This post is a long time coming. I meant to write this post a few weeks ago but between my hubby’s vacation time, out of state company staying with us, trying to sell our condo, and my kids keeping me on the go-go-go I just haven’t had the time to site and write like I normally do. If you read my blog on a regular basis you have probably noticed that my posting has been a bit more sporadic than usual. I’m looking forward to the start of the new school year so we can get back on to a schedule and I can finally get back to blogging like I normally do.
You might recall that I tried out Jenny Craig for a month last month. If you follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook you have probably seen my tweets/posts.
I am happy to report that I lost a wee bit over 6+ pounds in one month. I say “+” because it’s not quite 6 1/2 pounds (more like 6.3). Not bad for one month.
My first week was a bit disappointing. Normally when I try to lose weight I always do amazingly well the first week (usually 5+ pounds lost). I started Jenny Craig at the wrong time. I had to deal with female hormonal issues my first week (I’m sure you know what I mean). So I was bloated and hormonal. 
I had hoped that my second week would have made up for it, but I lost about a pound an a half my second week. That is still not bad at all.
I was on the full program. I received breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner and dessert for every day of the week. With the Jenny Craig program you have to include other foods like salad (every day), cheese/dairy, fruits and veggies. It’s not “just” Jenny Craig food. The bulk of it is but the rest you supply yourself.
Inside my local Jenny Craig.
Where do I begin with the food. The foods was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!!! I have been on programs that offer pre-made meals in the past, but they NEVER tasted as good as Jenny Craig’s foods. The big difference for me is that the Jenny Craig foods tasted freshly made (especially the frozen meals). They also tasted like the “real” thing and not artificial foods or foods you need to re-hydrate or drown in pepper or ketchup to add flavor to it.
I can honestly say I didn’t come across any Jenny Craig foods that I didn’t like. I love them all!
My absolute favorite – to my surprise – is their Turkey Burger. I’m not really big on burgers. I’ll have one (a cheeseburger) at a barbecue, but I rarely order them at restaurants. I like burgers, they just don’t like me. They seem to sit on my stomach and make me feel “blah”.
Years ago I was on another weight loss program that offered pre-made meals. You had to add water to their hamburger to re-hydrate is. It tasted OK but it was a bit odd having to add water to your freeze dried hamburger in order to plump it up to enjoy it.
The Jenny Craig Turkey Burger comes frozen, not freeze dried. Simply microwave the turkey burger and the roll, warm up the barbecue sauce that comes with it and you have a plump, moist, juicy, oh-so-good turkey burger.
Plump and juicy Turkey Burger with barbecue sauce
Mmmmm!!! So good!
I loved it so much I swapped out other meals in the following weeks on Jenny Craig for another Turkey Burger. I just HAD to have one each week. If there was a way for me to stop by Jenny Craig and buy a box of them I would. They are THAT GOOD.
The food that you get with the Jenny Craig program is REAL FOOD. It’s real food that has been weighed and measured for you. Everything is pre-portioned for you. There is no need to weigh anything. Simply prepare the food and enjoy. There is no “guesswork” involved and no points to count.
Because this is REAL food the food tastes amazing. It’s the same foods you would normally eat on your own, it’s just pre-portioned for you.
Some of my other favorites include the Florentine Breakfast Pizzas, Breakfast Scramble and their various Fish meals (fish and chips and fish and pasta). Yumm!
Florentine Breakfast Pizza
Breakfast Scramble with potatoes and eggs.
Fish and Pasta
Fish & Chips with steak fries
Jenny Craig has an “Anytime Bar”. It comes in different flavors (I usually picked up the chocolate peanut butter flavor but the vanilla is good too). It contains a lot of the vitamins and minerals that you need each day. It’s called “Anytime Bar” because you can enjoy it at any time during the day. They recommend having it as mid-morning snack, which I normally did. But every now and then I had the Anytime Bar later on in the day.
I found it easy to incorporate the foods into my daily lifestyle. There were a few times I knew I wouldn’t be home to eat what I was suppose to because it was perishable. What I did was make sure I took the Anytime Bar with me (once I put it in a plastic bag with an ice pack) or I would take a non-perishable Jenny Craig snack or dessert with me to hold me over until I was able to get home and ate my regular Jenny Craig food.
Jenny Craig offers small bowls of soup. It’s considered an add on (it’s not part of the regular weekly menu). If you can afford it I would recommend them. They are small bowls of soup you can enjoy before dinner to help keep you full and satisfied. It really did help to fill me up a bit before dinner. I even enjoyed the soup as a snack and a couple of times with my lunch instead of with dinner.
Lunch time ALWAYS includes a salad. You can make it any way you want with all the vegetables you want. There is a list of foods that you are given that are unlimited and ones that are limited. Simply check to see what list your favorite salad foods are in and plan accordingly. Jenny Craig also carries salad dressings. I’ve tried both the Balsamic and Ranch and they were both good.
Cinnamon Buns for breakfast!
Having a weekly meeting with my Jenny Craig counselor helped a lot too. She was always happy to answer any questions or concerns that I had. Plus having someone to weigh you helps to keep you a bit accountable for your actions.
The fist two weeks on the Jenny Craig plan were horrible as far as the weather was concerned. It was way too hot and humid to go talk a walk or do any kind of physical activity outside. It showed with my weight loss too. When I was finally able to get out and be physical I lost more weight.
Everyone I encountered at my local Jenny Craig was nice, friendly and knowledable. It’s nice having that support on your weight loss journey.
I LOVED the food and the ease and convenience of the program. Honestly the only “downside” for me was the price. I simply could not afford to continue on past the one month. I would have loved to but our cat’s medical bills (both our Diabetic cat and our Asthmatic cat), it being the summer time and needing $$$ to keep the kids busy, having to save up for back to school shopping and a few other things make it impossible for me to afford to stay with he program a little longer. One day I hope to be able to afford it. I really am going to miss those Turkey Burgers.
Have you ever tried Jenny Craig? What did you think about the program? Did you like the foods? Feel free to comment and tell me more about it.
Oreo Cheesecake. So good!
Kimberly
*I received a free month on the program in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.