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 called a couple of days ago to make an appointment with a local Jenny Craig office. They seemed to be a bit pushy and wouldn’t talk about the price until I hounded them. After hearing the cost, I agree they are too expensive.
I had been thinking about checking out the Jenny Craig program so I stopped by one of their offices and I met with one of the counselors, or so I thought.
She started taking down my information, weighing me, and then proceeded to tell me how much it would cost. She was not one bit motivating, did not encourage me in anyway, and frankly, I think she just wanted to sell me and get me out the door.
I told her that I felt that she was not a good motivator, was not perky enough and that I did not feel excited about joining. She got defensive and then told me I hurt her feelings. My question is this: Why doesn’t Jennie Craig get with the program (no pun intended) and hire people that actually went through the heartaches and work of losing weight and send them to a training seminar on how to talk to people?
The one that talked to me told me she had lost 250 lbs. and she looked like a size 6. I then asked her, “show me your before and after picture”. She said, Oh I don’t have it with me… yeah right! I am a woman, but I am not STUPID. Goodbye Jenny Craig, Hasta La Vista, Baby…..
I started the Jenny Craig program in November of 2007. I had blood work done in September of 07 & my cholesterol was on the high side. I have lost 38 pounds since then & had my cholesterol checked again & it hasn’t changed. My doctor told me that it would probably be lower because I lost weight from being on the program but it wasn’t & he wants to put me on medicine to lower my cholesterol.
Apparently Jenny Craig food must be high in cholesterol. Make sure to have blood work done while being on this program. I will no longer be on the Jenny Craig program.