Nutrisystem Update Week 23: Pizza and Tacos for Breakfast!

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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

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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!

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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 19: Blame It On The Margaritas!

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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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Nutrisystem Update Week 18: Mythbusting Edition

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taste myth

We’ve been so busy enjoying our food and progress on Nutrisystem, that we hadn’t even noticed that there are some big-time myths and misconceptions floating around out there about the program.

I only discovered this because I was on YouTube today checking out some of the videos other people have done to show off their weight loss success stories and saw a new one called Nutrisystem Mythbusting. I guess the hubby and I are also Nutrisystem Mythbusters, since we’ve been living the program for over 4 months now and sharing weekly updates with you about our experiences!

Here are just some of the myths the video exposes:

Myth: You can’t enjoy the foods you love on Nutrisystem.
Truth: There are 150+ foods to choose from including pizza, pasta, cheesecake and more.

Myth: Nutrisystem food is too expensive
Truth: You can save over 25% versus eating on your own.

Myth: The people in Nutrisystem ads are paid actors.
Truth: The ads only feature people who have truly found weight loss success using Nutrisystem.

Myth: Nutrisystem doesn’t offer one-on-one counseling or support.
Truth: Nutrisystem has trained weight loss counselors, nutritionists and diabetes educators.

Want to know more about Nutrisystem and sort out truth from fiction? Watch the video for lots more mythbusting and get the facts for yourself:

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