Nutrisystem vs Medifast – Which is Best For You?

Trying to decide between Nutrisystem vs Medifast?

Wondering which one is best for you?

You’re not alone.

These are two of the most popular meal delivery diet plans on the market right now.

They’re both super-affordable when compared to many other diet delivery plans starting under $12 a day.

And they both have a long history of proven weight loss results – so you know they’re safe.

So how are they different? Here’s a look at the key differences between them.

 

Nutrisystem vs Medifast – Price

 

While some diet food delivery options can be fairly expensive, ranging from $25 – to $50 per day both Nutrisystem and Medifast come in much lower than that. Medifast comes in around $10.97+ per day with Free Shipping here.

Nutrisystem comes in slightly better, starting at around $8.39 a day (only if you use the coupon here – otherwise it starts around $10.50 per day).

 

 

 

Medifast Plans:

 

Medifast has 3 different plans – Go, Flex and Thrive. The Flex and Thrive plans are really slower weight loss and maintenance plans. If you want to lose weight, the Go plan is best for that as it delivers the fastest weight loss.

With the Go plan, you’ll be eating 5 Medifast Meals per day plus 1 “Lean and Green” meal. This is basically a sensible dinner of lean protein like chicken breast or fish with a side of veggies or salad.

You get 30 days of meals at one time along with a Getting Started Guide, Food Journal, Dining Out Guide and Blender bottle. You also have the option to choose gluten-free meals as well.

 

Nutrisystem Plans:

 

Nutrisystem is a bit different. There are 3 plans – Basic, Core and Uniquely Yours – all of them focusing on weight loss.

The main difference is in the customization options and the type of meals you get with each.

Nutrisystem Basic is the most affordable plan – but it doesn’t let you choose your own meals.

Nutrisystem Core lets you customize your own menu. But just as with the Basic plan, you only get Nutrisystem ready-to-eat meals (these meals do not need to be refrigerated).

The Uniquely Yours plan is the premium option and gives you full customization plus you also get a larger menu to choose from – with ready-to-go meals and fresh-frozen entrees.

 

 

These fresh-frozen entrees typically rate much higher in taste quality with dieters than the ready-to-go meals. They are much more gourmet in terms of meal quality than the ready-to-go meals.

Unlike Medifast where you have to prepare you own dinners at night, Nutrisystem gives you dinners as well as breakfasts, lunches and snacks/desserts.

You will be adding in your own smaller snacks like veggies, proteins and fruits throughout the day. But these are fairly simple and don’t require as much work as cooking a full meal.

You’ll be eating 4-5 Nutrisystem meals per day on this diet as well as 1 – 2 snacks that you add in yourself.

 

 

Nutrisystem vs Medifast – Meals

 

The meals and menu choices are fairly different between the two plans.

Medifast has fewer meals to choose from (around 60 meals) and the meals are much simpler than with Nutrisystem.

The majority of meals are bars, shakes and soups – although they do have oatmeals, puddings and even soft-baked cookies now as well.

Nutrisystem gives you more variety with over 100 different ready-to-eat meals and (once you add in the fresh-frozen entrees) over 150 different meals to choose from in total.

While there are bars and shakes on Nutrisystem, you also get comfort foods like pizza, burgers, wraps, chocolate cake, ice cream and more (and these are not just on the fresh-frozen menu either).

If you choose to go with the Uniquely Yours plan, you also get the fresh-frozen entrees which raise the bar even more.

You get to choose more gourmet meals like Italian Sausage and Turkey Pepperoni Pizza, Roasted Turkey Medallions, Caribbean Inspired Chicken with broccoli, cauliflower and green beans, Chocolate Brownie Sundaes, Red Velvet Whoopie pies and more.

So as far as meal quality, taste and variety, Nutrisystem does come out ahead of Medifast for now.

 

 

 

What About Weight Loss Results?

 

Nutrisystem has introduced a new Turbo 13 program – which is basically a special first week of the diet.

This week is designed with specialty shakes, bars and meals to get you losing weight very quickly. Turbo 13 is included with all Nutrisystem meal plans. (You then continue with your chosen Nutrisystem menu plan after this week until you reach your weight loss goal)

According to studies done by Nutrisystem you can lose up to 13 pounds and 7 inches in your first month – which is pretty amazing.

 

 

Medifast used to make more weight loss claims however they seem to have moved away from these claims over the past couple of years.

However as the Medifast diet is a very low calorie diet (about 1000 – 1200 calories per day for women), it’s pretty safe to say that you will be definitely be losing weight on this diet.

Most people lose from about 1 – 3 pounds per week on the Medifast diet. This will also depend on how strictly you stick with the program, your activity level, gender and how much weight you have to lose to begin with.

 

 

Overall, this doesn’t really mean that one diet is better than the other. I think it’s more a case of Nutrisystem has done the studies to back up their claims. Medifast does not seem to have done this – yet.

 

 

Nutrisystem vs Medifast – Customization

 

As stated above, with the 2 Nutrisystem Core and Uniquely Yours plans you get to customize your menu easily online.

So you can make sure you can choose your favorite meals – and avoid the meals you don’t like. A lot of people really like to customize their menu – after all, who wants to diet and eat food they don’t like?

 

 

You cannot customize your menu on the Nutrisystem Basic plan – or on the Medifast diet plan at all.

So in terms of customization Nutrisystem wins out here.

The only real option you have with Medifast if you want to customize is to buy your Medifast meals a la carte (which is much more expensive than buying the 30 day package).

 

 

Weight Loss Support

 

When comparing Nutrisystem vs Medifast, some people want to know what kind of support they’ll get.

Nutrisystem gives you a free app which can help you with eating out, tracking meals etc. You also get online support (website forums, email tips etc.) with any plan.

With the Core and Uniquely Yours plans you also get phone and counselling support as well.

You can call in anytime to speak with a dietitian or counsellor should you have questions or need encouragement on the diet.

Medifast offers online and phone support for any plan. So Medifast is slightly ahead of Nutrisystem in this area.

 

 

Bottom Line?

 

So which diet is best for you? This really depends on what you’re looking for.

Medifast is simple to follow and has years of experience helping people lose weight. You also get unlimited weight loss support no matter what plan you choose.

However Nutrisystem is a bit more affordable, offers a larger menu and a higher quality of meals. You also get to customize your menu with 2 of their plans – which you don’t get on Medifast.

So at the end of the day it depends on what you want.

Want to learn more?

 

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