Jenny Craig Program

Is it worth the cost?

I had heard a great deal of information about the Jenny Craig program, both positive and negative. On the other hand, I was desperate to try something, anything, that would work. I am a very picky eater, so it’s hard for me to adjust to any diet program.

For instance, I hate water, fish, and anything with artificial sweeteners. I love to eat, and I love high calorie, high cholesterol, and high fat foods. Do you see the problem here? My husband kept telling me I’d never lose weight unless I made some compromises on the kind of foods I hate. I knew he was right, but I just couldn’t do it.

I joined the Jenny Craig program online with special pricing that was in effect only if you join online. I thought that was easy enough to handle, but then I found out you only got that price if you prepay for the program. I was still desperate enough to try anything.

The information I had from friends was the food was around $70-80 weekly, which was going to be a big of a struggle, but I thought I could cut back at the grocery store on what I bought for my husband and kids since I wouldn’t be eating the same food.

After I signed up to the Jenny Craig program, I began to hear horror stories about people who didn’t get their food and didn’t lose weight when they did eat the food. The worst thing was I was in a contract with them for the duration of the program I chose.

I also found out later that the anticipated weight loss was only one to two pounds a week, which is fine for a program where you eat the food you prepare yourself, but when you have to buy food specific to the program, that can run into money.

I found the counsellors on the Jenny Craig program less than helpful, and instead of losing weight, I either gained weight or stayed the same. I had trouble with my food shipments frequently, and I really wasn’t happy with the amount of calories I was consuming. I was looking for something that had fewer calories with foods I could prepare in my own kitchen.

I had actually done better when I just cut back on the size of the portions I ate than I did with the Jenny Craig program. In my opinion the program is overrated and cost prohibitive for the majority of people.

It definitely did not work for me--in fact, I took a loss on the Jenny Craig program fee and stopped buying the food. I just couldn’t justify buying program food when the plan wasn’t working.

It was a strain on my family financially, but they were willing to cut corners in order to support me. I have since resorted to simply cutting back on what I eat and forcing myself to eat things I wouldn’t have eaten before trying Jenny Craig program.

I’ve lost a little bit, but I want to look for a program that will allow me to lose maybe three pounds a week without having to buy any special foods.

Review by Karen Washington