Nutrisystem for Men: Pros, Cons, and Review

Nutrisystem for Men is part of the popular Nutrisystem diet program.

It’s targeted toward men and offers prepackaged meals and snacks that are designed to be low in calories to promote fast and convenient weight loss.

Nutrisystem for Men offers more food than the standard program.

However, the Nutrisystem program has some significant drawbacks, including its price and potentially excessive calorie restriction.

This article reviews Nutrisystem for Men, whether it works for weight loss, what foods you should eat and avoid, and its potential downsides.

What is Nutrisystem for Men?

Nutrisystem for Men is a specialized Nutrisystem program that’s tailored to men.

Men typically have higher calorie needs than women, even during weight loss (1).

Nutrisystem is a 4-week program designed to help you quickly lose weight by restricting the number of calories you eat. On Nutrisystem, you eat six small meals per day, and several of these meals and snacks are provided by Nutrisystem.

Nutrisystem-branded foods are designed to be low in calories and fat, high in fiber, and rich in protein. Other foods you may eat while on Nutrisystem should be low in fat and calories.

The system encourages people to use Nutrisystem-branded meals to comprise the bulk of their daily calorie intake throughout the duration of the program.

This eliminates the need for you to strictly track your food or calorie intake.

On the Nutrisystem for Men program, you’ll receive slightly more food each day than on the standard Nutrisystem program.

Nutrisystem for Men is part of the Nutrisystem program, which offers 4 weeks of prepackaged meals and snacks to promote fast weight loss. Nutrisystem for Men offers more food per day than the standard program.

Price

The Nutrisystem for Men plan is slightly more expensive than the standard Nutrisystem program, as it includes some extra food.

While the standard program costs $9–13 per day, depending on how much food you receive, Nutrisystem for Men costs $10–14 per day.

Nutrisystem also offers a Partner Plan for two people of any gender that costs a flat rate of $74.99 per week per person.

The Nutrisystem for Men plan costs more than the standard Nutrisystem plan because it includes more food. Expect to pay $10–14 per day.

How it works

Nutrisystem for Men offers three plans to choose from. They differ in how much food you receive each week, the level of customization you get from the program, and the variety of foods you can choose from:

• Men’s Basic: 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners, and 10 snacks per week from over 100 options
• Men’s Uniquely Yours: 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 5 dinners, and 10 snacks per week from over 160 options, you choose everything that’s included, with an additional option to “tailor to your metabolism”
• Men’s Ultimate: 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners, and 14 snacks per week, with the option to “tailor to your metabolism”

The “tailor to your metabolism” option involves answering a few extra questions about your activity level, age, and body type. It will supposedly help you lose more weight by offering recommendations to better customize your Nutrisystem meals.

Alternatively, Nutrisystem offers a vegetarian option and Nutrisystem D for people with diabetes.

If you want to select one of these options, you’ll need to choose them specifically rather than selecting the Nutrisystem for Men plan. For each of these plans, the daily cost for a man is slightly more expensive than the daily cost for a woman.

The program has three tiers based on the level of customization and quantity of food. Men also get extra food on the vegetarian plan and Nutrisystem D, though these options are not part of Nutrisystem for Men.

Foods to eat

All Nutrisystem-branded foods are fine for you to eat while you’re doing the program.

The plan also allows you to add other foods to their prepackaged meals. Here are the other foods you may choose while on the diet:

• Proteins: lean meats, beans, nuts and seeds, plant-based meats
• Fruits: bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, avocados, tomatoes
• Vegetables: cabbage, asparagus, onions, salad greens, dark leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, turnips, radishes
• Fats and oils: cooking sprays, lower calorie or plant-based spreads
• Dairy: reduced fat or skim milk, low fat yogurt, reduced fat cheeses
• Carbs: whole grain breads and pastas, brown rice, sweet potatoes, oats

On Nutrisystem for Men, you can eat any Nutrisystem-branded foods, along with lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, lower calorie fats and spreads, reduced fat dairy, and whole grains.

Foods to avoid

On the Nutrisystem for Men diet plan, you should avoid high calorie and high fat foods, including:

• Proteins: fried meats, fatty cuts, high fat processed meats like sausage or bacon
• Fruits: desserts made with fruit, like banana pudding, fruit pies, or cobblers
• Vegetables: fried vegetables or vegetables cooked in large amounts of fat
• Fats and oils: liquid oils, butter, lard
• Dairy: dairy-based desserts like ice cream and milkshakes, full fat milks, yogurts, or cheeses
• Carbs: fried potatoes, white bread, and regular pasta
• Desserts: cakes, cookies, snack cakes

Foods to avoid include high fat choices, such as fatty meats and liquid oils, and full fat dairy. Fried foods are also banned on the diet, as are refined carbs, sugary foods, and desserts, including those that contain fruit.

Is it effective for weight loss?

Nutrisystem appears to be effective for weight loss, at least for a short period.

Several studies have shown its effectiveness for weight loss. However, many of them were funded fully or partly by Nutrisystem or carried out with the assistance of Nutrisystem employees. This may have biased the results (2, 3, 4).

One Nutrisystem-funded study in 100 people with obesity and type 2 diabetes found that Nutrisystem participants lost about 16 pounds (7.3 kg) each in 6 months. Meanwhile, those in a diabetes education program lost 5 pounds (2.2 kg) in the same time frame (3).

Another 16-week Nutrisystem-funded study in 78 people noted that those on Nutrisystem had lost more weight, body fat, and inches than those following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet (4).

The DASH diet is a low fat, low sodium diet that healthcare providers often recommend to help reduce high blood pressure.

Additionally, one review of studies on several commercially available diets found that people on Nutrisystem lost about 4% more weight after 3 months on the program than people who received only diet education or counseling (5).

However, the review could not look at long-term results because all the studies it investigated were less than 1 year in duration.

It’s also important to note that these studies looked at the results of other Nutrisystem programs, including Nutrisystem D. They did not specifically investigate the results of Nutrisystem for Men, though these programs are similar.

Nutrisystem appears to help people lose weight over the short term, but these studies didn’t investigate long-term results and may have some bias. They also didn’t specifically investigate Nutrisystem for Men.

Possible downsides

There are several drawbacks to the Nutrisystem for Men program.

One of the Nutrisystem-funded studies noted that men on the program consumed an average of only 1,500 calories per day (4).

While this restriction is likely to result in short-term weight loss, it may not be sustainable for many people and even result in long-term metabolic changes that make it harder to lose weight (6).

In one small study, researchers found that people in a weight loss competition who followed short-term, extremely restrictive diets had a lower metabolic rate even years later, making it harder for them to lose weight and maintain weight loss (6).

A lower metabolic rate means they burned fewer calories at rest. A person with a lower metabolic rate does not burn as many calories per day as someone with a higher metabolic rate.

Another study estimated that people in this weight loss competition consumed an average of 1,300 calories per day and exercised vigorously for about 3 hours per day during the weight loss period (7).

It’s important to note that the people who participated in this weight loss competition went through extreme calorie restriction and weight loss over a very short period of time. Thus, the results may not apply to most people who are looking to lose weight.

Excessive calorie restriction may lead to rebound weight gain by causing changes to your hunger hormones that increase your food cravings and desire to eat (8, 9).

When it comes to Nutrisystem in particular, there’s a lack of evidence showing long-term outcomes. Few studies have investigated whether people who lost weight on Nutrisystem maintained that weight loss over long periods.

Some studies looked at the results of following Nutrisystem for 4–6 months. However, many people may find it too expensive or unrealistic to stay on Nutrisystem for Men for that long. That said, you can complete as many cycles of the 4-week program as you’d like (3, 4).

Finally, while Nutrisystem-branded foods are formulated to be low in calories and rich in fiber, they’re highly processed. Choosing more whole, minimally processed foods may be better for your overall health (10).

Nutrisystem may be too restrictive, and there’s little evidence on long-term weight loss results for participants. The Nutrisystem programs, including Nutrisystem for Men, are also expensive and encourage people to consume highly processed food.

The bottom line

While promises of quick weight loss may seem tempting, some people may not find the Nutrisystem for Men program sustainable over the long term, as it may be overly restrictive.

Even if you see great results after a round or two of the Nutrisystem program, you may regain the weight you lost very quickly after returning to your old eating habits.

For this reason, you’ll probably have more success with long-term weight loss by making small, sustainable changes to your diet and lifestyle that promote gradual weight loss.

This approach may be more sustainable over the long term, as well as reduce the likelihood you’ll regain the weight.

Beyond Nutrisystem for Men, there are many diet plans for weight loss that are tailored to people with different needs and tastes. For example, you can choose from diet plans for people who are looking for vegetarian options.

There are also effective plans for weight loss and better health if you’re living with diabetes.