Hello moms. I was just wondering if anyone as done the 20lbs for $20 or if anyone knows anything about it. My mother in law has been doing JG for a while now and she has lost over 30 lbs...its good for her because she is single and only has to buy herself food...I on the other hand have a husband and a 3 year old to buy for so it could get expensive for me to buy JG food for me and then regular food for them....HOWEVER...they offer a deal 20lb for $20 my main goal is to loose 30lbs but once I drop the 20 I'll be able to do the rest on my own...I just need a swift kick in the butt to get me started. So I thought this might be perfect for me...yes I have to buy the JG food for me but it will only be for awhile and it may come out right if im not buying my lean cousins and stuff at the grocery store. Does anyone have anymore info on this or have they done it?? Im gonna call but im kinda nervous...I know they are going to try and push into doing the lifetime thing....but there is no way I could afford that!! Thought I would ask my moms before making my decision :)
thx!
WOW...first of all thank you for all the comments...they really helped me out. I decided to try it. Its only for 10 weeks. My reasoning for doing this is just to get my mindset back to eating smaller portions and healthy, I know JC stuff is not the healthiest foods...however I just need a jump start, so if I can loose this 20lbs I will be ready to loose the last 10lbs I want to loose on my own and continue with a healthy relationship with food rather then eating everything insight. So this JC thing is just to jump start my healthy living... I plan on working out... doing not only the JC food but also making my own healthy foods with my family...so when JC is over I can continue being healthy and staying at a healthy weight...I am 30 now and I want my 30s to be my healthy years :) So thanks again for all of the comments. I will let you know how it turns out :)
My girlfriend has worked for JC for years and she loves it and the company. I don't think you could go wrong with trying it for a short time. And like you said, it will probably give you the kick start and motivation to keep going. I think it comes out to something like $4 a meal maybe?
Just wanted to toss out an alternative idea for you. Take it or leave it... it isn't for everyone, but it works great for me...
It's called the "Alternate Day Diet". You can google it, and there is a small book that explains it much more in detail. Basically, you "fast" (limit your calories - for most women it's around 400-500 per day) for one day, then eat whatever you want the next. Then "fast" the next day, then eat whatever (and however much, I might add) the next day. And so on.
It was designed originally as a way to reduce inflammation in the body, but a nice side effect is effective weight loss as well. Because you only fast for one day, your body does NOT go into starvation mode and shut down your metabolism. And since whatever you are craving you can have TOMORROW (not in 3 weeks or a month from now), you lose the feelings of deprivation. AND, you won't have to buy anything extra!
I still prepare meals for my family... but instead of eating what I have made for them, I have a bowl of low-calorie soup, or a lean cuisine meal (one of the ones under 250 calories). I still drink my coffee with cream every morning. And I drink lots of water (I love SmartWater) and VitaminWater Zero. I usually only feel a little hungry in the hours when I am getting ready to make my family's meal. So I'll munch on a cucumber or a slice of red bell pepper and drink some water while I cook.
I went from my highest non-pregnancy weight (165 lbs) to my lowest weight since being an adult (137 lbs) in about 6 months. I truly averaged about a pound a week, which is supposed to be the healthiest rate. I had a few weeks in the beginning when I lost 2 or 2.5... but after the first 10-15 lbs, it went down to a pound a week. I have stayed within 7 lbs of my lowest weight for the past 6 months, even with frequent "going off" the diet because of chaos (dog almost died, son had pneumonia, daughter broke her front tooth... just all kinds of little interruptions). At the moment, I am back "on" the plan, and am at 142 lbs.
The only extras I buy are VitaminWater and soup. I usually only have one a day (and plain water the rest of the time), so I stock up when it's on sale, and I spend about $2 a day for my "meals", lol. Sometimes I'll snack on a medium sized apple. The NEXT day, I can indulge in whatever I want... Oreos, ice-cream with the kids, BREAD, you name it. But since your stomach does shrink, you get filled up a lot faster, and you learn to eat something healthy before you have the sweet stuff, and you don't have room for a LOT of sweets. :)
Anyway, I know it isn't specifically what you asked about, but in case you'd never heard of it, I thought you might like another option to check out and consider.
My husband brought it to my attention, because I often will get busy and "forget" breakfast until about 1:00 pm... by then, the day's half over. So I only have a few hours to "worry" about watching what I consume.
Why not just start making healthy foods for the whole family to enjoy but eating smaller portions for yourself? What happens after you lose your weight from eating only Jenny Craig foods? Will you just go back to eating like how you eat now that got you here in the first place? I do not say this to be mean, truly I am not. I just don't see how eating Jenny Craig foods will help you after you lose your weight. You cannot live on those foods forever. Eventually you have to eat "normal" and I must ask, do you know what that is? I would start by looking at what you make for your family. I mean, really look at it. Are you making things with wholesome fruits/vegetables/grains? Lean meats? Carbs? Does your pantry have a lot of bad foods like cookies, chips, sodas, processed foods? I look at the labels. High fats are a no-no and if you must use, then use sparingly. Limit your sugar intake. Low fat doesn't mean low sugar. Look at the fat and sugar on the low fat and regular. Often times you will see that low fat has high amounts of sugar while the regular has low sugar and more fat. In that case, buy the regular just use less or eat less. Sugar is stored as fat in our bodies. We get plenty of sugar throughout the day. Everything has sugar in it, so watch the sugar content and limit it where you can. I say make wise choices and make every calorie count. Save your money on the Jenny Craig stuff.
Try out Sparkpeople.com. it's like Weight Watchers but free. They have awesome support groups. you put in your goal and then they tell you how much you need to eat calorie wise depending on your activity level (how much you typically exercise a week) and then you just log your food everyday. i've lost about 25lbs since January.
I don't know much about Jenny Craig but if you are interested in finding some workout motivation check and see if there is a Stroller Strides in your area. (strollerstrides.com) or you can message me if you have questions about it. :)
Good luck!
I have done JC twice, after each of my 2 boys. It really works and the way I saved money was to buy breakfast, lunch and snacks and eat dinner with my husband and family. I did have to modify my dinner sometimes, but it made us eat healthier and I still lost weight. I am thinner and in better shape than before my kids!! It really teaches you portion control and makes you mindful of everything you put in your mouth. I gave myself a time limit this last time of 4 months to lose 25 lbs, which is very doable since the average weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week and made me work out and stick to it since I knew I had only a certain time period. I got below my goal weight and am a dedicated work out person now, that I never was before. It really did change everything about the way I ate and kept myself. I say it's worth the money and go for it! I don't think you will regret it.
I know JC works, but it is expensive. Have you checked out the website sparkpeople.com? It's a GREAT resource for FREE. You can even plan healthy meals for the whole family!
Also excercise is a big part of it. When I started running a year ago, I went from a size 12 to a size 6 in less than a year. I didn't really change my eating habits too much, I just made sure I got to the gym 5 times a week.
My husband tried several diets. Honestly don't remember Jenny Craig, but the problem was he was starving all the time and in a terrible mood. Then I got into nutrition and started my own small business and he tried my products. He felt great on this plan and it helps you retain your muscle with an ingredient called leucine so that you are less likely to yoyo diet when you go off. Take a look at it and contact me. Depending on how much you have to lose I can help you choose what would work best for you and your lifestyle and how to maintain when you go off.
http://www.cinchplan.com/healinghappens
After reading some of the answers other people wrote I'm going to checkout the sparkpeople.com, but I will say that I did weight watchers a while back and really got into it - i think i lost like 20 - 30 lbs when i was in college and i have started it back up again recently since having my baby and i've lost like 10 lbs so far. They have membership specials all the time so you might want to check with your local meeting place and see if they have any $0 start up specials coming up :o)
I did JC last summer. It does work however, I was in the same boat you are with the husband and child to cook for. That was difficult because you still have to buy all of their groceries. The food averages $6.00 a meal. I was spending on average $200 a week just for my food. Plus, you do have to supplement JC food with fruits and veggies. I did a lot of comaprisons while I was doing it. A lot of the Lean Cuisines have the same calories and fat content. They are much less expensive and have a larger variety of food.
Like I said, it worked for me while I stuck to it but it is quite pricey. That is why I had to stop.
