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Jenny Craig Diet
Founded by Jenny Craig in 1983, the company has grown into one of the biggest weight-management businesses worldwide. But does bigger mean better? Here's what you need to know: The nutritional and exercise advice you're getting isn't unhealthy -- in fact, even the meals they sell are nutritionally balanced (breaking down roughly into 50 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 20 to 30 percent protein and 20 percent fat.). What many dieters find themselves asking in the long run is why they're paying several hundred dollars in fees just to be weighed, told a few nutritional tips, and then instructed on which overpriced frozen meals they should buy. Especially when their meals are comparable to many of the diet-based frozen entrees on the market today -- the only difference being, in the case of Jenny Craig, the inconvenience of having to buy them through the company and the higher price tag.
They do seem to offer dieters a great deal of support, especially through their 24/7 hotline. Still, one issue with the program is that many dieters assume that the "counselor" they answer to each week is a trained dietitian or nutritionist, which most are not. Jenny Craig's Web site even states that it prides itself "on hiring health-oriented and customer-focused individuals who genuinely enjoy working with people." After that, all they do is take a course to become "certified."
The company also claims that the goal of the program is to eventually teach dieters how to eat properly and about portion control, something the pre-packaged meals are supposed to do. But many nutritionists fail to see how dieters learn how to prepare healthy meals by buying meals that are ready-made.
An interesting note: The lifetime option -- the Platinum program -- is the only program that offers dieters a discount off of pre-packaged meals. You may want to ask yourself: If the goal is to eventually learn how to eat on your own (something you would assume lifetime members would accomplish) then why would a discount on meals be such an incentive?
Is the diet healthy?
Actually, yes. Each of the Jenny Cuisine meals are lower in calories, tend to be nutritionally balanced and are broken down into more reasonably smaller portions -- around the same size many nutritionists advise people to eat. The program also advises dieters to supplement their meals with a multi-vitamin and eat fresh fruits, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains and reduced-fat dairy products.
What do the experts say?
"One of the main pluses about Jenny Craig is its simplicity," says Tara Gidus, MS, RD, LDN, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "The meals are ready-made, nutritionally balanced, plus, they're all portion controlled, which is a good thing to see in America, where many portion sizes tend to be out of control." Asking dieters to check in with a counselor about their weekly eating habits is another positive aspect of the program, according to Gidus. "Having some sort of accountability is a huge part of any weight-loss plan," she says.
On the negative side, the program’s cost may push it out of the realm of possibility for some dieters. But even if you can afford plenty of their pre-packaged meals, eating them may not be as convenient as you might expect.
"Always relying on ready-made meals can make eating in a social setting a little awkward for some people," she says. "If you have issues eating differently than others around you, or find yourself left often with few options when dining out, the program may be harder to stick with."
Who should consider the diet?
Dieters who like being told what to do and/or dieters who don't feel like counting calories, preparing their food or having to think in general. Dieters who really need someone to answer to may also love the plan, since having to check in weekly is a major part of the program.
Foods
Because the program recommends eating only Jenny Cuisine meals at first, dieters become very familiar with what types of foods they'll be eating on a regular basis. Just a few examples of what you may eat may include the following.
For breakfast: French toast with berries; cranberry almond cereal; silver dollar pancakes with veggie sausage; banana nut cereal.
For lunch: Turkey chili; pan pizza; pasta Olé; lentils with beef.
For dinner: Chicken fettuccine; spinach and cheese tortellini; island style chicken; beef with mashed potatoes bowl and Swedish meatballs with noodles; sweet and sour chicken with rice.
For dessert: Double chocolate cake; raspberry swirl cheesecake.
For a snack: Chocolate graham cracker twists; bruschetta veggie chips; Jenny's cheese curls; gourmet microwave popcorn.
The program also instructs dieters to eat other all-natural healthy foods -- including fruits, vegetables, whole grain foods and low-fat dairy products. The program does suggest cutting back on coffee, soda and tea, but doesn't ban them, so long as you're drinking plenty of milk and water.
Bottom Line
The nutritional tips Jenny Craig offers are common-sense advice you could receive from any certified nutritionist or dietitian minus the hard sell that comes after every consultation to buy a weeks' worth of their meals. Besides, if you're serious about losing weight for life, being tethered to weekly follow-ups and meals you can only buy from one company may never teach you the right nutritional tools for eating healthy on your own terms.
Checklist
- Cost: Very pricey. It's difficult to place a finger on an exact cost on any plan. That's because their website doesn't divulge many pricing details (They don't get into specifics until you're on the phone or at one of their centers.) The membership fees can be as high as $300+, depending on which plan you choose.
After that, you still have to pay for each and every meal, which averages between $10-15 per day (and that's not including the fruits, veggies, whole grains, low-fat dairy and supplements they advise you to eat to balance out your diet.) You also have to buy a 28-day supply of food as soon as you join, no matter which program you choose. - Meals Provided: Yes (for a price). They specialize in their own line of ready-made frozen meals -- known as Jenny Cuisine -- ranging from a variety of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts.
- Diet Duration: Indefinitely. The program claims that dieters lose between one to two pounds per week. Even if you reach your target weight, you're still encouraged to stick with paying to see a counselor.
- Fitness Requirements: Although they now encourage dieters to exercise -- they don't stress it as much in the past -- they also tend to encourage buying from their selection of walking, fitness and exercise tapes and DVDs.
- Time Commitment: Minimal. Because you're basically told exactly what to eat and everything is pre-packaged, you just pull a meal out of the fridge or freezer and cook it.
- Eating Out: Difficult. Until you're weened off their Jenny Cuisine -- pre-packaged foods -- the only way to really eat out would be to bring your own pre-packaged meal and ask the chef to cook it for you (and we all know how well that will go over!)
- Alcohol: It's not encouraged, but dieters are allowed to have one to two drinks per week. Asking your counselor to adjust your diet can also allow dieters to possibly have more than one to two, when necessary.
- Vegetarian-Friendly: Yes. They do have a certain selection of foods that vegetarians can eat. Their meatless menu, however, isn't vegetarian (Jenny Craig states on their site that some meals may contain animal byproducts, including cheese and dairy.)
- Strict/Flexible Eating Plan: Strict. Although you can pick from a selection of meals, many dieters simply eat whatever meals are recommended by their counselors. Because the program doesn't stray very far from these pre-packaged meals, many dieters feel limited in their eating regime.
| Jenny Craig Diet Books | ||
  Jenny Craig's Simple Pleasures: Recipes to Nourish Body and Soul |
  Jenny Craig's No Diet Required: Recipes for Healthy Living |
  The Jenny Craig Cookbook: Cutting Through the Fat |
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