Flex Meals & The Nutrisystem Meal Plan Explained

Article posted in: Nutrisystem
Salmon with mixed veggies and lemon for Nutrisystem Flex meals

Here at Nutrisystem, we don’t just want to help you lose weight and live healthier right now, we want to teach you healthy habits so you can maintain your weight loss success for the rest of your life. That’s why the diet plan includes Flex Meals—meals you create using guidelines we provide. Once you wrap up your first week, you’ll get to create two healthy Flex breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks each week so you can practice healthy cooking and get prepared for life after Nutrisystem. (Check out the Flex Meals section of our Recipe Center for some delicious and simple Flex Meal ideas!).

So how do you know what to include in your Flex Meals on the Nutrisystem plan?

What you make for your Flex Meal depends upon the meal occasion. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks all have different guidelines. Check out the graph below for a quick overview of what your Flex meals should contain. Please note that if you are on a personalized program and use NuMi SmartAdapt™, these numbers will not apply to you. Find your specific PowerFuel and SmartCarb goals in the NuMi app.

Flex Meals chart for men and women

On a personalized meal plan? Click here! >

If you’re still a bit fuzzy on what SmartCarbs and PowerFuels are, check out this article for more details on each category.

What the Heck Are SmartCarbs and PowerFuels, Anyway?

Read More

Regardless of your gender, you should always strive to include one to two servings of non-starchy vegetables at every Flex Meal occasion. This will help you feel full and will get you closer to your daily goal of eating at least four servings of veggies. And don’t forget, you can add in as many Free Foods as you’d like, along with some Extras (just don’t exceed three Extras a day). Need help understanding the difference between Free Foods and Extras? We’ve got you covered here! >

If you opted for a Nutrisystem plan that includes seven days of food each week, you don’t have to worry about Flexing. Just stick to your Nutrisystem foods for each meal occasion!

The Great Debate: Is It an Extra or a Free Food?

Read More

So what should you make?

To build your Flex Meals, you’ll want to consult with your Nutrisystem Grocery Guide to determine which SmartCarbs and which PowerFuels you’d like to include. Check out the images below for some examples of meals you could make using the specified guidelines. Or, if you’d rather not fuss, just visit our Flex Meals section in the Recipe Center for some delicious and easy recipes that fit perfectly into your diet plan!

Get some Flex meal inspiration below:

Snacks

Women and men follow the same guidelines for Flex snacks, so these are some options for both:

Flex Snack Ideas for Men and Women

Breakfast

If you are a man or woman making a Flex breakfast, you might make:

Breakfast Flex Meal Ideas for Men and Women

Lunch

If you are a woman making a Flex lunch, you might make:

Lunch Flex Meal Ideas for Women

If you are a man making a Flex lunch, you might make:

Lunch Flex Meal Ideas for Men

Dinner

If you’re a man or woman making Flex dinners, you might make:

Flex Dinner Ideas

Ready, Set, Flex!

Ready to fix your first Flex meal? Check out the Flex Meal section of our Recipe Center for some great ideas! We’ve also included some delicious meal inspiration below:

If you’re dining out at a restaurant for your Flex meal, be sure to take a look at our Nutrisystem Dining Out Guide. Get tips and tricks for ordering different types of cuisines, as well suggestions at a variety of popular restaurants! We also have plenty of dining out tips for each meal occasion below:

Have more Nutrisystem questions? Click the link below for answers to our top 10 frequently asked questions!:

The Top FAQs About Nutrisystem

Read More