Nutrisystem claims to be the cheapest, but I heard you have to add your own ingredients. Is that true of all the Nutrisystem-like systems? If so, how much do you really pay total (including price of vegetables et al)?

Thanks for your help!

Hello =]

Im not on Nutrisystem, but a friend of mine was for a while. I believe you add your own fruits, veggies and dairy. I cannot speak for any other system though.

Thanks. How much does that add to the cost, though?

I can't speak for Nutrisystem 100%, but I can tell you about Jenny Craig prices if you're interested.

I know someone on nutrisystem. I think for every day you need to add 2 servings of dairy, 2 fruit, and 2 veggie? I could be wrong. (Depends on the program you sign up for I think)

If that's the case, it depends on what you're buying. For my dairy, I tend to buy light soy milk (more expensive then skim milk), light string cheese, light yogurt. Veggies I tend to get celery, baby carrots, cucumber, salad, peas, broccoli...I get frozen and fresh. Assorted fruit depending on what looks good at the store and what's decently priced.

I suggest creating a typical menu for the week and pricing things. It really depends on where you live and where you shop. So you know that per week nutrisystem is X amount of dollars. Then you know you need to eat a lean and green meal each day as well. So I'd pick out those lean and green items you will eat and cook and add it in. Meat can be kind of pricey, veggies aren't if you buy items in season and look for local farmer's markets or other stores that sell veggies for cheap.

I'd probably tack on for my personal self an additional $30 a week max.