Weird that I don't see a thread here already about Jenny Craig, or I would have posted this as a response...

I had a consultation probably a year or two ago at a Jenny Craig location, and I remember it being just an awful experience for me. The girl I talked to seemed nice enough, until I expressed dismay that the "snack" that's provided is basically a chocolate bar (I did Weight Watchers once, which I think is awesome for some people, but I hated how it make me eat junkier food than I normally would, just because I felt like I could). I asked if there were any alternative options that weren't dessert-like, and she said no, that's part of the diet.

I mean, it's a chocolate bar with vitamins and stuff I'm sure, but a chocolate bar nonetheless, and the alternatives aren't any less sugary (or fake sugary, I didn't even ask)??

So I said I didn't think the diet was for me, and the girl became really sarcastic: "well if you think you can [lose weight] on your own, go ahead."

Is Jenny Craig a good plan? Is anyone here having success with it? It's probably just that it isn't good for me personally - I'm sure buying set meals is a great way to control intake - but man, if I didn't feel upset about the whole chocolate bar thing. The one thing my default diet has going for it is that it doesn't include a lot of sweets. >.<;;;

I did Jenny Craig several times in 90's and early 2000's. It worked fine for me and I lost between 15-30 pounds each time I was on the program. I always ended up dropping out due to the cost though.

I'm not familiar with the program any longer but am wondering if they might have a diabetic option? That might be a way to avoid the sugary items you're not interested in.

It's a shame the consultant was so rude and that she wasn't able to come up with any alternatives for you. If you're really interested I would suggest checking out another center.

I actually used to work at Jenny Craig for 6 months a couple of years ago and I hated it for that reason. My manager basically bullied people into signing up. It was a huge guilt thing. We'd have to call and confirm appointments, and then try to talk them out of canceling. None of us were trained or certified nutritionists or dietitians. Which made me uncomfortable. We were trained on the Jenny Craig diet.

We had people lose weight, sure. But you had to stick with it exactly. and as a consultant, if your clients didn't lose weight that week, you got in trouble. And it was basically your fault. If a client didn't want to buy the food for the entire week, your fault. If they realized it was too expensive and couldn't afford it, so they had to quit, your fault. They expected you to bully people into sticking with it. It's like close to $500 a month with the food (food was about $125/week at the most.). I just don't think it's worth it.

i would caution people against Jenny Craig, because of my experiences working there and because it's so expensive. It is also prepackaged, and most people ended up gaining after they lost and stopped the program. I just didn't think that it was sustainable and that people could actually eat like that after losing.

The thing is, there are sweets on the diet because a lot of people want sweets so they see it as a compromise.

However, the food does taste good, and I used to buy the food and eat it as meals and not as a diet because it's so tasty. (I also got a 50% discount). And people do have success losing and keeping it off and I know there are some fantastic consultants out there.

Sounds like a terrible place to work, the way you describe it. I guess it makes more sense now why I was treated like I was. Here I was thinking the girl was reacting the way she did because she was feeling insecure about her body or her own eating program, but I guess she was actually feeling insecure about her job!

I also didn't realize it was quite that expensive! There's a company near me that cooks meals fresh every day to spec and delivers them, for about $31/day (to follow various caloric requirements)... which sounds like the cost of 4 days of Jenny Craig from what you're saying, except the difference in food quality is extreme, and the meals from this place (I've tried a few) are full of fresh delicious salads and homemade dressings and fresh chicken and garbanzo beans and so on... and are actually really filling for the amount of calories you're eating. I can't imagine the Jenny Craig foods are that exciting, fresh, or filling. (But I haven't tried them). I thought Jenny Craig was so much cheaper (for the food) that it might still be worth it... guess not.

I'm aware I would gain after losing on Jenny Craig because it's true of any diet that works quickly. That part I was ready to deal with by working to rebuild my lean mass afterwards. I'm actually fine with losing lean mass since I have so much of it, and if I want a thinner look I would not be able to healthily achieve it without losing some lean mass. Right now if I ONLY lost fat, I could only get down to around 190 lbs before I got into unhealthy territory. But if I lose some lean mass, too, I could probably get down to around 160. I have no interest in spending all my time at the gym, and I'd like to look lean, so I might target a lower range. We'll see.

So anyway, that part's fine. But wow, I did not realize about the employees having such a tough time. Thanks.

Faiora, I felt the same way. I kept wondering to myself, is this really all its cracked up to be? I mean, even if it is pre-made, even IF the food tasted good, what does it matter if we can't afford it? What is this company near you where you can pre-order food?? Sounds interesting;..

http://www.befreshlocal.com/

That's the company near me... previously called Licious Living. They seem to have changed their branding recently. Possibly their prices as well, haven't looked.

It's expensive but it's healthy and they offer different types of diets (e.g. paleo, high protein, vegetarian) depending on your needs/wishes. I think they consult individually, too, but it's probably even more expensive if you don't pick one of their standard packages.

Probably a similar service exists in lots of other cities, too.

The service looks interesting! Too bad they're all the way in Vancouver! I'm curious if the food is tasty though, the delivery plans can be hit or miss... I'm still on the fence about Jenny, as the food quality isn't even my main issue with the plan, it's the cost! But I managed to find the Jenny Craig food price list for 2015. In case anyone is interested:

bestdiettips.com/jenny-craig-food-prices

Goodness, that's expensive. I'm pretty sure you could diet healthily on ready meals from the supermarket in the UK for less than a tenner a day. They're good quality these days. Is that not possible in the States? I'm using ready meals for lunches quite often at the moment, I do know how to cook healthily but I'm disabled and I can afford them, especially when it's just buying soup which I have with a slice of homemade sourdough.

Esofia - The UK has much more variety and way higher quality ready meals than what we have in the states! I'm on a facebook group for 5:2, and the foods they post (most from the UK) make me SO jealous.

I didn't even realize Jenny Craig was still around. Now I know why. For that price, it definitely makes sense to go with a freshly made service such as the one listed above. They seem to be pretty popular these days.

For the service in my area, I can vouch for the deliciousness and quality, because I've gotten their meals a few times through my grocery delivery service. They make these amazing salads which have no right tasting as good as they do, given how much green stuff is in them. :P

But, I can't afford to subscribe to the service for my daily diet—it would add up far too quickly.

I haven't tried the Jenny Craig meals. I imagine them being similar to TV dinner meals from Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisines. But maybe I'm wrong.

Oh, what I wouldn't give for a personal chef! I keep hearing horror stores that the food is yucko!