Nutrisystem Update Week 23: Pizza and Tacos for Breakfast!

March 23, 2013
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The hubby and I just finished week 23 on the  Nutrisystem weight loss program and are back with another update. We’re still loving it and are both doing great but even the best plan can get a little bit humdrum if you don’t change things up now and then!

Margherita-Pizza-Nutrisystem

I’m such a fan of pizza and tacos that I could eat it either one every night and never get tired of it, but this week I switched some meal options around just for fun and had the Nutrisystem Margherita Pizza for breakfast one day and their Chicken Tacos another morning. I saved my usual morning protein shake for later in the day, and had the breakfast burrito for dinner one night and waffles with blueberries another night. Tonight I’ll be having a garden omelette and salad for dinner in case anyone was wondering.

chicken_tacos

It sounds silly, but just making the small change of swapping breakfasts with dinner foods feels like a real splurge even though the total intake for the day is still the same as always! That’s one of the great things about Nutrisystem…you get the guidelines, meals, tools and support you need but it’s still YOUR program and you can eat the food however and whenever you want.

I didn’t actually lose any weight this week, but I didn’t gain any either, so I’m still at 31 lbs lost and 13 more to go. The hubs lost another .2 pounds, bring him to a total of 54 pounds lost and only 6 away from his goal weight! We’re headed for Easter and a week with family visiting so it’s going to be hard work staying on track. Trying not to stress, since even one “bad” week hasn’t set us back too much in the past!

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Nutrisystem Update Week 22: St. Patrick’s Day Diet Tips

March 16, 2013
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Just because you’re dieting or watching what you eat doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a great meal (and drink) on St. Patrick’s Day! The hubby and I are already planning ahead on how we’ll celebrate while still staying on track with our Nutrisystem weight loss program.

irish lunch nutrisystem diet

After going a little crazy for National Margarita Day, we decided to get smart and plan ahead for St. Patrick’s Day. The goal is to enjoy a little of our favorite food and drink, but not derail the diet. Even though we LOVE going out for St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve decided to stay in this year. We’ll still be celebrating the holiday AND hubby’s Irish American heritage, so I thought I’d share a few tips with you.

Irish Lunch with Nutrisystem

One of our favorite lunch items is the Nutrisystem Loaded Baked Potato meal. Just add extra hot water, low sodium chicken broth or skim milk and it becomes Irish Potato Soup. Sprinkle some green onion, crumbled turkey bacon and low-fat cheddar on top. Skip a SmartCarb for the day and you can also enjoy a Guinness at 125 calories for 12 oz instead…not a bad swap if you ask me!

Diet-Friendly Corned Beef and Cabbage

I couldn’t even imagine not having corned beef and cabbage for dinner on St. Patrick’s Day. As our Nutrisystem coach Meredith always reminds us, everything is OK in moderation.

corned beef
Some important tips to keep in mind when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day:

Portion size: the brand I buy is 190 calories for 4 oz of corned beef. That’s really not too bad if you stick to the recommended portion size. It IS  high in fat and sodium, so  keep that in mind and adjust the rest of your day/week accordingly to compensate.

More veggies: Put the emphasis on more cabbage, onions and carrots so you’ll feel full and satisfied. By cooking everything together in your crock pot or french oven on the stove top (that’s the method I use), your veggies will absorb all the flavor from the meat and spices making them extra yummy! Also, start your meal with a healthy salad to help keep your appetite under control.

Parsnips instead of Potatoes: I haven’t tried this one yet, but I’ve read that you can use parsnips instead of potatoes when making a more diet-friendly version of corned beef and cabbage. You’ll cut your calories in half, and carbs are less too.

Watch the booze: Not only do alcoholic beverages add empty calories, but they also impair your judgement meaning you’re more likely to eat stuff you shouldn’t or eat more than you should. Limit it to one or two drinks to be on the safe side!

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Nutrisystem Update Week 21: Big Milestones Accomplished!

March 9, 2013
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week 21 weight loss

The hubby and I are super excited about this week’s Nutrisystem update, because we get to share some BIG news with you all! We’ve each reached another major milestone in our weight loss journey…he’s hit the 50 pound mark, and I’ve reached 30! That’s a LOT of LBS lost…but still some to go so we’re staying focused.

In addition to enjoying our success so far, we’re also enjoying a few new menu items this month. It’s important to change things up a bit to keep it interesting, even though I have my favorites and he has his. This month our order included Margherita Pizza, Loaded Baked Potatoes, Risotto and lots more yummy good food we hadn’t tried before.

new meals

So far, I’ve lost 30.4 pounds with 13.6 more to go to reach my goal, and hubby has lost 51.8 lbs with only 8.2 more to lose!

We’d love to hear from you about your own weight loss experiences, challenges and goals, so leave a comment and let us know you stopped by. We’re also happy to answer questions, so ask away!
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Nutrisystem Update Week 20: We’re Down 78 Pounds So Far!

March 2, 2013
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nutrisystem success

We’re celebrating 20 weeks and LOTS of pounds lost so far on our Nutrisystem journey! As of today, Woof Woof Papa and I have lost a combined 78.4 lbs!

In case you haven’t been following along, the hubby (Woof Woof Papa) and I started the program together back in October and have been reporting on our progress and setbacks in weekly weight loss updates here on the blog. The setbacks have been minor and the most important lesson we’ve learned from all of them is to put them behind us quickly and get right back on track.

People often ask us what the secret is to our success so far, but really there’s no big secret…just a super easy to follow program where we order and eat the Nutrisystem food and follow the meal plan by adding on our own grocery items in the recommended portions.


The big secret is to be realistic and consistent. Weight loss is a slow process and changing life-long eating habits is challenging. It’s a marathon, not a sprint…it helps to keep reminding ourselves of this and something we tell everyone. To give you a sense of what’s realistic, I’ve lost an average of 1.49 lbs per week, and the hubs is losing an average of 2.43 lbs per week. He works out 4-5 times per week at a very high intensity and has a physical job. I walk every day at a light to moderate intensity and work at my computer all day.

Things that are helping us the most:

  • Weighing-in daily and recording our weight weekly
  • Each choosing our own meal preferences, snacks and grocery add-ins
  • Enough variety to keep it interesting but enough to be overwhelming
  • Clearly defined “rules” keep us from negotiating the boundaries
  • Keeping a food journal using the Nutrisystem apps for Android and iPad
  • Sticking with it even after setbacks/weeks without losing
  • Doing the program together

So far, I’ve lost 29.8 pounds with 14.2 more to go to reach my goal, and hubby has lost 48.6 lbs with only 11.4 more to lose!

We’d love to hear from you about your own weight loss experiences, challenges and goals, so leave a comment and let us know you stopped by. We’re also happy to answer questions, so ask away!

If you missed any of our previous Nutrisystem posts, just visit the links in the table below or click here to catch up!

Weight Lost: Liz Garry
Week 1 -4.4 -10.8
Week 2 -1 -3
Week 3 -4.2 -6.8
Week 4 -1.2 -4.7
Week 5 -1.8 -2.1
Week 6 (Thanksgiving) -.6 +5
Week 7 -1.6 -6.6
Week 8 -2.6 -4.2
Week 9 -2.4 -2.4
Week 10 -.2 -4.7
Week 11 (Christmas) -1 +4.1
Week 12 (New Year’s) +.6 -.6
Week 13 -3.5 -2.4
Week 14 -1.6 -1.8
Week 15 -1.2 0
Week 16 -.6 -1.6
Week 17 -1.2 0
Week 18 0 -4
Week 19 (Margarita Day) +1.4 +2
Week 20 -2.8 -3.8
Total Weight Loss So Far: -29.8 -48.6
Starting Weight: 189 250
Current Weight: 159.2 201.4
Goal: 145 190

 

Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting http://www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog.

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Nutrisystem Update Week 19: Blame It On The Margaritas!

February 23, 2013
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margarita

Did you celebrate National Margarita Day yesterday? We sure did! That’s my margarita from last night there in the photo. I’d like to tell you that I only had one, and that I did not eat those chips, but I really love a great margarita on the rocks with salt on the rim, so you can already guess that I didn’t stop at just one…and yes, I ate the chips. And a big plate of amazing Mexican food! Woof Woof Papa was there too…and he said it’s ok to tell you that he over-indulged as well. You get the picture, I’ll spare you all the gory details.

Sometimes you’ve just gotta cut loose…footloose. I’ve got that song stuck in my head now, just writing it. Speaking of songs, we love our margaritas so much down here in Florida that there’s even a Blame It On The Margaritas song that’s popular with the locals. Check it out. You can listen to it while you read our post:

 

Did we both gain weight? Yes, but luckily just a little bit, and we’re blaming it on the margaritas. We figure it was worth it to have some fun and enjoy a rare meal out at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We never eat that way on a regular basis anymore and I can’t believe that we ever used to! Plus, we’re right back on track today with our Nutrisystem program, thank goodness. That’s a main difference between what’s working for us now versus everything we tried in the past. We’ve got a safety net so one evening of going off the rails doesn’t result in a ginormous train wreck.

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