Jenny Craig - Doing it on a budget

[dthogue]

I've been thinking about doing the Jenny Craig program to lose weight. Anyone else out there that does the program and can tell me about the costs and how to do the program, but keep the costs (food,etc.) to the bare minimum???? I really need the accountability that the program offers, but I'm afraid the food costs might be out of my budget.

They are having an open house on Tuesday and it says the programs are 1/2 off???

Also, any other tips on succeeding with the program?

Thanks,
Tammy

 

[Kat&Dom]

I've been thinking about doing the Jenny Craig program to lose weight. Anyone else out there that does the program and can tell me about the costs and how to do the program, but keep the costs (food,etc.) to the bare minimum???? I really need the accountability that the program offers, but I'm afraid the food costs might be out of my budget.

They are having an open house on Tuesday and it says the programs are 1/2 off???

Also, any other tips on succeeding with the program?

Thanks,
Tammy

Jenny Craig is a good program but it does get expensive. You are looking at $5-8 per meal and $2-3 per snack item. You are probably looking at about $400 per month if you do a bare bone budget program. I did lose 50 pounds on Jenny Craig so it does work and it was good to have the accountability.

I think the biggest part of losing weight is mentally and emotionally being ready to let it go. Good luck!

 

[dthogue]

Jenny Craig is a good program but it does get expensive. You are looking at $5-8 per meal and $2-3 per snack item. You are probably looking at about $400 per month if you do a bare bone budget program. I did lose 50 pounds on Jenny Craig so it does work and it was good to have the accountability.

I think the biggest part of losing weight is mentally and emotionally being ready to let it go. Good luck!

Thanks for the info - were you able to maintain the weight loss? How was the maintainance part of the program?

Tammy

 

[rflorek]

For the money you will spend on Jenny Craig (where the food is all prepackaged and you REALLY don't learn how to portion your own food), I would suggest Weight Watchers if you're looking for accountability.

Other than the program costs ($39.99 is the most expensive monthly pass option), the costs are for whatever groceries you need to buy. You don't have to buy special prepackaged foods in addition to your regular groceries. And you learn about exercise and proper portioning & nutrition along the way so it's easier to maintain in the long run (and once you hit your lifetime weight goal, you can go to meetings for free!)

 

[KKB]

The problem with Jenny Craig isn't accountability...it's the difficulty moving from the packaged portions to making your own.
WW has accountability--you weigh in weekly. It says you should measure all your food & write it all down--THAT is what will get you to learn how to eat for a lifetime.
I am not dissing JC--but studies show that people who try programs such as JC & Nutrisystem (or any other w/ prepackaged meals) have higher failure rates than WW.
$400+/mo. for JC v. $40/mo. for WW--and WW has the higher percentage of success.
But either way YOU have to GO every week. Personally I would put that kind of money toward a gym membership & spring for a personal trainer for a while. I know when I am working out is when the weight budges. (cutting most carbs seems to help me, too)
I watched my cousin lose a ton of weight on JC--she looked fab--for a price--and gained it all back once she went off.
I'm no WW fanatic--I've got 40 lbs. I'd like to budge. I have done WW w/ some success--but the failure was my own. I don't do well w/ strict programs (which WW ISN'T)...I do best watching portions & carbs & regularly working out. Our insane schedule w/ 3 busy preteens/teens, 2 FT jobs & 2 of us in grad school makes applying myself a bit tough these days. Not an excuse, just a realist here.
The KEY is a LIFESTYLE...6 days/wk really watch it...have some treats the 7th day...and studies show it takes 60 min/day minimum 6 days/wk to budget the pounds...walking is the cheapest & easiest.
Good luck!

 

[uromac]

Hi!

Thanks OP for posting! I received a similar email for an open house on Tuesday for here in SJ! I was wondering what was a better deal - the first 20 pounds free or this deal - does anyone know? FYI, I also a friend of mine has done Jenny Craig with a phone consultant (she lives in NJ and said that this state is one of a few that offers weekly 'phone consultant' talks) which costs less and she loves her person btw, and orders, and then picks up a her food at a local JC office and saves on shipping to her home - so far she has lost over 50 pounds and wants to lose 75 total. I think I even though it might cost more,I need some physical accountability which you can get if you go to JC.

I have had success also on Weight Watchers - but right now I think I want a no 'thinking' plan that I can follow without having excess food around.

Looking forward to hear from more Dis'er opinions!

Good luck!!!

 

[DZNEE4US]

I had success on JC. I went in wanting to loose 20 lbs., but they rope you into more (which in my case, was actually needed- but be fore warned about the hard sell). The program works, you have to exercise and dedicate yourself to it. It will cost you at least $100 in food a week. I lost 70 lbs., about 15 years ago. Since then I have been married, had 3 kids, one being a set of twins, and turned 40. Durring that time I put all of the weight back on and then some. The program, in my opionion, does not help you maintain your weight loss because life is not about eating their foods day in and day out. If you ate nothing but their foods, worked out, and kept lowering your daily caloric intake- you'd be fine for life. At the end I was on 800 calories a day, and had a hard time just having any energy. You'll loose weight, but it is very hard to maintain it when you are used to having all of your meals and choices laid out for you in a very convient manner. I think I'd try Weight Watchers if I wanted to try again- and I should (gotta have time and motivation!!!!).
GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[DawnM]

I did JC about 18 years ago and lost 17 pounds. I used to think 17 pounds overweight was fat! I had no idea!

I was also single, working full time in my career, had extra money, etc....

Then I got married, had 3 kids, stopped working, and gained it all back plus.....

I don't think JC would work well for me anymore. Price is the biggest drawback, but also the health of it. It is pre-packaged (ie: processed) and it is also full of white flour and sugar. I remember when I did JC before I was hungry a lot. I just sucked it up because I wanted to be thin. I don't do as well with that anymore and I know now that I have severe blood sugar issues when I eat white products and get hungry.

I would look at a different program.

I also know e-diets used to have a Jenny Craig "like" program with a menu you could purchase from the grocery store using Lean Cuisine and pre-measured serving items from the store.

Dawn

 

[G's mommy]

I've done them all, and the best for me is to cut the carbs and sugar and exercise, bottom line! I started walking, then moved up to running 3 miles a day and I take a zumba dance class twice per week. I eat protein and lots of veggies and the weight is falling off! Good luck.

 

[disneyfreakk]

I am on Jenny Craig right now. It is super expensive. I got the year program and that was $399 plus tax and the cost of food. I usually spend around $100 - $125 a week on their food, plus the cost of milk, veggies, salad. I really wish I had started out doing the 20lbs for $20 and then done the year membership after I had lost 20 lbs. I think it would have been cheaper for me in the long run. My goal was to lose 100lbs and I am down 10.

I like JC better than WW just because its more convenient. with WW it felt like I was preparing , cooking and cleaning up food all day long. JC does teach you about portion control and after you have lost so much weight, they slowly start you out doing "meals on your own". The food is also REALLY good.

If you have any questions about JC, just ask!

 

[DawnM]

Oh, and BTW: That 50% off is only off the program fees, not the food.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Jenny Craig does work, but as other posters have said you do not learn how to eat real food. You learn how to eat their food. Many people, myself included felt that all I needed to do was lose the weight, and that would be that. Nope. It is keeping it off that is really hard.

I give my vote to Weight Watchers. You eat all real food. Your food. The weekly weigh ins work for accountability plus you get a great meeting. I found the meetings at Jenny Craig to be lame. (But that was many years ago, they could easily have gotten better.)

Also, and this is just my opinion, you want to be eating real foods, not packaged foods with all that "junk: sodium...." You want to go to the farmer's market and skip all that packaging....

Maybe you could do Jenny Craig for say 3 months, dump a lot of weight and then go to Weight Watchers to learn how to keep it off?

Lastly, real food is always cheaper. Just buy in season fruits and vegetables...

 

[kaytieeldr]

You want a Jenny Craig-like eating plan, but less expensive? Pick up the September 20 issue of Woman's World magazine

 

[cheriemek]

I'm on WW now - I have lost 26 pounds since the end of May. I was on Nutrasystem before and lost weight, but spent a lot more money and didn't really learn much. I have a husband and 4 kids - eating Nutrasystem was difficult because I still had to feed everyone else. Nutrasystem required less thought, but WW seems more realistic for my situation. Whatever you decide to use, Good Luck !!!!

 

[SLM]

I've kept 50lbs+ off for almost 8 years-we eat better than we did before WW-I had to change the way I cooked-Cooking Light cookbooks are my favorite. We almost never eat out, but when we do it's somewhere special. I really hope you'll try a meeting-they are also doing a special right now-and good luck to you-I know what a struggle it can be.

 

[kwhite1022]

Any program that works for you is a good idea. I will say though, I found I wanted to learn to cook and exercise in the real world. I found the site www.sparkpeople.com it has all the information and tracking that you would get on say the WW site, but for free. The guy who founded it feels the secrets to living healthy should not cost you money....I agree. I have lost 56 lbs since Jan, and gone from a size 24, to a size 10. The biggest thing it has helped me with is nutrition, and portion sizes. They have a sister site, sparkrecipe where you can enter your own recipes and find out how bad/good they really are, and play around with ways to make them better for you. I think the main thing to wrap your head around is that this is a life style change, not a "diet". Frankly "diets" are for those with less then 15 lbs to lose, if your not in that range you are probably like me, someone who needs to rethink how they cook, eat out, drink, and move.....thats a life style change. Im sure you can do it!! If you ever wanna talk feel free to Pm me.

 

[ShellyBelly]

I am LOVING WW. Started in May and have lost 39 pounds. I have also done JC and while I did lose, the second I stopped eating their food, I gained it all back plus some.