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
All: I’ve been on JC for several months and have finally moved away from buying the food items and visiting the center for pep talks. What I learned after this experience, are the things I can do to lose weight on my own (minus JC or any other Diet Program). It’s really quite simple and boils down to discipline.
1) Eat when you’re hungry - but portion size only.
2) Steer away from high fats, bad fats, and unnecessary sugars.
3) Do something active each day, if only for 30 minutes - if you want to walk, walk, if you want to walk slow, that’s okay too, but do something that gets you off the couch. You’re not in a race with anyone! If you’re tired after 15 minutes, start again tomorrow.
4) Don’t deprive yourself of something if you really want it - just make sure it’s portion sized. If you have something really high in calories, just add alittle more activity to your day. After 1 treat (not cheat), that’s it! Walk another 5-10 minutes.
5) Have popcorn if you’re hungry. Those 100 calorie packs are great - though it’s hard to get all the kernals to pop. If you have to have chocolate or something sweet (have a sugar free choc pudding and load it up with fat free cool whip. (You can’t put too much on a small container of pudding anyhow!) Add a cherry to the top! ha (now it’s pretty!)
6) Drink cold water - or better yet, flavored water (raspberry, grape, etc.) that is low in calories.
7) Buy portion size food items or package it up in portion sized bags/containers - so you won’t be tempted to eat a whole gallon of ice-cream, just because it’s sitting in your freezer.
9) Don’t make dieting a hassel or boring - try something new that you’ve never had before - just for the experience of it. Dieting can be fun. I never write anything down (though JC tells you to). I have enought to worry about in my life, I don’t want to have another burden of a ‘food journel’! Besides, I don’t want anything that I regard as a treat, to be considered a cheat - I see it as just a way of life. We are going to have something sweet on occasion, so go ahead and do it! Don’t write a story about it (like the one I’m writing now) - this, I believe causes us to focus too much on food.
10) Weigh yourself in the morning only (JC does this whatever time of day your appointment is and this doesn’t work, because you are going to weight more in the evening, etc.)
Any weight gain can be a downer, but don’t give up. You’re on the right road to improving yourself (through diet and exercise). Even if it takes several years or is thought of as a way of life (which it should be), so what. Again, the only competion is you vs you. Right? Anyhow, no one really needs to spend money on diet products and boxed food that doesn’t taste good, if you pay attention to the things that JC and Nutrisystem teach you. The truth is….it’s really all about discipline and making smart balanced choices.
Make your life more than ‘being about food’. Food is wonderful and is needed to live. Before you take a bite of something, just ask yourself ‘Is this something I really want at this moment, or can I walk alittle further and then allow myself this item (without the guilt?)’. I never allow myself to feel guilty or as if I’ve cheated, as this is also a downer. If I want it, I have it (portion size). I just don’t have 20 of ‘it’, even if that is really what I’d like to do. I read the portion size on packages now and will actually count out the 4 cookies that are within the portion size. I find I’m just as satisified, but now feeling even better about myself for having discipline.
My son and I stopped by Duncan Donuts yesterday, but this time, we each picked out 1 special donut, versus buying an assorted dozen. We were just as satisifed and had spend far less money. Anyhow, happy dieting all!
Agree that it’s not all about JC and that there are disappointments in untrained counselors that have never seen an ounce of fat in their lifes, and/or can’t even tell you about the food. It is a business afterall and a business survives through profit. Maybe that is why they pay to have spokespersons (that we may have grown -though their celebrity status to trust) in the first place. In order to have a business, they have to get us in the door. In order to maintain a business, they have to show us that we can all lose weight. This part is true though. We can if we choose to. It’s tough - but every pound off should be a reason to praise yourself, whether on JC or Nutrisystem. Celebrate the treats and the loses. Celebrate the money you’ve saved by making smarter choices. Celebrate life and how it feels to look and feel good about yourself. Best to all!
THANK YOU for sharing your experiences!!! I too am looking for some direction and encouragement in a weight loss program. I was trying to decide between Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem. (Although I must say that neither Kerstie or Valerie are effective spokeswomen, I don’t find either one of them attractive or appealing, wouldn’t seek either out to be a friend.) I will try Nutrisystem and will keep my wallet far away from Jenny Craig!!!!!
I, too, am grateful to those individuals who took the time to warn the rest of us. I was just about to call this organization when I decided to read some of the reviews. After careful thought, I decided to go another route. Thanks again for the time you took to enlighten us.