Questions About Jenny Craig

Updated on July 12, 2008
C.H. asks from Saint Petersburg, FL
11 answers

Have any of you ever tried Jenny Craig to lose weight?? I have tried Weight Watchers (and lost weight), but I absolutely loathe cooking. My husband does almost all of the cooking, but is reluctant to make most of the WW recipes. Therefore, I would have to cook and I truly hate it!!

I have seen commercials for Jenny Craig and know that you purchase meals and they send them to you at home. I am a fairly picky eater (I don't like many fruits or veggies) and am wondering if it'll be a waste of money to join JC. Have any of you eaten their food?? If so, would you please tell me about it??

I really need to lose weight b/c I'm very frustrated with the weight I've gained over the past 5 years and am not happy with my body at all!! My 25th high school reunion is in 3 years and I refuse to go looking like I do now!

Please help!!

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R.W.

answers from Tampa on

A friend of mine tried Jenny Craig. She got tire of the food after a couple of months but lost a lot of weight. But since she has quit has gained it back plus more. Once you start on Jenny Craig you have to stay on it for life to keep the weight off. As is with all diets. My doctors advice to me was to eat what I want but less. Use a smaller plate. Don't take seconds. Limit you candy and snack intake to a 100 calorie snack a day. And find something fun to do for exercise. I gained a ton of weight while they were trying to find the right dose of thyroid medicine. It took four years for them to get is right. In Feb. I decided I was going to lose weight. I eat all the same things I always have but less. Pepsi is a once a week thing now instead of every day. I have lost over 20 pounds. We also got an air rider for me to use. That got boring after a month. Now my husband and I go bike riding in the evening. But honestly, the best way to lose weight is to find a lady friend that is trying to lose weight and talk every day. Even a email or AIM friend can be helpful. Drink a glass of water without ice about a half hour before dinner. That will curb your eating also. Don't chew gum. It is a proven fact that gum can make you hunger for food. And smile and laugh alot. Accept yourself for the way you look now. I know it's hard but when you do that it seems to make losing easier. Good Luck. I know I am at a stand still with my weight loss and it is driving me crazy.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.G.

answers from Tampa on

Historically, being overweight hasn't been a common human problem. You have to consider what is new in the human experience that contributes to it and avoid those things if you really intend to lose weight and get beyond this issue for good. What's new in the human experience since the weight problems have skyrocketed? Processed food, added chemicals, and plastic containers. Isn't that what Jenny's all about? I know you'll do what you want, but it makes no sense to me to include such "food" in a healthy eating plan.

You don't like to cook, and neither do most people. The food companies have found a way to capitalize on that and make billions...And you're gaining weight as a result of your very desire not to cook.

Even medical conditions that cause weight gain used to be uncommon. These conditions are most likely due to eating too much processed food. Most processed foods contain harmful chemicals that can both cause illness and contribute to weight increase. If you don't know what something on the label is, its best not to eat it, just to be safe. We used to have a very safe food supply, that is no longer the case. We're eating chemicals never intended as food and our bodies are paying the price. Some of those chemicals are preservatives or colorants. Others are actually added by food companies to enhance your appetite and make you want to eat (and buy) more. MSG, for example, is an appetite enhancer. Most people don't realize that due to lobbying by food companies, they can legally "hide" it under more than 20 different names! Any time you see the word "malt" think appetite enhancer. Why would you eat something like that if you want to lose weight? You only make yourself suffer.

In addition, heating plastic food containers releases hormone disrupting chemicals which again, can contribute both to weight gain and illness.

A word about restaurants: They serve processed foods full of appetite enhancers. Afterall, they want your business. Since few restaurants serve appropriate portions, if you eat everything on your plate, your body may no longer know what an appropriate portion is. You must retrain it by discipline. That discipline comes much easier if you stay away from "mystery chemicals" that tease you. They are the ingredients on packages that you don't personally identify as food.

If women in your grandmother's or great-grandmother's generation wouldn't recognize it as food, it probably isn't food.

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L.C.

answers from Tampa on

I've used Jenny Craig successfully before having children and used it briefly between my two most recent pregnancies, but stopped because I became pregnant again very quickly. The food is not terrible as far as pre-packaged food goes, the truth is... it's convenient, and that's what worked for me. The idea being you make up the quantity of your food in salads and free vegetables, which creates a full feeling - I used fresh vegetables in the steamable packaging from the grocery store for dinners and would even eat out with friends, bring my meal but get a bare bones side salad from wherever we were. I was also working out 5 days a week but lost about 25 lbs between having had a miscarriage with my first preganancy and finding out I was pregnant with my first child. Then, after my second child I dropped about 10 lbs before finding out I was pregnant yet again!

Good luck!

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M.L.

answers from Lakeland on

You don't need to join a group like that. I have tried the weigh watchers food and it is aweful. Don't know about jenny Craig but you can do this yourself. A friend sent me an on line diet tips site. Use your weight watchers calculator and use te point system but choose your own meals by adding up points to each ingredient. there are several sites online that transfer fresh foods to nutricion content and give you the size of the serving for th cal. and fat etc. Also Smart Ones and lean Cuisine meals taste great, the points are on the box, buy egg beaters for breakfast , they taste like real eggs to me, turkey bacon tastes almost like real beacon, 3 points for 3 slices, eggs 1 serving no points, low fat wheat bread for toast. You can have a full breakfast for about 5 points. 20 points per day and try to stay within around 15ptsd and you will lose faster. Walmart brand snack crackers in the triangle shape come in 2 flavors and are 1 pt for 12 crackers. WW candy, 1 pt per piece and it is good, also their cookies are moist and good 1 pt. I buy fat free swiss chees slices, the american is nasty, Use whole wheat bread and have a toasted cheese sandwich for lunch, about 5 pts.Hot cereals, you can nuke for breakfast. Farina is like cream of wheat, 1 cup serving with butter buds powder and splenda for sugar and you have a filling 3 pt breakfast. I buy Dannon slim and fit yogurt it has the least in everything, 1 pt and stretch it with fat free cool whip and some fresh fruit. makes a yummy big dessert or snack for about 2 points. WW icecream bars are great too,1 pt. I started my diet on 4/29. i weighed 145+ lbs and now weigh 128. It works and no excersize needed though I am sure that would help but i am too lazy. You can have a meqsured amount of pasta and sauce at home if you hasve a food scale. medium baked potatoe (2.8) oz 1 pt, 1/2 chicken breast skinless baked or broiled, or boiled 3 pts. Good luck
Here is one link
http://www.perfecthealthhgh.com/fhr/download.html
The E Book gives you recipe ideas for your diet
http://www.weightlossgang.com/

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R.H.

answers from Tampa on

Hi,

I am currently doing the Jenny Craig diet. I've lost 20 lbs so far, but still have a bit to go.. The diet is really easy. They give you the menu & you buy the food from them (no shopping, no cooking). My opinion is that the food is really good. I don't like to cook, so the microwave meals are great :-) If there is something you don't like on the menu, you can pick another entree. I spend about $100 a week, which includes everything (breakfast, 2 snacks, lunch & dinner). I would definitely recommend it. However, I would do the center visits, versus shipping the food at home. You save on shipping costs, & the diet is more effective when you report to someone every week. Good luck

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B.D.

answers from Tampa on

I'm a weight loss coach, and I can tell you it will be very difficult for you to lose weight and keep it off without eating fruits and veggies. I've never personally eaten Jenny Craig food, but I have heard that it is pretty expensive. It also has small portions (including the veggies). If you avoid the veggies, you'll have even less to eat. I would advise that you try to learn to eat fruits and veggies. Research shows that you may have to taste something a dozen times to learn to like it, and most veggies taste very different depending on how you prepare them.

Try the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook where you hide the veggies in pureed form in other foods. That may be a good way for you to start.

If you go with Jenny Craig, what will you do when you stop that program? How will you maintain any weight loss if you go back to eating in the way that put the weight on?

First and foremost, you need to be exercising more in order to take the weight off.

I'd be happy to talk with you or email you privately if you would like.

B.
www.moreislessdiet.com

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S.D.

answers from Fort Myers on

Hi C.; I don't know much about Jenny Craig except what I have heard. However, I want to tell you about a weight loss program that is fantastic and sounds like something you would like since you don't like to cook. I am a Herbalife distributor. With our program you have two shakes a day which taste great and full of good nutrition. Then you have one regular meal (reasonable size) a day. I lost over 70 lbs myself on the products in less than 7 months and have been able to keep the weight off and feel great. My doctor strongly indorses what I am doing. Say's I am healthier than I have been in years. If you are interested in a sample pack or just knowing more about our products just get in touch with me. I am in Iowa for the summer as I can work my business werever I am. You can call me at my home/office ####-###-#### or call my toll free #866-735-0776 and leave a message how to contact you. You can also e-mail me at ____@____.com. S.

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R.W.

answers from Tampa on

Hi. my advice would to be go to your doctor and talk to them about a reasonable plan. Weight watchers and Jenny Craig make it simple. Like you, some people don't cook, or don't know how, so they make the meals or recipes for you. It's all about planning and making sensible choices. If you don't eat fruits and veggies, what do you eat? You need to retrain yourself to like fruits and veggies. Try different ones. Fresh, not canned. Try steaming some vegtables and sprinkling them with balsamic vinegar. Diets aren't a quitck fix, they are a change in eating habits. And those habits have to be a lifestyle change. And if what you are doing now isn't working, you need to change your eating habits. Think about portion control and don't drink calories. If you drink soda, cut it out of your diet. Plan your meals a day ahead and write everything down. It isn't easy, but once it becomes your lifestyle, you don't have to think about it so much. Good luck. R.

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J.W.

answers from Tampa on

C.,
My brother tried Jenny Craig and did well for about 2 years. Unfortunately he gained it all back and more, because he eventually had to return to cooking and never learned the proper foods to eat. I too am over weight. I have struggled the past few year with loosing 10 lbs and gaining back 10 or more. Last week I went to the Thomas Weight Loss Clinic in Tampa. I understand that there are Clinics closer, but a friend had good results, so I chose Dr. Thomas. They have layed out a complete plan for me. Food that I need to eat, starting with basic walking for exercise, and shots of certain B vitamins and minerals to assist with energy and such. Go to his website and check it out www.thomasweightloss.com I started the program last week and have lost 9 lbs so far, I have 30 more to go. I return on a weekly basis. They teach you how to eat, exercise, and more. Good luck and I am with you!

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N.R.

answers from Sarasota on

Hi C.,
If WW worked for you why not stick with it and buy the WW meals? That way you have the flexibility to eat at restaurants and eat what your husband makes etc..... The WW meals don't taste bad and they have great deserts. If you don't want to calculate points you can even buy WW bread, muffins, cereal etc. And as you know you get the support from the meetings and they even have etools now as well.
I have never done JC so I can't say much about it but WW does give you a lot of "non-cooking" options plus lots of extra support.

Good Luck! I am trying to shed all these extra pounds now also and I have been doing WW but the past few weeks I have "fallen off the wagon" due to stress so this week I am getting back on track.

Again good luck!!!

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W.B.

answers from Sarasota on

I've seen it work until the person goes to eat 'regular food' again. then the weight comes back. this yo-yo effect is very h*** o* the body. i have seen the more long term success with weight watchers. you can purchase weight watcher snacks and some meals. perhaps you could cook one time a week and then freeze a few meals? (or go in with a friend and trade "frozen meals", or find the easiest recipes to make and or modify what your husband makes. a tricky situation! keep up the good work. your effort is inspiring!

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