Dieting And Diet Plans

We have been a little lax in posting. But, it has been a little busy in our neck of the woods with helping out the grandkids get ready for the school year. With one starting college, it has been a very new experience.

What extra time we've had has been spent researching the subject of DIETS. We have questioned the need for all these "fad diets" we see available since we have our own beliefs and conclusions derived from our research. To begin with, we are going to look at some of these "diets" in our next several posts begining with:

Jenny Craig

When it comes to popular diet programs on the market today, one of the most well known is Jenny Craig, especially since it has been made popular by so many celebrities. However, you may be wondering if it is a diet that works on more than just celebrities today. Well, let's take a look at this diet, who it works best for, all the pros and cons, the foods you get to eat, and how it is viewed by the medical community. Then you'll be better equipped to make a good decision on whether this is the right diet choice for you needs.

Jenny Craig Overview

The Jenny Craig diet has been around for some time and it started out in the early 1980's in the country of Australia. It wasn't until 1985 that it finally came to the United States. There are various levels of this system. The first one teaches you how to eat small portions of the food that you want, then later you learn how to increase your energy levels. Last of all, you learn to balance out the nutrition in your life to make sure that you lose the weight and keep it off. Different types of support are offered, including telephone support or you can even go for online support, or visit the offices for support in person.

Who it Works For

This is a diet program that works for people who like the ease of not having to cook for themselves. It also is excellent for those who need a bit of extra support to lose the weight. However, people who are not a fan of meals that are pre-packaged will probably not be a huge fan of this weight loss program.

Pros and Cons

Jenny Craig comes with various pros and cons just like any other diet. However, you have to take a look at them to decide if you are happy with the list of pros and cons that you find. Here are some of the pros and cons of using this diet to try to lose weight.
- Pro #1 - Food is Already Prepared - One great pro of going on Jenny Craig is that the food you are going to eat is already prepared. The foods are delivered right to your door, so you don't even have to prepare your food anymore. Many people love this because it takes the hassle out of trying to cook healthy foods.
- Pro #2 - The Plan is Easy to Follow - Another pro is that the Jenny Craig plan is really easy to follow as well. There are no points to remember and you won't have to worry about counting carbs or calories either, which makes it easy for you when you are trying to lose weight.
- Pro #3 - The Diet is Balanced - The diet is a fairly well balanced one as well, which is another pro. You get fruits, meats, vegetables, and more, so you won't feel like you are always being deprived.
- Pro #4 - You Get Personal Coaching - Personal coaching is what many people really love about this diet plan. You have a coach that works with you to help you reach the weight loss goals that you have set for yourself. This can be very helpful and help to keep you motivated and on track as you work on losing weight.
- Con #1 - It Can Really Get Expensive - Of course there are some cons to this diet as well, and one of the main ones is the expense. Since you have to buy the foods from Jenny Craig, it can get very expensive fast. You have to buy all your meals and even your snacks from the company, and they are not so cheap.
- Con #2 - Eating Out is Difficult - Eating out can get difficult as well when you are on this diet. You are not allowed to eat out and you definitely won't want to cart along your little Jenny Craig meal and ask someone at the restaurant to heat it up for you.
- Con #3 - Refined Carbs are High in this Diet - Another con is that the refined carbs in the Jenny Craig diet are quite high, which is really not great if you are trying to keep the pounds off.

Foods to Eat

When you are on the Jenny Craig diet, you only get to eat the meals that you purchase from Jenny Craig. While the meals usually have a nice variety, you may get tired of eating these prepared meals all of the time. It can get boring constantly eating out of a box, so many people are not thrilled with this option.

Opinions from the Medical Community

While people in the medical community feel that the portion sizes of Jenny Craig are great and that learning portion control is great, many wonder if it will last once people are no longer eating the meals that are not prepackaged for them. Also, people feel that people don't get the enjoyment they should out of eating, which means that this diet can be hard to stick to. Once people go back to eating normally, it can be difficult to keep eating the right way.

There you have it. Our next post will be about another of the "popular" diets for you to draw your own conclusions.