I really love the program, but I have not been able to buy the food for two weeks now. I still go in to weigh in and talk to my counselor and she motivates me, but I have to have self motivation. I thought that it was going to be easy once I got a job and I would be able to purchase my weekly food. The gas is kicking my a??. I travel about 40 miles to and from work daily. I know that I can do the meal on my own, but it seems like I will not succeed without the Jenny food. I need motivation and support from my fellow Jenny dieter's. Help Please !!!!!!!!!

I'm having similar problems, and I just keep reminding myself to keep at it. I've found that the easiest meal to sub out is breakfast, and right now I'm doing JC lunch and dinners but breakfasts on my own. I've just gotten a big box of Special K, which is a relatively even exchange, and have that with a banana and half a glass of milk in the morning.

If all else fails, you could try WW, although I know that I've found JC and the consultations to be a better fit. Good luck!

Hi I was reading your dilemma and here is some advice, I was curious so I got on amazon.com and typed in Jenny Craig and up came all of the used cookbooks that you can no longer buy through the program many of them are beautiful hardbacks and I paid 25 cents to 1.50 I got five cookbooks with shipping for under 30 dollars. They all list the exchanges and nutrition info afe family friendly and the one What have you got to loose has two week diet with recipes and how to make and freeze. Why people never talk about these is a mystery to me because I am now cooking most of my own food and loosing weight.
Hope this helps Margaret

mollymai,
My husband and I are both doing the diet and we have 2 kids. It's been tight for us as well -even with the percentage off from the year program/membership.

For the rest of our shopping list outside of Jenny provided food, I shop at a discount grocery called Aldi Foods. http://www.aldifoods.com/index_ENU_HTML.htm

The company passes on savings from you bagging your own groceries and they have more offbrands as well. As long as you know the calories, fiber, fat, sodium to a jenny food, you can find some decent replacements. I don't get thigns that are exactly the same but pretty darn close and I save a TON! The cheese curls at Aldi for example cost about a dollar for a bag that lasts a few weeks for me and my husband. They taste just like Jenny's. Milk is inexpensive there as well as the cereals. We try to find substitutes for breakfasts and snacks because we know our downfall is having time to make lunch and dinner. We also found a less expensive produce store near us although Aldo does sell produce it isn't quite that good (goes bad much faster).

Hope this helps!
Candue

I have been off of the program for a week and am doing well so far. I could no longer justify the cost of the food. I was told that my counselor could no longer "counsel' me without a food purchase.

I too have been shopping at both Aldi and Trader Joe's, there are a lot better prices for similar items. I have taken what I learned about portion control and eating more fruits and vegetables and have been planning my own meals. It's a pleasure to make my own healthy meals without a ton of preservatives while saving a lot of money in the process.

Hang in there!!!

Thank you guys so much for the information as well as the inspiration. I am trying to hang in there.

Oh, I hear ya! The cost of the JC food is ludicrous. Fact is, you don't need Jenny's food to lose weight on the program. It helps, but it's not the only way you'll lose weight. I limit my spending to $50/week on JC food, in order to keep getting the Rewards discount (and because I do like some of the food, as does my husband). The rest is the Farmer's Market and Trader Joe's.

If you understand the exchange program and how it promotes variety in your diet, understand how to keep your blood glucose level balanced by eating smaller meals throughout the day rather than 3 large meals, and how the bottom line is calories in need to be less than calories out in order to lose weight...and if you've managed to get a handle on why you previously ate the way you did and have managed to change it, you'll do just fine.

My stats attest to this.

Z

I am so glad someone posted about this - seriously, I've been told if you don't buy all the food you can't continue with the program. So I can buy $50 worth of food and do the rest on my own! WooHoo!
And do you read the ingredients on the stuff - why is there so much High Fructose Corn Syrup and other nastys? I'd much rather eat Trader Joe's products.
I'm going to see what my JCC has to say! I can't spend $500 / month just on me!!!

Well, I simply can't afford the food moving foward, not till I get a job and the job outlook is bleak.

I'm really sorry! It's so difficult to find a program that works for you and not be able to afford it. I am having to make some changes in our budget and cut some things; it IS expensive.

I started a thread under in the "Welcome" forum under the heading "General," called Comparable Grocery Items. I was looking for a way to stick with the program, but incorporate some very similar snacks to have some more variety and to save a little money. If anyone has any specific ideas/brands/etc. that may help, please add to the posts! It does not have to be limited to snack items. I'd love it someone could add some other good substitutions for the meals, too.

http://www.jennycraig.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=62004994

I don't know if the post made it from the old board to the new but princess rose had a listing of foods under the "receipes" section that she has used to substitute for different jenny craig items. Check there for ideas.

I do substitute with SO or LC...breakfast is very easy to do on your own--also SO just came out with some great breakfast items. Trader joes is great. I buy my JC fave meals and cheesecake, everything else is on my own. Hopefully you'll have a JCC supportive. It is a great program, I hope you can stick with it.