What Is the Philosophy of the Jenny Craig
Diet

Have you ever asked, "What is the philosophy of the Jenny Craig diet?" Recently, LoveToKnow was able to speak with Karen Lush, Corporate Dietitian and Program Development Manager with Jenny Craig about this very question. She was able to share valuable insights that will help dieters from many walks of life achieve their weight loss goals.

Registered Dietitian, Karen Lush

Karen Lush is a Registered Dietitian with a great deal of experience in helping people to achieve their weight loss goals. She began her career by receiving a Bachelor's degree in Nutritional Science. Next she went on the get her Masters in Public Health with a focus on childhood obesity.

Karen also has a Certificate of Training in adult weight management from the American Dietetic Association where she is an active member. All of her skills and training help Karen in her role with Jenny Craig where she helps with the development of menus and program materials.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the goal for both men and women is to strive for a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 18.5 to 24.9. This can be realized by achieving and maintaining a healthy, realistic and comfortable weight based on age, gender, height, body frame and activity level. A reasonable, safe rate of weight loss is one to two pounds per week, or one percent of an individual’s body weight.

On the Jenny Craig Program, we take all of the above factors into consideration when determining a client’s daily caloric intake. Most of our clients start with our 1200-calorie menu plan, but we also offer 1500, 1700 and 2300-calorie menu plans – as well as meatless plans – for clients who have higher daily calorie requirements and/or specific food preferences.

Clients can select our Planned Menus or create their own Personalized Menus based on their favorite foods and budgets. Many who decide on the latter option use the Online Menu Planner in the eTools section of our website, JennyCraig.com to customize their menus before their weekly consultation with their Jenny Craig Consultant.

Diet aids can be used to complement a comprehensive weight loss program like Jenny Craig. According to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Alli's distributor, there are certain digestive side effects that may result from eating meals with too much fat while using Alli. Experts also recommend taking a multi-vitamin when using Alli.  Alli and other weight loss drugs are better tolerated on a low fat weight loss program such as Jenny Craig.

The key is to keep the principles of moderation, balance and variety in mind. Portion size can be a bit of a challenge, particularly since Americans have gotten accustomed to what they’re served at restaurants and tend to perceive that as what a correct serving size should be.

When building your family’s plates, fill a half of the plate with fresh vegetables, a quarter with a lean meat, poultry or fish, and the other quarter with pasta, potatoes or another starch. Be creative in your recipes, choosing lower fat or lower calorie ingredients whenever possible. Eat "across the rainbow" of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables to reap a variety of health benefits.

Also, there’s no need to deprive your family of their favorite higher-fat treats. Just enjoy them, on occasion, in small portions.

Take advantage of seasonal produce, whenever you can. In the spring, for instance, citrus fruits, artichokes, asparagus, peas and tropical fruits are abundant (and therefore, tend to be more affordable). Summer offers a bounty of watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, corn, tomatoes, sweet peppers, berries, peaches and plums.

Buy store brands of canned or frozen vegetables, pasta, canned tomatoes, pasta sauces, nonfat dairy products and whole grain cereals. Also, look for bulk sizes of boneless chicken breasts and lean ground beef for extra savings!

People with limited mobility may need to find creative ways to burn more calories, such as doing light arm exercises. Since weight loss is a matter of calories in versus calories out, individuals who cannot exercise at all can be successful by focusing on decreasing their calorie intake. Decreasing calorie intake by 500 calories per day will result in approximately one pound of weight loss per week.

Unlike diet plans that promise a quick fix, Jenny Craig uses a food/body/mind approach to safe weight loss and maintenance. By teaching clients how to create and maintain healthy eating and exercise behaviors, we’re helping them develop the skills to be successful weight managers.

The Jenny Craig Program is a comprehensive food/body/mind approach to safe weight loss. By leveraging these three cornerstones, you can learn how to create a healthy relationship with food, build an active lifestyle, and develop a balanced approach to living – all of which can help facilitate weight loss and encourage successful weight maintenance.

Having the support of a personal Consultant is also a critical component. On a weekly basis, that individual can motivate, encourage and educate you on a one-on-one basis, while helping you plan your weekly menus, analyze the prior week’s activities, and strategize for upcoming events. Along with supportive family members, friends and co-workers, your "partner in lifestyle change" is there with you every step of the way.

The Jenny Craig Cookbook

Setting realistic, attainable goals is very important. Choose a weight that feels comfortable for you, and take small steps to achieving it.

In the past, you may have adopted an "all or nothing attitude" where you were either "on" or "off" a diet. What the philosophy of the Jenny Craig diet teaches is to adopt a more moderate mindset where you look at what you’re doing as a weight loss journey. You’ll learn healthy new habits and ways of looking at food and exercise, without depriving yourself or sacrificing fun times with friends and family members.

If you slip up occasionally along the way, that’s perfectly normal too. The important thing is to learn from your lapses and get right back on track. All in all, you may find that what you learn along the way is just as important – if not, more so – than the end result that you achieve.

Congratulate yourself for each new, healthy eating and exercise routine you establish, and forgive yourself for any lapses along the way. Remember that every forward step you take it is one more toward the positive lifestyle change you deserve.

For more than 21 years, Jenny Craig, Inc. – one of the largest weight management service companies in the world - has helped millions of people achieve their weight management goals through a balanced lifestyle approach. We help clients learn, not only how to lose their excess weight, but how to effectively maintain their desired weight by making positive lifestyle changes.

What makes the Jenny Craig Program unique is our personalized approach to losing weight. Each week, a client meets with a Jenny Craig Consultant to receive support, motivation, encouragement and helpful advice. They review what happened during the previous week, and strategize healthy eating and exercise behaviors for the coming week. As "partners in lifestyle change," our Consultants are there for their clients every step of the way along their weight loss journeys.

The Jenny Craig Program uses a safe, effective food/body/mind approach to weight loss:

Food: While on the Jenny Craig Program, clients learn to eat enjoyably and healthfully throughout the program, based on their Eating Style that reflects their individual experiences, eating cues and habits. What the philosophy of the Jenny Craig Diet emphasizes is moderation versus deprivation, it also reassures them all foods can fit into a nutritious eating plan.

Clients choose from approximately 75 pre-portioned, convenient and delicious Jenny’s Cuisine food products that model balance, moderation and variety. They create their own menus based on individual taste preferences, budgets and lifestyles. Family meals, business lunches and dinners out with friends can be built into their programs from the very beginning.

Body: The Program takes a lifestyle approach to exercise. As a result of their certification through The Cooper Institute, consultants are trained to customize clients’ fitness plans based on their individual Activity Stage.

Mind: What you think and feel about yourself has a very powerful effect on your behavior. Consultants can further tailor a program to strengthen clients’ self-acceptance and self-care once they’ve identified their individual Weight Loss Mindsets.

LoveToKnow would like to thank Karen Lush for taking the time for this interview and for explaining the philosophy of the Jenny Craig diet.

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