I totally cut out sugar in my coffee and replaced it with splenda. I could not believe my eyes when I noticed the lemon cake has 25g of sugar. That too much for little cake. I usually order the popcorn that has 7 and the cheese curls which are less as well. Any comments?

Dolly123,

I think you are right! It has been a real eye opener to read the labels on some of the food only to find that the sugar and carb counts are sky high!

Susan

To each their own. I'm grateful that Jenny has options. I'm a believer in everything-in-moderation. The whole nutritional picture of a day/week/month/year makes more impact on me than the contents of one item that I eat occasionally.

But, by all means, order whatever appeals to you most, for whatever reasons you might have.

Best of everything to you.

i agree thats too much, and l love the lemon cake, I always try to watch my sugars, guess I'll have to cut that when out, also the snack bars have HFCS another thing I avoid, I'm thinking of cutting out JC snacks anyway and doing my own, popcorn I can easily do on my own and I already buy seasonings, I know there are baked corn curls and I have been buying sun chips and veggie chips for my kids and I think they are comparable to the bruschetta chips, I need to start reading their nutritional info

25 g equals 5 teaspoons of sugar. I'll stick with the other snacks and steer clear of this one.

Isn't it wonderful that we all get to make our own choices?

I've been able to lose weight, keep it off, and lead a healthful life without ever paying attention to the quantity of sugar in any of my foods. I'm sure you can also do all of those things while avoiding foods that you consider too high in sugar. The same as you can be overweight and unhealthy even if you avoid sugar. There is no one thing or one number that will decide our fate.

One little lemon cake now and then won't derail my weight loss efforts. Neither will it make me lose weight.

Well I met my goal and am maintaining and I get the lemon cake every week. I don't think 25g of sugar is that bad. If you use sugar in your coffee it would be 2 coffees, no biggie.

I know that when I first joined, if there hadn't been those little cakes and other sweet treats, it would have been very difficult for me to stick to the program. Now my tastes have changed, and I rarely order the desserts.

Twenty-five grams of sugar may be a lot more than the other snacks and sweet treats, but since the progam is designed by dietitians to provide the right balance every day, I doubt it is "too much." If it's enough to be of concern to diabetics, other choices can be made.

After all, a single seven-inch banana has 14.5g of sugars and 27g of carbohydrate. The cake has less sugars than an 8-oz. glass of unsweetened orange juice, six dried plums, or a cup of grapes.

Granted, the fruit supplies a lot more nutrients and fiber than the cake, but we're looking for balance in our diets here, not extremes or "forbidden" foods. Every diet has room for treats from time to time, and without them, most people find it difficult to stick with a healthy diet plan. One of the things this program teaches us is that there is not such thing as "bad" foods, just unwise choices. It's nice to eat healthy, but we don't need to get neurotic about it.

I am really happy that the desserts have natural sugar and not a substitute or something. I have lost great eating it all the time and feel I wont be so afraid after JC .. I will know "Hey I can have a very small piece of that cake "etc. Like pp"s said its all in moderation and portion control. Just my opinion of course! No matter if you eat cake or not, good luck to all of you on your journey!

I have to say that I never looked at carb, fat or protein counts prior to going to JC, so I am not going to worry about it now. My weight gain came from one thing and one thing only. Wine drinking. I love wine, and all it is, is a bunch of empty calories that turns straight to sugar and stored as fat. Seventy pounds of fat over a ten year period. That is a lot of wine!

Seriously, as long as the desserts, snacks and other JC foods fit within that 1200-1300 calorie range I am going to enjoy every bite. Enjoy a sweet treat now and then and you won't feel like you are missing out on or depriving yourself and chances are you will stick to the program.

Best wishes!

I've always been surprised at the amount of sugar in "diet" desserts, but I am pretty careful with how much sugar I ingest. I figure everyone has their own tastes and preferences though.

A lot of different points of view and that is perfectly fine. Many people had some really good comments.
In all it is indeed true, a sweet treat here in there is much deserved and never hurt anyone.

THANKS EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED !

Jenny Craig desserts are not "diet" desserts. They are simply portion controlled deserts. The point of the pre-portioned Jenny food is everything in moderation... including dessert!

I think that is the reason Jenny Craig has been so successful for me. I have dessert every day! I tend to be a diet extremest and in the past when I would try to lose weight, I would eat only really clean, healthy food all the time until I would feel so deprived and finally snap and binge on junk. This program has taught me how to enjoy ALL food, from fruits and veggies to lemon cake and chocolate cheesecake. For me, I have really learned balance which I think is going to help me keep this weight off permanently.

Like some others have said, those little desserts have helped me stay on plan. I have not had a single "cheat" aside from one corn on the cob with almost no butter on it, at a family function. I'm about to start my 7th week.

I don't think I have stuck that well to a diet EVER before, and I've tried them all.

I was worried if I had the desserts it would trigger me to binge, but I find the opposite happens.

And yes, of course the cake has way more sugar than popcorn and chips, on account of it's cake! lol

I have the lemon cake about every 7 - 10 days, and the triple chocolate cheesecake (am sure it has loads of sugar too) 1-2 times/week. And I enjoy every bite.

In spite of feeling it would be better for me to have a non sugary snack instead, I almost never do because I know then I will feel deprived. I have a serious sweet tooth. And yet I bet even if I have one of those lemon cakes every single day, given it is often the ONLY sugary thing I have all day, I bet I'm still eating less sugar by far, than the average person.

Everything in moderation is exactly why I love JC so much.

And, I am really glad it's real sugar and not the fake stuff which is so much worse for you.

Carol Ann

I did that to include all desserts that are portioned, even from other plans. No jumping down my throat please. See, there are other desserts out there. Smart ones, Weight Watchers, Skinny Cow. All have the same idea behind them.

Little Miss Motivation: You are spot-on with your explanation. In the early stages of this plan, I think I tried to over-analyze the program, looking for a reason that it wouldn't work (before anybody barks at me - I'm just speaking from my own personal experience). Slowly, as the weight started to come off, I realized the reason it works, is that it's "real" food in the correct amounts. Yes, some of the nutritional stats seem kinda high for some of the food, but if you look at the counts for your whole day, everything adds up to your appropriate daily allowances.

So far, my BMI has dropped over 8 points and I definitley lean towards the sweet desserts!

Good Luck to everyone on your weight loss journeys!!

~Rebecca

JC has options and always choose what you like! Having a dessert that is sweet might be the key to some of the sweet tooth people on this journey!

I like the lemon cake and so does DH!

I could have written this post myself! I couldnt figure out why I had gained so much over the last couple years (40 Pounds) and neither could my husband! It wasn't that I was eating that much, I have always cooked healthy! I honestly sat down one day and figured out that I was drinking a LOT of calories EVERY night in red wine... Cabernet my favorite. I measured out what 5 oz was and realized that I had regularly been drinking about 7-8 oz A GLASS and drinking a few a night well that was adding up! (We have big wine glasses and my husband pours heavy!) I am now almost to goal and have fit wine back into my diet, but about 2 glasses a week and I measure them. lol Oh and by the way I bought smaller wine glasses so it doesn't look like so little.

How on earth did you take my comment to be "jumping down your throat"? I was just expressing my thoughts on the matter, not attacking you.

Little Miss Motivation: I know this is going off topic but I just had to say how amazing your weightloss has been. 55.2 pounds lost with only 7 more to go. That is incredible. Congratulations. I have a long way to go. It can be done and I'm holding on to that thought very tight.

I cannot eat the JC sweet breakfasts and desserts because of the amount of sugar. If I do...I don't lose weight which is why I'm here. Once I gave up those items, I started to lose weight. I had 150 pounds to lose when I joined so it should have been melting off of me but it wasn't. Now that I cut the sugar down, it's coming off regularly.

Those of you that can eat the sweet breakfasts and desserts and still lose are lucky. Your body will burn the sugar. It does not work for some of us. I was following JC FAITHFULLY on the personalized menu and trying to eat a sweet dessert (brownie, lemon cake, cheesecake) every night after having muffins or french toast for breakfast. My body said NO WAY! At first, I refused because that's why I joined JC so that I could have those scrumptious breakfasts and desserts. That piece of lemon cake is all that got me through the day.

Well, I had to buck up. For me portion control alone won't do it. I have to do portion control and be mindful of sugars. I try not to eat anything that has more than 10-12 grams of sugar in it for a serving. So...I'm even careful to only eat 1/2 cup of grapes and then not even every day. I think if all JC counselors were as great as mine they'd tell those of you who are losing slowly on the personalized menu, to back off on some of the sugars.

Now I have shredded wheat or oatmeal and fresh blueberries made or with skim milk every morning for breakfast. For dessert every day, I have a SBD high protein cereal bar, or a Zone double dark chocolate high protein bar, or a Luna Nutz over chocolate bar with a glass of skim milk. This is working for me. I'm still getting my sweets but they are lower sugar and give me fiber and protein to fill up my tummy.

I've been on the program since January 27, 2009. In the first 13 weeks I only lost about 7 pounds. If you follow the 2% rule, I should have been down at LEAST 26 pounds or more since I started at 301.6. Now, after 29 weeks, I'm down 33.6 and 15 inches. But the terrier in me wouldn't let me quit. I know it's hard to give up those treats but you may have to if you are serious about losing. For those of you who can eat them, you are so lucky.

JMHO.

There is no "2% rule." The estimate if you are following the program is to lose between one and two percent of current body weight per week.

Not knowing HopefulVickie's particular health issues, it's difficult to say what causes her to not be able to handle sugar, especially the modest amounts contained in the JC food.

A person of average health condition who is exercising moderately for three or more days per week, and sticks to the food plan as written can normally expect to lose about that 1-2% per week.

However, people who have diabetes or are borderline diabetic may have trouble handling even the modest amounts of sugar in the JC program. That is why such individuals must get their doctors approval to be accepted in the program. People who have compromised thyroid function may have additional problems with metabolism, as may those who have dieted using low carb diets. or who have yoyoed through the years.

The cure for most blood sugar problems can be found with adequate exercise. The program encourages us to develop good exercise habits, getting a minimum of 30 minutes a day, five or six days a week. The energy to do that comes from the blood sugar we get from eating carbohydrates and sugars—the fuel which feeds our muscles and brains.

Nope....no health issues. Unless you consider menopause a health issue. Thyroid is completely normal. No diabetes or borderline diabetes. The only issue was that I was doing the personalized menu and having a sweet dessert every night. I exercise 3-5 times a week for at least 30 minutes.

I guess I miss spoke when I said rule. Don't hold me to that. My point was that JC says you'll lose 1-2% of your body weight if you are following the program.

If you eat s sugary dessert every night in addition to sugary or high carb breakfasts it does not equal a low or even moderately low sugar program. 25 grams of sugar is excessive for any one portion of any food. People need to know that it is excessive if their weight loss is slow.

I'm not knocking JC. Heck...I'm still following the program with some modifications for me. I'm just trying to help others who might have the same metabolism as I do. If we hadn't found the formula for me, I'd have quite the program by now.

Just trying to help. It's really darned hard to go in week after week of religiously only eating JC food and not having losses.

Thank you. I have come a long way, and I feel great! These last few pounds are stubborn buggers though! I am so anxious to finally get to goal so I can buy some clothes! I am wearing silly looking baggy clothes and refuse to buy new ones until I hit goal. (fortunately at Jenny Direct, I work over a phone so no one has to see how ridiculous I look! ha ha

"The only issue was that I was doing the personalized menu and having a sweet dessert every night."

I sort of suspected that you were doing the personalized menu rather than the planned. The planned menu does not have you eating sugary breakfasts and snacks every day. On the planned menus, it is much more balanced than that. On the days when you have a sweet breakfast, a savory snack is on the menu, and on the days when you have a sugary snack or dessert, a savory breakfast is on the menu. On some days both the breakfast and snack are savory. The sweet desserts and snacks are also the highest-calorie of the selections in that category, too, though an extra 50-70 calories is probably not going to affect it that much, unless it is done every day. In that case, you're talking about an extra 350-490 calories per week.

However, if you combine that with liberal use of the full amount of limited free calories, you can be getting an additional 350-490 calories per week, and that gets you into the range of calories where you are about 100-150 calories per day higher, which is enough under certain circumstances, to offset a significant amount of your daily calorie deficit.

Those certain circumstances can be as easy as just getting a did or dab here and there that adds up to about another 100 calories per day. Or you might choose to only buy the frozen breakfasts, lunches and dinners almost exclusively, and a lot of those are the highest-calorie selections. So if you are doing the personalized menu, it is very possible given the 50-calorie difference between the highest and lowest calorie selections in each category, to get an additional 150 calories per day. An extra 150 calories per day adds up to 1,050 calories for the week.

Add them all together, and that can be an extra 1,700 calories per week, or about a half pound that could have been lost but wasn't. Add that together with an unwise dining out choice which can easily add up to 1,700 calories or more for a night of alcoholic beverages and an average restaurant meal, and all adds up to a full pound not lost that week.

Unless one is diabetic or pre-diabetic and/or not exercising, it logically adds up to too many calories more than it equals too much sugar. If you are planning your personalized menus in such a way that you get the same balance that you get from the planned menus, you should not be getting too much sugar, even if you are having some of the sweet breakfasts and some of the desserts and sweet snacks. If this program had way too much sugar, doctors would not recommend or approve it for their diabetic and pre-diabetic insulin-resistant patients, and most especially for those who don't exercise.

You make some fabulous points. I have to still respectfully disagree. I keep my JC sheet every week and also weigh and measure all my food and enter it into FitDay. If I'm not careful my carbs go over 50% and I lost next to nothing for the week. The sugar is what I consider high in some of the entrees as well as the breakfasts and desserts.

All said though, I do agree with you that if a person is going to do the personalized menu, they need to be darn sure that they aren't eating french toast for breakfast, meatloaf for dinner, and lemon cake for dessert because the breakdown would be heavily slanted toward carbs.

And....to continue to beat a dead horse....I still think that 25 grams of sugar in any one portion of food is excessive when health experts say that we should only have 32-40 grams in a whole day. It made me very sad to have to give up the french toast, lemon cake, and the chocolate cheesecake. But, I want to lose the weight worse than I want to eat those things. I think it's great for those that can tolerate the extra sugar. I only tell folks my experience when they tell me that they are following the program and not losing. It's a way to stay on JC and lose weight for some of us.

JMHO.

Check out the Halfway Success Guide..printed 6/09 or Lifelong Success Guide printed 6/09.....many of the exchanges have changed....LEMON CAKE is 2 1/2 starches.....