Diet #19, Jenny Craig

After such a successful week of juicing (minus 5lbs), I'm really keen to keep up the momentum, so I'm trying a fortnight of Jenny Craig.

Jenny Craig is an American sensation. This immediately sets alarm bells ringing for me, as I'm something of an Americophobe - it's all supersized teens and crazed postal workers and as far as I'm concerned.

Some of the diets that I've done in the last few months have bordered on the ridiculous, and it's been easy to be irreverant when I review them. However, it's hard to be  super-critical when, instead of a website or book, you get a lovely lady on the end of the phone to guide you through the package. Jenny Craig is a nutrition-based weightloss programme, with all your food supplied each month. Unlike dietchef, where the food turned up in a jumbled box, this is Monica Geller-style organisation. A large box arrived, with two layers of prettily packaged food, separated into sections for breakfast, lunches, supper and snacks. In addition, there's a pastel colour-coordinated folder, with a complete instruction guide to the week, and some charts to fill in, to keep track of your weight and inchloss. There's a grocery shopping list, a guide to eating out (it just says 'don't'), an activity planner and some positive affirmations. Suggested affirmation:

My goal is progress, not perfection

I am responsible for my own success

I turn lapses into learning opportunities

Priorities are my stepping stone to results

Each healthy choice takes me closer to my goal

 
Apparently, I don't have to read these in an American accent, but it helps.

The idea is to use weekly meal planners as a food diary, crossing off breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack as you go, to a total of 1200 calories. There's a section for 'unplanned foods', which also requires you to answer the question 'why' - will be interesting to see what ends up in these boxes by the end of the week. All of this is supported by a very sweet phone counsellor, who guides you through the plan, reminds you to do exercise and adds lots of encouraging words.

Tomorrow, I have muesli for breakfast, Tomato soup for lunch and mushroom stroganoff and rice for supper. Snacks are yoghurt, Jenny Craig snack and fruit, plus as many free foods as I like. Saturday's weight was 9st 13lbs, but a last binge on Mothers Day chocolates mean that I'll start tomorrow at 10st exactly! I've booked another phone session with Angie at 10am on the 6th, to keep me on the straight and narrow.