Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig Review

About Nutrisystem  

Nutrisystem has a long-standing reputation of weight loss programs with over 50 years and millions of customers to back them up. They’ve updated their services recently, improving the taste and texture of their dishes while switching up their recipes to include more protein and fiber. 

App integration is also key to their programs as customers can track their results in real-time.

About Jenny Craig

If there’s one name that’s synonymous with weight loss in America, it’s Jenny Craig. The company’s been a staple of the industry since the 1980s for providing customers with pre-made meals and activity plans to help them lose weight and keep them off.

They’ve recently undergone a renaissance as well, adopting an intermittent fasting focus and connecting customers with their own coaches. 

The question is, which brand is better in 2023? That’s what I’ll help you answer throughout this Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review by looking at every important variable including pricing, customer reviews, plan variety, and more. 

What To Consider

Let’s say, for the purposes of this Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review, that you’re looking to shed a bit of fat. You have a basic knowledge of nutrition, and understand that fat loss is about eating a bit less and burning a bit more, but you don’t have a full plan. Maybe you worked in a salad bar so you know that vegetables can taste great but you haven’t added them to your diet full-time.

In that case, let’s briefly glance at how Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig compare from a broad perspective.

Program customization 

Nutrisystem and Jenny Craig allow you to choose your meals. You can select plans which offer you more or less meals depending on your goals.

Target audience 

Both companies cater to those without much experience losing weight or planning their own meals. However, Nutrisystem has plans for certain demographics like women over 55 and diabetics. 

Extras 

Nutrisystem uses an app to track food intake and exercise. Conversely, Jenny Craig connects clients with coaches to develop their plans.

Credibility 

One study found that obese patients saw more fat loss success with Jenny Craig than dieting on their own. One can assume this is because of Jenny Craig’s coaching program as coaching can expedite results. That study also recommended Nutrisystem though it concluded that this recommendation requires more academic insight. 

Accessibility 

Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem are both available in the United States and Canada. However, only Nutrisystem offers free shipping. 

Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: How Do They Work? 

Nutrisystem removes all the effort from the client’s end. They provide dietitian-designed plans catered to your goals. Their plans can help you lose one to two pounds per week and provide you with enough food for four weeks. In a day, you can eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack, all containing nutrient-dense foods packed with flavor. 

Overall, their plans optimize protein intake and try to stay in the lower range of the glycemic index. You’ll track your progress in the Nutrisystem app.

Meanwhile, Jenny Craig’s plan prioritizes coaching. You’ll meet with one of their specialists on your first day and discuss your goals, habits, and food preferences. The coach will develop a meal plan and activity guide for you. Each day, you can expect to eat:

1. Breakfast
2. Lunch
3. Dinner
4. Snack
5. The brand’s recharge bar

You’ll check in with your coach regularly to ensure your plan is going smoothly and make any adjustments if necessary.

Thus, Nutrisystem’s plan is a bit more hands-off and less intensive while Jenny Craig’s is based on coaching and specific preferences.

Nutrisystem Complete 55 vs Jenny Craig Max Up Meal Plan 

Now then, let’s compare two specific plans from each company. The Jenny Craig Max Up Meal Plan uses intermittent fasting, planned meals, snack bars, and personalized coaching.

It’s the most gratuitous of all their plans, providing use with all the meals you’ll eat in the day and a full guide for optimizing intermittent fasting. 

You can eat as many fruits, vegetables, and proteins outside of your meals if you get a bit hungry between meals. The personal coach can tailor your plans to your wants and needs to ensure success.

On the other hand, the Nutrisystem Complete 55 is tailor-made for women over 55. It’s pricey, as you’ll see later in this Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review, but in return, the plan caters to how female metabolism slows down during menopause. It prioritizes high protein, whole foods, and an activity plan you’ll enjoy.

During the first month, users receive meals for every day of the week, but after the second month, they can decrease that number to five days a week. There are more than 130 meals to choose from, or you can allow one of the team members to choose the meals for you.

It’s tough to say which of these plans is better, as one is designed for a specific demographic, but both provide you with the tools to lose weight without depriving yourself of food and enjoyment.

Nutrisystem Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Nut Bar vs Jenny Craig Recharge Bar 

Snacks are a crucial part of any lifestyle. They can often determine your success because a good snack will keep you on track while a bad snack can put you over your daily caloric limit. That’s why, in this section of my Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review, I’ll compare each brand’s premier snack.

The Nutrisystem Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Nut Bar are built to crush hunger and satisfy your snack cravings. They have a sweet, salty, and umami flavor profile, the three main sensations we crave from junk food.

Nutritionally, each bar contains only 200 calories. It also has 6 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and 13 grams of fat (from good sources like dark chocolate and almonds). It should tide you over until your next meal as its high fat and fiber content slow digestion while the protein should satisfy you.

Then, there’s the Jenny Craig Recharge Bar. It’s advertised as an “intermittent fasting bar,” but Jenny Craig doesn’t dive deeper into how it works. 

From a nutritional standpoint, it’s similar to Nutrisystem’s offering. The Jenny Craig Recharge Bar has around 200 calories broken down into 16 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein. 

In summary, Jenny Craig’s bar may be slightly more preferable to folks following a ketogenic diet due to its higher fat content, but Nutrisystem’s has more fiber and protein, which you should prioritize. 

Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: Variety 

We need to discuss meal variety in this Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review because excitement is vital for weight loss success. The more options we have, the better.

Nutrisystem has a huge menu. They deliver more than 130 dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. This means you can stick with your favorites while adding novel meals to your plan every week to spice it up.

Jenny Craig’s meals are less numerous (I counted roughly 90 on their website). However, they focus on American comfort foods with higher veggie proportions and protein counts. This may appeal to people with less adventurous taste palettes.

With either service, you should find a stable rotation of meals to help you stick to your goals. 

Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: Price & Value

This section of my Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review will, as succinctly as possible, compare the prices of both companies. 

The former has a ton of options, not including their designated diabetes plans. All of them include access to the Nutrisystem app, on-demand coaching available any day of the week, meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack, for five days a week, along with free shipping.

Here are how their plans break down:

• Basic: $10 daily, including everything I just listed
• Uniquely Yours: $11 daily, adds access to the most popular items in Nutrisystem’s library
• Uniquely Yours Max+: $13 daily, adds even more meal variety and meals for seven days a week
• Complete 55: around $700 per month, personalized plan for women over 55
• Partner Plan: $10 daily per person: weight loss plans for couples

Meanwhile, Jenny Craig has three plans:

1. Simple Meal Plan: $14 daily – includes seven breakfasts and seven lunches
2. Essential Meal Plan: $22 daily – includes free delivery, seven breakfasts, seven lunches, and seven dinners 
3. Max Up Weight Loss Plan: $25 daily – includes free delivery, personal coaching, and seven of each of the following; breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and recharge bars

As you can see, Jenny Craig’s plans are more expensive, but they also provide meals for every day of the week and access to coaching. Nutrisystem’s are based around their app and accountability so that they may be a better choice for self-reliant folks.

Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: What Do Customers Think?  

I can’t write a Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review without comparing what customers thought about both programs. Jenny Craig is up first and, judging by their average scores, customers are fond of them.

• Consumer Affairs: 3.8/5 stars based on more than 780 pieces of customer feedback
• Influenster: 3.7/5 stars based on more than 50 pieces of customer feedback
• Influenster: 3.4/5 stars based on more than 70 pieces of customer feedback

Jenny Craig’s positive reviews mentioned that the programs were effective at helping customers lose weight. Additionally, the meals were easy to adhere to because they were all microwaveable. Finally, customers learned healthier habits like portion control and intelligent snacking.

Here are three customer testimonials that highlight typical feedback.

• “They care and offer great workout tips and other healthy advice… I very much like it of way they talk”
• “I used Jenny Craig for a few months and found the food to be pretty good. Some dishes were blander than others but I lost a few pounds!”
• “At first I was worried, but I guess what I love most is the accountability of the program. Am getting smaller, and healthier.”

Some negative points users mentioned were that the dishes didn’t always taste great and that they weren’t good for non-meat eaters due to limited meal choices.

Meanwhile, Nutrisystem’s reviews were more mixed. Most customers enjoyed the service’s affordability and meal options, while others decried the brand’s lack of in-person support and less-than-satisfactory customer service.

Read these short customer testimonials from SiteJabber, Consumer Affairs, and the Nutrisystem website to get a feel for what shoppers think about Nutrisystem:

• “The biggest selling point is that my teenage son steals the meals; he loves them. I’ve lost 30 lbs so far. I’ve kept it off, eating my own stuff (again, I know how to eat), but after five kids and 20 years of parenting, I am SO cooking!!! With the prices these days, it’s the same price as regular groceries.”
• “It has really helped me to have prepared foods in measured portions, especially as cooking for just myself has not worked well for me. I enjoy the vegetarian selections Nutrisystem provides and I am losing weight on the program.”
• “I loved that I could customize my order. The food is delicious and convenient and the guides and journal helped me create a routine and smart choices for healthy eating. I could not have done this on my own. I’ve lost 22 pounds in 8 weeks and feel like a new person!”

Overall customers were more positive towards Jenny Craig than Nutrisystem, but users reported results with both systems.

Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: Promotions & Discounts

Both brands in this Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review provide incentives like free shipping, but the former has more savings available. They have plans for couples and regular discounts, plus they’re the cheaper of the two options.  

Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig: Shipping & Returns 

Jenny Craig does not provide refunds on any food products. They ship to Canada and the United States with regular shipping options costing $29.

Nutrisystem provides free shipping with all their orders and they have a seven-day refund policy for new members who aren’t satisfied with their food. 

Who Will You Shop With?

As we reach the conclusion of my Nutrisystem vs Jenny Craig review, we come to the reality that these brands overlap in many ways. They’re both weight loss tools for people with busy lives.

Nutrisystem may be more affordable and provide more variety, but Jenny Craig offers personal coaching and holds overall better customer reception. I’ll allow you to determine which of those matters more to you.

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