Personal Jenny Craig Weight Loss: Honest Feedback on Food, Support, and Results

[susanr613]

Efforts to lose weight by preparing food myself have failed miserably so I am considering Jenny Craig. I would appreciate your feedback on: how much weight you lost (%, sizes, whatever), how is the food, how is the support, how things went after you were done with their food and/or the program, things you liked/disliked.

thanks so much -

 

[pc_jessica]

i too have wondered about jenny craig...hopefully someone on here as some great feedback!

 

[Lisa/ChefBear]

I'm going to tell you I've never done this, but I've had 3 friends do this and they did great on it while they did it, but as soon as they tried to "go off" and go back to regular food and buying themselves and preparing food again, they gained back (one more than she had started). Also it's very costly if you do everything they recommend and you've still got to purchase milk, fruit, and veggies on your own.

Maybe someone here has had a great success and found it helpful, like I said my friends did, but coming back to real food NOT great.

HTH

Lisa

 

[Melissa78]

No experience on JC (did LA Weight Loss and just about every other method), they ALL work as long as you stick with them but the minute you go back or 'go off', voila, bring on the weight. I have lost 80lbs, gained some back and now working on taking it back off and then some to get to my goal, you need to make the mental commitment to making the right healthy choices that you can live with forever. All JC does is give you portion control. From my experience, make the mental commitment and back yourself 100% and there is no reason to pay someone else to do what you have the power to do for yourself. You have the ability, the intelligence and the strength - believe in yourself. I found my inspiration one night during my daily walk at the elementary school where they had a banner hung on the bldg "If you can believe it, your mind can achieve it." It is the hardest thing in life there is to do (IMO) but we all have the ability. Best wishes.

 

[ChefLoriG]

I've been having great success with Weight Watchers, using my own food, but it's teaching me how to make better choices, etc. I've lost 23 pounds in 9 weeks, so it's working so far.

 

[susanr613]

Good for you, Lori! I have been on WW many times with limited success. Portion and food control are what I am hoping to lean on through Jenny Craig.

 

[DebbieJ]

I haven't tried JC, but I did have success with Nutrisystem.

 

[Lisa/ChefBear]

Look into local hospitals.........we've joined a group in our area sponsored by our local hospital to help with weight issues. They've had classes on portion control, reasons for eatting, like emotional eatting, exercise, etc. Each week we weigh in and then we have class. I have to admit, my kids have been sick allot and I've not been able to go as often as I'd like, and I know I've not gained weight, but I haven't lost tons either. I wish I could have gone more. But after this class is done, they offer a continuation class, so we're signing up for that.

I can tell you from experience, you do have to make a life change, and not go on a diet, diets fail. Bill and I are both much more aware of what we are eatting and having a partner (I've also got my girl friend to join) so I've got double support. We are now activily working towards becoming a healthy family.

Hard, I LOVE chocolate. I told Mary (leader of classes we've gone to), that I've been making progress, instead of eatting half a bag of Dark Choc. Reese's Mini Cups, I've been stopping at between 5-10. So bag lasts a week, so that's major progress, as when I'm stressed, sad, happy, whatever, Chocolate has NEVER told me no, it's never told me I'm fat, or to stop. I've had to make that decision and I've started. I have even actually eatten a container of Yogurt, which I HATE!! So again, not major strides, but baby steps. No I'm not going to loss 17 pounds in a week like on Biggest Loser, but I've got to do it slowly and make it stick.

Maybe we need to start a post on here where we can all champion each other and help each other??

Lisa

 

[chefjeanine]

I've had 3 friends do this and they did great on it while they did it, but as soon as they tried to "go off" they gained back (one more than she had started). Also it's very costly if you do everything they recommend and you've still got to purchase milk, fruit, and veggies on your own.

This was my experience on Nutrisystem and it has taught me that I'll never try a "diet" like that again.

If you can get some support (like Lisa suggests through the hospital program), I believe you'll be much better off in the long run. You really (for long-term success) need to live normally while making changes that you can support over the long haul.

I'm trying to type while exercising. . .later I'll post the titles of a couple of books that I've found helpful.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Well I don't have any experience with Jenny Craig, but my sister did it years ago. She lost a lot of weight, but like others have said she gained it all back and then some when she went off of it.

I've been using the Bodybugg for 8 weeks and I highly recommend it. I've lost 22.5 lbs. It is the easiest diet plan I have ever used. You wear the Bodybugg on your left upper arm. It monitors how many calories you burn in a day. When you first get it you set up a log-in on their website. There you key in your age, weight, etc. You then set up how much weight you want to lose a week. It won't let you set up more then 2 lbs. It then gives you a calorie burn and calorie consumed goal based on how much exercise you want to do a day, how many steps you'll take, etc. It also gives you a diet plan, but I don't follow theirs I eat what I want just staying in the calorie range for the day. You can also key in recipes you have and it will tell you how many calories are in a serving. It's just awesome!

I have been sick the past week and haven't been able to exercise, but I've still lost weight because I knew how many calories I could eat based on my calories burned. Once I reach my goal weight I'll be able to keep it off by just making sure my calories are equal each day to the amount I'm burning.

I will be using the Bodybugg the rest of my life. It is the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I've tried dieting many times on my own and joined Weight Watchers as well - this is so much better! I've been able to eat anything I want - within limits. I've eaten cheese cake, ice cream, fried chicken, cake, Chinese Food, pizza, etc. Not every day of course. I just make sure I'm within my calories for the day. I also make sure I'm balanced for the day from food groups. I take a multi-vitamin as well.

It's very fast and easy to log what you've eaten for the day. I usually log my food 2-3 times a day. I'll even key in my dinner before I have it so I know how much I can have.

If you have any questions on it, just let me know.

I forgot to mention - If you don't reach your goal for the week the program automatically will give you advice on changing your goals and how to achieve your goal. They also give you 1 free coaching session for 45 minutes to go over the program. That was very useful. You can also buy more coaching sessions on a weekly or monthly basis.

 

[Lisa/ChefBear]

Rhonda,
I'd love more info on the Bodybugg. Is it expensive?? Do you have to purchase it and you're doing paying or keep paying for use??

Where did you get it??? Do they help you understand how to make it work??

Lisa

 

[pampchefrhondab]

Hey Lisa,

You can go to http://www.bodybugg.com. From there click on 24 Hour Fitness or Apex. I got mine from 24 Hour Fitness because they had the best deal at the time.

Looks like you can get it for $199 right now. I paid $249, but I also got the digital display with it. It looks like it's $79 seperate right now. You don't have to have the digital display, but it's nice to have so you know how many calories you have burned for the day w/o having to upload the numbers to your computer. It also will tell you how many steps you've walked, how many calories you burned yesterday, and you can set a calorie burn for a trip - like before you do a workout. This can tell you which workouts give you the most calorie burn. I've noticed some that don't feel as hard actually give me a higher calorie burn. It also will beep when you've met your goal for the day like calories burned, steps taken, activity level met. This makes you really happy to hear a beep! If I know I'm getting close to a beep and I'm somewhere I don't want it to go off, I will take it off (I clip mine on my bra strap so nobody sees it). It's also very durable because I have put my through the washing machine and it works great still!

The only thing you have to pay for after you get it is for the website support, but it's free the first 6 months. After that its $99/year or you can pay a monthly fee. I plan on keeping it after my 6 months are done because I like it so much! You could keep track of your own numbers after the 6 months if you want to. If I didn't have the money to pay for it I could still track my calories myself and just use my digital display for what I've burned, but the online support is so fast and easy. It also shows you how you are doing nutrition wise. It gives you how many calories should come from fat, protein, carbs, etc. and you can click on a button to see how you've done for the day. It also has a lot of other tools. It should give you that info. when you research it at the web site above.

There is a lot of benefits to having it. I think the best thing is you have a daily goal. You can see that calorie deficit at the end of the day and be really happy about it. I also had one week where I had a 1,000 or more deficit every day, but I gained a half pound. I knew it wasn't because of what I ate and it had to be water because of knowing my deficit for the week. Sure enough I lost 4.5 the next week! It kept me on target and didn't make me feel like giving up.

If you want to call me to talk about it just send me a PM and I can give you my number.


Take Care,

 

[lisasfuncooking]

I did JC many years ago. I did lose weight. I absolutely loved it. The food was delicious and I got to pick out my own food that I liked. It can get costly. I loved the way I felt. I had so much energy and never felt so healthy. They do allow you to eat alot during the day. I was never hungry. The beginning is very easy because they do all the brain work for you. Then you have to learn your own portion control and meal choices. That is where most probablly fail. I would have to say the only downfall is having to go there once a week and having to pay. I wasn't very overweight. I think I lost 15+lbs. I would have continued but my schedule was getting hectic and I didn't want to take the time to go. The closest JC was over 1/2 hour away. I wish I could still do it because of how great I felt. Now my problem is losing to much weight. I have been having health problems and can't stop losing weight and my white blood count has been high for some time. So even though I don't have a weight problem now, it goes to show you, it is not what your weight is, it is how healthy you are. Good Luck.
P.S I had a sister in law who did WW and didn't really lose much weight. I think you have to be very disiplined.

 

[DebbieJ]

the body bugg is going to be $179.99 on Costco.com on Black Friday. It includes a 12 month subscription.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

That's a good deal - I will have to tell my sister. She has been wanting to get one with the success I've had with mine.

 

[smarteez2]

OK here is my 2 cents on JC. I have never done it however wanted to really really badly but could not afford it. So what I did was this. For breakfast I would have either a package of oatmeal or cream of wheat with 2 packages of splenda and a piece of fruit. Three hours later I had a 100 calorie snack, one of the many they sell nowaday, 3 hours later I would have a 300 calorie Healthy choice (max a 35o calorie one) with a salad (as many veggies in it as I wanted) with that spray on dressing, 3 hours later I would have another 100 calorie snack, 3 hours later a 300-350 calorie Healthy choice, with another salad. IF i was still hungry after that then 3 hours later I would have another 100 calorie snack. I went from 175 down to 135 in a little less then a year. Yes it seems like you are eating all the time but trust me on this it gets your motabolism going and it is a WHOLLLLLE bunch cheaper then JC. I have kept the weight off for some time now and I eat whatever I want to now, I just eat about half of it. That's my 2 cents. Trying to save you money. Hope this helps you with your decision.

 

[nancycookspc]

I've tried WW, tried JC loongtime ago.....worked but got tired of the packaged stuff. All worked but then stopped and I gained the weight back and more :grumpy:

A few yrs ago I tried that infomercial 6 week body make over

They guarantee 25 lbs in 6 weeks!
Hubby & I did it and we both lost 25 in 6 weeks!
BUt again, we goat away from it and gained the weight back-
NOW a few weeks ago we both were at an all time high

We started 6WBM and so far we both have lost about 10 pounds in 1 1/2 weeks

To sum the system up is you eat 6x a day ! every meal for me included 2 oz protein and maybe a veggie, or fruit ans or starch. NO salt, SO sugar, no white breads. However you CAN have potatoes, wht rice fruit and such. No oils no dairy- sounds harsh, but it works, it ramps up your metabolism and your weight drops

This time around we are doing it but a little less strict, I'll use nuts in my salad, reg salad dressing (minimal), sugar & milk in my coffee.

But I feel If I customize it a little I can LIVE with the program and have great success

 

[susanr613]

many thanks for all the insights! sounds like the many small meals a day is the way to go. of course, then there's the emotional eating issue...so perhaps i should take the $$ i was going to spend on jenny and use it for therapy ;-)