anyone on Jenny Craig??

_sam125
_sam125 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am very seriously considering doing Jenny Craig for these main reasons
- I want to lose 25-30 pounds
- I am usually too lazy/busy to cook anything but a sandwich or eggs so i often end up going out to eat (im in college)
- I dont have a car at college so its not easy to go grocery shopping whenever i want or to get a lot of stuff

im wondering if anyone is or has been on it would share their experiences/likes/dislikes with me :)

thank you so much! and feel free to add me :)

Replies

  • Mandysp82
    Mandysp82 Posts: 9 Member
    I tried JC years ago and had a little success (maybe 5-10 pounds) and I just signed up again. The program is good but very expensive. I just ordered my first month of food and it was $500 plus you have to buy additional food like salads and dairy products. You can order a sample of their food on their website if you would like to try it first. Everything I've had so far is good. They will deliver the food right to your door so it is very convenient. Having the consultant call you once a week keeps you in check too so you are accountable to someone. Just realized you posted this 3 weeks ago - what did you decide?
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    I am very seriously considering doing Jenny Craig for these main reasons
    - I want to lose 25-30 pounds
    - I am usually too lazy/busy to cook anything but a sandwich or eggs so i often end up going out to eat (im in college)
    - I dont have a car at college so its not easy to go grocery shopping whenever i want or to get a lot of stuff

    im wondering if anyone is or has been on it would share their experiences/likes/dislikes with me :)

    thank you so much! and feel free to add me :)
    I've never tried it but the problem I see with all these type of things is someone else is preparing your food. SO you mat lose the weight when on it but as soon as you finish you'll probably start eating as you do now and put the weight back on because you've not learnt the habits from doing your own food. In reality if you want to you can go grocery shopping you don't have to buy tons of stuff at once. There are plenty of recipes out there (google is your friend) that are quick to make and healthy also. If you can afford Jenny Craig you can afford a few good cook books. That's my opinion anyway. Good luck whatever you decide
  • smoothgrl
    smoothgrl Posts: 17 Member
    Just so you know.... you are not on the JC foods forever... as you reach half way and then goal they help you work out menus with grocery store foods that are healthy for you. the pre-packaged foods are for the beginning and to get you going. Yes, it is expensive, but it's because you are buying a month of foods at a time... I actually calculated what I would have spent on going out etc and I actually SAVE money doing JC! The consults are great and I LOVE my consultant.. very helpful. Just my experience.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    anyone on Jenny Craig??

    I think Sidney Craig was.
  • Dom4less
    Dom4less Posts: 40 Member
    I am also on JC and love it, it's easy, no planning necessary, the meals are awesome and not only does it simplify my life it also get's me out of my comfort zone by trying new things and making me accountable by going to my weekly meeting. I lost almost 17 pounds before xmas and then had some personal disappointments which made it impossible to continue. my results are not to be taken as a negative experience for Jenny Craig, it was simply a choice that I made that gave me the negative result. I am back on it now and will make it my priority to be successful wants again. As for the price. I used to eat out every night almost and had big meals and wine, etc... so JC is definitely healthier for me and my wallet:-)
  • professormudd1
    professormudd1 Posts: 59
    anyone on Jenny Craig??

    I think Sidney Craig was.
    BAZINGA
  • zonnasis
    zonnasis Posts: 5 Member
    If you are in an area where there is a Jenny Craig Center then I'd suggest going to the center rather than ordering online. Saves you the shipping and you can buy partial weeks if space is limited.
    They're also able to work with you from the beginning with trying "MOMO" (Meals On My Own) so you can be learning from the start (if you want) how to plan and make your own meals and not just rely on the JC premade meals. But they sure do help with keeping on the diet as you learn how much to eat each day, etc.

    Also, Jenny Craig has recently changed their membership program from a large-priced all upfront joining fee to a monthly membership system which is less scary for many and more affordable for those who don't have a huge amount to lose.

    BTW: I'm not a JC employee or anything. I joined a year and a half ago under the "upfront" program but found I wasn't ready to start my health journey. I restarted my program (no, I didn't rejoin or pay more) a week ago and was upfront with them that I wanted to blend their meals with making my own right at the start and they were fine with that!
    While at the center I noticed that their 'membership' had changed to a monthly plan so thought I'd pass that info along to any of you who might be wondering about joining Jenny Craig. Great because you can join and try it with out dropping a large chunk...which I think scares lots of people away from trying JC.

    Anyway, hope this info is of help to someone. :happy:
  • healthyfitjenn
    healthyfitjenn Posts: 36 Member
    Hi, I just started on Jenny Craig last week...I really needed something that was easy right now. I love not having to think too much about what I need to eat!
    If anyone else is doing JC, please feel free to add me as a friend. :)
  • msdna
    msdna Posts: 2
    I am doing Jenny Craig also.. have been sticking with their food for 2 months and have lost nearly 20 lbs! Financial reasons are making me start to try to plan breakfast and lunch and snacks on my own starting this week and I am just buying the anytime bars and dinners for a few months. I have a plan and I think I can stay on target!

    We shall see!
    --
    Jana
  • AnnieRN6
    AnnieRN6 Posts: 48
    I did Jenny Craig for thirteen months, and spent a LOT of money, and lost......13 pounds. You can do the same diet with foods from the grocery store for a lot less money, with much more variety, and using MFP with it. (e.g. Lean Cuisine meals, etc.) Jenny Craig isn't highly motivated to have their clients actually lose a lot of weight, because once they lose the weight, the customers go away. They don't emphasize exercise, and their counselors are usually not well educated about nutrition. MFP friends are much better at encouraging each other than any of the Jenny Craig reps I met with. Using MFP, I've already lost six pounds in less than a month.
  • wnlbutterfly
    wnlbutterfly Posts: 35 Member
    I am a little confused why anyone would want to spend that much money when you could just as easily buy prepackaged food at your local grocery store. Plenty of choices. I know JC don't have their products there but WW and many others do. Just a thought.
  • healthyfitjenn
    healthyfitjenn Posts: 36 Member
    Actually - my counselor is VERY focused on exercise! We talk about it every week, and how I can work around my knee injury. Perhaps it depends on the counselor you get?

    The JC foods are lower in sodium than the ones you find in the grocery store. I have very rarely gone over my sodium max for the day while eating the JC foods.

    They also tend to be less carb-loaded than the stuff in the stores. Most of the Lean Cuisine type things I see have a lot of pasta / rice in them. I find the JC foods to be less so.

    It's not a forever plan. I like the combination of meeting with someone once a week and being held accountable, and the ease of just having the food available and not worrying about cooking - for now.

    And if you bought the same amount of food at the store - breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks, all pre-packaged like the JC stuff - I would bet it would cost pretty much the same! So, for me, I get the added bonus of a counceling session each week, and the food comes to my door.

    Oh - and I've been on JC for 4 weeks and I've lost over 10 pounds, so it's working for me right now, and to me that's all that matters at this moment. :)
  • NextPage
    NextPage Posts: 609 Member
    I also find that the program isn't that expensive in terms of looking at my cashflow. Overall I'm probably saving since the groceries for eating at home may be slightly higher but I am eating out less and not ordering wine with meals except on special occasions. Overall I'm certainly not worse off financial. I also took advantage of their new year's special and didn't pay set up or monthly fees.

    My counsellor also encourages exercise and checks what I have done each week and helps me set goals for the coming week during each visit. It sounds like I have gotten lucky with my counsellor and this hasn't been everyone's experience.

    I don't credit JC alone with my weight loss, but along with my workouts and MFP logging, it has played an important factor.

    I don't think JC is the best way to loss weight and organizing and preparing my own meals and monitoring my own behaviour is ideal. However, my partner and I brought a house last year that we are living in while renovating the rest of the house into two rental units. This is a crazy time and prepared portion controlled meals and an encouraging and knowlegeable person to check-in with each week is what I need right now. Once the renos are done I'll transition to a more self-reliant approach (but still using MFP, of course) and hopefully a drywall-dust free home!

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