While Jenny Craig is endorsed on television by celebrities such as Valerie Bertinelli and Sara Rue -- both of whom lost more than 40 pounds on the plan -- the commercial weight loss program isn't necessarily going to be successful for everyone who tries it. While the popular diet has helped millions of people lose weight according to its website, the Jenny Craig program is not without its drawbacks.
About the Program
Since 1983, Jenny Craig has provided weight management services to more than 5 million clients worldwide. The cost for joining the program includes a variable fee, based on the amount of weight loss desired and particular program chosen. In addition, users must purchase meals from the line of Jenny Craig packaged diet foods. The meals comprise two-thirds of the user's daily intake and are supplemented with dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables. The meals are designed to "help clients create a healthy relationship with food by illustrating proper portion sizes and modeling nutritionally balanced meals," according to Jenny Craig.
Packaged Foods
While the packaged foods are Jenny Craig's cornerstone to helping dieters achieve their initial weight loss, the meals have come under scrutiny for their lack of nutritional value. The foods are very low in fiber content, according to a March 2007 review on Epicurious. The foods they reviewed only contained about 8 g of fiber per day, where the recommended amount of daily fiber intake is about 25 grams.
"Without much fat or fiber to keep your blood sugar levels steady and your appetite in check, you'll be chewing your arm off 90 minutes after every meal," according to Epicurious. Users may have difficulty following the diet without cheating due to hunger, and therefore experience little to no weight loss.
Cost of Food
Another drawback to the Jenny Craig program is the high cost of the packaged foods. "At $11 to $17 per day, a month of food will cost you between $330 and $527 per month," according to 7habitsofweightloss.com. Users who cannot or do not want to shoulder the cost of the foods may not be successful with their weight loss.
Transitioning From the Packaged Food
While the Jenny Craig website explains that the ultimate goal of the program is to transition users to preparing their own foods, weaning users off the packaged foods to cooking and grocery shopping on their own also comes with a price: "The maintenance component of our Platinum, Rewards, Premium Success or Metabolic Max memberships helps transition you from Jenny's Cuisine to planning your own menus." Users who cannot or choose not to pay for this transition program may therefore not be able to achieve desired weight loss.
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