It's Working!

Jenny Craig is seriously working. How do I know you ask, just check out my new ticker off to the right. Since I have started Jenny Craig I have lost the following (and I don't miss it at all!)

• 13 pounds!
• 5 1/2" off my waist (pants are noticeably looser)
• 4" off my abdomen
• 2 1/2" off my hips

I did travel to Buffalo last week and while I did splurge a bit, I had lots of walking (airports and such) and I noticed that the choices I made are more balanced. For lunch on Thursday I had a buffet at a nearby restaurant. In the past, I would have piled up the mashed potatoes. This time, I had a modest serving of potatoes and piled up the broccoli! Less dressing and cheese on my salads have also become standard practice. I did indulge in a Strawberry Shortcake Good Humor Bar (what - they have real strawberries in them, I needed my fruit that day!) and a couple cookies. This office had SO much junk food it was unreal. I did notice that the excess amounts of sugar definitely made me feel icky.

My counselor, Sonia, is so super sweet. It is nice to meet with people that are going through or have went through the same challenges. She also doesn't make me feel bad if I fall off the wagon, everybody does at some time. If you just deny yourself what you really want, you are only going to get angry and give up on the entire thing or just totally over indulge. I think that's why I like JC so much. I can eat the sweets that I love. Everything is ok, in moderation. It is really just teaching me to make better choices and eliminate that mindless eating that we all do.

My current diet with Jenny Craig is set at approx 1500 calories a day. Once you reach your halfway point, they drop you to 1200 calories a day. With purchasing Jenny meals and adding in healthy snacks (carrots & celery are my fav), it all works out. They are also big on drinking milk, because it sustains you longer. Did you know that a tall skinny latte from Starbucks counts as one milk? Woohoo! With every meal (at least at home) I always put my food on a plate. I like that I'm not eating out of a cardboard box, makes it feel more like a "meal". I also find that I am eating ALL THE TIME with this program.

Sample Menu:

• Breakfast JC Silver Dollar Pancakes w/sausage, lite syrup & banana
• AM Snack JC Anytime Bar (or half of a Luna bar, which I really like) & fruit
• Lunch JC Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Potato & salad (I like vinegar & oil, just watch the oil)
• PM Snack Fresh fruit & veggie (or sugar free applesauce works too!)
• Dinner JC Chicken Fettucine & veggie (broccoli or green beans - I eat alot of green beans)
• Late Snack JC Lemon Cake & glass of ice cold milk - YUM!!!

Not bad for a full day. If I get hungry in between, I can always snack on sugar free jello, fresh veggies and alot of times I just drink a glass of water and find I am no longer hungry. They have a whole list of things you can snack on. As far as exercise....well I'm not really. I do wear a pedometer (most of the time) and that keeps me motivated to get a certain number of steps per day. Some days I hit 5k, other days 8k and on awesome days, 10k or even more. Hitting 10k without going for a "walk" is hard. With the cold weather coming, not sure what I am going to do. I do know that rolling around with a kid and lots of stairs to do the laundry definitely help me reach my goal.

My only concern....when that halfway point comes around and they drop me to 1200 calories, I assume to get you over a wall you might hit and keep things going, where will they get those 300 calories from? I totally love all my food and don't want to give up any of it!

BTW - I didn't mean for this to be a post pimping Jenny Craig. This is the program that is working for ME. I know what my limitations are, I know what I am capable of. There are several other programs that work great for people, but this is what I have chosen. Granted, I haven't tried to count points or anything like that, but I just don't think I want to do math before I eat every meal. For anyone considering Jenny, it is pricey. Fortunately I have the resources to afford it. There are tons of frozen meals in the stores that each meal falls into the same calorie range. If I have a craving for some other frozen entree, I will go ahead and pick it up, I just try to keep it in the same range as what I'm currently having.