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Jenny Craig Weight Loss Program
One of the most well established and successful weight loss programs in the world - Jenny Craig. Is it all it’s cracked up to be?
Weight Loss Program Sceptic
As you all probably know by now, I am a big weight loss program sceptic. Atkins diet, South Beach, etc. all had me biting my tongue when people told me they were on them and making excellent weight loss. I simply don’t buy it most of the time.
However, Jenny Craig has been around for so long that it must be good. Right? Well, we see their adverts on television everyday with that famous Cheers star so maybe they just have more money to spend on advertising than the other weight loss programs.
Here I’ll go over some of the good and bad aspects of this weight loss program.
Jenny Craig Dieting Basics
Jenny Craig is a weight loss program that is basically centered around calories counting. In the old days, women wanting to lose weight this way would read the labels of all their foods and drinks and count the amount of calories they take in each day. It was very long and boring.
You eat three meals and three snacks each day.
The idea of Jenny Craig (in case those women on the ads haven’t already told you) is that the people at the company do the work for you. It is aimed at busy women; mom’s, executives, etc. So, instead of doing the calorie counting yourself, you are given an option of Jenny Craig meals, each meal containing a certain amount of calories. So, for example,Â�a person might take two foods from group one for break fast and lunch and one food from group 5 for dinner.
Jenny Craig teaches that diets should be made up of good carbs, some fats and protein. There is nothing wrong with this aspect of the program.
Jenny Craig is a Company
The thing that strikes me about Jenny Craig is that it is very profit motivated. Now, this may just be the university student in me coming out but when a weight loss program is designed to profit someone else, it probably isn’t as efficient or effective as it could be for you.
The best example of this in regards to Jenny Craig is that they highly reccomend that you buy their pre-cooked meals for almost all of your daily food requirements even though you could cook a lot of it yourself. Having someone cook your meals for you each day is nice - if you can afford it. However, you do make a swap to cooking your own meals after some time.
Jenny Craig Price
Don’t let anyone fool you, the Jenny Craig weight loss program is one of the most expensive around. While most weight loss programs simply teach you to change your habits, etc., Jenny Craig goes that step further by doing a lot of the work for you.
On the up side, you may find you make more weight loss progress because of the added help. On the down side, it will cost you.
Jenny Craig Success
One of the biggest successes of Jenny Craig is that it teaches people to change their habits. I am very big on this and talk about it a lot here at Real Women’s Fitness. It has good information about diet and nutrition and as such people on the program would see health benefits as well as weight loss.
Many advocates of Jenny Craig talk about the program teaching them about the cause of weight gain, not just what foods put on the fat. For example, you will learn about cravings and how to deal with them. This is a great quality of the program.
Exercise
Jenny Craig does factor into the program some exercise but, like the diet, talks about working it into your daily routine more than specific programs or routines. However, the importance of exercise to successful weight loss is emphasized.
What Jenny Craig will give you:
- Lots of help and information
- Pre-cooked meals and pre-planned diets
- Consultants to talk to and help you
- Information on beating cravings and learning about the causes of weight gain
- Developing good habits
- Motivational CD’s, menus, planners, etc.
What Jenny Craig will take from you:
- $299 joining fee
- $70 per week ongoing
- Your love handles
Jenny Craig Verdict
The principles and ideas behing Jenny Craig are good. As is the nutritional information and the meals that are planned by the diet experts. On this plan you will probably lose weight.
However, I cannot seem to reconcile spending that much on a diet program when I could cook for myself. As the program knows, many people are too busy to cook for themselves in which case this program might be value for money.
Does anyone know what the meals are like and whether the services are all as promised?
Comments on this article:
| Catherine said: | I do know what the foods taste like. Most arent bad, of course if you\'re a picky eater like me, it can be difficult at times because it makes you eat a lot of veggies and non-fat almost everything.. but there are other choices. I was on the program before and I've always been overweight. The first time results in 3 mos I lost 30 lbs and 10 inches. This time the costs of the food have gone up, and that will be a factor as to whether or not I continue. |
| Karin said: | I've been on Jenny Craig for six months now, and just about nothing has changed... except for the fact that I'm eating not-so delicious food at a higher price than if I cooked it myself. |
