Nutrisystem Update Week 14: Getting More Veggies with Green Smoothies! #NSNation

January 19, 2013
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green smoothie for weight loss

Happy to report that the hubby and I had another great week on our  Nutrisystem program! We love that our meals are already prepared and portion controlled but one thing we sometimes struggle with is how to get enough veggies every day. In one of my earlier updates I wrote about 4 yummy ways to eat your veggies, and we still use those, but I find that it’s good to change things up a bit and am trying to build more variety into our eating routine.

I’d been interested in making my own green smoothies for quite some time, and finally got myself organized to get started. Turns out it’s super easy and fits well with the Nutrisystem guidelines. The only thing to watch out for is the higher calorie and higher sugar ingredients that some recipes call for. My strategy is to include 2-3 servings of vegetables and 1 SmartCarb per smoothie. There’s lots of room for experimentation, and you can use ALL the veggies you want, but if you use multiple types of fruits in one smoothie, remember to still stick to the guidelines. For example 1 SmartCarb could be 1/2 an orange plus 1/2 an apple. Or 1/3 an orange plus 1/3 an apple and 1/3 cup of berries.

It’s fun to experiment and I’ll share the recipe for one of my favorites so far. I like making it as my afternoon snack but you could juggle things around a bit and have it earlier or later in the day depending on how you like to use your SmartCarbs and Extras.

I like using the NutriBullet Blender and here’s what’s in this green smoothie:

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Nutrisystem Update Week 13: The Nutribears Are Taking Over! #NSNation

January 12, 2013
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nutrisystem bears

We’re celebrating our progress by showing off our Nutribears this week! In addition to the great meal plans and online support tools we get,  Nutrisystem also rewards members for their weight loss by sending a bear designed especially for every 10 pounds lost. Each cute critter has a name. Woof Woof Papa recently earned his 40 pound “Determination Bear” and I’m super happy to make room for my very own 20 pound “Commitment Bear”. With a total of 6 bears earned so far between the two of us, and lots more pounds to lose, we’re going to have to find a special spot for them before they take over!



After putting the holiday eating season behind us, I’m thrilled to report that we are both back on track and making great progress: The hubby lost 3.5 pounds (for a total so far of 40.3) and I lost 2.4 (for a total of 22.8)!!! If you missed any of our previous updates, here’s the breakdown of how we did in weeks 1-12:

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Nutrisystem Update Week 12: Welcoming 2013 and Putting the Holidays Behind Us! #NSNation

January 5, 2013
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weighing in after the holidays

Happy New Year everyone! Hard to believe we are already 5 days into 2013! It’s always a bit of a let-down as the holiday season comes to a close, and things start to get back to normal. Before Daisy’s papa and I start putting away all the Christmas decorations and cleaning up around here, I just wanted to bring you a very quick  Nutrisystem update on how we did this week.

In addition to New Year’s Eve and a day watching Bowl Games on New Year’s Day, we also celebrated the hubby’s birthday this week…so it was a FUN but challenging week! I got a little carried away with the bubbly and we both overdid it with splurging on Chinese food and a few other favorites. Although we managed to hold it together pretty well, I’ll admit that I’m relieved to be putting the holidays behind us so we can really get back to the business of eating healthy, getting fit and losing weight!

This week was the first time that I’ve actually gained weight, putting on 0.6 lbs while Woof Woof Papa managed to lose 0.6 lbs! If you’ve been keeping up with our updates, you already know that he gained 4.1 over Christmas and I barely lost any that week (-0.2) so it’s good to get focused and back on track quickly after a couple weeks of no-progress. As I mentioned last week, I think it’s super helpful that we already have our plan in place and know that it works, and our New Year’s resolution is simply to “Stick to the plan!”

So far, I’ve lost 20.4 and the hubby has lost 36.8. We’re still feeling pretty good about that, even though we still have a ways to go to meet our goal weights. Here’s the breakdown in case you missed any weeks:
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EatSmart Precision Elite Kitchen Scale: Precise Food Measurement + Portion Control

December 30, 2012
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EatSmart kitchen scale

Starting the New Year with a weight loss resolution? Learning about how much to eat can be as important as learning what types of foods to eat, but can be one of the more challenge parts of dieting since it’s just human nature to underestimate (or ignore) how much we’re consuming.

The hubby and I are are starting the New Year with a super helpful tool to aid us on our weight loss journey: the EatSmart Precision Elite Digital Kitchen Scale. While we’re on Nutrisystem, we’re using it to measure our grocery add-ins of Power Fuels, Smart Carbs and Extras and will rely on it even more when we transition from the portion-controlled Nutrisystem meals and start cooking on our own again!

I’d never used a kitchen scale before but we’re already finding it really helpful in getting through the holiday eating season without doing too much damage. I mean do YOU actually know how much 2 oz of Fruitcake is? We didn’t either but the hubby and I received some from fruitcake my mom made from my Nana’s special recipe, and we definitely wanted some but didn’t want to stray too far off track from the diet. I Googled to see how many calories were in Fruitcake and came up with about 200 calories for 2 oz. I checked my meal planner and decided to have a slice instead of a Nutrisystem Dessert that day. The EatSmart Kitchen Scale helped me to make an informed choice about what to eat without feeling deprived OR going overboard.

measuring fruitcake

I was pretty close with my guess when I cut a slice, which is another thing I’m loving about the scale. It helps to train you to visualize proper portions. That’s helpful at restaurants, parties or any food situations away from home! We’re still in training though and relying heavily on the scale to stay on track.

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Nutrisystem Update Week 11: Wishing Everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! #NSNation

December 29, 2012
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New Year's diet resolution

In a couple of days, it will be January. A time for new beginnings…a time to make the changes we’ve all been meaning to make or wishing would happen. The hubby and I have an advantage this year – we got a great head start on changing our eating habits and weight since we joined Nutrisystem in October.

Lots of people asked us WHAT we were thinking beginning a weight loss program at the start of what I like to call “the holiday eating season” which runs from Halloween through New Year’s Day. Looking back, I’m so glad we did! Like most people, I usually kick off the New Year with the same old resolution to “lose weight” without a really good plan of how I’m going to do it. Within a few weeks, I’ve usually broken my resolution and gone back to my old ways. Sound familiar?

This year I already have a plan, and it’s working! When I ring in 2013, I’ll be reflecting on my weight loss accomplishments so far, and looking forward to keep the momentum going! So MY resolution for 2013 is simple: Stick To The Plan. I’ll also make some new resolutions for myself for the coming year: Workout More and Be More Organized are the two main ones that come to mind. Sound familiar, too???

I’ll admit that I don’t yet have a plan for those resolutions, so let me know if you’ve found one that works!

Our New Year’s Wish for you? A Happy and Healthy New Year!

Not that I’m an expert, but based on what I’ve learned so far, here are a few words of advice to help get you started if you’re planning a weight loss resolution for 2013:

  • Find a plan you like that’s easy to follow: We’ve all started crazy or extreme diets that are either overly complicated or too strict to follow for more than a few days or weeks. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Do what looks and sounds realistic for your schedule, family situation and lifestyle.
  • Don’t expect it to happen overnight: Healthy weight loss takes time. Don’t give up because you aren’t seeing immediate results. Some weeks we lose close to nothing or even gain a little. If you stick with it, it WILL add up. You can see our year-end update below for proof!
  • Don’t go it alone: It will be so much easier to stick to a plan or program if you have a partner or get your family involved. If that’s not possible, look for online support or find a virtual weight-loss partner. Programs like Nutrisystem offer forums, discussion boards, blogs and other means of networking, advice and support.
  • Commit to staying accountable: Whether you blog, keep a journal, report in weekly to a real-life or virtual weight loss buddy, or use an online tracking app, DO keep to a schedule of recording your progress. It will help you to stay motivated to see how far you’ve come when you look back on it, and it will help keep you make better choices since you know you are going to have to record or report what you ate (and how much you did or didn’t work out).

And speaking of staying accountable, here’s our weekly weight loss update! I’ve also included a year-end breakdown so you can see how we did each week:

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