Compiled & reviewed  by
Dr.Sanjana.VB. BHMS. DBRM. CDN

What is the Jenny Craig Diet?

         Jenny Craig diet [JC] is a structured diet plan based around prepackaged foods to manage calories, fat and portion sizes. Jenny's prepackaged meals and recipes also emphasize healthy eating, an active lifestyle and behavior modification. There are more than 600 nationwide Jenny Craig Weight Loss Centers. The JC company meets most of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans , if viewed from a nutritional perspective.

              Personal coaches guide members through their weight loss  journeys from the very beginning. According to the company, you'll gain support and motivation and learn how much you should be eating, what a balanced meal looks like and how to use that knowledge to achieve weight maintenance. By following the plan, you’re expected to drop up to 2 pounds a week

Your dedicated weight loss coach will customize your plan to fit:

·       Your goals

·       Your food preferences

·       Your activity level

Jenny craig diet design

·       Recharge Bar

·       Breakfast

·       Lunch

·       Dinner

·       Snack/Dessert

·       Plus, you can add your own fresh fruit and veggies

JC DIET combine the principles of intermittent fasting with specially-designed menus.By eating smart during the day and taking a break at night.

 The JC diet give emphasis to Low but healthy fat.The diet incorporates moderate consumption of healthy fats, like olive oil, and discourages unhealthy fats, such as saturated fats – with less than 30% of total calories coming from fat.

JC diet plans

There are several types of  Jenny Craig plans to choose from, all of which include breakfasts and lunches.

Around  1,200 to 2,300 calories a day  is allowed and the plan  is designed  based on  your current weight, age, gender, height, goal weight and fitness habits.

The four plans include:

·       Max Up plan---- is the most comprehensive program based on intermittent fasting.

·       The Simple Meal Plan---- includes breakfasts and lunches.

·       The Essential Meal Plan ----includes three meals a day, great for busy individuals who want quick and healthy meals.

·       Jenny Craig for Type 2 ------- is designed for people with Type 2 diabetes by including a lower-carb menu, reinforcement of self-monitoring of blood sugar levels, consistent meals and snacks and other self-management strategies.

Max Up Plan:

Launched in 2022, the Max Up Plan incorporates the benefits of intermittent fasting. You eat during a 10-hour nourishment period, and then take a break for a 14-hour rejuvenation period (which includes sleep).

To help make intermittent fasting easier, members can eat Jenny’s Recharge Bar toward the end of their 14-hour fast. The bar is designed to help you stay in a fat-burning mode without breaking your metabolic fast.

 However, most nutrition experts believe that these bars are a fast-breaking food. Although in one small study, participants lost more weight with the bar than without, there is also no clinical reason that they would "ignite fat burning or quicken fat loss," as the company claims.

                 On the Max Up Plan, you’ll eat three Jenny Craig packaged meals, a Jenny Craig Recharge bar, a Jenny Craig-branded snack/dessert, one snack of your choosing, five servings of your own fruit and vegetables and at least one lean protein or low-fat dairy equivalent. Once you’ve lost half your weight, you’ll begin to cook your meals a few times a week.

In one study, Jenny Craig clients lost an average of 10% of their body weight the first year on the plan.

                       Besides Jenny Craig prepackaged meals, you can also have fresh fruits and vegetables, and reduced-fat dairy products.the JC diet focuses on healthy fats ,fibers and proteins. Jenny Craig's meals have no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day.it is a low salt diet strategy. all of the vegetarian prepackaged meals  are made with dairy.So it is difficult for pure vegans to choose JC diet.

      If you have inflammatory bowel diseases and you want gluten free diet, you would need to ask Jenny Craig if the company has any options that would work for you.

          In JC plan of diet physical activity recommended is :

30 minutes or more of moderate activity at least 5 days a week.

         This is a good program because it offers a balanced diet that is based upon current dietary recommendations for adults. It seems easy, since you don’t need to cook and the food is prepackaged,but it is expensive for common man.Those who have followed this diet plan claims that they have lost weight.

References

1.    https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/jenny-craig-diet#:~:text=Jenny%20Craig's%20approach%20focuses%20on,occasional%20splurges%20like%20alcoholic%20beverages.

2.    https://www.jennycraig.com/