History of the Jenny Craig Diet

From LoveToKnow Diet

The history of the Jenny Craig diet has two interesting facets. The first is the woman behind the company and the second is the corporation as its own entity. The two facets come together to explain a remarkable success story for the organization, its founders and the people who succeed on the weight loss plan.

The Jenny Craig Story: How One Woman Changes Millions of Lives.

Jenny Guidroz Craig

The real Jenny Craig is a woman with great vision who took troubling circumstances and turned them into positive forces in her life. Jenny's real name is Genevieve Guidroz Craig, and she was born in the state of Louisiana in the early 1930s. Her mother passed away from a stroke that may have developed as a health problem associated with obesity.

After gaining 45 pounds during a pregnancy in the 1960s, Jenny decided to take action by operating a fitness center in New Orleans. She later joined the staff of Body Contour fitness center, where she met Sid Craig whom she married in 1979. Sid owned 50 percent interest in the fitness company and the pair sold the company to a contributory of NutriSystem, Incorporated.

History of the Jenny Craig Diet

The history of the Jenny Craig diet company begins in 1983, when Jenny and Sid Craig used the money they earned selling their share of Body Contour to create Jenny Craig Incorporated. The beginning of the company is complicated because the organization was not allowed to do business in the United States due to a non-competition clause.

The weight loss company thrived in Australia, and in 1985, Jenny Craig Weight Loss Centers were cleared to develop in the United States. Originally, the company opened centers in Los Angeles and Chicago and continued to grow at an impressive rate on a worldwide platform. Much of the success can be attributed to excellent campaign strategies.

Advertising in the Diet Industry

Jenny Craig Inc. is well known for using celebrities in its advertising campaigns and the approach appears to have worked extremely well for the company. During the 1990s, the advertisement campaigns featured actors including Susan Ruttan and Elliot Gould. The trend continues today with successful Craig clients like Valerie Bertinelli and not-so-successful celebrities like Kirstie Alley.

One of the most innovative approaches to advertising in the 1990s was the clever toll-free phone numbers listed on the television commercials that still carries on today. People who call the telephone numbers are automatically redirected to a local center for added expediency and convenience.

Professional Staff

The Jenny Craig weight loss program uses a very competent staff consisting of registered dieticians who create well balanced eating plans using Jenny Craig diet guidelines. In addition, the company hires psychologists who work with clients as they try to change their unhealthy eating habits. Research experts in the field of nutrition and health approve the eating plan.

Program Guidelines

The professional staff works together to create the general guidelines for customers to follow. The guidelines have three facets:

Behavior modification
Nutrition
Exercise

There is nothing surprising about the three main components in the weight loss program, but some may benefit from using the prepackaged meals after weighing the pros and cons of the diet. Many clients find support to be one of the most important aspects of the program.

Weekly Meetings

Clients are supposed to meet twice each week with a weight loss counselor. The counselor is responsible for monitoring the client's progress and providing feedback. She is also responsible for selling products to the client as well. A training video was released in 1989 for counselors to ensure that they were using a consistent approach.

Meeting subjects often include:

Challenges
- Dining out
- Setbacks
- Special occasions
Asserting yourself
- Staying on track
- Dealing with sabotage
Team dieting
- Encouraging the "buddy system" for optimal success

Suppliers

Where do the prepackaged meals originate? The food has been manufactured and distributed though a number of different companies that follow standards established by a board of dietitians.

Campbell Soup Company
Overhill Farms
Truitt Brothers
Carnation
Vitex Foods
Magic Pantry Foods

Personal Achievement

The history of the Jenny Craig diet is one that involves many people seeking success, whether in the field of marketing or in the realm of weight loss. Jenny was formerly the spokesperson for the company until an injury impaired her speech in 1995. Her daughter took her place as spokesperson.

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