Your question was: Real foods I can eat during Nutrisystem?.

The Lean Cuisine Spa Selection meals are really yummy too...

Jacar~ Pam gave you a great outline and if you have any questions you should call the counselling team. They are there to help you with things just like this. Stay focused and follow the plan!! There are LOTS of food choices out there that fit into the plan..

Corinna..

Thank you all! Pam - I'm going to copy that and go shopping!..

See info, links and attachments for Nutrisystem On Your Own @ http://boards.members.nutrisystem.co...370#post552370..

Not sure if someone already included this...here's a link to lunch exchanges, but look around and you'll find more..

Http://www.plussizenow.com/ns/compare_lunch.html..

That site compares food to NS. Not all the entries there compare favorably though...

Keep the following in mind, too, when looking for substitutes:.

This was posted by a very successful NutriSystem member, LuvsCharlie (Judy), about the importance of the Low GI, NutriSystem plan:.

Sometimes I see people talk about subs, and I cringe ... items like 100 calorie packs and no-pudge brownies come to mind. Just because an item is similar in terms of calories, doesn't make it Nutrisystem friendly! 100 calorie packs and no-pudge brownies just don't have enough protein, and too many carbs (& sugar), so they are not a good sub for low glycemic index (LGI) NS!.

Another resource that I see some use for picking out subs is plussizenow.com. I'm not disputing that it can be used as a resource for comparing grocery items with Nutrisystem items ... it can, and Joyce did a great job on her comparison site. But, just because an item that is available in the grocery store is compared to a similar Nutrisystem item there, does NOT mean that it compares FAVORABLY. Many of the items there DO NOT compare favorably to Nutrisystem items, if you look at the stats. (Some do compare favorably, but most don't)..

If you don't care about following a LGI diet, and only care about calories, then knock yourself out. Heck, if you don't care about LGI, you can eat devils food cake every day, as long as you only eat 1200 calories worth. But anyone who does that (regardless of whether it's devils food cake, 100 calorie packs, healthy choice frozen meals, etc) is short-changing themselves and it WILL take longer for them to lose the weight.

When you eat high glycemic index items, even at the 1200 calorie level, your liver will NOT be as efficient at getting rid of fat. When you drink alcohol, your liver will not be as efficient at getting rid of fat. When you don't drink enough water, your liver will not be as efficient at getting rid of fat. I happen to believe that sticking to the Nutrisystem foods and being very strict about staying low gi (along with walking and drinking enough water) is what made my weight loss so steady and consistent.

When FIRST magazine did an article on "The Nutrisystem Sensational Six," there was a small article on the next page on "why low glycemic index diets work so well." A study found that when someone eats low glycemic index, their liver produces more of an enzyme that turns fat into energy. When someone eats high glycemic index items, even at the same calorie level, the liver STOPS making that enzyme for a while (the article didn't say how long)..

Additionally, when someone doesn't drink enough water, then the kidneys don't work as efficiently to get rid of waste, so the liver has to pick up the slack. When the liver has to the job of getting rid of waste that the kidneys can't, then the liver can't devote those resources to metabolizing fat. Ditto for drinking alcohol it is metabolized in the liver, so that also gets in the way of the liver metabolizing fat..

So subbing in high glycemic index foods, not drinking water, and drinking alcohol, even if consuming at the 1200 calorie per day level, will get in the way of your liver's efficiency and slow down weight loss. Follow the Nutrisystem plan, and let your liver do it's job efficiently!..