Crisis management pro Jonathan Bernstein takes a low blow from Nutrisystem foods, fights back
I made a grand pronouncement on Facebook, earlier this month, that I was starting the Nutrisystem program with the goal of shedding 20 pounds. My original order had been placed by phone, and for the first couple of days I followed plan direction to the letter and found the food remarkably adequate in taste, which was OK with me, I didn’t expect more. It’s when customer experience falls below expectations set by the company that problems start. And oy, did they start! It’s funny in hindsight…no, maybe that’s not a good word to use right here…anyhow, read the following thread of email which ensued between me and personnel at Nutrisystem.
[May 17 email from Me to Nutrisystem Dietary Services]
I am a new customer who was supposed to be on the sixth day of his Nutrisystem plan, but I have had to revert to eating easily digestible foods today until the extreme gasiness I’ve been experiencing subsides.
I did some online research and discovered, to my dismay, that this condition is so common for Nutrisystem customers that it’s even been given a name – Nutritoots. But having my sleep and daytime activities interrupted by gasiness hasn’t been as funny as that name. And the same research revealed the primary culprit to be the Maltitol and related sugar alcohols you use in your snacks and some other products – and I already know that I can tolerate only a very small amount of Maltitol. Why the HECK don’t you use a non-gas-producing sweetener like Splenda or Sevia?
I can tell you that, in my case, roughage is not the issue – I am very used to large quantities of roughage.
What distresses me most is that, despite how common this condition is, I wasn’t informed of this possibility when I first enrolled and placed my first food order – both on the phone with one of your sales reps. I could have avoided the great discomfort altogether.
As I am a widely published author, I wa already planning to write about my Nutrisystem experience – it makes it a tax deduction amongst other benefits. This is NOT a good start to the story.
Please review the foods you will find listed in my first order and advise. The email address you have on record is (redacted), and the phone number is (redacted).
[Email from Dietary Services]
Hello Jonathan,
If you wish to avoid maltitol or other sugar alcohols, you can edit your order to remove them from your menu.
If you wish to exchange foods or need help editing you order please call our customer service at 1-800-585-5483
Sincerely,
Stephanie
Dietary Services
[May 18, my email reply]
Gee, Stephanie, thank you for your sympathy regarding the physical discomfort I endured unnecesarily.
How about kicking this one upstairs to the head of customer service?
[May 18 – Receiving no further assistance from Ms. Nelson, I take a different tack, researching the name and contact information for Nutrisystems’ designated contact for media and bloggers, Meredith Bandy, and sending her the following email]
Meredith, I’m bypassing customer service because (a) you have a PR problem centered in customer service and (b) I figured you’d “get it” better, clearly, than Stephanie Johnson did.
I’m a fairly well known crisis management consultant who is extremely active online – two blogs, a full slate of social media accounts, lots of activity there. Klout score = 63. And I’m also a brand-new Nutrisystem customer who was not warned of a very common and unpleasant side-effect of a number of Nutrisystem meals.
Please read the email below, in reverse chronological order, of course. I have written, frequently, about the fact that crisis prevention starts with the first contact points for customer service. If those individuals are trained to express compassion for someone’s difficulties, and empowered to implement a quick solution, then you end up with positive PR. If they do what Ms. Johnson did, you get an irate customer.
I would like a “for the record” comment from Nutrisystem about how and why I ended up on the short end of this arrangement, and what the company can do to make amends.
Best regards,
Jonathan
Jonathan Bernstein
President, Bernstein Crisis Management
Author, Keeping the Wolves at Bay & Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management
(866) 772-5552
Skype: crisis.manager
[May 20, received this reply from Meredith Bandy]
Thank you Jonathan for reaching out to me and I am sorry for the situation you are in.
Please know that I am in the process of looking into this further with the heads of our contact center and will be sure to reach back out to you as soon as we can with an update and resolution.
We value you as part of our Nutrisystem family and appreciate your patience and understanding.
Thank you again.
All the best,
Meredith Bandy
Public Relations Manager
Nutrisystem, Inc.
[I sent a polite thank you and, later that day, heard back from the head of dietary services]
Dear Jonathan,
I am sorry to read about your unpleasant experience with flatulence after consuming some of the Nutrisystem foods, as well as the lack of customer service in response to your email. The email response came across as uncaring, but please know that Nutrisystem does care about its customers and strives to make their weight loss experience a pleasant one.
While our foods are generally agreeable with most customers, once we are aware of a known sensitivity to an ingredient including sugar alcohols, we certainly make every effort to provide additional information on menu options that should be limited or avoided to assist in editing the order. More specifically, we want to make sure that you get the foods that agree with you. I’ll be happy to work with you to customize your next shipment based on your likes and dislikes as well as any intolerances. You may want to try a few more of the foods before editing your next shipment, but when you are ready, just like me know.
As for the items that you received that contain sugar alcohols, please let me know what you would like to replace them. I will have these items shipped out right away. We will also add a $25 coupon applicable to your next shipment for your inconvenience.
We appreciate your business and thank you for selecting Nutrisystem as your partner in achieving your weight loss goal. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way.
Sincerely,
Mary Gregg, R.D.
Director
Nutrition and Dietary Services Department
[Well, at least she agreed that their email response was “uncaring.” But, since they STILL hadn’t explained why customers aren’t informed, before their first order, that there are KNOWN and COMMON side effects from eating Nutrisystem meals, nor why I’d never even been asked if I had food allergies, I informed Mary Gregg that I wanted to cancel my plan. In her apologetic reply, assuring me I could return the product at no cost to me, she made a statement which reflects the company’s apparent belief that a customer’s well-being with regard to consuming Nutrisystem meals is, apparently, entirely up to the customer!]
Gregg wrote:
We depend on our customers to make us aware of any allergies or intolerances that they have, and once we are aware of a known sensitivity, including sugar alcohols, we certainly make every effort to provide additional information on menu options that should be limited or avoided to assist in editing the order.
[A final author’s note: The good news is that I’ve been able to continue dieting on my own, now down six pounds. And at least I got a good blog post/case history out of this experience. And when I took the large quantity of Nutrisystems meals to my local private postal service, the clerk there said, “Oh, we see this stuff getting shipped back very regularly!”]
[OK, I lied, that wasn’t my final note. I *fully* expect readers to have kinds of smart-assed…ummm….humorous comments on this. They are welcomed!!]
Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management (McGraw-Hill).
Comments 60
JB – sorry about your issue adjusting to the food, and really sorry about the customer care experience you had. There is clearly a break down in the process. Sadly, as maddening as this is, it seems to happen more and more to us as consumers. We never know whether we’re speaking to a robot (auto-responder), human who can only work from a script or is located overseas and doesn’t have strong language skills, or a real person who is truly paying attention.
Author
I agree, Nora. Smart companies realize that every customer service person is a PR rep for the entire company, and train them accordingly.
Now I find this!! Who knew? As I sit here in my second week of NUTRISYSTEM feeling like I am giving birth to a Volkswagen…horrible stomach cramps for three days and the big D as well. This would be a much tastier way to do a colonoscopy prep in the future…
Down 5 lbs but a lesson learned. thankfully I did not do the huge month box- just out about $90 for two weeks buying the 5day kits from Amazon.
I can do this portion control on my own now. Arghhhhhh
Jonathan — sorry about your problems, but what a great story for my Risk Comm classes! I use some of your other publications and website as examples. already. This kind of thing humanizes the author. Don’t you think? :-)
Author
Absolutely, Valeri! And I use my sense of humor to pre-screen potential clients too – those without a funny bone probably wouldn’t want to hire me! Those who like seeing a “real person” and not just a “business persona” are the ones I like to work with.
Jonathan:
While you’re right that they weren’t exactly sympathetic, they did at least try to help you.
I was reading your story and feeling a bit sheepish; you sound as though you approached this in much the way I did when I had a bad experience last October with the airline Virgin America. And I was a little uncomfortable as I read; it seems that when I’m reading someone else doing the kind of thing I did it comes off to me the way I came off to many people (see https://answerguy.com/2012/10/17/virgin-america-customer-service/)
Looking forward to seeing if they make you feel any better about all this …
Author
Jeff, thanks for your comment. I think they had no choice other than to help me, but (a) their help was uncompassionate and inadequate and (b) would have been completely unnecessary if they had simply disclosed, up front, a known issue with their products. It was a preventable crisis.
I was on the original nutrisystem many years ago and although the foods were kind of limited, they did not contain any maltitol, sorbitol, or any other sugar alcohol. My sister and I along with 2 friends and my husband all joined together, and we all did remarkably well. I went from a size 11-12 to a size 2 ! We all stayed on the “maintenance” program for another year and a half and then went on our own. We maintained our weight for several years and then started getting a bit careless and started to put back most of the weight again. My husband and I rejoined and both immediately began to get bouts of diarrhea, bloat, flatulence, stomach cramps, among other discomforting symptoms. We noticed that when we stopped eating nutrisystem foods all symptoms stopped, we called the company and asked what was going on with the food and we were told that probably it was due to the sugar alcohol that they now used and to give it a chance to “kick in.” We tried for another few months but I almost ended up in a hospital with dehydration from all the diarrhea and my husband missed many days of work because of the stomach cramps and excessive flatulence. When we were told to make other choices that did not contain sugar alcohols, we simply canceled membership because there wasn’t much we could order. This company must stop telling people that these symptoms are rare and only happen to few people because this is false! A blatant lie!!! It happened to both of us and many of our acquaintences. How about getting rid of those toxic ingredients and using plain sugar in lower quantities as I am now doing. Splenda and all those sugar substitutes are all toxic. In addition, my husband and my sister started suffering from high blood pressure after eating the gazillion amounts of sodium in that food. NS must allow people to lose weight in a more healthy manner! People should not have to sacrifice their health (at a time when they are very vulnerable) in order to lose weight! Also, they should be forwarned about the sugar alcohols so they have a better idea of what they are getting into from the onset!!!!
I too, have used Nutrisystem in the past with much success. I started back after a few years of not being on the program and gas and diarrhea started immediately. I called and they said give it a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks and the problem was to the point of regular food would not stay in me. I am now under a doctors care to try to get my system back to normal. They should have warnings on their food!
I went on Nutrisystem to lose 10 pounds. I lost much more. 3 weeks ago I finished the first 7 days of this program. I began experiencing abdominal discomfort which transformed into a full blown crippling abdominal attack on day 7. I woke to extreme abdominal cramping, gas, sweating, bloating etc. After 4 days I was in the Dr. s office. I was diagnosed with severe diverticulitis, or so we thought. I was put on 2 very intense antibiotics for 12 days. Not knowing it was related to Nutrisystem, I continued to eat their foods while closely monitoring what I was eating. I had to force myself to eat due to extreme nausea. 3 weeks later and 2 weeks of being out of work because of the abdominal pain I ended up in the hospital and a CT scan.
The CT scan show NO DIVERTICULITIS, which left my Dr. puzzled. While it was good news, it did show irritation in my appendix. After going carefully thru all that I was eating the light went on! I had never had any abdominal issues and the only difference in my diet was Nutrisystem!
I called the company and they seemed to be quite aware of this issue. They did offer to let me send back the new box of food, and any food unopened for full refund. THey also said that they would put those foods on a 72 hour recall? The person on the phone stated some folks have a hard time with the sugar alcohols. Issues is putting it mildly. I missed 2 weeks of work, 4 dr. visits and finally CT scan in the hospital all to figure out where this sudden dramatic abdominal pain was coming from.
Final conclusion of my doctors and myself: Nutrisystem. It was the only difference in my diet that could explain this massive bloating, gas, pain, nausea and cramping. It has been 2 days since I packed it all up and called it quits with Nutrisystem. I no longer have cramping but still much nausea which could be due to the heavy antibiotics i had to go on. It was no worth it…..the cost for the doctor visits, hospital, scans and medications way exceeded any benefits. I decided my health is the most important thing and nutrisystem clearly put that in harms way. In all, I did find it easy to do, the foods were not that bad. It is still crazy to me that they can send full chicken breast with beans etc. in a package that requires NO freezing! There must be some insane preservatives in their food.
Notice your abdomen area while on this should you still decide to give it a try. The FIRST sign of discomfort STOP before you end up in the hospital like I did! Now I just shop correctly, eat the right portions and hit the gym to maintain my weight!
The result show
I started Nutrisystem and immediately started feeling stomach discomfort such as gas, bloating, constipation. It’s been 3 weeks and it seems to be getting worse. I called and spoke to a counselor and told me it could be from the Sugar Alcohol and avoid certain foods. I’m not willing to proceed and end up in the hospital with worse symptoms. I’ve lost a few lbs already and should be able to do this on my own without their food.
This thread has helped me tremendously! I was so proud to lose 21 pounds in the last 5 mos. on Nutrisystem, but my digestive system is a mess! I’ve been put on a BRAT diet … doctors orders … and am taking pantoprozol for stomach cramping and IBS and diahrrhea. Love the weight loss. Hate the side effects!
Mr. Bernstein, thank you so much for using your fame to expose Nutrisystem. I’m in bed as I’m typing this response in great discomfort from using Nutrisystem. I googled side effects of Nutrisystem and found you. I noticed after two days of eating from its Fast Five box I purchased from Wal Mart some discomfort. I attributed the extreme bloat to juice. So I cut it out. Well today after eating only Nutrisystem food I searched on line for its side effects. I’m miserable but at least I know the culprit of my pain. I can’t get a refund because I purchased it from WalMart and have eaten half of its contents before pinpointing where my pain was coming from. Again thank you so much!!!
Author
Tiffany, thanks for your comment and I’m sorry that, like me, you had to learn the hard way!
Jonathan
My cousin was on Nutrisystem and developed stomach cancer over a period of three months. She didn’t even need to lose much weight. This stuff isn’t food. Unfortunately we didn’t notice soon enough, and she was uncurable.
People need to know the truth
My husband was on Nutrisystem for one year. He now has stage 4 stomach cancer that we are battling. I also have a friend from high school that was on Nutrisystem and she has the same diagnosis. I would be interested in talking to anyone with this diagnosis.
Thank You
Jayme
Hi Jonathan. I had a similar experience with NutriSystem but it took me much longer to figure it out. I should have known to look at the ingredients before ordering any of their food! I had a big problem with sugar-free cookies several years ago. What an absolutely miserable experience! Needless to say, I quit NS completely and will not try it again until and unless they remove sugar alcohols from their foods.
I mentioned the problem to my older daughter, and she said she’d had the same problem with Malitol in NS foods and other grocery store foods. Then my younger daughter joined the conversation affirming she, too, had a problem with Malitol. All three of us started reading labels of all our food purchases and are doing everything we can to avoid all sugar alcohols. It’s tough for two of us since we’re diabetic – one is Type 1 and the other Type 2. My younger daughter just wants to avoid eating much sugar.
Thanks for your blog. Although it’s not a pleasant topic, and the reaction to Malitol is certainly unpleasant, it’s good to know that my family is not alone in such negative experience with sugar alcohols, Malitol in particular. I’ve been trying to find statistics about the commonality of sensitivity to Malitol and other sugar alcohols. Do you happen to know of any websites to try?
Thank you.
Cindy, sorry your daughters had similar experience. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any websites that would be useful to you.
Best regards,
Jonathan
I just started NS today, I was perfectly fine yesterday no cramps, dizziness or anything! Today however is a completely different story, I get sick really easily and am very sensitive when it comes to my body so I know when something is up and today something was definitely wrong. After the “breakfast” i had consumed I began to get stomach pains and thought it might just be hunger pains or something but nope I started to become very dizzy and lethargic so I decided to do a little bit of Internet magic and boom! Stomach pains, gas, nausea ect. I’m canceling my program tomorrow, and just eating healthy and in smaller portions. I’m usually the type of person who goes all day without eating which is where my problem lies. So from now on I’m just gonna eat normal every day and forget this fake crap before I end up spending money on doctors
After week of Diarrhea, I “googled Diarrhea Nutri System. Wow was I surprised what came up. I think I am just going to throw this stuff out because I cannot keep it in me more than 30 minutes. It is a crime that they do not put warnings on their products.
Thank you Jonathan..
I have about 10lbs to loose and tried the 5 day product a month ago. I thought maybe I’m having more veggies/fruit causing the gas and bloating (though I do always eat lots of veggies and salad?)
So I started another course 3 days ago. I am experiencing the same troublesome symptoms but much worse this time. Extreme gas, bloating. Plus dizziness, trouble concentrating. I’m on day 3 and quitting today. I will research Maltitol and sugar alcohols; never used sugar alcohols before.
Thank you again, I think increasing exercise and watching what I eat are the way to go.
Thank you, Jonathan!! I searched the web on NS and food-borne illness and found your blog. Tonight, I had a severe attack of diarrhea after eating NS Chicken Alfredo. I almost called an ambulance! At least now I know what’s going on.
Gratefully,
Su Llewellyn
I’m using NS and started a week ago. The food tastes like cardboard. Today by lunchtime my stomach was cramping horribly, I was nauseous, and the gas was extreme. Slight case of diarrhea. Over the weekend I bought other items to offset the NS with, such as applesauce, chicken salad, prepackaged jello, etc., and will be doing a combination of NS and other foods. Hopefully this will keep the symptoms down. But, if they don’t go away immediately, I know now to discontinue NS completely. The food is just not tolerable at all to me, the most horrible tasting food I’ve ever eaten. The only thing edible is the Chocolate Muffin and the Bagel, so far. The only good thing about it is my clothes are already a lot looser.
Hi Jonathan! I know that I have issues with sugar alcohols and avoid them when I can. I used Nutrisystem sucessfully about 8 years to lose 10 pounds and decided to try it again recently. They must have changed their food formulations since because I had GI symptoms within three days of starting the program. I scanned the labels, wondering how I could have missed “sugar alcohols” in the nutrition information only to realize that the offending malitol and glycerine are not listed as such. It just says “sugars”. I had to read the entire list of ingredients to see that I was indeed eating sugar alcohols. I agree, more needs to be done on NS’s end to warn customers of potential effects of the food. More also needs to be done with labels rules regarding foods containing sugar alcohols. Thanks for your article and sharing your experience.
Thanks for helping me weed this out! I know from years of dieting that I cannot tolerate sugar alcohols. Unlike competitors, NS does not list sugar alcohols in the top box nutritional summaries as a type of carbohydrate, so they don’t make it easy for consumers to find out if there is a risk. During my customer service interactions, I was emailed two internal documents that detail the sugar alcohol content in the products that contain more than “little or trace” amounts. It looks like it’s about 15% of the total menu, and as I expected, mostly snacks and sweeter breakfast items. (It was a muffin that made me violently ill my first day.) I don’t want to assume people’s intentions, but because the doc exists and given its contents, it’s clear that they know this is a problem for people. Honestly, just better product labeling would have allowed me to make a more informed decision. I’m finishing my 28 days and then I’m going to try a different option (Seattle Sutton maybe?) to compare. Thanks again!
I completed my first day of nutrisystem today and am suffering from gas and stomach cramps. Although I do not have diarrhea I am sure today has cleaned my system out. How embarrassing! I have spent a good amount of time in the bathroom. I plan to call and try to return the unused portion. Thank you for your post and the informative information. What a awful side effect. I will try to restrict calories on my own.
I am on day 5 Turbo takeoff and today is day #3 that I have a headache, dizziness and trouble concentrating…. Probably I will stop tomorrow…
I started with headache, bloating and stomach pain on day 2 when I was on Turbo takeoff, I stopped when I was on day 5 because of my symptoms got worse: severe headache, migraine, burning in my head, dizziness, disorientation, hard to concentrate and stomach pain…. It’s crazy. Now second day that I am not eating Nutrisystem but my stomach is very painful and still I have migraine. What kind of poison they add to food???
NurtisystI had exactly the same as you did. Finally had to stop I got on weight watchers and buy their meals. They don’t effect me adversely .
I could eat a truck tire covered in tabasco with a side of beans and not have even a hint of stomach trouble. Cajun, Mexican, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, no problem. A cast iron stomach. Started NS yesterday…. all I can say is OMG!!! I’m going out to get a Big Mac as an antidote.
Sir, I am so grateful for your article! For three weeks, I have been experiencing severe stomach pain, agonizing gas pain, and alternating constipation and diarrhea. I have also been on NutriSystem for three weeks. But I very foolishly did not make the connection until today. I was planning to go to the doctor, because I have always had a “cast iron” stomach and never experienced anything like this before. I will attempt to get some money back for the unused foods. This has been a very expensive lesson to learn. I’m switching to Weight Watchers. Again, thanks for sharing your experience.
I started NS about 4 weeks ago. I have been so sick and I live in the bathroom!!! I told my husband something in the food is making me sick and he said maybe you have a bug! I decided to look up other issues people have posted and wow shocking. I am calling tomorrow to cancel my NS.
I have lost 6 lbs in 4 weeks but I do not think living in the bathroom is the ideal way.
Issues are as followed:
Bloated stomach
Severe gas
Diarrhea
Nausea
Headaches
Not worth it for me to continue.
Thanks to everyone that posted their experience.
Boy, now I have images of Marie Osmond farting.
Dear Mr Bernstein,
Thank you for saving me a lot of pain, discomfort, and aggravation.
I decided at the beginning of the year to start Nutrisystem around the beginning of May, in time for summer. For some reason I decided to Google info on Nutrisystem and Diarrhea, as this is something I have been frightening for many years.
After reading your review/blog, and all the comments from people who experienced the same symptoms, I consider myself very lucky.
Thank you…and everyone else, for taking the time to share your story.
I hope Nutrisystem will figure out a way to modify their ingredients and make this product safe for all…
Marianne
My husband did Nutrisytem for a year. He now has Stage 4 stomach cancer. I also have a friend who did the program for one year and she has the same diagnosis. They are both getting chemotherapy.
I would love to hear from anyone else that has been diagnosed with Stomach cancer from this stuff.
I have been on the plan for 2 1/2 months, and not only am I having stomach issues but also having muscle cramping and pain that I never had before starting the program. I researched it a bit, and the brown sugar oatmeal that I was eating contains an ingredient called lo han. (Not Lindsay :)
In researching it further, it is actually monk fruit, which they give to people who are constipated to get things “moving”. When I reached out to customer service, I did not get much sympathy or assistance. I ended up having to throw rest of them out. My son and I regularly donate to food banks, etc., but I would not do that to anyone. I have also started experiencing muscle aches and pains that I never had before starting the program. I feel nauseated and lethargic all the time. And doing a little further research, many of their foods contain lactic acid. I read that a buildup of lactic acid in the body can exacerbate fibromyalgia, as well as provoke panic attacks. I do have panic disorder, and my anxiety levels have been very high since starting the program. I am also getting quite sick of all of the tomato-based foods. I am a vegetarian, and granted I would have a wider variety of foods were I not a vegetarian, but I was eating a lot “cleaner” before starting the program. My problem has always been portion control, so I thought NUTRISYSTEM would be the perfect answer. I did pretty well for the first month, but now I am having a difficult time overcoming the side effects of all of the fillers and artificial ingredients. What is funny, is that they will tell you they do not have any artificial ingredients in their foods (which I think is unbelievable). They also told me that they would help me choose foods lower in sodium, but many of the foods are extremely high in sodium. This month, I switched to the “a la cart” program. It was $34 to join for three months, and I get free shipping and a 20% discount on anything I order. They failed to tell me that you have to have a $50 minimum order. They seem to “forget” to disclose a lot of information until after the fact. I ordered my breakfasts, lunches, and a few snacks for the next month, and will make my own healthy dinners. I will see how it goes – I am choosing the foods with no lactic acid, and definitely no lo han!
I tried Nutrisystem for two months in October and November 2016 I had diarrhea and stomach problems the entire time. Went to the doctor in January still having problem. I had and still have diverticulitis, looks like surgery is ahead for me. Has this happen to any else?
Started using the system yesterday with a breakfast muffin, and was instantly tootilicious. Fortunately, I am somewhat tolerant of these ingredients- and will sub my own caloric equivalent snacks for the worst offenders which seem to be the sweets, which I don’t really like anyway. It is a shame, because there are tons of these alcohol sweetened items in each shipment, and if you are susceptible to the ingredients, you can get sick easily.
I have begun to feel not only “fart- ish” but having significant nausea. Have you had any tweets regarding this?
DO NOT EAT NUTRISYSTEM!
I just had the worst experience with a Nutrisystem rep on the phone, I’m still shaking. I’ve been on this food for 4 days, Once I told her I was having migraines and SEVERE gas (kept me up for 3 nights) she became rude and told me she’s never heard of that. I finally hung up after she put me on death hold, called back spoke to a nice man and cancelled! . This food will make you sick. I feel so greatful for this article! I called to cancel after I read it.
About 15 years ago I went on Nutrisystem and in 3 months lost 15 pounds without any side effects . . . or so I thought. Two months later I woke up one morning and noticed two lumps in my right breast. I had surgery to remove lumps and they were benign. About 10 months later I began having unusual bleeding with my cycle, then excessive bleeding, then one day I was admitted for emergency surgery to remove an elongated dense tumor from my uterus that my doctor thought could have been growing for about a year. The weight of it was pulling on the wall of my uterus near a main artery. Had it broken loose, I could have bled to death. There is no way to know for sure if Nutrisystem food caused the tumors but I will never do another weight loss program where I’d have to eat their food. I’ve remained healthy and not had anymore tumors.
WOW. I realize this is a really old post… however I just started Nutrisystem and I’m on day 8. I’ve experienced the exact thing with additional problems. Extreme diarrhea as well. Nutrisystem came off as not caring and now I’ve had to shell out 180$ to my doctor to figure out what is going on. That food has completely torn me up. I don’t know rather to keep eating it because I spent so much money on it or if I should cancel. They told me they will charge me 125$ to cancel. To me that is a rip-off. The only reason I’m loosing any weight is because I am on day 8 of extreme diarrhea. I’m sorry. But that’s what is happening. Stomach pains and discomfort is no way to go about life. So curious if they charged you the 125 cancellation fee as well. I enjoyed your post. So how did you loose the weight after stopping Nutrisystem? My exercise is pretty good I walk everyday and ride stationary bike every day as well. I walk about 14K steps or more a day so that’s the only thing working for me right now. I need to loose about 60 pounds. The only thing I liked about Nutrisystem was that my food was prepared for me. Other then that I hate it and I am miserable.
puhleeze. Tell them you will send the $125 fee through your lawyer as he investigates the case. If it made you sick, how dare they try to charge you to cancel? You’re not cancelling because you had a change of heart, you got sick. They’re lucky they don’t get the medical bills.
I have found this sight very helpful. I have been on NS. for about 8 months now . took 1 month off after my 1st 3 mo supply. due to cost. I also experienced the gas and bloating issue but also with severe constipation. I am prone to constipation so never really put 2 and 2 together. I have bloodwork done every 6 months due to osteoporosis. Well 6 months ago my bloodwork came back with borderline anaemia. (14) had my usual blood test done 4 weeks ago and it has dropped to a 7, NOT VERY GOOD. colonoscopy came back ok, 1 polop present but no reason why iron level is so low. just had an endoscopy done today with a capsule camera placed in my small intestine to view the 21 feet of intestinal tract that can only be viewed that way. initial view of endoscopy shows tiny ulcers in stomach, raw and inflamed esophagus. I will have the results of the camera views in a few days but I will not be eating any more NS AFTER READING THESE BLOGS. I will post again once my results are in. thanks for sharing everyone.
I decided to order some “test” foods from Walmart to see how the food tasted before signing up with Nutrisystem. Boy am I glad I didn’t just join! Although I am out the $$ for the food I order from Walmart, at least I won’t have to go through the customer service hassle that so many have commented on. All I ate of NS food was a muffin for breakfast for two days. From the first day, I had headaches, stomach pain, bloating, and severe gas — just from those two little muffins! Then I started researching on line to see if anybody else was having this issue, and that’s when I found this forum. I will NOT be eating any more food from NS — not ever!
Ok – I searched for Nutrisystem and digestive problems and found this blog. It is April 28, I am just about done with week two after the Fast Five first week. Ordered from qvc. Well I have been spending this whole day home near the bathroom, after waking up 3 am with abdominal stress and discomfort . It must be the alcohol sugars and all of the preservatives. I tried NS for portion control. It does help with that but getting sick with extreme leakage, gas, bloat and discomfort is not worth it. I am cancelling next order now.
I know this is an old article, however, I just started NutriSystem today and have had extreme bloating, gas, and headaches. I researched the topic and found this article. Now I’m afrsid to continue in fear I’ll just get worse. I’m gonna call NS tomorrow and cancel; I must have a sensitivity to that darn sugar.
I googled Nutrisystem sickness and found this blog. Thank God! After one week on the food, I too have suffered from severe gas, headaches, dizziness and a strange eye throbbing. I canceled the program immediately. One rep tried to get me to stay by emailing me a list of foods with sugar alcohols, but I’m playing it safe and stopping while I can. I’m so sorry for all of you who also experienced illness. Especially those who have been diagnosed with cancer and those who’ve had to be hospitalized. Maybe a class action lawsuit is inorder.
I tried NS because our brother-in-law had lost 50 lbs by using it. Although it’s convenient, the food tastes awful and the gas, bloating, and abdominal pain was unbearable. Way too many carbs. Then we learned that our brother-in-law gained most of the weight back. No good plan for transitioning to real food. Trying 17 day diet. Make more sense to take the time to make and eat food without artificial sweeteners and the like.
I ordered a month’s worth of Diabetes Uniquely Yours Plan I’m not diabetic I was just hoping to avoid the blood sugar spikes and carb loaded crap. Well since that is what is cheap and they can develop it with a bazillion year shelf life that is what you get. The food is loaded with carbs and garbage! So how do people loose weight well with it? Simply you eat it by the teaspoon full. You are eating crap but in small doses. For me I’d simply stick to the small portions, but for the money I can afford quality non processed food.
I also am aware that this is a very old post, but wanted to add my two cents. I decided to try the Nutrisystem system for one month only to try to quickly shed 10 pounds That I’ve gained over the last year. I would never have ordinarily done this because I know how to cook healthy meals. I’ve always loved to cook and have maintained a healthy weight. Then, my husband died. At first, I lost a few pounds, but then I stopped caring. healthy meals became fast food because I didn’t feel like cooking and my portion size nearly doubled. Anyway , a year later I said enough is enough! I’ve been doing Nutrisystem now for about 9 days, and I have actually lost two and a half pounds, but the gas has been incredible! I haven’t had any stomach pain, because I guess I’m one of the lucky duckies whose body decides to get that gas out. Did I say lucky ducky? I have had the most copious amounts of the nastiest stinkiest gas I have ever had in my life! I have become a full-blown farting machine! I can barely stand myself. Now I know why. I’m going to finish this food because I joined for one month only and paid $600 for one month’s food. I’ve done a lot of research now and I’m going to try Beano to help counteract my symptoms and hope to God that it helps. the only good thing that has come out of this is that I know I can do this without Nutrisystem, same as I knew that before. I was looking for a quick and easy fix, but this sure ain’t it! Run!
Jonathan,
I also experienced much more gas than normal. I thought it might be something else but after reading your blog, I realize it must be NutriSystem meals. My problem deals much more with customer service and the website. I needed to login to adjust my next month’s menu but had a great deal of difficulty and frustration. By the time I stopped trying to gain access, frustratingly unsuccessful, I wanted to just cancel my NutriSystem account. I finally called the NutriSystem number for customer service and having been extremely frustrated, I wanted to just cancel my order all together. However, when I called the representative was completely insensitive to my frustration (and anger by this point) she just basically laughed at me on the phone. My account was never closed by the representative. Here is the message I sent:
“customerservice@nutrisystem.com
EXTREMELY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!
I joined NutriSystem in March of this year, almost 6 months now. The other day I tried to gain access to my account to no avail. I tried a number of times to login but your system would not accept my login name or password. I tried everything to gain access and was then required to use CAPTCHA. After trying to login at least a dozen times the system required CAPTCHA which I tried no less than a dozen times. YOUR SYSTEM WOULD NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING I DID AND I DID NOT CHANGED ANYTHING TO GAIN ACCES TO MY ACCOUNT!! Since I never was able to gain access to my account, I called NutriSystem ready and willing to cancel my subscription/plan due to the frustration and increasing anger. Whoever the “woman” was that answered offered no help whatsoever and WOULD NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING I SAID AND WAS VERY RUDE! SHE KEPT ASKING ME WHY! I DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY I MAY WANT TO CANCEL!!! She kept saying “you want to cancel because you couldn’t signin?” She was condescending which made me even more frustrated and angry which is SOMETHING NOONE SHOULD HAVE TO PUT UP WITH FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! SHE ALSO TRIED TO TELL ME THAT NUTRISYSTEM WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR WEBSITE!!!! RIDICULOUS! She finally put me on hold and said “ I will put you on hold for a moment”. Exact words. FOR A MOMENT??? I said OK but when TEN MINUTES PASSED AND SHE DID NOT COME BACK ON THE LINE. I HAD TO HANG UP!!!! SHE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR ME EXCEPT TO IGNORE A PAYING CUSTOMER AND MAKE ME EVEN MORE ANGRY, FRUSTRATED AND WANTING TO CANCEL!!
If this is how NutriSystem treats customers then I will certainly cancel my plan. IF this NutriSystem “representative” is typical of your company then people need to know that NUTRISYSTEM WILL LAUGH IN THEIR FACE, BE EXTREMELY RUDE AND WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR PRODUCT, WEIGHT LOSS PLANS, WEBSITE, ANY FLAWS IN THE SYSTEM OR FOR THE WAY CUSTOMERS ARE TREATED!!!!
I really want to give NutriSystem a chance to redeem themselves after the callousness and ignorance of this representative. ALSO, THE PERSON THAT HANDLED MY CALL SHOULD BE FIRED FOR LAUGHING AT FRUSTRATED CUSTOMERS AND BEING RUDE ONLY “THROWING GAS ON A FIRE “ THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN STARTED IN THE FIRST PLACE!
WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THIS MESS AND DO THEY KNOW HOW THEIR EMPLOYEES TREAT CUSTOMERS/CLIENTS??
This call was made Thusday, July 26th at 4:02pm.
Please answer this e-mail with a positive answer and not just an automated message.
Sullivan C”
The message I sent, when I felt a little more calm, has not been answered at all. Also, my account was not canceled. I am waiting for a reply but now I do not expect one. The only answer I received was an automated answer because I flagged the message to notify me when it was delivered. It was! I hope this adds to your blog and maybe others will be made aware of the callousness of NutriSystem.
(Please do not print my name in your blog)
Thank you all for sharing your experiences eating NS. I ordered it from QVC after hearing the glowing reviews. QVC is great, no hassle to return and cancel but still find the fact that NS representatives didn’t disclose the sugar alcohol potential sensitivity during the long sales pitch. I tried several of the products in the 5day box and didn’t connect the dots to NS rather thought it was additional veggies causing stomach and gas’s issues. Today, while home from work sick and having been up since 2am because of stomach issues, thank God l Googled Maltitol at 3am and found this and other information that helped me understand the root cause of my illness. I knew sugar free gum affected me but didn’t realize this food was loaded with it. QVC said return it and they canceled the auto shipment so it is beneficial to have a company between NS and me. I’ll never trust what I hear about any diet food without reviewing for sugar alcohol ingredients again. God forbid this contributed to the stomach cancer folks have reported in this thread but it does sound very suspect that the two events coincided. There needs to be an official study to determine safety and if found to be the cause full compensation is warranted but how can anyone be compensated for such pain and suffering and/or ruined health ? Very disappointed and very concerned after reading these comments. It’s also very embarrassing because at work the last couple of days it was as if I smelled gass all the time even when not obviously releasing it and have noticed my stomach has been making regular gurgling noises. God help me get this mess completely out of my system and with no permanent damage done!
Since I started nutrisystem last month, I’ve been having stomach cramps and a lot of gas. Today, I felt quite ill after consuming their meals and snacks. I have already sent an email to their customer service and would call them tomorrow. I feel quite uncomfortable and regret starting this system. Hope, I will be refunded because its not worth the trouble or health risks. Dear God please heal me from inside out.
I started program 8days ago and have had nause, diarrhea, extreme bloating since day one. I called to inquire and Cancell any further shipments and encounter cold uncaring service. They told me some people do experience same problems asi did but some do not. I cancelled, I did not want to send back any packages for my own convenience and I was told to trash everything.
No sorry for my experience, no sympathy, just “go away attitude”
I gave read most of these comments and thought I’d add another view. Before starting NS I had IBS for probably 20 years or so. Since I’ve been on Nutrisystem, I have lost 35 pounds and have had just one IBS episode and that was when I ate some greasy eggs st a diner. Yes, I have gassiness but no bloating or cramps. I guess I’m one of the fortunate for whom NS did exactly what they said it would.
Glad the Maltitol didn’t affect you negatively. I’ve never had any digestive issues until I started Nutrisystem. Food was good, I was surprised. Then the “nutritoots” started which was followed by very loose bowels enough of an issue that I went to my doctor who immediately told me it was the Maltitol they use as a sweetener. PLEASE RESEARCH prior to going on this program. I did lose about 10 lbs but think probably it was from food passing through my system quickly. Nutrisystem was not for me.
I was on Nutrisystems for two months. Stopped using their food in the beginning of December. It is January now and still having major gas problems. Can be very embarrassing when out in public or with friend.
Jonathan, you may never see this reply because it’s now 2020 and I see most of the replies are from a much earlier time. I write this on my fourth day of NS, and I am experiencing increasing nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea. After reading all of these comments, I realize what it is. I called and canceled my NS immediately. The lady from customer service was very nice. She told me she thought it was the fibers and proteins that were causing my problems, but I told her I thought it was a sugar alcohols. She didn’t say anything to that.
I have been on Weight Watchers for over a year and have lost and kept off 31 pounds but I sort of was at a stalemate with WW so I decided to try NS to lose the remaining 20 pounds. Let me tell you all. Weight Watchers is the way to go! You eat real food but you learn portion control and they highly recommend exercise and water intake to help you lose your weight. It isTHEE best way to lose weight and keep it off. I will be returning to WW ASAP.
Thank you for all of everyone’s comments and for this post Jonathan.
Thanks for this blog post and all the great comments. I was up reading it at 3:00 am as I had the most severe heartburn ever. I’ve been on Nutrisystem for 5 weeks and have lost 6 pounds (a good thing) but now realize my sleep problems are due the gas and heartburn. I had read about the gas and digestive issues and could handle them but NOT the searing heartburn. Someone on the post also mentioned muscle aches…which also impacted me…thought my yoga was causing the problem but realize the muscle pain appeared after a few weeks on Nutrisystem. I actually liked the food along with the easy preparation and portion control but I had to cancel today. Was very easy to do.