From Drab To Fab - The Results!

A selection of the Jenny Craig food

This year has been a good year for me and I'm generally very happy with my lot - but there is one thing that still bothers me. I have been feeling quite down about my appearance recently as over the last four years the sleepless nights, pregnancies and general stresses of parenting have taken their toll on how I look. It saddens me that when I watch the Morrisons advert with the very drab and rather dumpy looking mum I actually identify with her! Of course I can't totally blame the children for me putting on weight as I am extremely partial to anything sweet and when faced with a chocolate biscuit I have the willpower of a very small gnat.

I had decided that I really wanted to loose weight in 2013 but was given a head start on this when Jenny Craig contacted me and offered me a 2 week trial of their diet plan. I was very excited as this was the incentive I needed. The diet sounded great and I felt that if I dieted in public on my blog I would have to stick to it.

The way that Jenny Craig works is that you get your meals literally delivered to your door. They are all calorie counted and you get a menu plan telling you what to eat and when. It's great if, like me, you are often so busy dashing around that you just don't have the time to think about what to eat and also if you struggle with portion sizes. You also have consultations with a counsellor over the phone who provides support and inspiration.

I began by speaking to a consultant who took my height and weight (and didn't laugh!) and they then work out how many calories you can have each day. My food arrived promptly a couple of days later. The food is all very clearly labelled and it can all be stored easily in the cupboard so you don't have to worry about it taking up space in your fridge. I also got a folder with information about the diet and which talked about the reasons that you eat. I think I am definitely an emotional eater and when I am stressed I turn to food so I really had to think about what I could do differently in stressful situations rather than just breaking out the biscuits.

The first week of the diet was quite hard as my body had been used to very large portions so I think my poor stomach was quite shocked not to get as much food as normal. It let me know of it's annoyance with some very loud hunger pangs! However the good thing about the Jenny Craig diet is that you can use additional fruit, veg and salad so I made sure that I was having more of these and by week two I didn't really feel hungry at all.

The diet was very easy to follow as you have breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack available to you each day. I did really enjoy the breakfasts and lunches and I liked the vegetarian dinners. I didn't enjoy the chicken dishes as much but when you are doing the diet for a longer amount of time you can speak to your consultant about your food preferences and get the meals you really like as part of your package. The snacks were great and really saved me when I wanted a nibble in the evenings. There was a selection of low fat crisps and chocolate bars which meant I didn't feel that I was being denied the odd treat.

What I loved about the diet was that I just didn't have to think about anything. There was no calorie counting, no weighing portions or worrying about points or red and green days. I just took the meal out of the cupboard and ate it.

But of course the real test of the diet is in the weighing. After two weeks on the Jenny Craig diet I had lost 7lb. I also felt much healthier and a lot less tired. I have gone on to loose a further 3lb as the initial weight loss really motivated me to keep going!

I've still got 2st to go but I feel like I am definitely on the way to fabulousness! Hopefully by the new year I would have lost even more weight and I will be doing some more posts on my  drab to fab makeover!

To find out more about Jenny Craig you can visit their website www.jennycraig.co.uk