The Jenny Craig Diet reviews well for convenience and support and sure, you may well lose some weight…but do you really want to live on ready meals while you do it?
Jenny Craig is part of the dieting landscape having been around for over 20 years.
Many people will be familiar with the Jenny Craig centres, but the diet guru has kept pace with the communications revolution with her home based Jenny Direct service.
There’s also an online program with a very snazzy website giving dieters 24/7 access to a range of support, advice and information.
So, what’s the Jenny Craig Diet all about?
Jenny Craig Diet Reviews – How Does it Work…?
Jenny Craig started off with a book and swiftly grew into a Weight Watchers style meeting based diet program.
You went to a Jenny Craig Centre and got advice, information, support and lots of group hugs.
The centers still exist but now there’s the Jenny Direct program, which extends the concept and we would imagine the potential client base significantly.
Jenny Direct offers telephone counselling, personalised weight loss programs, a website and food delivery…
Hmm, now this is what Jenny Craig is all about! Pre-packaged meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Jenny Craig markets her own range of ready meals and lots more besides.
Check out the website as you can buy it all from there.
The Jenny Craig Diet is a low calorie programme that encourages exercise and actually has a commendable focus on behaviour change.
There’s a real emphasis on practical tips to overcoming the inevitable day to day challenges that any dieter will face, coping with stress, poor self image and eating out.
The counsellers work with you to design a program that fits around your body shape, activity levels, likes and dislikes…and they count the calories for you!
The YourStyle program is a highly individualised plan that even factors in your attitude to food and dieting. The Jenny Craig Diet reviews well for this personalised approach.
You’ll typically be eating upwards of 1,200 calories a day and can expect, we are told, to lose 1-2lbs a week…
Oh, and did we mention the pre-packaged food?
Dieters are strongly encouraged…’persuaded’ by the counsellors to eat nothing but the company’s ready meals for the first few weeks and months of their diet.
There are a few recipes on the site but the diet plan looks very much like one of the company’s catalogues!
Simply buy the ready meals, pop them in the microwave and…enjoy. Jamie Oliver would have a heart attack!
To be fair, as the diet progresses you’ll begin to buy fresh ingredients and prepare your own meals, which will be low fat with lots of complex carbs, lean protein, fruit and veg.
Jenny Craig Diet Reviews – Does it Work…?
Well Kirsty Alley says it does! To be honest, she looks fabulous on the website and is almost all the persuasion most people would need to give the diet a go!
You’re bound to lose weight eating a low calorie diet, so yes it probably will work in the short term.
You’re encouraged to be active, which is essential to weight loss and another plus for the program as are the personalised weight loss plans.
Research has shown that ongoing support whether in group meetings or one to one are also boons for successful weight loss. The Jenny Craig Diet reviews well for support and behaviour modification.
So far so good…
But, did we mention the pre-packaged meals?
If you’re going to do this diet you will have to eat the ready meals. There’s no way around it.
And the meals work out to be really rather pricey. The Jenny Craig Diet doesn’t review very well as a cost effective, affordable plan.
We would suggest that you’ll spend the best part of $20 a day on food, which is an awfully big chunk out of the housekeeping!
On one hand, people who don’t cook and exist on supermarket bought ready meals and takeouts may like the convenience and cultural familiarity of the diet.
Those on a budget, with a family to feed, who like to cook, who like fresh food are probably going to hate it.
Yep, you know exactly how many calories you’re eating, how much fat, protein, etc.
But it’s hardly an approach that’s going to get you thinking about your food choices and developing the food preparation skills essential to long term weight loss.
What happens when you graduate from the ready meals to real food?
Jenny Craig Diet Reviews – The Bottom Line…
There’s a lot of good stuff in this diet…the low calorie meal plans, the exercise, the behaviour modification, the support package…
But did we mention the pre-packaged meals?
Sure, we all toss a ready meal into the microwave now and then, but it should really be the exception, not the rule. The Jenny Craig Diet reviews poorly on this count.
You may well lose some weight on the Jenny Craig Diet but subsisting on pre-packed food is not a sound strategy for long term weight loss.
Despite the positives, when you get down to it this is really a fast food diet for a fast food generation.
The convenience factor that may well make this diet popular to some people is probably what made them fat in the first place!
However lean and calorie controlled the meals are, breaking the dependence on fast food is an important step in reconnecting to and developing a healthy relationship with food…real, fresh, wholesome food.
The type that doesn’t come out of a box, bag or tin!
Our Jenny Craig Diet reviews verdict? Expensive – give it a miss! If you can afford the price of the ready meals, invest the cash in a gym membership instead!
If you do like the convenience of the Jenny Craig Diet, check out eDiets and Try our Jenny Craig Alternative
