Jenny Craig
Jenny Craig founded her weight-loss program after she lost weight that she gained during her pregnancy. She and her husband, Sid, launched the Jenny Craig weight-loss program in Australia. It was introduced in the United States during the mid-80’s. Today, it has become one of the largest weight-loss programs in the world. A short time ago, she published her autobiography, “The Jenny Craig Story: How One Woman Changes Millions of Lives.”
Her program is well balanced and it offers a healthy way for people to lose those extra pounds. The meals aren’t bad, and the program offers a lot of help and encouragement to those who need it. With her program dieters eat Jenny Craig food and meet with a counselor once a week. Dieters learn to add fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains to their diets. The only draw back is that the program can be expensive. It costs $400 for the first month, and dieters can buy extra vitamin and antioxidant supplements as well. The program also focuses on helping participants learn to modify their behavior, learn to incorporate exercise into their lives, and build up their self-esteem.
Pros
- Weekly one-on-one motivational & counseling sessions
- Many dieters like the ability of quickly heating up a Jenny Craig meal
- Strengthens sense of self-esteem through fairly holistic approach
- Meets dietary requirements of some vegetarians, mothers who are breast feeding, and those on a kosher diet
Cons
- Program and cuisine relatively expensive
- counselors can be too sales-oriented
- Anecdotal evidence outweighs scientific data in book
- Critics note crutch effect and difficult transition away from program
