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 Spokeswomen include Kirstie Alley, Valerie Bertinelli, Phylicia Rashad, Queen Latifah, Nicole Sullivan and Sara Rue.
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.
See the Official Jenny Craig Web Site
Common Misspellings
JennyCraig, Jenny Criag, Jennie Craig, Jenny Craig deit, Jenny Craig diet, Jennie Craig diet, Jennie Craig deit, jennycraig.com
Learn More About Jenny Craig
Related Diets: Volumetrics, Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers Online for Men, Jen4Men, Jenny Craig at Home, Jenny Craig for Men, Jenny Direct, NutriSystem, Valerie Bertinelli: Losing It
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never try'd it
Easiest diet I ever followed. Where I have always fallen off the wagon before is when I get stressed and am too busy to cook or just don't feel like it. With Jenny when I am stressed I just make a point of following the plan even better at those times. I don't do meals on my own, I just eat the Jenny food and know that way I am on track.
After reading all the comments I'm considering Anne Bartee's suggestion and Jenny Craigin' it on my own. If all else fails & I don't get the results I want I can then pay Jennifer money to show me how to eat to lose weight.
The plan works! I lost 43 lbs over 2 years ago, and I've kept the weight off. I might gain a few pounds here or there, but now that I know how it works, it's easy to bounce back to my goal.
I lost about 40 pounds on Jenny Craig and, with the exception of playing with 5 pounds here and there, have kept it off. I like that they first teach you portion control through their meals and then gradually reintroduce store-bought food into your diet. The one-on-one interaction with a counselor also helped keep me on track and did not allow me to hide in the back of a meeting.
I love Jenny Craig. I lost 40 pounds since august. I suggest that people start doing exercises from the very first day, even they tell you that exercises is just the 20% of your weight loss.
Even thought is really, really expensive, for those like me that had try everything to weight loss is the best plan ever.
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JimmyC
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.
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