Thursday, April 24, 2008

Preparing for maintenance after NutriSystem

Weigh-in (Day 77):

Tamsin – -1.25 lbs (-13 pounds to-date)
Eden – -1 lbs (-23.8 pounds to-date)

*Note: Eden spent last weekend in Montreal and managed to lose weight while eating regular food most of the time.

Here’s a post from Tamsin after 11 weeks on the NutriSytem Challenge.

For weeks, most of my food has come in handy packages from NutriSystem:
lunches that fit in my purse;
breakfast bars on the streetcar;
dinners that heat up in 1 minute.

I’ve been thinking about what I’ll miss the most and how I’ll translate what I’ve learned about portion control to the real world where convenience and nutritionally balanced don’t always go hand-in-hand.

I think the trick is planning ahead and choosing foods that I enjoy. Convenient meals are useless if the food is tasteless. That's been a big plus for me: NutriSystem is handy AND tastes good.

I met a coworker in the kitchen at work the other day while I waited to heat my NutriSystem lunch. He was just taking his lunch from the microwave -- and boy, it smelled yummy! He asked about my NutriSystem package, and I asked what he was heating up for lunch. High Liner Scallops Mediterranean. We compared nutrition labels, and I was shocked to see similarities to NutriSystem (serving size, calorie and nutrients). Imagine scallops and linguine for lunch -- with the added bonus of 13 grams of protein!

These single-serve meals seem like a good meal option that offers the perks I’ve come to enjoy with NutriSystem: portion control, convenience, and the all-important yummy factor.

How have you transitioned from a diet? What are your tricks to eating healthy on-the-go?

4 comments:

  1. Wow--great job!

    When eating in restaurants it is always the high calorie options that tempt me. But, if I think about it, I realize that most things on the menu are going to be tasty, even those healthier options. So I try to pick those options that are healthier that I know I am going to enjoy (e.g. pasta with tomato sauce rather than cream sauce). It doesn't have to be THE healthiest option on the menu. But each meal is a choice, and consistently choosing healthier is going to win every time.

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  2. Connie, I'm with you all the way in terms of restaurant options. I've never been terribly excited about the least healthy items on restaurant menus. I've had success with two weight loss programs and I never shied away from restaurants. I do think twice about what to order and I've never been disappointed. I guess it also helps that I love salads (dressings always on the side or w/low cal/fat free options) and I usually choose chicken or fish entrées anyway.

    When I was on Weight Watchers, I had take out veggie pizza from Louie's Classico every week! I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss pizza and Montreal bagels this time around. Otherwise, I'm not feeling deprived at all.

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  3. You two are inspirational! Well done both of you!

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  4. I agree: I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. The NS desserts are quite sweet and do wonders for my sweet cravings. I actually save them for a craving instead of having dessert every night. I DO like my sweets, and yet I'm surprised how many times I've decided to skip dessert. It's nice to have the option!

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