Sunday, October 12, 2008

NutriSystem and Acai Berries

Okay, the first time I heard about the name, I thought this was again one of those instant stuff that you put into water and gulp until your mug is empty, leaving an aftertaste of Salmon Shake. I was wrong. This apparently, is not a product inside a can but rather, a service. Yes, you heard me right!

I have long been fantasizing about this, eating healthy food but not having to prepare the healthy food yourself. I have tried 5-day diets and 3-day diets and fat burning soup that in the end, burns me out because of long food preparation and of course, cleaning up afterwards. Fantasy made into reality is what Nutrisystem is.

Nutrisystem is a service that delivers over 100 types of delicious food. Delicious? Let me be more specific, some exampes of these food: Mac and Cheese (I know, is this heaven or what?), Chicken Parmesan (Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! Gotta love 'em), Tacos plus do not think you will have to skip dessert because you don't. Here are some of the desserts available: almond biscotti and blueberry lemon bars. If that is not enough, you will also get to eat not just three times a day but five times a day. Three meals and two snacks! Now how cool is that? So you might ask, how will this make you lose weight.

Essentialy, Nutrisystem offers low glycemic food. Let me translate this to English. Glycemic Index (GI) indicates the effect of carbohydrates and sugar to the blood glucose levels. The lower the GI the slower the sugar and starch is absorbed by the body, the longer the body consumes the food you eat, the longer you feel fuller.

Another concern might be nutrition. The diet contains 55% carb, 25% protein and 20% fat so you need not worry about not getting enough or too much of something. I think you should add fruits though, I do not know if they have enough fiber and other vitamins. A nice fruit suggestion is Acai Berries that will be discussed further on. If you're into exotic and healthy, this is definitely the fruit for you.

Nutrisystem provides different programs for different cases like: females over 60, males over 60, diabetics and males and females specific programs.

Cost of this service/food is 300 USD for a month. That is roughly 10 USD per day. I think that is not so bad at all, if you are living in the states that is... Actually, even if you are not.

Aside from losing weight, another thing that almost everybody wants to do is to look and feel young. One of the ways to do this is to make sure your body gets enough antioxidants. While other people prefer green tea to do the job for them, there is another alternative if you are not into green tea. A product from the Amazon called the Acai (a-sigh-ee) berry has been discovered. They have packaged this now in a form where it is easier to be consumed by us regular people who do not want to get old.

This is one of the top ten products featured in Oprah's Website 10 Superfoods list of Dr. Pericone. If that is not enough to convince you, this also tastes like a mix of berries and chocolate (hmmm... chocolate...). If this is not enough, this is supposed to boost your immune system as well! Remember, earlier I mentioned about lack of fiber in the NutriSystem diet? I think Acai berries will complement NutriSytem beautifully.

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