Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: The Comparison
Both Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig have pros and cons but here are some tips that might help you decide which plan to try in your weight loss program.
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem is an at-home program – there is no center for you to go into each week to get face to face counseling, or to get your food and weigh in. They have a website, and if you need to speak to a counselor about a question or concern, you log into their website and can be directed to an online counselor who can “chat” with you instead about your issues.
The food from Nutrisystem is “shelf stable” meaning that it can all be stored and shipped at room temperature. It is usually shipped via UPS if it is a large order, or by USPS if it is a small order.
Because the food is shelf stable, it means that a lot of the entrees are either dehydrated (like cup-a-soup), shelf stable canned (like Chef Boyardee, Dinty Moore beef stew, and canned soup are) or full entrees that freeze dried (like gourmet hiking foods). You can either boil or microwave most entrees.
One of the positives about Nutrisystem is that you don’t have to sign any contract to do the plan for a certain amount of time. The food costs about $10 per day (depending on how you set up your orders) and when and if you want to stop doing it, just cancel any future orders and stop. You can set up an auto-ship program or order a la carte after the initial 4 weeks plus one week free. The counseling online, the online forum, etc. are all included in the basic food cost.
Jenny Craig
With Jenny Craig, there is a choice. You can either go to a local center…or you can go to their website and order online. You DO sign up for a certain amount of time on the plan-but they often have shorter “try me” specials so you aren’t automatically signing up for a year…some of the specials are the “20 pounds for $20″ and other promotions, which you can look up on their site. There is the joining fee…and then the cost of food on top of that.
With the actual centers – you go in, weigh in, and can get counseling face to face. If you go to a center, you can get some of their shelf stable entrees and snacks…but you can also get some of their frozen entrees as well… most people like the frozen meals better than the shelf stable ones, but it’s a matter of choice. With the Jenny online program, the choices are more like Nutrisystem, where they are shelf stable and can be shipped to you. Jenny Craig also has an online forum, and other things available as well.
Pros and Cons of Nutrisytem and Jenny Craig
There are pros and cons to each one, but Nutrisystem is a big plus because of the no contract. But if you’re a people person and want to go to a center – Jenny Craig is the better choice. It is really the decision on whether you want to do it on your own, or go to a center and weigh in.
Head to head in costs, Nutrisystem costs less than Jenny Craig – approximately $290 a month for food, versus $450 – $500 a month for Jenny Craid.
The most important point , though, is the taste of the food.
Jenny Craig has a sample pack in their online store that has a couple shelf stable entrees and snacks, and a coupon off your joining fee.
With Nutrisystem, you can go to their site and choose to order an “a la carte” order rather than buying a full week or month of food – and you can choose an entree or two and a few snacks and just try them out if you would like before you spend a lot of money on a full order.
As is the case with either program, there will be entrees you love and other that you won’t like at all. Again, it’s a personal preference but with a bit of research you’ll find that people who have tried both programs give the taste edge to Jenny Craig due to the frozen foods preference over the shelf stable items.
You will lose weight on either plan and you will learn more about nutrition and meal portions than you ever thought possible.
The success stories of both plans are very real. People are losing weight every day by learning to eat sensible, exercising a little more, and paying attention to the good points of a diet (protein and fiber) and how to be aware of pitfalls (sugar and trans fats).
Tags: Diet programs, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem