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 four things 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) Audio Tapes
The tapes are pretty well the same sort of info as the classes above.
4) 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 or tapes, 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 have been on Jenny Craig a couple times and most of the food is very good, but the prices are OUTRAGEOUS. I wish all these complaints could be sent to the Jenny Craig Corporate Office. More people would join if the prices were lower.
I just joined Jenny Craig and feel I made a big mistake… The sales pitch I received rivaled that of a used-car salesman. Fortunately, I only signed up for 1 week @ $59.00.
What worried me is the sales consultant trying to hard sell me into the $600 program. At that point, I told her I had to think about it because I don’t like to put a lot on money into a program unless they can prove it works. She finally talked me into a 1 week trail.
This is what I was afraid of, getting caught up in an expensive contract. I didn’t sign anything. I’ll probably try it for a week and that’s all. I don’t want to get caught up in a money hungry company.
Just wanted to share my thoughts and to say thanks for the comments.
I worked for Jenny Craig until last month. I was there for two years and one of the top producers in the Chicago area.
They don’t care about anything but getting your money for the food. The dirty little secret at Jenny Craig is they have a success rate of 6 percent. That’s right…6 percent of the clients ever reach goal. Less than half of those keep the weight off after one year.
Save your money. The consultants work so hard, are paid very little..about $7.50 per hour and make commission on the food and program sales. That’s why they really encourage you to buy a weeks worth the food every visit and sign up for the Rewards Program. Nestle owns Jenny Craig now and all they care about is making money. The employee turnover is very high and the morale is very low. BUYER BEWARE!!!!!