Nutrisystem 5 Day Weight Loss Kit Review

The Nutrisystem 5 Day Weight Loss Kit review – is it right for you? I break down what was in the kit, the calories, and what I think about it.

In need of a catalyst to lose weight, I purchased a Nutrisystem 5 Day Weight Loss Kit from Walmart. My hopes were to lose enough weight to keep me motivated in the new year to keep on losing. The following is how I “followed” the diet plan and the results.

The day before beginning the diet, I opened the box and glimpsed through the booklet that was included. The booklet is the dieter’s guide through the program and provides an overview of week 1 with a daily guide for 7 days. (Note that the box only contains 5 days worth of pre-packaged food.)

The guide also includes:

• A Meal Plan Tracker with checkboxes for each of the meals, the snack, 64 ounces of water, and 4 servings of vegetables.
• A list of grocery (vegetable) add-ins.
• A daily guide for Day 8+ along with grocery add-ins of power fuels, smart carbs, and extras & free foods.
• A women’s meal plan and a men’s meal plan for Day 8 and Beyond.
• A note section.

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Day 1

I began Day 1 on New Year’s Day. I figured I would start the year off on the right foot by trying to reign in my poor eating habits.

Little did I realize that the day would start off at the ER with a loved one. Before heading to the hospital, I packed my Nutrisystem snack of Chocolate Chip Cookies and breakfast of a Nutrisystem Peanut Butter Granola Bar.

Up until noon on Day 1, I had only had coffee and some water due to the circumstances. I decided to eat while my family member was having tests. I started with the cookies whose texture and taste evoked memories of long ago when I was a child in Sunday school. The flavor and texture of the cookies and granola bar were alright.

I didn’t have the opportunity to eat lunch until after 5 pm, so I combined my lunch of a container of Loaded Potato along with my dinner of BBQ Seasoned Chicken. I would not say that either item was good, but I was able to tolerate them. For my vegetable component, I ate beets, an apple, and ¼ cup of almonds.

One thing that you need to realize when you purchase the Nutrisystem 5 Day Weight Loss Kit is that you need to also purchase “fresh grocery items” and Nutrisystem Turbo Shakes. That’s clearly written on the box. What’s not specified on the box is that the BBQ Seasoned Chicken says to “serve it with a small whole grain roll (not included).”  The same goes for the pouch of Tuna Salad.

Because I did not thoroughly read through my guide, I technically ate too much. The nuts and apple should not have been consumed during Week 1 – they’re additional items that can be consumed during Week 2.

In addition to eating food from Nutrisystem, I unintentionally fasted intermittently (8 hour period of eating, 16 hours of fasting).

I did not purchase the Turbo Shakes. When I purchased the Nutrisystem 5 Day Weight Loss Kit, I had just run into Walmart to get it while someone waited for me in my car. I didn’t have the time to read over the box and didn’t have time to go out and buy them when I was otherwise ready to start the diet.

Day 1		Calories	Fat	Fiber	Protein
Breakfast	Peanut Butter Granola Bar	160	5	3	6
Snack	Chocolate Chip Cookies	150	6	3	7
Lunch	Loaded Potato	220	4.5	3	10
Dinner	BBQ Seasoned Chicken	150	6		15
Add-ins:	Beets	157.5	0	7	3.5
	Small apple	78	0.3	3.6	0.4
	¼ cup almonds	160	14	3	5
TOTAL		1075.5	35.8	22.6	46.9

Weight loss after Day 1 – 2.5 pounds.

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Day 2

I figured I would try to intentionally intermittently fast, though hunger got the best of me and I broke down around 10:45 and ate the Double Chocolate Muffin, followed by the Trail Mix Bar. The muffin was fine – perhaps I enjoyed it because I was pretty hungry and felt like I really need to eat. I would say that the Trail Mix Bar was actually pretty good and wouldn’t have any problem eating it on a non-dieting day.

For drinks, I had black coffee in the morning along with water and caffeine-free diet Coke throughout the day.

I was hoping to eat my snack of Milk Chocolate Flavored Pretzels along with my dinner of Lasagna with Meat Sauce, but I ended up being too hungry and ate the pretzels mid-day. The pretzels were really good while the lasagna was not.

Since I still had not had a chance to go shopping to buy the Nutrisystem Turbo Shakes, I searched Google to find out how many calories were in them. According to information on MyFitnessPal.com, each shake has 130 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 15 grams of protein.

I had a bag of Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard Whey Protein Isolate, Vanilla Ice Cream flavored, nonetheless. When mixed with water, each serving has only 120 calories, 1g of fat, and 24 grams of protein. Since I was struggling with hunger even after eating the sprouts and lasagna, I made a protein shake.

Day 2		Calories	Fat	Fiber	Protein
Breakfast	Double Chocolate Muffin	170	5	11	7
Lunch	Trail Mix Bar	200	8	5	12
Snack	Milk Chocolate Flavored Pretzels	130	6	3	5
Dinner	Lasagna with Meat Sauce	250	9	4	14
Add-ins:	1 bag of Brussels Sprouts	180	0	12	12
	1 Protein Shake made with Optimum Nutrition Whey	120	1		24
TOTAL		1050	29	35	74

Total weight loss after Day 2 – 4 pounds.

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Day 3

Hunger again got the best of me and I ate Granola Cereal for breakfast just after 8 am. In reading the package, I discovered another “fresh grocery item” that I needed and did not have on hand – ½ cup fat-free milk. I ended up eating the granola plain and thought it wasn’t too bad.

After day two, my total weight loss was 4 pounds. I know some people don’t believe in weighing every day, but according to Psychology Today, “A recent review of the research suggests that contrary to the frequent advice to limit yourself to once weekly weighing, daily weighing can be a useful strategy to lose weight and prevent regain after weight loss.”

I was able to make it to Walmart on Day 3 and purchase a box of Nutrisystem TURBO Shake. The box claims it has probiotics > HELPS BUST BELLY BLOAT AND SUPPORT DIGESTIVE HEALTH!*  The only flavor that Walmart carried was Chocolate Fudge. There are five oversized packets in the oversized box which retails just under $10.00 before tax. 

Honestly, the shakes are alright. Now I could find them acceptable because I have been extremely hungry this whole time. The struggle is real.

For dinner, I had an entire 12-ounce bag of Green Giant Riced Cauliflower and Nutrisystem’s Mac and Cheese with Turkey Sausage. For drinks, I had black coffee in the morning and water throughout the rest of the day.

In the evening, I caved in and had ¼ cup of almonds and an apple. At this point, I know that those are not acceptable until Week 2, but I figured I fared well on Day 1 with those additions and that it probably would not hurt to have a little extra fiber.

Day 3		Calories	Fat	Fiber	Protein
Breakfast	Granola Cereal	160	2.5	4	5
Lunch	Homestyle Chicken	120	2		10
Snack	Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Nut Bar	200	13	7	6
	Nutrisystem TURBO Shake	130	2.5	5	15
Dinner	Mac and Cheese with Turkey Sausage	240	8		16
	12 ounces Green Giant Riced Cauliflower	80	0	8	8
	Small apple	78	0.3	3.6	0.4
	¼ cup almonds	160	14	3	5
TOTAL		1168	42.3	30.6	60.4

Total weight loss after three days is 5 pounds. Not too shabby, but I have been hungry ALL of the time.

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Day 4

I spent the day at the hospital while my loved one underwent a procedure. I consumed a Nutrisystem TURBO Shake for breakfast, then ate the Coconut Almond Bar (which was delicious!), Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar, and Cinnamon Bun Bar while I waited.

Fluids that I had were black coffee for breakfast, the previously mentioned shake, diet Coke, and water.

For dinner, I ate a bag of Green Giant Riced Cauliflower mixed with Nutrisystem’s Chili with Beans. I can’t say that I recommend that you do that, but I did it. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t horrible, either. I also ate ¼ cup of almonds even though that is not on the plan.

Day 4		Calories	Fat	Fiber	Protein
Breakfast	Cinnamon Bun Bar	150	3.5	3	7
Lunch	Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar	200	8	5	11
Snack	Coconut Almond Bar	150	7	4	7
	Nutrisystem TURBO Shake	130	2.5	5	15
Dinner	Chili with Beans	240	8	6	14
Add-ins:	¼ cup almonds	160	14	3	5
TOTAL		1140	43	26	59

Total weight loss after Day 4 – 5.5 pounds.

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Day 5

No, that salad isn’t part of the Nutrisystem 5 Day Weight Loss plan.

For breakfast, I had black coffee and a shake. 

Around 10:00, I prepared Apple Cinnamon Cereal. Here is another instance of an additional “fresh ingredient” – ½ cup of fat-free milk. I prepared the packet with 2% which added 65 calories, 2.5g of fat, and 4g of protein.

I snacked on Vanilla Shortbread Cookies which I found to be pretty hard but overall had a good taste.

The stress of what is happening in my personal life had gotten to me, so at lunchtime I ended up eating a Harvest Salad from Wendy’s, leaving the last two items in the kit, Tuna Salad (a lunch item) and Rotini and Meatballs (a dinner selection), for another day. Finally, I felt like I was satiated.

Day 5		Calories	Fat	Fiber	Protein
Breakfast	Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal	130	1.5	3	4
Snack	Vanilla Shortbread Cookies	150	6	5	6
	Nutrisystem TURBO Shake	130	2.5	5	15

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Summary

Does the Nutrisystem 5-Day Weight Loss Kit work? Yes. In the end, I lost at least 5 pounds and am happy with the results.

Is it easy? No. I was hungry all of the time.

How much does it cost? The kit cost just under $50 and the TURBO shakes were ~$10. In addition, there are the “fresh ingredients” that you need to supply, such as 4 cups of vegetables each day, ½ cup of milk to mix in the oatmeal, and 2 whole wheat rolls.

Would I do it again? Yes. I had gotten myself in a rut and needed out quickly.

What now? Now I am better aware of just how bad my eating had gotten out of hand. I will be more mindful of all that I put in my mouth and will probably try to eat more vegetarian keto dishes.

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Have you tried the Nutrisystem 5-Day Weight Loss Kit? Did you lose any weight? What did you think about the food?