Jenny Craig, founder of the weight loss centers that bear her name, began work in the
weight-management industry in order to lose weight gained during her own pregnancy.
She later went on to become an executive for a chain of centers that were later sold to
NutriSystem. Many people are familiar with her because of her ads to promote her own
company.
Like other similar diet programs, Jenny Craig works on the concept of purchasing
specialty prepared and packaged foods. Though the meals are fairly well balanced and
convenient, it can become quite expensive to purchase, especially when compared to
other plans that utilize meals prepared using foods that you purchase in the grocery store
of your choice. A recent research study showed that much of the cost is hidden in
incremental food purchases, which lead to a great deal of customer frustration.
Jenny Craig caters to a group of customers who are not concerned about the cost of the
food. This group of clientele is not concerned about how much it costs to accomplish
their weight loss goals. Though the program works on the same basis as Weight Watchers
with the weekly meetings, Weight Watchers does not provide the meals for you. Of
course, you do have the option to purchase Weight Watchers Meals in your local grocery
store, a monetary cost that is nominal in comparison to buying food from Jenny Craig.
What is the alternative? If you are the type of person who isn’t good with deciding what
you should eat in order to lose weight, this program is just the thing for it. In addition, if
you don’t like the inconvenience of having to weigh and measure your food, it is also a
great program for you. On the other hand, if you are cost-conscious and want something
that you can purchase in the grocery store when you do your regular shopping, this is
definitely not the program for you.
As an individual, you must decide what the best alternative is after weighing all of the
pros and cons. You must keep in mind that a weight-loss program requiring you to eat
pre-packaged food is going to create a problem when you have to eat out. After all, if you
are used to opening a package and putting it into the microwave; now having to decide
how much of a serving of “real” food you are allowed to eat in order to stay on track.
Also keep in mind that whatever you pay for food for yourself, you will still need to
purchase food for your family in addition, which will more than likely push the cost of
your food budget up tremendously. Think very carefully before you make your decision
when deciding on beginning a diet program.