The word diet has become synonymous with the idea of doing without food where as the original meaning of the word symbolized the quantities, composition and effects of food on health. However, with a sector of extremely overweight and grossly obese citizens, the word diet represents more a lack of food and drink. People who are attempting to limit the amount of food they eat to reduce weight often use the word to indicate why they are cutting out various foods. Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig are two of many diet programs that provide specific foods to the dieter for the length of her program.
Why Jenny Craig?
Jenny Craig boasts a desire to teach portion control and healthy eating habits through delicious and healthy menus. Physical activity is brought into the equation with a personalized activity plan. The mind is also used to help motivate the clients though hectic lifestyles render many people sedentary. Jenny Craig allows clients to have an in-person meeting with a consultant in the privacy of their home. Jenny Craig offers personal attention and support to help the client be more successful by learning about food. Its programs include the Jenny Craig Silver, Jenny Craig for Men and Jenny Craig Type 2.
Why Nutrisystem?
Nutrisystem is similar to Jenny Craig in that it advertises that the client will learn portion control and how to fit physical activity into a busy lifestyle. Nutrisystem offers up much of the same information regarding how to create a long-term diet plan and how to add in the element of physical activity. Clients meet with consultants who offer encouragement to pursue weight loss. Nutrisystem also offers a plan known as Nutrisystem select, which offers choices from over 160 restaurant-style menus and a variety of new foods.
Breakfast
Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem both suggest that their particular plan has the largest variety of food choices. By ordering food from Jenny Craig, you have a choice of breakfasts including selections like blueberry pancakes and veggie sausage, maple nut hot cereal, oatmeal breakfast squares, banana nut muffins, and frosted oats cereal along with items they have grouped together like a complete start cereal, sunshine sandwich or a breakfast stuffed sandwich. Jenny Craig's breakfast foods generally run between 200 and 220 calories.
Nutrisystem's breakfast menu touts much the same, such as apple cinnamon oatmeal, apple granola bars, banana nut muffins, blueberry flavored pancakes, cluster crunch cereal, cranberry orange pastry and NutriFrosted Crunch cereal. Nutrisystem has mixed meals that are designed to give you the taste of variety such as an egg frittata or a Harvest Nut Bar. The breakfast foods run between 140 to 200 calories
A direct comparison of blueberry pancakes from both places relays a serving size of 154 calories at Nutrisystem with 28 of those calories coming from fat while Jenny Craig's version of blueberry pancakes rounds up at 200 calories with 60 of those coming from fat.
Lunch and Dinner
Lunch foods at Jenny Craig range from 240 calories for a BBQ Beef Panini to 280 calories for a 5 oz. Turkey Burger. Dinner foods at Jenny Craig are very similar to lunch with BBQ Chicken Pizza having 280 calories or 8.8 oz. of Teriyaki Glazed Salmon with 290 calories.
Nutrisystem's lunches range from chicken and pasta in cacciatore sauce with 130 calories and pasta with beef at 170 calories. Dinner serves up a flame broiled beef patty with 90 calories but doesn't specify the size of the serving. Again, the meal portions are relatively the same and the number of calories ranges from 170 to 240. Jenny Craig's foods are consistently higher in calories per meal.
In a direct comparison, Jenny Craig offers a Rising Crust Pizza with 380 calories and 45 of those come from fat while Nutrisystem's version is called a thick crust pizza and has 250 calories with 70 of those coming from fat.
Desserts and Snacks
Jenny Craig's desserts range from a lemon mousse bar to a soft chocolate chip cookie to cheese curls. The general range of calories for a snack are anywhere from 130 to 180. Nutrisystem's snacks and desserts consist of carrot cake, chocolate cake and cheese puffs.
A direct comparison of Jenny Craig's cheese curls with Nutrisystem's cheese curls show a serving size of 1 oz. and 130 calories with 50 calories coming from fat from Jenny Craig; Nutrisystem's cheese puffs do not give a serving size except "one package" equals one serving and this equates to 150 calories with 45 of those coming from fat.
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