Weaning Esther and William was always going to be a bit different, because there are two of them but also because of their prematurity. With premature babies teeth and tummies develop according to actual age but everything else is by … Continue reading
Over the next few weeks I am going to be writing a series of posts about weanng twins based on my experiences with Esther and William. I am hoping to revew a range of baby foods, test out meal planning, … Continue reading
In the 80s I was given a challenge in May to learn to dance round a maypole. I was very very bad at it! I undid all the beautiful twisting patterns that the other dancers made. It was the start … Continue reading
Well, I began weighing 9st 11lb and I now weigh 9st 7lb, though I have to admit to cheating along the way and so I am certain had I wanted to I could have lost more. This is my final … Continue reading
This week is my third week on the Jenny Craig Weight Management Programme. I have to say that I am feeling good. I have had two comments on how slim I am looking and I weigh 9 stone 6 pounds. I have lost a steady 5lbs which I am happy with.
Last week my consultant corrected my calorie count to take into account the fact that I am breastfeeding twins. I am now eating up to 2300 calories a day by supplementing my Jenny Craig foods with recommended foods from their Grocery List.
This plan is so easy to follow and allows me to eat some lovely foods. I have porridge with blueberries for breakfast washed down with a fruit tea. This afternoon I used my milk allowance, a banana and a spoonful of cocoa powder to make a delicious dark chocolate milkshake / smoothie. It was lovely and healthy too!
My favourite foods so far are the mushroom and bacon risotto and mushroom stroganoff with rice. I also love the potato snacks and chocolate bars.
As part of the programme I have also made sure that I am more active. I have been out walking most days, with my double buggy, and have been more active in my play with the babies. I am feeling the benefit of this exercise and my bingo wings do seem to be tightening up.
I am looking forward to next week when I will re measure my vitals and see if I have lost inches as I think that I have.
Last week I was asked to reflect on what kind of eater I am. I am definitely an emotional eater. if I am struggling with the babies I eat, if I am bored I eat. I just like to eat, and the great thing about the Jenny Craig plan is that I can eat, I am positively encouraged to eat and still I lose weight. It is great!
But … it is also expensive. I am lucky enough to be writing this review in exchange for a 28 day trial of the Jenny Craig programme, I am not sure that this is something that I could afford to continue myself. What I can continue though are the methods and ideas that I am learnign every day to develop a healthier relationship with food.
I will always now eat little and often. I will refer to Jenny Craig’s free foods and portion control. I will continue to exercise regularly. I will continue to try and have a positive outlook about my weight loss that will remain steady until I reach my desired weight.
Jenny Craig has made me think that my goal might just be possible, and this ugly duckling will become a swan in time for her wedding!!!
Thank you Jenny Craig!
This morning I had my Jenny Craig consultation with a lovely lady called Claire. We reviewed the week and I admitted to my cheating. We discussed the fact that I am breastfeeding twins and she explained that my calorie intake should not be 1200 calories but 2300 calories so it was no wonder that I had found the need to cheat!
Today Claire is going to send out new, adjusted, menus to allow for the extra calories.
Not sure that I will eat the full 2300 calories but what I will do is continue regulating my portion sizes and being aware of how much salt there is in certain foods. Too much salt leads to water retention which can lead to excess weight!
The main focus of today’s consultation was finding out what kind of eater I am.
There are 5 main styles of eater as identified by the Jenny Craig Programme:
Uninformed Eater; Emotional Eater; Unconscious Eater; Social Eater and Balanced Eater.
I am an emotional, unconscious eater. I miss some meals, I eat food because it is there and I also tend to eat when I am bored and sad.
You can learn more about these eating styles and discover what style you are by looking at the Jenny Craig website.
This week I have been asked to reflect on my eating style and try to avoid eating when and what I shouldn’t.
Today I have so far eaten porridge and a banana, soup and crumpets and a Jenny Craig snack bar. Looking forward to Jenny Craig chilli for tea!
Wish me luck! I will let you know how I get on x
The end of my first week with Jenny Craig is here.
Jenny Craig is not a diet but a weight management programme it consists of a calorie controlled menu, physical activity and lifestyle coaching.
At the beginning of the week I had a 15 minute chat with my Jenny Craig consultant. She talked me through my hamper which had arrived bursting with edible goodness to last me through the weeks ahead. 28 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks delivered directly to your door! In this case, to my door!
Next my consultant talked to me about expectations of the programme and of myself. She said that the programme is designed by a dietician to help you lose weight steadily. Eating six times throughout the day maximises your metabolism and aids weight loss. She explained that each day on the menu was nutritionally balanced and so though you could do the days in any order to follow the programme correctly you had to reach all the foods from each day and not mix and match. She also advised taking a multi-vitamin supplement which I do anyway as I am breastfeeding the twins.
So how is the food? It is a diet after all even if it is part of a programme. The snacks are great. The best part of the diet by far. However, as my best friend pointed out to me there are actually similar amounts of calories in Wotsits and Quavers as there are in Jenny Craig Potato Snacks. The cereal bars are tasty, very similar to Special K bars in taste and calorie content. The chocolate wafers and digestive bars are great ways to feel naughty ad get that chocolate fix. So though the snacks are good I am not sure that cheaper, perhaps tastier alternatives cannot be bought as part of your usual weekly shop.
The meals themselves are fine. I supplemented mine with a lot of vegetables and chillies and this masked much of the taste. The foods do all taste quite similar with something of a faint after taste?? They were not horrible at all and I look forward to tasting more of the options next week but they were not what I would call bursting with flavour. I am certain that they are more than good enough if you are desperate to lose weight and have a lot to lose. They are actually very filling for the portion size given.
I have struggled with the diet this week as I have had a bad week with the twins and I am not sure that 1200 calories is enough when breastfeeding twins but with what I have done I have lost weight.
This morning I weighed 9 stone 8 pounds and I started the week at 9st11lbs. So one thing has to be said for Jenny Craig so far, it works, and if I had been following it religiously I think that it would have worked very well indeed.
One thing that I am certain of is that if I do not continue with this diet afte the 28 day trial I will definitely continue with the methodology particularly relating to portion sizes. I know now that though I eat very healthily I do eat far too much and this is why I was not able to lose the baby weight without this help.
I also feel that the available consultations and support are needed to make the initial weight loss a success and to help keep the weight off. At home I have my mother for support who just keeps feeding me biscuits!!
Anyway, onwards and upwards to next week when I have another consultation and a new menu to explore.
If you would like to find out more about this programme then you can visit their website by clicking the picture below.
I am really tired today after a second terrible night with the teething twins. William is breastfeeding night and day at the moment because he is off solids because of his teeth. This is leaving me exhausted and I am worried that my allocated 1200 calories is not enough for a Mummy feeding 8 month old twins. I did tell Jenny Craig during my initial consultation that I was breastfeeding and so was sure this had been taken into account but now I feel uncertain.
It could just be that I am having a bad day. Esther and William are demanding and draining every ounce of energy that I can muster.
Must try to keep positive and keep my goal in mind, to lose weight for the wedding. Seems such a silly thing to focus on though when the babies do not seem to be doing so well.
It is taking me, my Mum and David to make things work today.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
Oh dear, yesterday I fell off the diet wagon spectacularly, enjoying not only pancakes with sugar and lemon but also fajitas and flapjack! Not because I do not want to continue with the plan, not because I particularly lack motivation but because I wanted to enjoy the last day before Lent. For Lent I have given up fajitas, flapjack and caffeine. I will feast again at the end. To counteract my over eating yesterday I upped my activity and went for a 9 mile cross country walk pushing almost 2 stone of babies in their double buggy. The weather was glorious and we completed the route in 3 hours, quite good going I think!
But back to Jenny Craig’s Plan today. I was naughty yesterday but am back on the diet today. I started the day with porridge and blueberries from my free fruit allowance. It was really a rather nice way to start the day. I am back on the diet and raring to go.
For lunch I am having yesterday’s Winter Vegetable Soup which is easily prepared in the microwave. This is great when parenting twinfants! With the soup I am allowed some bread and cheese and also some salad. I am going to have some cherries though instead of my salad. Tonight I am having mushroom stroganoff and rice supplemented with lots of free veg and a little parmesan cheese.
On Monday I found the Bacon and Mushroom Risotto okay but I had to supplement with a lot of veg to feel satisfied. I am thinking that I might actually like to become a vegetarian. Maybe next Lent I will give up meat and see how I get on!
The soup today was quite nice and definitely filled me up. A filling lunch that will give me plenty of energy for the afternoon, playing with Esther and William.
Looking forward to dinner tonight and seeing how satisfied I feel at the end of a full Jenny Craig day.
I think I should point out that I am getting this 28 day trial for free but receiving no financial reward for the reviews. These are all my own, very honest findings and opinions and I hope that people will find them helpful.
Today is the first day of my 28 day Jenny Craig Weight Management Plan trial. I am feeling quite apprehensive about it actually, almost like I am on trial. The children must have sensed my heightened mood as they have been awak and raring to go since 5.30am. It is now 7.45am and they are already back in bed having had a breakfast of fresh, warm apple puree and a good play. Bless.
Now I am about to start my day. Today’s breakfast is a 40 gram serving of muesli with half a cup of milk. I can also have as much fruit as I like and as much tea, though without sugar. I usually have just one.
Before that though I need to weigh myself and make a note of my measurements too. These details are recorded on my Jenny Craig Lifestyle Graph. I have to measure my bust, waist, abdomen and hips.
Here goes
Bust = 93cm / 36.6 inches
Waist = 79cm / 31.1 inches (Oh my God!! I used to be 26/28 inches!)
Abdomen = 92cm / 36.2 inches
Hips = 92cm / 36.2 inches
And I weigh (in the morning, after a large mug of tea!) 9 stone and 11 pounds. So ideally, I have 11lbs to lose.
Crikey I am larger than I thought, and must look kind of barrel shaped as bust, hips and stomach are all about the same. If I needed some extra motivation I think that I have just found it!
Time to make my muesli!
Along with my Jenny Craig meals and snacks I can have as much free food as I like. My free foods include: diet drinks; tea and herbal tea; fresh chilli; garlic; herbs; spices; Worcestershire sauce; Balsamic vinegar; asparagus; bean sprouts; broccoli; celery; mushrooms; onions; peppers; sugra snap peas; tomatoes. I can eat as much of these as I like. Can almost make vegetarian fajitas out of that little lot! No wraps though!
I can also eat up to 3 servings per day of any of: melon; strawberries; honey; jam; jelly and low cal hot chocolate.
The Jenny Craig menu plan states that it is important to eat all the foods on your plan and aim for weight loss of 1 to 2lbs a week. The free foods are designed to increase your satisfaction without significantly increasing your caloric intake.
I have never been on a diet before and have always thought I would be terrible at sticking to one as I am such a fussy eater but I really do think this plan could work for me as I can fill up on veg should I not like one of the specified meals. I am looking forward to getting started now.
Will let you know how I have got on at the end of the day.
