I am currently on jenny craig and im doing great! ive lost 35 pounds so far and i feel awesome. my self confidence is slowly going up, and i do have days where i eat one meal off jenny here and there. However, once i get off jenny craig... i dont know what to eat. and i think thats why ive struggled with diets in the past, i didnt know what to eat, and i felt that i was always hungry, i think thats why ive had so much success on jenny because i always know what i can and cant eat and im not hungry!. im a little nervous. i know the basics...salad.. ect. my counselor said that since im over half way to my goal she wants me to start eating two days off jenny and by myself.. but.. i dont know.. what to eat on those days? ive successfully planned healthy meals from work so when im stuck working 15 hours in one day, i know exactly what i can eat.. but what about the rest of my every day life? i only know of a few healthy meals and i cant eat salmon and grilled chicken for every meal for the rest of my life? Also, im only 20 and in college so i dont have access to a kitchen all the time.

I think you've come across the crux of the problem with Jenny... it's great for portion control, but when I was on it, I found it lacking on nutritional education. I think they have a transitional eating plan though right? If I were you I would start researching calories, how many you need, how many you burn, and as well, look at the nutritional labels and measure the portions of everything you eat. Using that method you will figure out how to get the most "bang" for your calorie "buck" and that tends to be foods that are high in fibre, lower in fat etc. etc. "What" to eat is such a broad subject and can vary so much on your individual taste, this is a lifetime journey, not a temporary one so you really have to spend some time figuring out what it is that you really like, whether it's healthy, whether you can substitute things in it to make it healthy or whether it's one of those things that you can have only once in awhile.

There's really no other way to go, you have to learn to be cognizant of everything you eat, for your whole life, even if it is "bad" stuff, I really believe it's important to know exactly what you're doing so you are making an informed decision to do it rather than just doing it because it's good.

That's my 2 cents... well done on the 30 lbs, that's fantastic!!

this is where the weight watchers program is really really strong.

it helps you develop a deep understanding of food values and nutrients.

that being said, you could look for the "family nutrition book" by dr. william sears. it's usually in parenting sections, but it is a great guide to understanding the basics about how to eat properly.

isolde

How about looking into a nice cookbook? Buy some used one's on Amazon for cheap- I was able to get cookbooks that sold in stores for $50+ for like $15 and they are so good.

My favorite is the cooking light meals under 30 minutes. Some recipes are so good if I don't make them at least 1-2 times a month my family freaks lol.

It's taken me a good while to be able to figure out what's good to eat and what isn't and what's good to cook and so on.

Sparkrecipes.com also has great cooking ideas

thanks guys. i will definitely try all of these, i was thinking of doing weight watchers anyway, maybe that will help me out a lot.

I'm a veteran of almost every plan out there, and I find that WW is really, really helpful when learning HOW to eat "normally". The food delivery plans are great, but there is always the question of "NOW what"...
You might try going to WW to help you figure this out.
There are also alot of great nutritional books out there, and calorie counting may be a great option for you too. Check out the calorie counters thread, and see what you like!
Kira

I personally peruse the accountability threads here on 3FC for good ideas---there are some great cooks who post on the maintainers accountability thread, for example.

I second this.

Oh, and yes, WW is great if you don't abuse it. I tried it last year and was not ready for a lifestyle change, not completely. Now that I am, I realize that even though I can have "anything" that I want, I certainly am not obligated to test the theory of losing weight while eating donuts! I'm on WW again and I love it this time because I am ready to make a permanent change in my life.

This is why, even though it has taken me 1 1/2 years so far to lose the weight, I am at a better place than the other plans I followed. They were PLANS and not a LIFESTYLE.