Jenny Craig is not so much a diet, but a franchised weight loss center with packaged food. Jenny Craig weight loss clinics can be found all over the world.
The Jenny Craig program is one of the best known weight loss plans in the world and has recently undergone renewed popularity due to endorsements from celebrities including Kirstie Alley and Queen Latifah.
The goals of the Jenny Craig program are to help dieters develop a healthy relationship with food, an active lifestyle and a positive mindset.
There are three levels in the program. The first level allows dieters to adjust to the program by eating the foods they like in small portions.
In the second level dieters learn how to boost their energy and lose weight by becoming involved in regular physical activity.
The third level is where dieters are instructed how to continue with a healthy lifestyle so that weight loss is maintained. The ultimate goal of the Program is to enable you to transition from Jenny Craig menus to planning your own menus, so that you can learn to shop, cook and socialize with foods.
The cost of the program depends on which plan you choose, which menu items you select, and the duration of your plan. There are membership costs – up to $399 per year for the full year long Premium program. However discounts are often available for shorter terms.
On average dieters can expect to pay around $100 per week for meals.
Pros
- Clinically proven to result in weight loss.
- Convenient and eliminates the time involved in shopping and food preparation.
- No need to plan meals or count calories.
- Support, advice and encouragement from Jenny Craig staff may be very beneficial.
- Calorie intake is adjusted to suit individual requirements.
- Meal plans include a lot of variety.
- Dieters do not have to give up favorite foods.
- Can help dieters to learn about portion control.
- Provides guidance for eating in restaurants.
- Includes a weight loss maintenance plan.
Cons
- Many dieters experience hunger due to the low calorie content of the meals.
- May be difficult for dieters to maintain weight loss and calorie control when they stop relying on meal delivery.
- Some dieters may not enjoy eating prepackaged and frozen meals.
- Expensive in comparison to many other programs.
- Not suitable for vegans.
- Does not cater for those with food allergies.
- Does not offer a money back guarantee.
Bonci praises Jenny Craig for teaching portion control. But she questions the value of learning portion control from pre-packaged foods.
"The negative is once you go off of the packaged meals, it is difficult to translate those portions of food to real eating," Bonci says. "Normal foods are not sold in those tiny portions. And most people say whatever one of those packaged meals you buy tastes all the same. It is like going camping. Everything you eat is out of the box, and you don't have that stimulatory enjoyment. And that can be a problem. It's important to have people enjoy eating over the long term. The crucial question is how to help someone back to a semblance of normal eating. That is where the program doesn't hold up as well."
If you want to lose some weight fairly quickly, Jenny Craig can get you on the right path in a short period of time. To take full advantage of the Jenny Craig method, you must make full use of the counseling support the company offers as you make the transition from packaged food to your own healthy menu planning and meal preparation. Those who are ready to commit to the kind of lifestyle change Jenny Craig offers are most likely to get full value for their diet dollar.
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