When evaluating whether or not the Jenny Craig diet is the best plan for you, you may want to weigh the pros and cons of the Jenny Craig diet to make an informed decision.
What Is the Jenny Craig Diet?
Before looking at the pros and cons of the Jenny Craig diet, here is a brief synopsis of the plan.
The Jenny Craig diet plan is a calorie and fat controlled diet that helps dieters manage portion size through the use of prepackaged foods. Jenny Craig advertises heavily in the media, and relies on endorsements by celebrities like Valerie Bertenelli and Kirsti Alley to help show the success of the plan.
Along with the food plan, Jenny Craig clients undergo one-on-one counseling with nutrition counselors online, on the phone, or at one of the hundreds of local Jenny Craig centers nationwide. The focus of the counseling is to help Jenny Craig clients develop a healthier relationship with food by learning to make wise lifestyle choices that support a healthy mind, spirit and body.
What Are the Pros and Cons of the Jenny Craig Diet?
Before you select this diet, you might want to take a look at the pros and cons.
Cons
- You may not like the food. While reports claim foods on the Jenny Craig diet are delicious, personal preference always comes into play. If you are picky, it may be difficult to find foods you like and will stick with for the long haul.
- The diet isn't designed for those with allergies or food sensitivities. There are many common food allergens to which people have varying degrees of sensitivity. The "sensitive seven" foods include soy, dairy, eggs, wheat (gluten), sugar, corn and peanuts. If you are allergic to one or more of these foods, you may have difficulty finding Jenny Craig foods that are allergen-free.
- Most of the foods are frozen. If you have a small freezer, this could become an issue.
- If you cook for a family, you will deal with the issue of different meals for yourself and the rest of your family.
- The food and plan are not inexpensive. If cost is an issue, you will need to make your food and plan fees a budgeted expense each month.
- If you like to go out to dinner a lot, the diet plan may be difficult to follow since it relies so heavily on pre-packaged and frozen foods.
- The diet is difficult to follow while traveling because of the reliance on pre-packaged and frozen foods.
- Jenny Craig is a weight loss plan. There may be difficulties with maintenance or transitioning to real-world eating once you have lost your weight and no longer follow the diet plan.
Pros
- The prepackaged foods control portion sizes. If you eat the food on the plan in the amounts prescribed, it is very likely that you will lose weight. There is no need for guesswork or calorie counting.
- The diet is extremely convenient. Your pre-packaged foods will be delivered to your front door.
- You don't need to cook. If you can push buttons on a microwave, you can cook your meals.
- Rumor has it that the food is very good.
- Your diet plan is tailored to meet your needs. This is not a one-size fits all approach. This encourages healthy weight loss based on your activity level, lifestyle and nutritional needs.
- Jenny Craig counselors offer extensive one-on-one support. This support and counseling can help you to make healthier lifestyle choices that lead to lasting change.
- The counseling can help you to get through periods of frustration, plateaus and loss of motivation better than if you are going it alone.
- If there's not a center near where you live, you can still participate online and by telephone.
- Foods can be ordered online.
- The plan doesn't encourage following fad diet or unhealthy diet strategies such as skipping meals or starvation.
- The plan encourages weight loss at a healthy rate of one to two pounds per week. Slow, steady weight loss is far more sustainable than rapid drops in weight.
- There are often specials for new members that make the plan more affordable.
- Jenny Craig offers social networking opportunities online where dieters can support one another.
- The meals are well balanced and healthy. Most are low fat, moderate sodium and low cholesterol.
If you are considering diet plans, the Jenny Craig diet has a lot to offer. Many dieters report losing weight and being satisfied with their experiences on the Jenny Craig diet.
