Jenny Craig
With its small army of celeb success stories in tow, Jenny Craig shows off its effectiveness.
BACKGROUND
With more than 640 centers around the globe and thousands of female followers, Jenny Craig has established itself as a leader in the weight-loss industry since 1983.
The Jenny Craig approach is built on three tenets: food, body and mind. The food element focuses on healthy eating and portion control and also teaches you how to eat the foods you love in moderation, the body element focuses on exercise and overcoming barriers to being physically active. The mind element focuses on positive thinking and getting the support you need to reach your weight loss goals.
The program is most known for its pre-packaged and portion-controlled meals. But Jenny Craig sets itself apart from other meal-delivery diets because as you reach your goal weight, you work closely with Jenny Craig counselors to learn about portion control, healthy cooking and eating at home or while dining out.
After an in-depth interview with a Jenny Craig representative, you are given a personalized meal and fitness plan. The two basic programs are the In-Person Support and Jenny Direct programs. With the former, you attend weekly meetings, consultations and food pick-up at your local Jenny Craig center and the latter gives you the same support over the phone and delivers food to your door.
In addition, there are five Jenny Craig plans: Jenny Craig for Women, Jenny Craig for Men, Jenny Craig for Teens, Jenny Craig for Spouses and Jenny Craig for Seniors.
Famous Jenny Craig spokespersons include Kirstie Alley, Joy Behar, Valerie Bertinelli and Queen Latifah.
PRO
- Features a one-on-one relationship with counselor
- Menu includes a wide-variety of foods
- Program has a long history and is a trusted brand in weight loss programs
- Prepackaged foods offer convenience
CON
- May be a challenge to transition from the company's prepackaged meals to "real" food
- Low-calorie diet may be too strict
- Weekly in-person meetings can sometimes be inconvenient
- Financial responsibility of prepacked meals may not be a long-term healthy eating solution
DIET and NUTRITION
The program's success is in the Jenny Craig food, which offers convenience with portioned and calorie-controlled pre-packaged meals. The Jenny Craig plan has a daily caloric intake of 1,200-1,300 and contains 50% to 60% carbohydrate, 20% to 25% protein, and 20% to 25% fat. Three meals and one snack are allowed each day.
Meals are either picked up at Jenny Craig centers or delivered straight to your door. There are four different menu options with Jenny Craig. You can customize your own meals, order pre-planned meals, enjoy an all-vegetarian menu or select a menu specifically designed for adolescents.
A sample day might look like banana nut cereal for breakfast, a turkey burger for lunch, chicken fettuccine for dinner and chocolate cake for dessert.
You also supplement your Jenny Craig diet with fresh fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains. Low glycemic veggies can eaten in limitless portions.
A dining out guide is also included so that you can eat out without sabotaging your weight loss goals. No foods are off limits on the Jenny Craig program. You work with a counselor to learn how to safely incorporate your favorite foods into your healthy eating plan.
EXERCISE
On Jenny Craig you are given a personalized activity and motivational plan to get you moving more.
The Jenny Craig activity plan centers around three kinds of activities. The first are natural activities like house cleaning, shopping and gardening. Next are planned activities such as doing cardio at the gym or taking a yoga or aerobics class. Last are fun activities like taking a dance class or playing football with your kids.
Over time you gradually increase your activity through these three elements and you learn how to incorporate more movement into your day.
CONCLUSION
With its focus on food, body and mind, Jenny Craig is a well-rounded weight loss program that offers the training and support you need to achieve your weight loss goals. Its varied programs and pre-packaged meals and snacks offers the convenience of healthy eating in combination with a personalized plan that fits your lifestyle.
While most pre-packaged meal weight loss programs don't provide you with any information on how to prepare and eat healthy meals on your own, Jenny Craig offers support that educates you on healthy cooking and eating.
Common Misspellings
JennyCraig, Jenny Criag, Jennie Craig, Jenny Craig deit, Jenny Craig diet, Jennie Craig diet, Jennie Craig deit, jennycraig.com
Related Diets: Volumetrics, Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers Online for Men, Jen4Men, Jenny Craig for Men, Jenny Direct, NutriSystem
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I've been on JC for 6 weeks and love it!
For all of those that state, weight loss is simple, cut calories, exercise more and you will lose weight, obviously you have much more self control than I do. I have done that before and have been successful, but I start off real strong and then fall off the wagon within a few months. I work shift work with long hours, so the pre-packaged plan suits me just fine and counseling helps me over my hurdles and keeps me on track. If I had the will power and the energy to eat healthy and exercise without a structured plan like Jenny Craig, I wouldn't be overweight now would I? No need to name call or degrade someone for choosing a weight loss plan that they are successful at, you should simply say good for you, it's just not for me.
When I was a little girl, I watched my mother do every diet imaginable from shots at the doctor's office to other fad diets. The only time she ever lost weight and looked healthy while doing it, was when she was on JC. As for the taste of the food, I used to sneak some of it and it tasted great. :) Unfortunately, my mom didn't stay on it long enough and never followed through with developing the healthy habits they encouraged. So she gained a lot of it back.
When I got pregnant with my son, I gained 70 pounds, which I primarily never lost. I've been working out at the gym and still nothing. I don't eat a lot, in fact, that is my biggest problem. I eat one meal a day and that's about it so I'm told that's why my metabolism is so out of whack.
Anyhow, I'm about to start JC for six months and FOR FREE (food included) on a university study. I know it works and I know what NOT to do based on my experiences with my mom 20 years ago. I realize I could do it all myself but now I have two kids and I take care of my now disabled mother. I need the jumpstart that JC gives people.
I think it's sad the amount of anger and negativity coming from some of the other posters. I think it's that negativity that probably caused you to fail and get even angrier in the first place. Good news is, I don't really care what you think and others shouldn't either. Good luck to everyone who has made the commitment and plans to stick with it.
I wish you all well.
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I have been on Jenny Craig for 18 weeks. After the first month I hit a plateau which I still haven't been able to break. I stick to the plan and work out with a trainer two times a week and run 3 x a week averaging 12 miles a week. I am on 12 calories a day. I have to say the counselors are not very helpful when you reach a plateau. This is not the first time this has happened. After the birth of my 1st daughter I went on it to lose weight and found that when I reached a plateau no one helped so I switched to Atkins losing 40 lbs in 6 weeks and keeping it off until I was hospitalized last year with pancreatitis. I have put a call in to corporate to see if they have a plateau breaking menu like they used to when I was first on JC.
Currently on JC - it's the easiest diet I've ever been on. Downfall is getting tired of eating pre-packaged foods - oh, and did I mention the cost? Upside is this is a no-brianer diet - everything is planned out for you.
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I decided to go on Jenny after being on EVERY Diet known to man. Including, Nurti System, Medi Fast, Atkins, and 10,000 others. I had a hard time justifying the price but then i thought about how much I spend seriously on drive thru, eating out and groceries i buy and end up not using. It may be cheaper to buy a lean cuisine but I don't have the whole plan and program mapped out for me either. The meals are a little pricey but I am justifying it by knowing my health is worth it! Also you have the convienace of not having to prepare everything and figure it all out. I know over time they teach you all this but right now i feel to out of control with my eating habits to have to worry about every little thing going into my mouth. Weight Watchers is a great plan but all i did was think about food because I was constantly calculating points. I need something to get me going. Once I am losing and seeing and feeling better then i can take the next step and start preparing my own more. I think everything is relevent. We can talk ourselves out of it by price but what price is our health really to us? How much do we throw away ? Honestly, i might be spending less now that there are no drive thru's, dinners out, ect. Hope this helps :) Goodluck to all!!!!!
QUESTION>>> I have recently quit the Atkins diet and of course gained. I have no desire to go back to it. Will all the carbs in Jenny meals, will it work for me???
Extremelly expensive. I tried this diet over 2 months. I lost 13 pound. Instead of doing this program you could use smart choice tv dinner and save some money. I DON'T RECOMENT THIS DIET TO ANYONE. EXPENSIVE..NO RESULTS....
Rachael join the sex diet then.
Anonymous,
Try eating more calories on one day and fewer on the next. For example, take one meal from Tuesday and add it to Monday. Substitute veggies (like cucumbers) for the meal that you switched out. In other words, switch your meals so you are eating 1,500 calories one day and 900 calories the next. Also, change your excercise. You have to shake up your eating and exercise routine to break plateaus. Drink lots of green tea. Some of these things have helped to break a plateau.
Hang it there. Have you checked your hormones or thyroid?
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It is slow, but that's because I had a couple of 'slip ups' but once you are fully on the program you can lose the weight.
I just joined Jenny last week and only lost .6 of a pound. I followed it pretty well. I didn't feel as though I was losing until the morning I was going to weigh in. I tried on a skort that has been snug and it fit very well. The councelors were baffled with my weight results but incouraged me to not get discouraged. I'm not. I love the food. With eating so much and staying at 1200 calories, I'm surprised I didn't gain. I will continue with Jenny until I lose my 30-40 pounds I want to lose.
It's my first week so far it's great, the food is great and it's easier to concentrate on my exercise goals when I don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat etc...
I wish I did it sooner, than wasting time doing Weight Watchers which really didn't have the support that is required for successful weight loss.. in my opinion.
I was on the program for about a month a few years ago and lost weight. However, I couldn't stick with it because I was a starving student and could not afford to eat 3 full meals and 3 snacks a day. I started the program again two weeks ago and have already lost 7 lbs. Here is the reality of it: JC is a great program for people who need to lose a substantial amount of weight (at a normal pace) and have hectic/busy schedules. It is also a great program for people who have a tendency to overeat and/or eat a lot of unhealthy (high-fat/calorie/sugar) food. While other programs (i.e. Weight Watchers) also work and are less expensive to follow, this program saves you the time and, therefore, stress of counting calories, measuring food portions and grocery shopping. The plan does NOT require you to engage in any specific type of daily physical activity. However, as with any diet, daily exercise will help maximize and expedite your weight loss. For those of you that are curious about the food - I think the taste and quality of the JC meals are equivalent to Lean Cuisine meals. Actually, many of the JC meals taste better. With regard to the snacks/desserts, I love them. Basically, all the JC meals/snacks are normal low fat/calorie foods, so making the transition to eating normal (non-JC) food should not be that difficult if you commit to making low fat meal choices and keeping track of your calorie intake. Let's face it, everyone knows that dieting and maintaining weight requires SELF-DISCIPLINE and WILL POWER, which are personal traits that you either have or don't have. Therefore, don't forget that self-discipline and will power play a huge role in determining whether you will be one of those persons that succeeds in keeping the weight off after completing ANY structured diet program. Also, it is important to not forget that WEIGHT LOSS is a short-term process and WEIGHT MANAGEMENT is a life-time commitment. Accordingly, weight loss programs like JC, Weight Watchers, Lindora, and Nutri System are that can only help you lose weight in the short-term and guide you towards successful weight loss maintenance. The rest is up to YOU. The bottom line is that if you lack self-discipline and will power, you should probably work on developing those first before setting any long-term weight loss/management goals. Otherwise, the chances of ANY weight loss program working for you (in the long-term) are slim. If you have the self-discipline and will power, you may want to give JC a shot. To start the program it normally costs $300-$400 for a year membership (for 1st year only) and yearly renewals ar $99 or less (***Note: JC always offers new member specials and reduced membership fees). The cost of food averages $100 a week, but includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks/desserts for 7 days. It does not include some fruits and vegetables you have to buy to supplement your meals.
Hopes this helps:) Good Luck!
I like most of the lunches and dinners. I tried only two of the breakfasts and did not like them. I eat my own oatmeal.
i'm not on jenny craig, but i did want to join. i called them and as soon as they told me the price is $120 a week i hung up right in their face. only a rich person will pay that. its ridiculous to charge someone so much money just to lose weight. i have to lose 50 lbs, and im sure thats gonna take more than a few weeks.so i turned to quick weight loss center. they're still expensive but alot cheaper than jenny, nutrisystem, and defintley a personal trainer
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i love pie!!!!
Dear Anne Bartee,
I am addressing this email to you and other people negative of those attempting to make changes to improve their lives.
I have spent my life taking care of everyone - every family member, every friend, anybody that I felt genuinely needed help. Unfortunately, I didn't do this for myself for many years.
In the last few years, I have managed to hold down a challenging job, coninue my University education and support my family and friends - more than most people would, I am certain of that. And this is only the beginning.
I wish I had more time to focus on myself, but I don't.
For your information, I have always worked out three times a week, but I didn't lose any weight. Then, a car accident and a bad infection that lasted a year and a half, put me out of commission - for a month. After that, I crawled my aching body out of bed (from the accident), took any drugs I needed to to control a cough that would bother anyone around me, etc. But I managed to get to work and still run those errands for 'the entire world' and eventually even started taking courses again.
At this point, I gained a lot of weight - food was comforting and I was depressed.
Eventually, my cough went away (it took almost a year for me to breath weill again), my bones healed (never the same, though), and I decided to join Jenny Craig from the Weight I lost. Before joining I tried Weight Watchers and other diets myself for a few months, but I had so much to get done and was just starting to feel like my old self.
The ladies at JC were so kind, and understanding and knocked it into me that if I don't take care of myself, no one would, but more than that - others I was helping out would suffer along with me.
I was always motivated by my consultant, food became a non-issue because I didn't have to think about it anymore, I simply grabbed it and went. There was always somewhere I could find a microwave to use.
Slowly I started incorporating my own foods and I was never discouraged to do this. I still buy JC sometimes when it gets busy for me.
I went from 265 to 130 in 1.5 years. I think any reasonable diet that doesn't cause malnourishment is worth a shot and different diets will work for different people. JC worked for me. I would never discourage someone from trying it.
Also, I just want to say that I hope you find something fulfulling in your iife that will help you with your anger.
Regards.
I've been on Jenny a week and so far I love it. I've already lost 6 pounds, the food is good, and I'm not incredibly hungry. To the person who said you have to walk 5 miles a day...not sure where you're getting this. The reason the program didn't work for you is probably that you were taking in more calories than you were expending. While exercise is a great for your heart and health (and helps with the calorie deficit) it isn't required to lose weight. I went from needing 2,300 (or more) calories to maintain my weight, down to about 1500 a day on Jenny. Simple math, I cut the calories, I will lose weight (and I have). I love that I get to meet with a personal counselor, it keeps me on track. To those of you considering trying it, I say it is worth the money and I can't wait to reach goal!
As I was reading the comments, I noticed a lot of people were saying very nasty things. I have been on the plan 3 weeks and so far have lost 18.6 lbs. I am VERY overweight and I need the accountability. Sitting down and making your own plan of "x" calories is easier said than done. You first have to shrink your stomach to be able to do something like that on your own! Yes, it is a lot of money but you have to prioritize! What is more important to you! Getting your nails/hair done or getting the chance to make a better life for yourself and or your family. I am a single mom of 2 kids ages 4 and 14. I would kill to be able to bathe my son instead of having my daughter do it for me since I can not bend over to do it. I would love to be able to tie my own shoes. I don't care if I spend $100 a week to do it, I WILL DO IT! I have gotten away with only spending $50 a week too....the smart ones breakfast sandwiches are very close to the content of Jenny's so I incorporate those type of things in my plan. Especially when they go on sale for buy 1 get 1 free....time to stock the freezer lol......I too have torn meniscus in both my knees and no one told me I have to walk 5 miles a day....that is BS! I will do what I can but no one is making me do anything I don't want to do. By the way, the food doesn't taste like cardboard either. Some of the foods, yes, I find to be gross but the ones I don't like, I have found others do. Each person tastes things differently! My favorite Jenny food hands down is the Turkey and the Fish and Chips....to die for!
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