Seattle Sutton’s vs. Nutrisystem 2023: Weight Loss Meal Battle

Losing weight is anything but easy, simple, or straightforward. That’s where a meal delivery service focused on weight loss can help. In this Seattle Sutton’s vs. Nutrisystem comparison, you’ll find out if either of these services can help you lose weight more effortlessly than on your own.

But you might be wondering which one of these comes out on top as the winner. Fortunately, my team and I have researched, analyzed, and validated both to figure this out. I’ve taken many factors into consideration when making my decision. For instance, you’ll find out how they compare in terms of price, menu variety, customization, and more.

Overall, I’ve found Nutrisystem to be the winner. For one,  it offers far more variety and lower overall prices. It also offers many more meal plans to suit various needs, personalized, 1-on-1 weight loss coaching for ongoing success, and an app to help you keep track of your progress.

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety

Winner: Seattle Sutton’s

In terms of sheer variety, there’s no denying that you’ll find more at Nutrisystem. However, I really don’t think that that paints the entire picture. For example, you’ll find that lots of the meals are similar and that most of them are made from highly processed ingredients.

But there’s 1 very important difference I’d like to bring to your attention. None of Seattle Sutton’s meals are frozen. Each 1 is carefully created by in-house chefs and dietitians and arrives fresh.

On the other hand, Nutrisystem heavily relies on frozen and processed foods, as you’ll see. For instance, take the breakfast menu. You’re looking at pancakes, biscottis, granola cereal, oatmeal, granola bars, rolls and danishes, muffins, bagels, and waffles.

On the Nutrisystem menu, there are only around 2 whole foods-based breakfast meals including an omelet with fruit and a breakfast burrito with a bit of salad and some mandarin oranges. I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like way too much sugar. On top of that, around half of the items I just mentioned come frozen.

The lunch menu looks a bit better, though. You’re still getting mostly processed foods like pasta, burritos, burgers, granola bars, and flatbreads, but there are plenty of decent options, too. For instance, if you’re after some healthier alternatives, you could get the Bean and Bacon Soup, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Classic Tuna Salad, or Mushroom Parmesan Soup with Chicken.

Dinner looks even better, too. You’re still getting many of the same processed foods that you’ll find on the lunch menu – but there are even more whole foods-based meals. Some examples include the Bourbon-Style Chicken with roasted potatoes and crisp vegetables or the Sesame Beef and Broccoli with Brown Rice.

Where Nutrisystem really falters, though, is with its snacks. For instance, snacks include ice cream sandwiches, cookies, cheesecake, nut squares, ice cream bars, brownies, chocolate pretzels, popcorn, cheese puffs, and more. These all contain high levels of sugar, which seems strange to me for a diet and weight loss service.

However, consuming a little bit of processed food every day is okay, in my opinion. This can help you stave off cravings. If you plan on eating 1 to 2 small snacks each day and consuming whole foods-based meals the rest of the time, Nutrisystem really isn’t as bad as it sounds.

Before diving into Seattle Sutton’s, let’s quickly talk about Nutrisystem’s cuisine offerings. Surprisingly, there’s a respectable selection. You can get anything from Italian, Chinese, French-inspired, classic American, Mediterranean, western American (California-inspired), Latin American-style, and more.

Keep in mind that Nutrisystem requires you to add your own foods to some meals. For instance, the oatmeals and cereals require you to have milk, the Chicken Soup calls for dinner rolls or crackers which aren’t provided, and the Turkey Ham and Cheese Omelet doesn’t come with fruit as the picture may suggest.

Refer to this page for a list of groceries you might need to buy separately or have on hand if you decide to go with Nutrisystem.

However, I think Seattle Sutton’s should be your 1st choice, though, even though Nutrisystem does offer more variety. For example, it offers highly nutritious meals that contain 90%+ whole foods-based ingredients like fresh veg, eggs, beans, fruit, fresh meat, and much more.

It doesn’t offer the absolute largest selection, but it certainly makes up for this in terms of quality. Nutrisystem just offers way too many processed ingredients for my tastes. However, unlike Nutrisystem, Seattle Sutton’s doesn’t offer any snacks – though, it sends out flyers with snack ideas if you’re wanting to get some during your next grocery run.

In terms of your shipments, your meals are chosen for you and sent to you weekly which means you won’t have to think about what to eat. This also helps you avoid overeating as you’re getting the precise quantity of food for your diet.

On the contrary, Nutrisystem sends you monthly boxes of dry and frozen foods, so you’re stuck having to figure out what to eat on your own. Add to that that you’ll often have to buy separate groceries on top of Nutrisystem’s deliveries. It can get quite confusing.

For breakfast, for instance, you can get things like latkes (Hungarian-style potato pancakes) with cream cheese, Morning Protein Plate with hardboiled eggs, fresh fruit, and cheese, or even Hashbrown Casserole. Some items are still slightly processed like the egg tarts and pancakes, but it’s a very tiny part of the menu.

Lunch includes even more whole foods-based items like fresh soup, Ancient Grain Stuffed Pepper with Spinach Salad, Dried Cherries, and Fresh Blueberries, and the Raspberry Salmon Salad. Again, some items are processed like pasta salad and burgers, but again – these make up a small portion of the lunch menu.

In terms of dinner, there are even more delicious-sounding and nutritious meals. For instance, the Parmesan and Flaxseed Encrusted Chicken Breast with Olive Bruschetta (which comes with pine nut quinoa pilaf and fresh-cut green beans) makes a highly nutritious dinner.

If you’re looking for cuisine variety, Seattle Sutton’s definitely offers that, too. You could get Swedish Meatballs, Mexican-inspired Quesadilla and Tamale Soup, Italian lasagna, French-inspired Bleu Burger, and even Creole/Cajun Jambalaya with Cheddar Grits, which would be one of my own personal favorites.

Overall, compared to Nutrisystem, Seattle Sutton’s meals contain more wholesome ingredients, less salt and sugar, more protein, and less fat. There’s no denying that you’ll not only lose as much weight as you would with Nutrisystem, but you’ll also become much healthier in the process if you stick with Seattle Sutton’s.

Meal Customization

Winner: Nutrisystem

The win here has to go to Nutrisystem. Though both competitors offer some customization, Nutrisystem comes out on top for several reasons. It offers far more plan options for both men and women, and it has a great menu filtering system. Seattle Sutton’s plans are based on calorie consumption instead.

For instance, Nutrisystem’s plans include Essentials, Uniquely Yours max+, or the Complete 55 plan (which is for menopausal women) and the Complete 55: Max Vitality plan for men over 50 to support the endocrine system (more about these below). Seattle Sutton’s, on the other hand, really only has 3 plans – a 1,200-, 1,500-, and 2,000-calorie plan.

In terms of diets, Seattle Sutton’s offers 2 primary options – Traditional and Veggie. There’s no other way for you to avoid certain ingredients other than looking at the menu. However, this is a moot point anyway since you’re not able to choose your own meals.

There are 2 meals containing shellfish in the Traditional plan. Seattle Sutton’s does use the other 7 main allergens in its meals on a regular basis including tree nuts, milk, shellfish, and more, so keep that in mind.

On the other hand, Nutrisystem’s menu filtering system helps you easily filter the menu to your exact preferences. This is much harder – if not impossible – to do with Seattle Sutton’s. You can choose to omit many ingredients like spicy foods, wheat, milk, lactose, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and lots more.

You can also choose your special dietary needs like Diabetes Friendly or Vegetarian, whether you want low sodium meals or ones with high fiber or protein content. Just keep in mind that, the more filters you select, the fewer meal options you’ll have available.

Nutrisystem’s meals may not be ideal for people with severe food allergies. Each meal has a lot of ingredients listed so you would have to review these very carefully before ordering. There’s also a chance of cross-contamination with many products. For instance, some of its entrees and desserts contain peanuts and may be manufactured in facilities that also process peanuts. As such, if you have a peanut allergy ( whether mild or severe), it’s not recommended for you to go on Nutrisystem.

For a full article on Nutrisystem’s ingredients and what’s in your meals, I recommend checking out this extensive page.

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: Seattle Sutton’s

Ordering

When it comes to ordering, it’s much easier on the Seattle Sutton’s website. I found the site to be clean and easy to navigate, and it was very simple to understand how ordering your meals works. You can pick 3 main plans – 1,200, 1,500, or 2,000 calories.

Then, you can choose if you want your meals for the full week, just for weekdays, or just for weekends (including Fridays). You can also opt for one-time deliveries, or you can choose recurring ones every 2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks.

On the other hand, Nutrisystem’s website is exceptionally complicated. I don’t say those things lightly because it’s never easy to present meal plans in a streamlined fashion – it just really seems like Nutrisystem hasn’t put enough thought into things.

It has so much information all over the place that I found it pretty overwhelming. For example, it wasn’t all that easy to figure out what the differences are between all the plans.

There are plans for men, women, partners, diabetics, and those over 55. If you hover over Plans & Pricing in the top menu, that’s the best place to start. Choose your desired plan, and head on over to the next screen.

From here, you’ll be prompted to choose your plan: options include the Essentials, Uniquely Yours max+, Complete 55: Max Vitality, or Partner Plans. These are just the options for men. The options for women only include Complete 55, Uniquely Yours max+, and Essentials. To me, that seems like a lot of unnecessary options – but let’s go over what each one entails.

The Essentials Plan comes with non-frozen meals and top-rated frozen meals for 5 days per week. The Uniquely Yours Max+ plan comes with Hearty Inspirations frozen meals, and snacks for 5 days per week for men and 5 or 7 days for women, and the Complete 55 plans are for the full 7 days.

Each plan also comes with on-demand 1-on-1 weight loss coaching, 7 days per week.

Delivery

Both Seattle Sutton’s and Nutrisystem deliver to the entire US including AK and HI. Note that frozen good can only be sent to the contiguous states so AK and HI residents can only received the dry, shelf stable products. In terms of delivery date availability, each competitor has different options.

Let’s start with Nutrisystem. As the site states, if you prepay for 2 or 3 months of auto-shipments, shipping is always free. For one-time or a la carte orders, shipping starts at $7.99, and you can expect to pay more for shipping to Alaska or Hawaii.

In terms of delivery dates, Nutrisystem doesn’t let you pick your own date. Depending on where you are in the US or Canada, shipping timeframes differ. 

Processing and delivery time frames for the 48 contiguous states are between 1 to 5 business days from the time your order is placed. Shipping to AK, Puerto Rico, and HI can take from 1 to 5 business days – and to Canada, expect shipping to take around 4-10 business days.

If you need to change your order, you can do so from within your account dashboard, or by calling  +1 (800)-585-5483. Just make sure to do so before 6 pm 1 day before your order begins processing. You can always check your order status in your account dashboard as well.

The minimum order is the Essentials plan with 5 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

To test out Seattle Sutton’s, I’ve used Beverly Hills, CA as my shipping address. It lets me choose a number of different shipping dates. Your available delivery dates will depend on your location and the time of your order.

If you need to make any changes to your order, you can do so before the cutoff time. You must make any changes by Friday at 10 am for full-week orders and weekday plans for the upcoming week, or Tuesdays by 10 am for weekend plan orders for the current week.

To cancel or change your order, you can contact the local facility, log into your account dashboard, or call the support team at +1 (800) 442-3438.

Seattle Sutton’s minimum order is the 1,200-calorie plan for 3 days per week (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays).

Unboxing

Nutrisystem’s meals come in 2 separate orders – 1 containing “dry”, and non-frozen meals, and 1 containing frozen meals. They may arrive on separate days.

All frozen and non-frozen food comes neatly organized in separate packaging (which is actually 1 of Nutrisystem’s pitfalls). Everything is labeled and contains nutritional information, best-before dates, storage instructions, and cooking/heating instructions.

Though there’s lots and lots of plastic packaging, you definitely won’t feel confused anymore once your order actually arrives. Nutrisystem’s shipping boxes and frozen item coolers are fully recyclable. Food trays are also recyclable and labeled accordingly, plus the coolers are biodegradable.

In terms of Seattle Sutton’s, the packaging you don’t get 2 separate shipments like you do with Nutrisystem – rather, everything is shipped in the same box at the same time.

Again, all your meals and foods are neatly organized in the box and clearly labeled. Each item has nutrition information printed on it along with best-before dates, heating, and storage instructions.

The corrugated boxes are made from partially recycled cardboard and are curbside recyclable. The same can be said for the insulated liners. PET liners are fully recyclable. Any plastic bags you get are fully reusable, or recyclable as well.

The ice packs are non-toxic and reusable if you wanted to use them for a picnic or something along those lines. Or, to dispose of them, simply cut them open and throw the contents in the trash. Then, recycle the outer film with the rest of your regular recyclable plastic. The plastic meal trays are also fully recyclable.

Meal Prep

Winner: Nutrisystem

Both meal delivery services offer prepared meals that require zero prep. All you have to do is either open the package and eat the item or heat your meals. In terms of convenience, you really can’t go wrong with either competitor. But there are some small differences. In terms of Nutrisystem, you’ll get No Prep Needed, Microwave-, Oven-, and Toaster Oven-Ready meals along with one or 2 stovetop options.

Most of Seattle Sutton’s meals must be heated in the microwave, but it does offer a fair selection of open-and-eat foods. As some examples, you’ll get the Berry Colada Parfait, Asian Chopped Salad, or the Whole Grain Croissant with Figs and Brie if you don’t want to heat anything up.

Nutrisystem offers lots of open-and-eat foods like mint ice cream sandwiches, cheesecake, cookies, nuts, granola bars, and more. Some of its microwave-ready meals include soup, Country-Style Hashbrown Casserole, and Loaded Mashed Potatoes.

In terms of storing your Nutrisystem meals, things get complicated because it offers such a large variety of different frozen and non-frozen meal types. Non-frozen foods will be delivered in a cardboard box and don’t need to be refrigerated. They’ve been sealed using a soft-canning process.

If you’re receiving frozen foods in your delivery, you’ll need to place them in the freezer right away. Individual cooking instructions vary by meal, so I can’t tell you what the exact preparation might look like. However, each delivery will contain cooking and storage instructions. And, alternatively, you could always check the Nutrisystem menu as well since that information is on there.

Regarding Seattle Sutton’s, its meals remain fresh 5 days from the day you receive them and should be consumed before the best-by date on each meal label. The site also states to keep your meals refrigerated at 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit. The site also states that you may freeze your meals if you need to. However, there are no indications regarding how long Seattle Sutton recommends the meals to be frozen for.

Customer Support

Winner: Nutrisystem

Both competitors offer support in 4 ways – phone, chat, email, and an FAQ section. But the win here has to to go Nutrisystem. The reason for that is that it offers chat support on weekends as well, and Seattle Sutton’s doesn’t.

Nutrisystem’s support hours are a bit more complicated. For instance, if you want pre-sales support, you can contact the sales team via chat or phone. Chat support is available 7 days per week from 8 am to 11 pm EST. Phone support is available 7 days per week from 8 am to 10 pm EST.

I tried Nutrisystem’s pre-sales live chat support. The agent was super friendly and was willing to help answer my questions. It took less than a minute to connect with the individual. If you’re an existing customer, you can contact live chat or phone support from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 8 pm, and on weekends from 9 am to 5:30 pm.

There are 2 different email addresses you can use for contact – 1 for regular support, and 1 for weight loss support. For regular support, you can email customerservice@nutrisystem.com, and for weight loss-specific support, you can email weightlosssupport@nutrisystem.com.

Seattle Sutton’s offers support phone support hours from Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 7 pm, Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, and Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm. Chat is also available from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. All times are in Central Standard Time.

I also tried Seattle Sutton’s live chat support. The support rep was friendly, knowledgeable, and super helpful. I also took less than a minute to connect and start getting my questions answered.

Pricing

Winner: Nutrisystem

Nutrisystem takes the win here, in terms of sheer pricing – but there are so many options that it’ll be difficult to keep track of it all. I’ll try to make sense of it all for you here. Keep in mind that the shipping fee for both services is calculated at checkout, and varies based on your location.

Nutrisystem’s Pricing Models

Essentially, Nutrisystem offers several plans with different pricing. There are women’s plans, men’s plans, and plans for partners, plus plans for diabetics.

Both women and men get the Essentials, Uniquely Yours Max+, and the Complete 55 plans. Women get Complete 55, and men get Complete 55: Max Vitality. Since women generally require fewer calories than men, each women’s plan is cheaper than the corresponding plans for men, apart from the Essentials, which is the same price for men and women.

For example, the cheapest plan on the Nutrisystem site is the Essentials plan for women or men, which starts at $8.54 per day. With this plan, you’re getting non-frozen or selected frozen breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for 5 days per week.

The women’s Complete 55: Max Vitality plans are the most expensive. For instance, the Complete 55 women’s plan starts at  $15.00, and the men’s Complete 55: Vitality Max (for men over 50) starts at $17.14 per day.

But what about the plans for partners? Well, again, there are 3 plans – Essentials, Uniquely Yours max+, and Complete 55. These cost $9.71, $11.23, and $12.75 per day, respectively.

Lastly, let’s talk about the plans for diabetics. You can choose the Basic plan, Uniquely Yours one, or the Uniquely Yours Ultimate one. These cost $10.71, $12.14, and $13.93 per day, respectively. Wow – that was a lot of information to take in, and I hope it all makes sense.

Seattle Sutton’s Pricing Models

Essentially, you’re getting 3 meal plans for 3 different parts of the week. Meal plans come in 3 varieties – 1,200, 1,500, or 2,000 calories.

For example, you can get 3 meals per day for

• 7 days a week (21 meals)

• Monday through Thursday (inclusive – or 12 meals)

• or Friday through Sunday (inclusive – or 9 meals)

The cheapest plan, of course, is the 1,200 calorie plan for 3 days per week, which costs $79 for just the weekend plan.

If you’d like meals from Monday through Thursday, the 1,200-calorie plan will cost you $109 for 9 meals. And the 1,200-calorie plan for 7 days per week will cost $163.

The 1,500 and 2,000-calorie plans will increase each plan’s price by around $5 to $10.

Seattle Sutton’s vs. Nutrisystem — Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: Nutrisystem

Overall, the win has to go to Nutrisystem even though the site is cumbersome to navigate, is filled with lots of attempts to upsell you, and the menu is comprised mostly of processed foods. It’s not all doom and gloom though – it certainly has its redeeming qualities.

For instance, it offers an abundance of choices, lets you pick your own meals, and even ships to places like Puerto Rico and Canada. Plus, its prices are far more reasonable than Seattle Sutton’s, especially considering that it offers more plans and the ability to filter the menu so extensively.

Seattle Sutton's could be an attractive option for certain individuals. If you're comfortable with not having the freedom to pick your meals or fine-tune the menu, Seattle Sutton's offers more nutritious, wholesome meal options. Its dishes typically contain less sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients than you might find elsewhere.

FAQ

Is Seattle Sutton’s a good weight loss program? 

Yes – it’s primarily a weight loss-oriented meal delivery service that aims to help you lose weight using simple methods. For instance, each meal is dietitian-designed and contains the correct number of calories for your own personal weight loss goal.

This way, you don’t have to weigh your food or track your calories – however, in order to maximize your results, you must only eat the food it provides to you, and nothing else.

Is Seattle Sutton’s good for diabetics?

Yes, absolutely. It adheres to the medically recommended dietary guidelines for good health, weight loss, and disease control by the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, National Institutes of Health, Center for Disease Control, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Is Nutrisystem food highly processed?

Unfortunately, most of the food offered by Nutrisystem is, in fact, processed. This means that you’ll likely be consuming more sugar, salt, and trans fat than absolutely necessary. While Nutrisystem is definitely effective for weight loss in the short-term (and even long-term), it’s really not ideal if your goal is to be as healthy as possible while you’re losing weight.

Instead, I highly recommend checking out Seattle Sutton’s. It offers more nutritionally-dense whole foods-based ingredients that are way better for your overall health.