I was recently contacted by a 55 year old woman who asked if there was any real difference between the Nutrisystem Women’s Basic Plan and the Silver Plan. She wondered if there was any advantage to opting for the silver plan, which is meant for seniors. I’ll tell you what I told him when I compared food and costs in the next article.

The Nutrisystem Silver Plan is for both men and women and is designed for dieters age 65 and older: This program is not just for women. There is also a version of this for men. And there seems to be a perception that the senior plan is premium or extra cost, but it’s not really. The basic plan starts at $299 and the silver plan is no different. The price is the same.

Company literature states that the plan is intended for people 65 and older. However, I’m sure you can use your own discretion and knowledge of your own situation to decide which is best for you. All women’s plans share some of the same foods. The main difference between these two is that one omits some of the foods that the other contains, which I will discuss below.

The Nutrisystem Plan for Seniors omits some of the foods from the Basic Plan: Generally speaking, the vast majority of foods between the two plans are the same. However, to point out the exact differences between the two, I printed out the eating plans for each. What I found was that the basic program gives you only a few more foods.

Therefore, some of the high-carbohydrate, acidic, and spicy foods have been removed from the senior menu. Specifically, according to my understanding of both menus, the silver plan does not contain the following items (which are included in the basic plan): banana-walnut muffin; cheese mashed potatoes; tomato soup; Mexican tortilla soup; and buffalo wing pretzel sticks.

You continue to receive the same amount of food on the Nutrisystem silver menu. You are not paying more: Some people have told me that they perceive that because some of the options are omitted from the senior menu, it is more expensive because there is less food.

This is not true. He receives the same number of meals, enough for 28 days. He is given enough to eat five meals a day. Since this plan omits some of those spicy foods I mentioned, then it gives you more of something else. And, you still have over 100 foods to choose from, so there’s still plenty of variety. You can still choose from 28 breakfast items (for example, pancakes, buns and rolls). There are still 23 lunch options (macaroni, tortellini, and hot dogs). And there are 42 dinner options (like pizza, fajitas, and sweet and sour chicken). There are no fewer than 35 snacks and desserts to choose from, including carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, and pretzels. In short, you should have more than enough food to think about.

Like I said, these two programs are priced the same (starting at $299, depending on which shipping method you choose) and since both programs are part of packages, you can use some of the higher value coupons with these. Some people have told me that the silver plan is considered a la carte (which does not allow coupons). Again, this is incorrect, both plans are packages and you can use coupons for both.

As you can see, there are only minor differences between the two. What you choose is your choice, but you won’t miss all of that with the senior menu.