If you are someone who struggles to maintain your own portion control, a diet like NutriSystem may help you lose weight. With meals delivered to your door, there is not much decision-making involved for the dieter, but that also means you’ve made no lifestyle changes to help you maintain weight loss. Although you could certainly continue ordering NutriSystem for the rest of your life, that’s not exactly cost-effective. Let’s take a look at what’s included in this diet plan.

What’s in it?

Certainly no one can argue with the ease of a diet that delivers perfectly proportioned meals to your door, and the foods don’t even need to be refrigerated or frozen, which concerns us a bit since food preservation can rob fresh foods of their nutrients. There are a number of options, including male/female versions for diabetics, “silver” customers, and vegetarians. Also included is a “meal planner,” which tells you exactly what you can eat for meals and snacks, and provides access to community forums, online counseling, and other features.

How does it work?

The goal is to completely outline your daily food intake for you. Although the point is to avoid the kind of calorie-counting, measuring, and weighing foods that some diets require, this also takes the power to make food choices away from the dieter. We’ve all seen the overwhelming portions served at some restaurants, so applying the NutriSystem portions to the real world may be a stretch. Although NutriSystem also encourages exercise, it is not a cornerstone of this diet, which we also see as a potential problem where maintenance is concerned.

Who does it work for?

Whether or not it works, there are some ex-NutriSystem customers who were not a fan of the taste of the food. There are a number of success stories on NutriSystem’s current website, including Marie Osmond, and while they contain the normal “results not typical” disclaimer, there are a few disconcerting disclaimers involved with this product. Success stories are also accompanied by a disclaimer indicating customers were paid to appear and the weight was lost on a former NutriSystem program. There are people, however, who have lost weight in a variety of weight categories, from 20-29 pounds to 100+ pounds.

Are there possible side effects?

There don’t appear to be any side effects, since NutriSystem is basically providing a balanced diet, although it’s always a good idea to discuss a new diet plan with your doctor, especially if you have weight-related health concerns.

Are there any “bonus” features?

There are a number of “free” promotions offered via NutriSystem’s website, although figuring out which features are offered with which program can be a bit of a challenge. There are links for advertised deals like “as low as $10 a month per monthly shipment,” “two free weeks,” and “free membership.” However, there are a number of exclusions and details applying to each of these special deals, and sorting them out can be a bit confusing.

As we already mentioned, someone who struggles to self-regulate portion control may find NutriSystem helpful. If you’re just looking to jump-start your healthy living campaign, NutriSystem may be a good way for you to lose weight in the short-term. However, we would recommend a diet that places more responsibility in the hands of the dieter, and provides a mixture of healthy eating and exercise.