jenny craig (or homemade version)

[ktgrok]

Anyone do this? Have success? I did Jenny many years ago, and did well for quite a while, got close to goal weight. Then lost motivation. Now, 2 more babies and over 50 later, I'm back to needing to lose weight. I've tried weight watchers. I don't have the discipline for it. I end up eating a bunch of junk, using up all my points, and then being grumpy. I tried Atkins, but it is so hard with making food for everyone else, family gatherings, etc and I end up cheating on some carbs. And some carbs plus all that fat equals gain, not loss. Paleo equals gain. I REALLY have lost control of portion size. I hate tracking with myfitnesspal. Jenny is simple. Eat this then. I feel like I'm being told TO eat instead of told NOT to eat. So...to save some money I bought a bunch of lean cuisines, yogurt, fruit, veggies, and some breakfast options that are 200 calorie equivalents to Jenny breakfasts. And made a menu for myself based on how many calories I need. (I'm heavy, and I'm breastfeeding an 8 month old and twice or three times a day a 3 year old). Looks like this:

 

Breakfast

-english muffin w/cream cheese OR steel cut oatmal (prepackaged for portion control) OR eggs OR frozen lean breakfast sandwhich

-yogurt OR cottage chesse (prepackaged for portion control)

-fruit

 

Snack

-special K bar OR yogurt OR cottage cheese

 

Lunch

-salad

-fruit

-lean cuisine

 

Snack

-100 calorie pack of crackers or popcorn

-1 oz cheese OR meat OR tbsp nut butter

 

Dinner

-salad

-lean cuisine or sandwhich

 

Dessert

-weight watchers dessert or 100 calorie pack of cookies

-yogurt

-fruit

 

I am basing this on their 1700 calorie menu, because I can actually eat 2000 with all the nursing, I think, and I wanted wiggle room for dressing, cream in my coffee, etc. Plus the Lean Cuisines have a bit more calories than Jenny Craig meals. I'm on day 3 (well...I started halfway through the day on day 1), and am down half a pound. Hoping that is real. This is NOT how I want to eat the rest of my life, obviously, but i have GOT to learn portion sizes that are reasonable, and this forces me to do so. The low carb issue was that I would just eat and eat and eat all day, even low carb foods, and that is not healthy. I was eating when not hungry. This helps me realize what I'm doing. Even right after breakfast, after eaing the breakfast sandwich, a greek yogurt, and some strawberries I was feeling like I should eat more, and keep the food coming. If I didn't ahve a plan in front of me I would have. But I looked at the plan, was able to tell myself, "you have eaten a reasonable sized meal, you are NOT hungry, go do something else". And at this point my weight is a health issue. My father was diagnosed diabetic recently. My grandmother was too, and I look just like them. My weight is going to hurt me if I don't do something. I am 5ft 1inch and currently 194.5 lbs. So if 6 months or a year eating this way helsp me get the wegiht off, and learn portion control and get some good habits going, than so be it. My gourmet cooking is what got me into this mess in the first place.

 

I do have a coupon for 30 days free at Jenny Craig, but I'm hoping not to spend so much on food by doing it on my own. Plus, after that 30 days a membership is way expensive, even with my health insurance discount of 25% off. Almost 300 dollars for the year. So.....we shall see. Hubby should be getting an insurance check from his accident in the next 30 days, so if I need to, I can use that money. But I'm not deciding today. I still have a bunch of lean cuisines I bought before finding the free 30 day trial, lol, and need to eat them.

[Night Elf]

You just have to find what work's for you. If this is what it takes to teach you to be happy with proper portions, then this is what you should do, IMHO. The funny thing is that I had much of the same attitude about my approach when I started Weight Watchers. I knew when I was finished with a meal that I had eaten a proper portion and anything more I wanted was just that, what I wanted v. what I needed. It took me a good 2 weeks to really stop feeling like I was depriving myself. I did reach my goal weight and am in maintenance and I think I am having a more difficult time maintaining than I did losing. I only have to go in and weigh once a month and it's too much time for me to be held accountable to only myself. But it is the proof positive how easy it is for those pounds to creep back on. So as long as you learn how to eat properly, I don't see how you get there is that important. You know JC worked for you once before. That's a good thing.

[RoughCollie]

I did Jenny Craig once, but I didn't like the food or the expense.

 

I started out like you have -- with menu variations and Lean Cuisine. The problem was, I still had to cook for my family, and I didn't like eating packaged meals while they got good home cooking. I felt deprived.

 

So I made a few changes, keeping in mind that I wasn't breastfeeding. I made two breakfast plans for myself, and alternated them (oatmeal and high fiber cereal, plus skim milk and a fruit).. I continued to make normal breakfasts for my kids -- no problem because I don't particularly like muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc. I did the same with lunch. As I recall, lunch was a huge salad with either a boiled egg or 3 oz. of baked chicken in it plus 1/2 of a large pita bread. Not much variation there! For dinner, I ate what my family did, only I measured my portion sizes. Dinner is low fat: beef, chicken or fish, a salad, 2 vegetables, and brown rice, pasta, beans, corn, peas, or potatoes.

 

I make spaghetti sauce and chili with 1/2 the meat and double the vegetables. If the meat isn't ground chicken, it is low fat beef with the fat rinsed off. I eat whole grain spaghetti, but I make the regular kind for my family. I make low fat sauces or gravies to help make the food seem to be less healthy, and I use spices and herbs, too. When I make stir fry, I use a lot of cabbage and other veg, and serve it over brown rice.

 

In the chillier months, I make soups, stews, and casseroles, again adhering to my 1/2 the meat, twice the veg rule. I rarely make food that I dearly love, like scalloped potatoes, or potatoes au gratin, or cream puffs, or chocolate pudding, because I will eat it all!

 

I fill up on vegetables - 6 to 9 servings per day. If I get hungry between meals, I eat broccolli. With that method, pretty soon I wasn't so hungry between meals, except for 3 scheduled healthy snacks.

 

I measure portion sizes for everyone now. My family can have seconds if they like, and this leads to less food waste, leftovers for another meal, and a thinner dog.

 

The strange thing that happened to me over time was that I became much less interested in eating. I often forget to eat, so if I am being good, I make myself eat. This has not been the case with my famly, but it is a lot easier on me. I can bake for them, but I am not tempted to eat a dozen homemade cookies. This probably has a lot to do with my being the cook for 2 decades, 3 meals a day. If someone else makes me a meal, I enjoy it more and I am likely to eat more. OTOH, I still love to cook and bake, and to try new recipes. Food is one of my main interests, but eating it is not. Probably another reason for that is that there are no delicious, rich, foods that I love in this house because I don't make them except on special occasions, and I don't have much of a sweet tooth any more.

[KrissyMomma2]

I did Jenny Craig last year and I only found that I had lost a few pounds. I then searched online and found this diet plan on Family Circle (http://www.familycircle.com/health/weight-loss/diet-plans/). They offer great options for dinners, snacks, lunches, breakfast, anti-aging diets, and even anti- stress diets. I realized I needed to add exercise into my life in order to drop the pounds. I rarely have time to go to a gym so I needed to find workout DVDs. My sister-in-law was doing p90x so I thought I would give it a try as well. When I ordered it I didn’t realize it had also come with a three phase nutritional plan either! I think the key is starting to add some exercise into your diet. I have lost 35 pounds since I started the DVDs about 2 months ago. Maybe this is something that could work for you as well! Check it out maybe it is something you would be interested in starting as well! http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/p90x.do

[DawnM]

The following is taken as a copy and paste from another website/forum. I did not write it.

 

Ok I found a couple articles on this topic. The plan is known as the Supermarket Diet but it is not the one GoodHousekeeping has a book out on.

 

There is a book called Gramslam: The Original Supermarket Diet but from what I read it is not worth paying for because the info is so simple. The premise is that you can follow a Jenny Cra*g style diet with out paying their high cost of food and their extra fees for membership. The diet makes it super easy for you to lose weight because you eat diet freezer meals for lunch and dinner along with fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy. There are a few other things they suggest but those are the basics.

 

I took the liberty of doing some research and figured out Jenny Cra*g's meal plan formula (not very hard to do) and worked out my own plan which with careful shopping would probably cost me $50. a week which is lower than JC's prices! It's still a little high for those of us on a really strict budget but if it makes losing easier than whoooo hooo!

 

*B:a 150-200 calorie item like a pria bar, vita muffin, or cereal

a serving of low fat dairy

a serving of fruit

 

*L: a frozen diet entree (or soup)

a serving of veggies or a salad with fat free (I would use lite because I hate ff)

 

*S:a vegetable or fruit

a dairy serving like a small yogurt or string cheese

 

*D:same as lunch

 

*S:a portion controlled snack or dessert food such as a skinny cow ice cream or a 100 calorie bag of crackers

 

A very simple shopping list for 6 days would be

12 diet frozen meals

a premade veggie tray (you can use them with the dip or toss them in salad)

lettuce

fat free or low fat dressing

a 6 pack of yogurt

6 lf string cheeses

6 pria type bars

2 packages of lite fruit cups

4 pieces of fresh fruit

a package of skinny cow ice cream sandwiches

[DawnM]

I did JC back when I was single and had the $$ for it and didn't need to cook for anyone else! I was able to keep ONLY JC foods in my house and stick to the plan far better than I can now. I also got to my goal weight and kept it off until I got pregnant and had kids several years later.

 

Heavy sigh......I NEED something!

[ktgrok]

I bit the bullet and joined Jenny today! This is truly a health issue now, and my insurance paid for the first month's membership. DH isn't thrilled with the cost of food, but understands. I got weighed, measured, a picture taken, and we talked a lot. I'm doing 1 day a week on my own, and breakfasts on my own, to save money.

[Anne in CA]

At the end of the day you have to do what works. I'm glad your dh understands about the money. I hear you about its easier to just know what you should eat than worry about what you shouldn't. Also, adding exercise will give you some of those endorphins back that you gave up when you gave up simple carbs. I lost 80lb 15 years ago and have mostly kept it off, although I gained almost 30 back at one point and had to suffer to get rid of it. At the end of the day the only way to maintain weight loss is to find other ways to make yourself feel good than eating. I would find 20 min of exercise you can do every day that you LIKE, and take up a craft, or hobby that will keep you busy late at night if that is when you cheat on food.

[DawnM]

Can I ask how much it costs now?

 

When I did it I believe I spent about $350-400/mo on their food and another bit on grocery foods.

[AHASRADA]

At the end of the day the only way to maintain weight loss is to find other ways to make yourself feel good than eating.

 

I am currently reading through the book Life is Hard, Food is Easy by Linda Spangle. She has another book I plan on reading, 100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan. She outlines ways to get in touch with the reasons we eat when we aren't hungry, to stop and think about why we want to eat before we do so, and come up with alternative activities.

 

I didn't really think of myself as an "emotional eater", because I haven't been through any major trauma or emotions I am trying to repress. Still, I realize that food has been my major source of fun, pleasure, relaxation and reward. I also eat when I am bored or have to do something I don't really want to do to in order to add some fun to the drudgery of the task.

 

I would recommend anyone who has gained weight back after a diet (or given up on a diet) because they keep falling back into bad habits of eating junk, etc., to read these books. Portion size and healthy eating are important, but it is essential to get to the root of the problem behind stuffing ourselves with treats or comfort food.

 

I would also suggest cutting out sugar and refined carbs (bread, etc.) to see if that stops the cravings. Some people feel deprived if they can't have cake or bread on occasion, but some (like me) don't crave those carbs if I don't have them. As soon as I have a taste, I want to eat more and more, so it's better for me if they are off limits, at least until I get things under control.

 

Personally, I have been very successful creating my own calorie-restricted whole foods plan. I have a general pattern I follow for meals and snacks, then plan my food for the day the night before or in the AM. Knowing what I am going to eat for the day (and not allowing any wiggle room to add anything that is not in the plan) makes it easy to stay on track.

 

I did Nutrisystem for a month a few years ago when we were preparing to move overseas and wanted something "open and go". If you have a Big Lots store near you, they often have Nutrisystem meals on clearance there. However, Big Lots has their own line of foods called "Fresh Finds", including prepackaged entrees that are low in calorie (230-300) and use natural ingredients (nothing unpronounceable). They are shelf-stable like Nutrisystem, but I actually like the taste of Fresh Finds better. They have a lot of bean-based meals, which I love, but several with pasta as well. They are only $1.50, so they're a great option of you can find them!

 

I think you made a good choice deciding to sign up with Jenny, especially since you have a discount in the beginning. You know it worked for you before, and it will help you to get back on the right path. Once you feel like you can handle it on your own, it's not that hard to replicate the system on your own.

 

Good luck!

[LucyStoner]

I think you should find a way you do want to/can eat all the time. As a family. Take the time to learn new habits while losing weight or you're setting yourself up for failure long term. When you stop a diet which relies on special foods you are not feeding your family your weight will come back.