A friend of mine called the other day to ask about Jenny Craig.
She is really at that point where she feels like she needs to do something to shed some weight.
The thing is that just about anything will work if she is really in the right frame of mind to make changes in her eating habits.
I like Jenny Craig.
The food is quite good.
There are some drawbacks though.
When I first wanted to know about it, I was interested because it seemed to be advertised as a no brainer, no prep way of finally taking charge of your weight loss.
This isn't exactly true.
Yes! You do get frozen food for your meals but you do still have to supplement it with your own fruit, vegetables, yogurt, cheese sticks, etc...
as well as keep a really good food journal in order to realize success.
The other issue is the cost- It is extremely expensive.
The plan is set up for you to lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week.
This is a safe and slow amount of weight to lose and will definitely help you to not put it all back on in a week unlike some other diets, but the instant gratification factor that appeals to so many of us is missing.
The first week's weight loss will be higher than the others because it does drop off a lot of water weight, but many of us could cut out salt for 2 days and drop 7 pounds so that doesn't really say much.
I've always really liked Weight Watchers because if you follow their portion control and points method, you will lose around 2 pounds a week or so.
The good thing about Weight Watchers is that you can eat what you want.
You just need to know it's point value so you don't go over it on a daily basis.
You can save up your points all day and eat them all at night if you'd like- though it is definitely not recommended.
The good thing about this program is that you aren't depriving yourself of anything you would normally eat.
Yeah...
maybe a 12 inch meatball sub is out of the question but you could save up enough points in a day or over a week to eat a 6 inch one if you'd like.
There are really no rules.
Besides...
no one really needs 12 inches of meat and bread anyway.
So then what about my friend and the fact that she doesn't want to count calories or points...
or eat vegetables? Okay...
now it's getting a little bit rougher for me to help you, girlfriend! How about this? Don't pay Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers! I made her one day's menu that she could use for the week and fill it in with the things she liked - no points, no calorie counting (of course I did the counting myself so she didn't have to! I had to trick her a little bit!) Here's what I came up with by combining the Jenny Craig and Weight Watcher's philosophies: Breakfast: 1 light Thomas' English muffin 8 oz of fruit juice Snack: Yogurt or cheese stick Lunch: 1 Smart Ones Meal - (these are the weight watchers frozen dinners and they are very good.
They cost around $2 or $3 a piece) Or 1 lean cuisine meal (also very good frozen dinners) Salad with Italian or other light salad dressing on it- include all the veggies you'd like with it Snack: 100 calorie snack pack or pretzels Dinner: 1 smart ones or lean cuisine meal Vegetable of choice- not corn or peas (these are starch) Snack: 100 calorie snack pack Or Small bowl of popcorn Or A piece of fruit (a cup of grapes, an apple, orange, grapefruit, etc...
) If you follow this method of eating while choosing foods that you like and eating them where they fit into the menu, you will be very successful and will feel healthier within a few days.
The weight loss bonus will have you feeling energetic and fitting back into your tight jeans in a matter of days.
Though it's not as fast as my protein enhanced diets that can slam off 20 pounds in 15 days, you'll be 10 pounds lighter and your self image with feel 100% happier in 4 weeks.
It's well worth it! Good luck.