Jenny Craig Diet Review for 2023
Jenny Craig Diet Review UPDATED 2023
In early May 2023 Jenny Craig announced closure of their business. However, Wellful, Inc. bought Jenny Craig and will relaunch Jenny Craig this Fall. Wellful, Inc. also owns Nutrisystem.
This site (Best Diet Tips) will reflect information about the relaunched Jenny Craig once it happens.
Below is an historical reference of Jenny Craig before its May 2023 closure.
Is Jenny Craig the best diet for you?
What is Jenny Craig?
Jenny Craig is a diet plan that focuses on low-calorie, pre-packaged meals.
Jenny Craig foods may be picked up at Jenny Craig locations or be delivered to your door for a shipping fee.
For dieters who prefer having a meal delivery service and one-on-one consultations, Jenny Craig may be the right choice for weight loss.
Let's examine Jenny Craig in detail to see if it's the right meal delivery plan for you.
What are the PROS of Jenny Craig?
- Jenny Craig is a safe & effective weight loss program.
- Jenny Craig offers one-on-one counseling.
- Jenny Craig food can be delivered to your door.
What are the CONS of Jenny Craig?
- Jenny Craig is based on processed, pre-packaged foods.
- Jenny Craig dieters report that after stopping the program, they often gain the weight back.
How does Jenny Craig work?
In the past, Jenny Craig users would sign up for a membership and then purchase Jenny Craig foods directly from the company. But you'd be interested to know that Jenny Craig's weight loss plans do not allow for customized menus anymore!
Instead, Jenny Craig members now purchase 1-week meal kits, with automatic shipping for each week thereafter. And you don't get to choose your meals.
Your Jenny Craig weekly meal kit will include food for 7 days and, depending on which diet plan you've chosen, will include breakfast, lunches, and/or dinners, snacks, desserts, and more.
What's NEW for Jenny Craig Diet Plans in 2023?
Jenny Fresh is a new addition to what Jenny Craig has to offer. A 7 Meal Bundle that covers dinner for a whole week!
- 7 Meal Bundle + Free Shipping - $79.99
Jenny's diet memberships have changed and prices have slightly increased for 2023! They now offer 3 types of memberships:
The Jenny Craig Simple Meal Plan ($13.99 per day) ONLY includes:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
The Jenny Craig Essential Meal Plan ($21.99 per day) ONLY includes:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
The Jenny Craig MAX UP Weight Loss Meal Plan ($28.52 per day) includes:
- Personalized Coaching
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks & Desserts
- Daily Recharge Bar
Which Jenny Craig Diet Plan is the Best?
The Jenny Craig Max Up Weight Loss Plan is the best because it will include every meal, snacks, and a daily Recharge Bar.
The Jenny Craig Max Up Weight Loss Plan is the ONLY plan that offers coaching!
How Much Weight Will I Lose on Jenny Craig?
Jenny's customers lose an average of between 1 and 2 pounds each week. You may lose a bit more in the first week, but this is just a one-time water weight drop.
What will I be eating on Jenny Craig?
Dieters dine mostly on Jenny Craig pre-packaged cuisine, which can be delivered or picked up at a Jenny Craig location.
Foods such as Pepperoni Pizza, Classic Waffles, and even Chocolate Chip Cookies are available on Jenny Craig.
Jenny Craig foods are often reported as being similar to the popular supermarket frozen meal brand, Lean Cuisine.
This isn't surprising as until recently Jenny Craig and Lean Cuisine were owned by the same parent company (Nestle).
What is Jenny Craig’s Cancellation Policy?
According to Jenny Craig's policy, you can cancel within 7 days, return the remaining food, and get a full refund by calling 1-800-JENNYCARE or emailing jennycare@jennycraig.com.
Does Jenny Craig Offer Free Delivery?
Jenny Craig's 3 weight loss plans, Max Up, Essential, and Simple, offer free shipping for the FIRST WEEK ONLY!
Here are the Prices for Jenny Craig's Delivery Fees:
|
Jenny Craig's Delivery Options |
Curbside |
Delivery to your Door |
|
|
|
Standard Shipping |
|
Fees |
Free |
$29/shipment |
|
Delivery Timeline |
Same Day |
1-3 Days |
What’s Jenny Craig’s phone number?
If you ever wish to contact Jenny Craig or cancel your orders, call them directly at 1-800-JENNY-CARE.
Does Jenny Craig work?
It's no secret that Jenny Craig is popular in the weight loss industry. The 2022 U.S. News & World report ranked Jenny Craig 3rd in the Best Diet Programs category (Formerly Best Commercial Diets).
Jenny Craig also scored 5th place in the Best Weight-Loss Diets category, beating out the DASH diet and Atkins!
Not to mention a 2017 study, that Jenny Craig referenced in their program, which collected data on their past Rapid Results 4-week program.
The 2017 study focused on Jenny Craig foods and structuring the dieter's meal times parallel to their circadian rhythms. "... Dieters ate higher calorie food items in the beginning of the day and lower calorie items at the end of the day."
As it turns out, the Rapid Results system that used the dieter's circadian rhythm helped the dieters lose 37.8% more weight than the control group!
In April 2015, an independent study published in Annals of Internal Medicine specifically noted that they could consider referring overweight or obese patients to diets such as Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers, as they were effective. Their focus also included whether long-term weight loss was possible.
It's clear that the science behind Jenny Craig is substantial, making it a good program for skeptical dieters.
However, the star of the Jenny Craig show is their one-on-one counseling. As one of the company’s most notable features, diet counseling is the key to success for many Jenny Craig dieters.
To really reap long-term results, members should take advantage of the counseling support the program offers as they begin to wean themselves off of Jenny Cuisine and start to plan their own menus and home-cooked meals.
Is Jenny Craig the right diet plan for you?
The food offers a decent variety, with around 100 choices in total, and the nutritional approach is sound. The taste isn’t bad either, if you don’t mind pre-packaged foods.
Another plus is that there are no points, carb counting, or banned foods on Jenny.
Remember to keep in mind that you will also have to pay your supermarket for the required fruit, veggies, and dairy.
There can be hidden fees that rack up over time such as shipping charges.
The dieting consultations are a helpful component for some, and Jenny’s additional online resources give the program a reasonable shot at working for many people.
Most clients say Jenny meals are similar in taste to Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice frozen entrées, so you might want to pick up a couple diet frozen dinners at the grocery store to test-drive the yummy factor before paying for weeks of Jenny food in advance.
Jenny Craig Complaints and Disadvantages
Although there are plenty of Jenny devotees that adore their counselor, prospective clients should know that Jenny Craig counselors are not dietitians.
Jenny Craig counselors are chosen for their sales skills, as their income depends on how many products and upgraded memberships they can sway clients into purchasing.
- Some Jenny clients have also complained that their counseling sessions are irritatingly short. Dieters that have struggled with lifelong weight issues may need more than the brief weekly (7-15 minutes on average) check-ins to stick with their diet long term.
- If you’re a social butterfly or just love dining out, eating nothing but Jenny Cuisine can feel like a prison sentence. Some dieters have also complained about the quality of the food decreasing over time.
- Other complaints from some past Jenny customers were about gaining the weight back after they left the program.
- While eating the smaller portions that Jenny offers will help many customers get used to eating less over time, even after stopping the program (hopefully after reaching their goal weight), other customers were unable to maintain their weight loss on their own and had to either go back on the plan or opt for searching for another weight loss plan that is either cheaper, or for them, has better long-term results. Dining exclusively on pre-packaged meals can be difficult.
Should you sign up for Jenny Craig to lose weight?
Yes, if:
- You crave guidance and support.
- You’re busy or just hate to cook.
- You like discussing your weight loss goals with someone.
- You’re single or don’t have a family to cook for.
- You need daily treats like cookies or pretzels to keep from falling off the dieting bandwagon.
No, if:
- You want to dine out frequently (although that will make it hard to lose weight on any program.)
- You have trouble talking about your weight with another person.
- You don't like having to figure out what to eat a week or month in advance.
- You get bored easily eating the same foods over and over. The variety isn't great if you plan to be using the program for more than 60 days.
