Jenny Craig


 Type of Diet:
Prepackaged foods and weekly visits

Foods You Eat on this Diet

Prepackaged Jenny Craig foods are the central focus of their diet and menu plans. You are required to eat Jenny Craig foods at each meal, every day during the first half of your weight loss goal. There is a transition to real foods after that.  

Comments:
Prepackaged foods and supplements along with personal weekly consultations for motivation and behavior change are the central parts of the program.

Can you keep it off on this type of diet? Although Jenny Craig has been around since1983, there is no data available on successful long term weight maintenance on their program members.

Positives: Prepackaged foods take the guesswork out of choosing foods, which can be helpful at first. Weekly support may be important to some for motivation. Their program promotes lifestyle changes and education on meal planning, exercise, and managing stress.

Drawbacks: A very expensive way to lose weight with no data to support whether this will be more effective than other programs that are less expensive.

Prepackaged foods make it difficult to eat with others and to dine out. If you cook for your family, you still need to buy groceries, cook and clean up so you lose the convenience aspects. 

Cost

Cost $65 a week for meals, $18/month for supplements, plus you buy your own fruits, vegetables, plus membership costs. This can add up to $400 for the first month alone.

Safety and Health Issues This diet is basically nutritionally safe and sound at higher calorie levels and when supplemented with vitamin/mineral supplement.

  • Jenny Craig counselors are not credentialed in dietetics or behavior therapy  and may lack the expertise to address nutritional and behavioral issues  
  • Some programs go as low as 1000 Calories, which may compromise nutritional intake  

Diet Surf Recommendations
 Recommended for people who eat by themselves, don't plan on cooking for others, don't dine out much and like packaged foods.

Dietitians comments about the Jenny Craig Diet

Prepackaged diet plans seem like a good idea at first. They can help control portion size and decisions are minimal. However, you can find a variety of lower calorie convenience foods at the grocery store, and you won't be locked into buying foods after you've grown tired of the plan. You may want to try a plan that allows for convenience foods but allows for flexibility in using recipes and dining out right from the start. There are many diet programs where you can eat real foods and convenience meals at the same time with more flexibility.