This is a review from a good friend of mine. It summarizes what I hear from most people about Jenny Craig. (Also, take a look at my video post, Jenny Craig vs. Nutrisystem, where an independent reporter investigates and compares both diets.)
My sister and I have struggled with our weight for our whole lives. Like everyone else, we had tried diet program after diet program. I clearly remember the day when we finally decided to do something about it and go to Jenny Craig. I’m not sure exactly why we chose Jenny Craig.
Maybe it was the Jenny Craig ads on TV with famous spokeswomen like Kirstie and Valerie (heard they just added Queen Latifah). Maybe it was the skinny people contrasted with pictures and videos of their former fat selves (”Results Not Typical” hmm). Or maybe it was just desperation because we had tried and failed at so many other diets: Weight Watchers, Atkins, and endless diet pills.
When we went to the center they put us through the drill. We watched a video, talked to the manager/sales rep, got weighed and got measurements taken. Very simple stuff which was all filled with sales pitches about how great the program is and how much weight we can lose. The whole initialization process didn’t fill me with a lot of confidence in the program, but I looked at it like it was a ritual that I had to perform to get to the nugget of the Jenny Craig program. The nugget that we believed would solve my sister’s and my problem. We were so excited about what we thought Jenny would help us do.
Jenny Craig supplies the following in exchange for your hard-earned dollars:
1) Counseling
Basically, the counselors were a joke. None of them had any insight or understanding of our struggle. Most had been thin all their lives. Some were 10 or 20 lbs. overweight and were far from masters of fitness and didn’t really understand us. On top of this the staff was untrained. They knew way less about weight loss than we did. If you want to know what the counseling was like imagine this:
Imagine your average decent woman from the street who has never really struggled with her weight. Imagine her sitting down with you and giving you advice on how to lose weight. Whatever pops into her head. Whatever skills she has come to the table with her and that’s it. Then she gives you an expensive menu that you must buy from and she whisks you off.
I guess there are a few good counselors peppered throughout the Jenny Craig organization, but, according to my experience, the counselors are generally less than useless. They’re counterproductive. It made me feel worse having some mega thin Barbie (who had always been thin) or some semi-pudgy “counselor” rush me through the session and ask me if I drank my water or ate an extra bar.
2) Classes
If you’ve ever read a book on basic nutrition and a basic diet book then you can skip these. I don’t know if they’ve changed them in the past few years, but they were entirely lame when I went. Nutrition and behavior modification courses taught by people who knew very little about either.
3) Expensive Food
Some food was delicious and some was unbearably disgusting. I loved the bars. The menu was repetitive. There was about a week or two’s worth of different food which is redistributed over the menus for as many weeks as you’re on the program. I was on the program for a long time (8 months).
Here’s the real meat of the deal for Jenny Craig. From my experience it quickly became obvious that Jenny Craig was just a diet food retailer. They’re not really about counseling or classes, because the quality is way too low. I think it’s just a front. So, to compensate for the added overhead costs of all those diet centers, counselors, and marketing, they overprice their food. Pretty slick huh.
The Bottom Line:
As with any diet, you can have success losing weight with Jenny Craig, but at what cost? Strip away all the fluff and at Jenny Craig’s core is a company selling overpriced diet food, twice as much as their competition. Save your money and stick with better choices like Nutrisystem or Medifast.
Hi, I'm a dietitian with experience in hundreds of weight loss programs and fad diets. When forming my list of the
I’ve been on this program since July and have only lost maybe 5 pounds. I was on Weight Watchers and they had me on 27 points which was about 1400 0r 1500 calories. On Jenny Craig I am on 1200 which is not enought calories to sustain my body weight even if I don’t exercise. I figure that it’s going to cost me 100 dollars a pound to lose the 50 pounds I have to lose. I’ve already spent 1000 dollars since July on the rewards membership plus food and I’ve only lost 5 pounds.
When I started Jenny Craig, I was over 200 lbs. My height is 5′6, however, even at this height, I was extremely overweight and depressed. I had gained a lot of weight with both of my children and were using them as an excuse to be overweight. When I excepted a new job, I knew I had to do something. Out of desperation, I joined Jenny Craig.
I called several different centers, and decided on the one with the most mature counselor, Nancy. Nancy was absolutely great (retired school teacher) and had been on the program herself– so she really knew what she was talking about. I stuck to the program, religiously and lost about 47 lbs. I then moved and tranferred to a new center. The program is TOTALLY about the counselors. The food is the same no matter where you go.
When I transferred to the Polaris Center in Columbus, OH, I was assigned to Shirin. She knew really nothing about the program, would read to me out of the book, if I had a question. She missed my scheduled appts., repeatedly. When I walked in, no one said even “hello”- -no one asked me how my week was or how I was doing– I rec’d a weekly phone call, onlyh to “confirm” my next appt, again, no encouragement. My folder was transferred from Hilliard to Polaris and lost. Repeatedly, no one could find my folder when I arrived for my scheduled appt. I got to the point where I would go in, check off my food, weigh myself, pay and leave. Of course, the center was happy as long as they were getting my money.
I’ve learned that I can buy the same, if not better food in the stores with Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers, or Kashi. It’s not magic. 1200-1800 calories a day ( I was 1200) and some moderate excercise. I can eat whatever I want as long as I follow those guidelines, and still lose weight. I conviced both my sisters and friend to join and rec’d NOTHING– no discounts, etc. I wish not I hadn’t.
I feel duped and sad that I am just another number. I was told that I could be reassigned to another center, which is not convenient for me, or reassigned to another counselor- (no thanks, I’ve seen them all– very unprofessional and quite frankly, ignornant). I don’t feel like I was ever “taught” how to eat, even though I passed my 1/2 point several times (yes I gained some weight back
)– I am writing this in the hope that I can “give back” to the community and stop others from wasting their money!
I am grateful for these reviews on Jenny Craig. I was thinking of trying them, but now see the program as a waste of money. Thanks