rings of days past really are detoxing through my system.  Or it could be that my body is in a bit of caloric shock.  Or it could be the increase in caffeine (I used to drink almost NONE before this).  I'm going to see how things go over coming days.

Tomorrow will be my first day at work on NS.  On one had it should be easier - more to keep my mind busy and not as many snacks in arms reach.  On the other I will be sitting at my desk allll day with nothing else to do and will be around snacking and lunch-eating co-workers.  Yipes.  

FINAL REPORT:

Grade:  C

Caloric Intake: 1157.3 (not counting the bite of microwave cake)

Weight lost as of morning weigh in:  1.2 lbs

Total weight lost:  1.2 lbs

NutriSystem - Day 1

Ok so I have officially lived through day one.  Overall I feel ok.  I did get hungry a few times but either tried to have "ok" snacks per the meal plan (baby carrots, string cheese, etc) or plied myself with caffeine (yeah not so healthy but yet effective).  I noticed my energy is down, but I knew the first 3-4 days would be a detox or adjustment period since I'm accustomed to eating crap in great quantities whenever I feel like.   Another thing I've discovered is that I used food as entertainment or something to look forward to. I caught myself thinking "man I have nothing to look forward to tomorrow" since its a Sunday with nothing much planned.  When I had nothing else going on I used food as an event.  Gotta stop that bid'ness!

Ok, so here is what I had today along with my reviews:

Breakfast:

• NS Blueberry Pancake Mix made with 2% milk, & ICBINB spray
  
• Apple
  
• Water

The pancakes were actually pretty good.  Actually really nice - just like normal pancakes.  You don't get a lot.  Enough for either 2 normal or 3 silver dollar-sized.  But that was enough for me along with the apple.  You are "allowed" a tablespoon of light syrup but since I had used 2% milk I skipped that and just used the ICBINB spray.  I felt full and overall good about the meal however we went shopping after and within 2 hours I was very, very hungry. I had to get a coffee to help stem the tide.

Lunch:

• NS Red Beans & Rice w/ Chicken Sausage
  
• String Cheese (Low Fat)
  
• Starbucks coffee (leftover from shopping trip)
  

The main entree was actually really good - a lot of good Cajun spice - and the portion was generous for a diet portion. The chicken sausage was not gristly or overly processed.  Not much else to say here - I did get peckish before dinner but you are allowed one designated "fat" a day so I used mine as an afternoon snack - a teaspoon of peanut butter.  It was really all I needed to not feel deprived.

Dinner:

• NS Flatbread Cheese Pizza
  
• Cooked Broccoli with ICBITB spray
  
• Steamed corn with ICBINB spray
  
• Cherry Coke Zero
  

The pizza was the best thing I remember about my last go round with NS.  Unfortunately it was the most disappointing of my day today!  The serving is VERY small.  I remember thinking the old version (the thick crust) was about the size of a coaster.  The flatbread is about the size of a woman's small wallet (i.e. the kind without a checkbook portion).  I tried cutting it into 4 pieces to make myself feel better but they ended up truly being bite sized.  In addition, I was short on time so I chose the microwave directions and got a rubbery crust. I will do my best to make sure I have time to do them in the oven.  Just to give you an idea of size, these little guys only take 5 mins in the conventional oven - not much there to cook.  The broccoli and corn helped me make it through the meal without feeling bummed.

Snack:

• NS Chocolate Crunch Bar
  

This was the highlight of the day and I remembered the chocolates being pretty good last time so I intentionally saved it for last when I'd get my evening munchies after I put my little one to bed.  The portion was great - the size of a normal candy bar - and the taste was really good!  It didn't have that odd powdery chalky taste a lot of energy or diet bars have at all!  It was a rice crisp bar (like a Nestle Crunch) but also had a bit of an espresso taste.  So far, its 9:00 at night and I'm still "ok".  (And I ate dinner early  - around 5:30 - since I was so hungry!)

Total caloric intake today: 916.6.  Overall I'd give today a B-.  So, one day down.  34 to go!  Oh boy!

Nutri System Take Two - Review

Once again spring is upon us.  So of course once again that means diet time.  After much consideration and weighing of options, I decided on Nutri System.  I had done NS once before about 2.5 yrs ago with great results weight-wise (13lbs in a month) but not so great results otherwise.  What do I mean?  I thought the food was horrid (cardboard and sand as I called it) and I was so hungry ALL the time that, well lets just say I was not a cheerful wife to be around.

So why give it another go?  First, I've heard the food has improved.  Second, I have, since the last time around, become very familiar with diet food and realized most of it is cardboard and sand so you just cope.  Third, I can't argue with the results I got - and that is the bottom line.

When I was thinking of signing back on I looked and looked for reviews of the food.  The only comprehensive one I could find was sponsored by NS itself!  Sooo I decided why not review everything as I go.  I plan to track what I eat each day, how I feel, and how much I'm losing.  I'd like to ultimately lose 20 lbs. 

Today is day one so look for a post tomorrow on today's big start!!