Thoughts about Jenny Craig?

Thinking about starting the program. How do you find food? I hate breakfast and just eat fruit so don't want to pay for their breakfast. Have they got more flexible over the years or is it still their way or nothing?
Look forward to your comments.....

oh please just eat healthy .......processed foods are so bad for you

Had a friend who went on jenny Craig.She lost heaps of weight,almost too much, as she tended to look a bit "gaunt". However, as she stopped going to Jenny Craig and not having their food, she did put back on most of the weight she lost!
I do agree with the other posters though,do eat healthily and learn to eat correctly and of course do what we all love to do....excercise!

You dont need WW or Jenny Craig, you need will power.

Dont waste your money on things that you can do your self.

If you need to,set a timer to make yourself get a drink of water.
Walk or run more, lift weights like cans of food to begin with.
Try downloading Zumba off the net or get a Wii...

If you feel the urge to eat, have some minty gum, will remove any urge for food, also have a drink too..

This has worked for me in the past..
I know of too many people whi have done Jenny Craig and put the weight back on, it doesnt teach you how to prepare the food or portion size.. WW does help in that area...
But common sense is the best thing....

Good Luck,

Friend of a friend did it and won the prize for losing the most at the branch for 2008.She got given these voucher for another wardrobe as her prize.Now sadly after 12 months she can't fit into any of them.She is actually heavier than when she originally started.She says now that she really didn't learn "how".Just picked up the weeks food and ate it without thinking.Admits that that is one of the reasons why she chose to do Jenny in the first place but says it was a big mistake and such a waste of money.She leads a busy life and mistakingly thought it would save her a lot of time having to plan meals etc.Well it did, but the long term result is what matters. She is now under a dietitican at the hospital and is doing much better and actually making informed choices with the background understanding.

Jenny Craig are heaps more flexible than they used to be.I think you still have to eat their food exclusively for a given number of weeks when you start, but then introduce your own.The best way to do it is to join for 7 years (expensive, hurts, but it worked for me).Then set a small goal to get you going - say 4kg or so.Once you're halfway to the goal - 2 weeks in this case if you stick to it - you eat your own food 2 days a week.You should be at the goal in 5 weeks, so then you can go onto maintenance.(But can continue to lose weight using the your own and the JC food, support and info you have gained doing the programme).

As you go, keep a note of the calorie content of all of the foods - it's on the packets.Also keep some of each type of container as a guide to quantity.You can use this info as a guide later when you're substituting your own meals.

By this stage you know the diet, have the info, and can continue to buy the food that you like and find convenient - it is very easy diet food - (the snacks are good, and because they are small packets, you can't continue to scoff once finished).You can then save money on making meals to match the calorie and carbohydrate/protein/fat mix of the Jenny Craig meals.

Not all of the food is processed to death, some of it is quite good, and it's certainly no worse than the rubbish sold in supermarkets.And in any case you have to eat fruit and vegetables in good quantity.

You can go along and get weighed and get the support.

It worked for me, I lost 15kg a year ago, and have had no trouble keeping it off (the followup visits are good for helping with this).Also you can keep a small stock of the food on hand for nights when you can't be bothered cooking, it's better than takeaways or a fryup.

I had done it 10 years ago also, but didn't buy longterm membership, so lost access to the food.I later put on heaps of weight taking steroids.

I think it's pretty good, better than Weight Watchers for me in any case.

Jc food is delicious and super easy if you are very busy and travel for work. Your portions are controlled for you and I found it great. Lost 2.6kg in a week. I think people put weight back on after diets, cos they over-reward themselves and go nuts! If you stick to around 2000 calories a day after you will be sweet.

Thanks for all of that. 3 days in going ok!!

Well done!and keep it up!

Annie.NZ ... a couple of questions...

What's the cost of the 7-year sub?
Can you make two-weekly visits as opposed to weekly?(Travel is a problem for me)

#1 cost of sub - can't remember exactly, 300-400 dollars or seven years.I decided it was an incentive not to slack off, so took it.

#2 yes, you can go every second week.

I suggest you go in somewhere and discuss it all, without necessarily joining on the spot.I would also try different branches, looking at things like parking and the general atmosphere to decide if you're comfortable there or not.For instance, I rejected the Wellington branch, where I went years and years ago (pushy and 'motivational', parking lousy) for Lower Hutt, where I'm perfectly happy.

I agree... But sometimes will power comes from gathering a supportive group around you.

So, if you need to use a group - like JC or WW - go for it.

I have used WW and found it really helpful.

I am a mum and need to prepare meals for the family, so the JC process won't work for me.

I am a mother also, and prepare meals for my family, I find it easy to do. as jc meals are quick and simple to make, my family have also lost weight because they see what I am eating and what to eat the same foods...if I have chicken they have chicken etc... We have all changed to green milk as hubby can't be bothered having two different types of milk, same with the butter and yes lots of veges..

I have been on Jenny Craigs for almost 7 weeks and have lost 11kgs,I started before xmas because my weight was getting out of control and needed the support. now I am feeling healthier and fitter...I had high blood pressure, now it is back to normal...just fantastic

I took the 7 year sub which cost me $270 or something like that, most of the food is delicious, cant stand the porridge, so am allowed to swap it for WW muesli, which is what my family eat, other than that I stick religiously to the program eating alot of veges and fruit (unlimited foods) and drinking water when I am thirsty not fizzy, and tea or coffee which is also unlimited, as I use to be a heavy coffee drinker. No bikkys tho :-(

So nothing but praise for Jenny from me...

well i am not on jc or ww but i am loosing a bit of weight due to me reprogramming my mind as to how much i eat so i am still eating the same foods i have always eatened but not eating so much of it and also more active as well.

There is a Jenny Craig cookbook coming out for anyone who wants to cook their own Jenny Craig food.

Any weight loss programme is as good as YOU make it, in other words, you MUST make the lifestyle change, not just a temporary fix. The posters who have friends who have done this, or any other programme that failed, went back to how they always used to eat...which is how they got overweight in the first place. You certainly cannot go back to how you used to eat, you have to make changes to your lifestyle for life. I do know that Jenny Craig as well as Weight Watchers, Sureslim ( which is how I lost 18kg and have pretty much kept it off since 2006) ALL have maintenance programmes and plans how to continue eating well after you have reached your goal. With Jenny Craig, you do not HAVE to continue eating their food, you LEARN how to eat properly using normal everyday foods. If you are going to spend the money, the time and the effort to get to your goal, then you have to be completely honest with yourself about the lifestyle change to keep yourself in check. That does not mean you have to live the rest of your life eating lettuce leaves LOL and it does not mean you cannot have the odd treat now and then, you just have to get the balance which is right for you.

Well isn't this the old story?
Going "on" a diet and then "off" a diet wont work.

So why not just decide how you want to eat for the rest of your life?

The simplest thing is to figure out if you want to go on a
- low fat high carb "diet"
- or a low carb, high protein, high fat "diet".

The word "diet" means what you are going to eat for the rest of your life.

So you either you go onto a high carb low fat diet and get good at counting calories and never eat enough to be not hungry (it is called "cut portion size") and makes me eat anything in sight because I am constantly hungry.

Or you go for a low carb diet and count carbs and not be hungry (because you get to eat cream and other fats which will make you more satied).

Up to you - and good luck!

P.S.: Jenny Craig is not useful - as you are not learning to eat "food" - but something else entirely (processed cr@p) - which is good for Jenny Craig (aka Nestle who has just bought them) - because you have to buy their processed unhealthy stuff instead of eating real normal healthy food - meat, eggs, fish, veges, some fruit, some dairy and a few nuts.

I would recommend you get to the heart of it and decide which way you want to go - then google for more info.

Thinking about starting the program. How do you find food! I hate breakfast and just eat fruit so don't want to pay for their breakfast. Have they got more flexible over the years or is it still their way or nothing!
Look forward to your comments.

oh please just eat healthy .processed foods are so bad for you

Had a friend who went on jenny Craig.She lost heaps of weight,almost too much, as she tended to look a bit "gaunt". However, as she stopped going to Jenny Craig and not having their food, she did put back on most of the weight she lost!
I do agree with the other posters though,do eat healthily and learn to eat correctly and of course do what we all love to do.excercise!

You dont need WW or Jenny Craig, you need will power.

Dont waste your money on things that you can do your self.

If you need to,set a timer to make yourself get a drink of water.
Walk or run more, lift weights like cans of food to begin with.
Try downloading Zumba off the net or get a Wii.

If you feel the urge to eat, have some minty gum, will remove any urge for food, also have a drink too.

This has worked for me in the past.
I know of too many people whi have done Jenny Craig and put the weight back on, it doesnt teach you how to prepare the food or portion size. WW does help in that area.
But common sense is the best thing.

Good Luck,

Friend of a friend did it and won the prize for losing the most at the branch for 2008.She got given these voucher for another wardrobe as her prize.Now sadly after 12 months she can't fit into any of them.She is actually heavier than when she originally started.She says now that she really didn't learn "how".Just picked up the weeks food and ate it without thinking.Admits that that is one of the reasons why she chose to do Jenny in the first place but says it was a big mistake and such a waste of money.She leads a busy life and mistakingly thought it would save her a lot of time having to plan meals etc.Well it did, but the long term result is what matters. She is now under a dietitican at the hospital and is doing much better and actually making informed choices with the background understanding.

Jenny Craig are heaps more flexible than they used to be.I think you still have to eat their food exclusively for a given number of weeks when you start, but then introduce your own.The best way to do it is to join for 7 years (expensive, hurts, but it worked for me).Then set a small goal to get you going - say 4kg or so.Once you're halfway to the goal - 2 weeks in this case if you stick to it - you eat your own food 2 days a week.You should be at the goal in 5 weeks, so then you can go onto maintenance.(But can continue to lose weight using the your own and the JC food, support and info you have gained doing the programme).

As you go, keep a note of the calorie content of all of the foods - it's on the packets.Also keep some of each type of container as a guide to quantity.You can use this info as a guide later when you're substituting your own meals.

By this stage you know the diet, have the info, and can continue to buy the food that you like and find convenient - it is very easy diet food - (the snacks are good, and because they are small packets, you can't continue to scoff once finished).You can then save money on making meals to match the calorie and carbohydrate/protein/fat mix of the Jenny Craig meals.

Not all of the food is processed to death, some of it is quite good, and it's certainly no worse than the rubbish sold in supermarkets.And in any case you have to eat fruit and vegetables in good quantity.

You can go along and get weighed and get the support.

It worked for me, I lost 15kg a year ago, and have had no trouble keeping it off (the followup visits are good for helping with this).Also you can keep a small stock of the food on hand for nights when you can't be bothered cooking, it's better than takeaways or a fryup.

I had done it 10 years ago also, but didn't buy longterm membership, so lost access to the food.I later put on heaps of weight taking steroids.

I think it's pretty good, better than Weight Watchers for me in any case.

For goodness sakes - if it was that easy places like WW's and Jenny Craigs would not exist!

Idiotic of course - as we all used to eat when we had food (before supermarkets were invented) and then fasted when there was no food. Just tells you that that set of ideas is not working for "humans" at all.