Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem

[Brizzabelle]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried these and which one is better? I'm also wondering do you make dinner for your family and then make your own meal? I don't like cooking to begin with and I don't know if I would want to make them something I couldn't eat.

 

[Mom2SamandJames]

I don't know about Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem, but I lost 35 pounds last year on Weight Watchers. My family ate the same thing I did for meals, and we all enjoyed most of the meals. You might want to check in to that.

 

[TanyaNMJ]

I've done JC, Nutrisystem and WW. WW (online) after my first child and was totally successful, but you have to be more organized in order to truly count points. Tried Nutrisystem after Kid 2 but the food gave me gastro issues (as there is a lot of fake sugar that my system didn't like AT all). After that, tried JC which was totally successful and the easiest of the three as it was just heat and eat. In the beginning I just heated my own food and cooked there's but after the 1/2 point I would cook for us all and eat a small portion. It was a good change for everyone. I thought the counselors and weekly visits would irritate me but they really did keep me going. So my order of preference would be 1. JC 2.WW and a distant 3rd Nutrisystem! Good luck!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I tried NutriSystem several years ago and I thought their food was awful. They didn't have any frozen entrees. They were all shelf-stable and very mushy and salty. I think they've changed the food so it may be better now but I don't know for sure. Jenny Craig's food was better since a lot of their entrees are frozen. I still got very tired of eating all that processed food. After a few weeks, I really wanted a plain, old chicken breast! It was also getting very expensive at around $300 a month. You also have to buy fruits, veggies and dairy products to go with their food so you have to figure those into the cost. I have had the most success when I can choose and prepare my own meals and won't try prepackaged plans again.

 

[Sarah7401]

I'm on an awesome system that doesn't require any special foods!! No making seperate meals and no meetings!! I'm not completely sure of the rules on here about posting about companies, so let me know if you want more information.

I've only been on it for a week and a half, but I feel awesome!! I've lost 7 pounds and my body just feels better, kwim? A friend of mine lost a bunch of weight on it as well. She's why I started it.

 

[zoemurr]

the no flour/no sugar diet. I've lost 25lbs. since Sept.. about a lb a week.

No extra stuff, just read ingredients. I cheat a bit (a few Hershey kisses maybe) but the weight is very steadily coming off.

Good luck! I don't cook anything special 'cause I can still have meat, veggies, whole wheat pasta, fruit, cheese, etc.

 

[puffkin]

Honestly I don't know much about either but I think any plan that makes you eat their foods will only work for a short period of time. What I would suggest is trying one of those plans (I would probably pick nutrisystem) for a short period of time (few months) and get a good jump start on your weightloss. Also get used to eating true "portions". Then I would switch to a plan like Weight Watchers which will teach you how to eat normal, everyday food and promotes an overall healthy living approach.

 

[rodeo65]

I have both worked for JC and tried JC, NutriSystem, WW as well as a number of other do-it-on-your-own systems ovet the years. In my opinion JC is too carb heavy, so for me (hypoglycaemic) it was a problem.

In my experience with working for them - we had many clients do well on the system as far as losing weight BUT the issues came with keeping it off. Very few successfully transitioned from the prepared and portioned foods to cooking for themselves. Many were repeat, repeat, and repeat clients.

I really think WW is the best solution going since there is ongoing support and you are being taught about regular foods. That was where I had my success and once you get through the learning curve of points and just learn proper portioning and label reading it's very easy.

Good Luck!

 

[MSSANDRA]

It is imporatnt to find a diet that works for your WHOLE family.

I completly changed the way we eat about two years ago and it has been a wonderful gift for our whole family. I agree making two meals would be no fun yet making good healthy choices for your family is just as important as making them for yourself. Here are a few thing we do.

We buy no red meat. Only white meat chicken, turkey and sometimes fish.
Lots of steamed veggies (I buy the steam in the bag).
Lots of raw veggies and fat free dip
Lots of fresh fruit
Whole grain everything- bread, muffins, pasta, bagles etc.
Only low-or non fat dairy.
Fry nothing

Do not buy cookies, chips etc.

We do treats such as fat free fig bars or low fat ice cream some times.
We only drink non calorie drinks except skim milk.

Now if course you may have to adjust according to the age of your kids but point is EVERYONE eat healthy.

Now that DH and I are at our ideal weight, we do pretty much eat what we want when we eat out (not too often), but try to stick to the healthy stuff at home.

DS17 has adjusted and DGS3 does not really know any differnt ( he does get a few things such as juice we do not do).

Point is keep things healthy for everyone. Too easy to fix your food and then throw a frozen pizza in for the kids!

Good luck. It took me about 7 months to loose almost 100 lbs and it has been the best thing I ever did. Don't forget the exercise. WE do some of that as a family as well. Love the wii.

 

[LeahA]

I have done WW several times and yes it does work, but for me I gained the weight back each time. I have a friend who did JC and lost alot of weight, but gained it all back. The same friend is now doing NS and is at the end of week 1, hasn't weighed yet. She said the food does taste good and she feels like she's always eating. I'm concerned for her because because she told me that one of her days her caloric intake was only around 1,000 calories. Which, what I have read can put your body in starvation mode and have an adverse effect.

I personally just started week 3 of trying to incororate healthy choices into my lifestyle. I cook 1 meal for my family, I eat smaller portions, more veggies etc... I have been trying to add exercise into the mix as well at least working our 5 times a week. I also have been keeping a food journal and drinking alot of water. In two weeks I lost 3 pounds and I'm very happy with that, because I'm eating normal foods, but just a more controlled amount.

Good luck to you whatever you choose, if you have a bad day, no worries, just keep moving ahead!

 

[Brizzabelle]

Thanks for all the info. My biggest fear for using one of those places is spending all the money and losing weight but as soon as I stop eating their food gaining the weight back. I have tried Weight Watcher and South Beach so I think I might just do one of those again.

 

[Duckyiam71]

I have tried all 3. Well at least partially. I was on JC and loved it...lost tons of weight but could not afford to do it again. I ordered NS off of QVC..it arrived and the thought of dry eggs and just adding water to them made me sick and I returned it. I really like WW online. Yes counting your points can be a pain but after a while you will learn points values of your fave foods. Plus like PP have stated you can cook for your family. The other night I made an apple braised chicken off of the website. My family never knew that it was "diet" food because it had a ton of flavor. I cant do the group thing but I have had success without sacrficing some of my favorite foods. I would recommend the online WW. It costs 16.95 a month.

 

[quasar4legs]

I think you can lose weight on any 'system' but in the end you need a long term eating plan that works for you and your family.
The best thing I did for my health was to see a dietician who helped me plan out menus around our specific needs. I didn't want pre-packaged food and was not keen to attend meetings so a dietician was a good option for me.
In my case the visits were covered by health insurance so it was very cost effective.

Good Luck finding something that suits you.

 

[eeyore29]

I know WW wasn't one of your choices, but I highly recommend it. I lost 74 lbs. & DH lost 100 lbs. I know this sounds cliche - but if I can do it - ANYONE can do it. I'm a VERY picky eater - I don't eat veggies, seafood, spicy, or "foreign" foods, and what I do eat is usually plain & bland. So what I'm saying is, if I can find enough options on the WW plan, I'm sure most other people could find even more. Also, learning & tracking your points is not hard at all.

The way I've always felt about those other "plans" was that you're paying to be on their plan & you're paying for their food, but then once you'd go off the plan, you might gain weight since you got used to their food. Plus, I believe you still have to buy your own veggies & such to supplement those plans (so that means even more money). With WW, you're learning portion control and how to choose the foods that give you the most "bang for your buck" (the things that fill you up for the least amount of points/calories). The neat thing with WW is that you can still have those "bad-for-you" items, just not as much and in moderation and you even get extra weekly bonus points that I used for that 1 splurge each week. And these are things that you can practice for the rest of your life withtout paying for anymore meetings or special food. With WW you'll be able to share what you learn with your family. DH didn't go to any meetings with me, but I shared with him what I learned and we both ate the same things/amounts. I found the meetings were alright - got some recipes - but I'm not the "support group" kinda girl. I know a lot of my co-workers relied on the meetings for both support and having to weigh-in (privately of course) kept them on track. Everyone's different.

People would always scoff at my little baggie of counted-out pretzels, thinking that having to count out your food was just awful...and my response was always "if counting my pretzels is the hardest thing I have to do to lose weight then that's what I'm gonna do!" Whatever you do decide, good luck. Just don't call it a diet - the minute you realize you're on a diet and that you're cutting out certain things - that's when you start to lose focus. It's a "lifestyle change."

 

[happymommy]

I'm only familiar with JC, since I worked for them for a short time (about 4 months) in 1993.

If you need something easy, prepackaged, and planned out to just get on the right track, then I do think JC is a good choice. I actually liked their food when I worked there (we got a discount, so I'd get it for lunch and get their snack bars and things). No, you won't do it forever (although I had a hairdresser friend who swore he had to be on it off and on forever, but he worked crazy hours and had a slight weight issue, so it was convenient). I even had an FBI agent client - it was great for him as he had to spend hours on end in his car often while on stakeouts, so he didn't have enough time for exercise, and the snack foods were convenient for him.

I had my clients come in once a week, to meet with me, talk about their week, I would look over their food diary and then sell them their next week's food. It is expensive, as JC makes all their money off the food, plus they have the overhead of the storefront. But, for the beginning at least, I think having to go talk to someone and get weighed once a week is good. It makes you accountable.

The bad: the food is way overpriced, or it was back when I worked there. But, in addition to the food, we believed you were learning portion control. What may appear to be a tiny serving is actually what a serving is supposed to be - many people don't realize that! I think even though it's expensive, if I had to do a program I'd consider it. Being overweight is more expensive, as it affects your health and self esteem. I'd rather spend the money and feel better!

You do need to supplement with small amounts of veggies, fruits, and drink your water! Also, vitamins as well.

Good luck in your choice. The hardest step is to just make that call. Once you do, I really do wish you success!