15 replies to this topic

[Eane]

To begin, I know this is only my second day in my 6th week, and that this won't work for everyone due to circumstances, age, etc, but I've found these help ME greatly and it MIGHT help my fellow 1200 calorie a day eaters.

Tips:

Tip 1- Eat! Be sure to eat every 2-3 hours. If you can't eat after exactly 3 hours, don't wait anymore than 4 hours between snacks/meals or you'll want to eat everything in sight. I'm hypoglycemic so this becomes a major issue for me if I don't eat after at least 4 hours.

Tip 2- Your main food items (before you hit half way and can substitute MOMOs) is your Jenny Craig food. Find something you like in the different categories and stick with it. The only lunch item I can stomach is the Chicken Sandwiches so I get a week's worth of those. If I get tired of eating a chicken sandwich, I'll eat a dinner for lunch and a lunch for dinner. Same calories in that day, but I'm able to change it up. I can't eat heavy foods in the morning, so the breakfasts are fine for me.

Tip 3- If you find yourself at Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts and you HAVE to have a 'fancy' coffee (latte, cappuccino, etc) fine. But this coffee you're drinking? THIS is your snack. Once in a while, I HAVE to have my Starbucks. I used to drink fraps by the bucket loads, but now (especially since it's getting colder) I've gone to my second favorite drink. The pumpkin spice latte. It doesn't matter if you get a tall, a grande, or a venti, THIS drink substitutes your snack. Be sure you ask for no whipped cream, nonfat and nothing added. The syrup itself is full of sugar since they don't have a sugar free version yet. And if you need to add sugar? Equal or splenda. But remember, you MUST not eat your snack if you drink this. Believe me, if you're doing your diet correctly, this will fill your stomach up like you ate a snack. (I asked my JCC and he said it's fine I do this as long as I sub my snack for this).

Tip 4- If you either forget your JC meal or you are tired of eating one, and you want to do ONE MOMO? Find the smallest plate you have and use that as your 'dinner' plate. I use the plates that are one size higher than those used for coffee/tea cups. But this doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want just because it's smaller sized. If you eat beef/pork/lamb, you have to have a small size. If you like mashed potatoes or white rice or any other carb such as those, one scoop. And I mean those spoons you use to dish out food. But the thing is? No butter (unless it's free of everything, except MAYBE 5 calories) and NO salt. You can use Mrs. Dash or Pepper or any spice that has zero calories and zero sodium. I've had many MOMOs for lunch or dinner and I'm still losing a steady 2-3 pounds a week.

Tip 5- Water. Lots and lots of water. If you eat ANYTHING off JC you must drink 2 large cups of water. Not this little 8 oz cup and that's it. I'm talking 32 oz while you're eating your MOMO (before half way) PLUS the 64oz you should be drinking. I've talked to my JCC and he says this does help to flush any sodium or sugar that might be extra in my MOMOs I sometimes have in lieu of my JC lunch/dinner. Remember, ANYTHING (even Free foods) you must add extra water.

Tip 6- Salads at restaurants? Great, eating a salad is awesome, but unless it's ONLY veggies and not the starch veggies, you could be adding extra calories to your diet. I talked to my JCC about salads and how some people are still having issues and he says that people don't realize that public dining salads, depending on what you get, could be 1200 calories all by themselves. So unless you know your veggies and have no meat or cheese in them, this might not be the best idea.

Tip 7- Exercise. We're constantly exercising, from the minute we fall asleep to the minute we wake up and go about our daily business. If you're only intaking 1200 calories, you don't want to exercise anymore than 30-60 minutes a day. And you want to change it up. Do cardio one day and weight training the next. Like Mon, Wed, and Fri is cardio and Tues and Thurs is weight training. The more exercise you do, the more calories you need to eat. If your plan is the 1200 calorie a day diet, doing 20 miles 5 times a week will put your body back into starvation mode and you won't lose weight at all. Not fast anyway. Plus, if you're doing tons of cardio and weight lifting, you need to bulk up on protein and carbs. Unless you're planning to be the next female body builder, you don't need to overdo it. I walk to and from work at a brisk pace every day. And sometimes I'll add no more than 30 minutes of combined cardio and weight training. 15 min of cardio and 15 of weights. Doing tons of exercise will tone you up but won't make you lose weight any faster. Take it easy.

Tip 8- Self control. I know it's hard. My job constantly hands out free food left and right and is from 'expensive' dining areas. My response? I'm on a diet, I can't eat it, sorry. Sure, I would LOVE to eat everything in front of me. But that's one way I put on the weight. Always bring YOUR food with you. It's hard, believe me, but you have to stop and think, not only is JC expensive for the majority of us, but you want to look good in smaller clothes. Whatever you need to do to keep yourself from cheating, do it.

Tip 9- Stress eating. Whenever I'm stressed to the point of wanting to hit someone or something, I either play my online video games, watch television or write. Find a hobby you love, knitting/swimming/watching tv/playing with kids/pets and do that. You eat to live, not live to eat.

Tip 10- Patience. It took however many years/decades to put on those extra pounds, they're not going to come off overnight. Believe me, I wish they did so I'd save $130 a week on JC meals.


As I said, these tips work for ME. They might never work for anyone else, but I've been on JC since 9/24/11 and I've lost 16 lbs. I've got 48 more to go until my goal and I still eat JC foods and the occasional MOMO. Not only that but I don't exercise like mad and I still drink my diet coke (though I've cut back quite a bit).

Hope this helps somewhat. But before you change anything ASK your JCC. I told him I AM eating Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I just have to have a tiny plate and small portions and tons of water.

[Savana]

Great tips,Eane!  Thanks for sharing!!  

[Eane]

Savana, on 01 November 2011 - 02:01 PM, said:

Great tips,Eane!  Thanks for sharing!!  

I know these tips won't work for everyone since people are all made differently, but maybe that one person who is trying very hard and only losing .5 pounds a week might lose more doing a few of these tips. I'm CONSTANTLY calling my JCC and asking 'can I eat this? How much of this can I eat? Can I have a kit kat bar? Etc'

We're paying good money to utilize the system and the employees. We need to get our money's worth.

[Blessed4Life2]

WHat is YMMV? Thats a new one on me. lol

[Eane]

Blessed4Life2, on 01 November 2011 - 02:31 PM, said:

WHat is YMMV? Thats a new one on me. lol

Your Mileage May Vary (means what works for one, might not work for another...etc)

[Savana]

Blessed4Life2, on 01 November 2011 - 02:31 PM, said:

WHat is YMMV? Thats a new one on me. lol

YMMV?? Where? When? What?  I don't see it??? LOL

[Savana]

Savana, on 01 November 2011 - 02:43 PM, said:

YMMV?? Where? When? What?  I don't see it??? LOL

Ohh,I just saw the post...Your mileage may vary..that is soo cute!  

[I Called Jenny]

Eane wrote:

To begin, I know this is only my second day in my 6th week, and that this won't work for everyone due to circumstances, age, etc, but I've found these help ME greatly and it MIGHT help my fellow 1200 calorie a day eaters.

Thanks for doing this, Eane, and it's great but, with your permission, may I make a couple of suggestions? This is my fourth year of being on JC - my initial 45 lb. weight loss, maintenance for 3+ years, and a brief return to lose the 10 lbs. I almost "accidentally" gained, lost and am now back on maintenance. Yea!    Anyway, there's a couple of things I've learned over the years that may add to your outstanding advice.  

Tips:

Tip 1- Eat! Be sure to eat every 2-3 hours. If you can't eat after exactly 3 hours, don't wait anymore than 4 hours between snacks/meals or you'll want to eat everything in sight. I'm hypoglycemic so this becomes a major issue for me if I don't eat after at least 4 hours.

Great advice!

Tip 2- Your main food items (before you hit half way and can substitute MOMOs) is your Jenny Craig food. Find something you like in the different categories and stick with it. The only lunch item I can stomach is the Chicken Sandwiches so I get a week's worth of those. If I get tired of eating a chicken sandwich, I'll eat a dinner for lunch and a lunch for dinner. Same calories in that day, but I'm able to change it up. I can't eat heavy foods in the morning, so the breakfasts are fine for me.

More great advice!

Tip 3- If you find yourself at Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts and you HAVE to have a 'fancy' coffee (latte, cappuccino, etc) fine. But this coffee you're drinking? THIS is your snack. Once in a while, I HAVE to have my Starbucks. I used to drink fraps by the bucket loads, but now (especially since it's getting colder) I've gone to my second favorite drink. The pumpkin spice latte. It doesn't matter if you get a tall, a grande, or a venti, THIS drink substitutes your snack. Be sure you ask for no whipped cream, nonfat and nothing added. The syrup itself is full of sugar since they don't have a sugar free version yet. And if you need to add sugar? Equal or splenda. But remember, you MUST not eat your snack if you drink this. Believe me, if you're doing your diet correctly, this will fill your stomach up like you ate a snack. (I asked my JCC and he said it's fine I do this as long as I sub my snack for this).

Actually I have even better news to add for you on this one. If you stick to a PLAIN (not flavored) latte or cappuccino AND you ask for a "skinny" or "non-fat" milk without any whipped cream or other fattening toppings (a sprinkle of cinnamon and other spices are fine), you can have this without substituting your snack BUT you need to skip the dairy exchange you might have had in the morning (or whenever you normally have your dairy). The non-flavored drinks (plain coffee, latte, cappuccino) without the syrup are basically just coffee and water so there aren't unwanted calories but once you put in your dairy, you have to deduct it elsewhere from your menu. So enjoy your snack. However, if you do have a flavored coffee (the type with the syrup flavoring), yes, you do have to substitute that coffee for your snack AND your dairy.

Tip 4- If you either forget your JC meal or you are tired of eating one, and you want to do ONE MOMO? Find the smallest plate you have and use that as your 'dinner' plate. I use the plates that are one size higher than those used for coffee/tea cups. But this doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want just because it's smaller sized. If you eat beef/pork/lamb, you have to have a small size. If you like mashed potatoes or white rice or any other carb such as those, one scoop. And I mean those spoons you use to dish out food. But the thing is? No butter (unless it's free of everything, except MAYBE 5 calories) and NO salt. You can use Mrs. Dash or Pepper or any spice that has zero calories and zero sodium. I've had many MOMOs for lunch or dinner and I'm still losing a steady 2-3 pounds a week.

Here's a tweak to your great tip. When you eat your JC meal at any time, put it on a NORMAL sized plate. That way your brain automatically gets used to what a JC portion looks like. Then, should you go out to a restaurant where the meal sizes are generally 2-3 times a JC portion, you'll know what you should be looking at. It's hard to find smaller plates in restaurants but if you ask for a "to-go" container as soon as your meal arrives, BEFORE you start to eat, put anything that's NOT a JC portion into the "to-go" container immediately. If you've been routinely putting your JC foods that you eat at home on a regular-sized dinner plate, you'll be able to better visually judge not only what the overall portion size is supposed to be but also how much protein and carbs you should have on your plate. Then you can eat as much as you want of any boiled, baked, steamed or grilled non-starch veggies that you told the waiter to have cooked for you WITHOUT ANY FAT or dressings, gravy and so forth.

If you're doing a business meal with a client and it would seem "awkward" to ask for a "to-go" container, just "divide" your food up on your plate so you have a "no eat zone" and no one will be the wiser.

Tip 5- Water. Lots and lots of water. If you eat ANYTHING off JC you must drink 2 large cups of water. Not this little 8 oz cup and that's it. I'm talking 32 oz while you're eating your MOMO (before half way) PLUS the 64oz you should be drinking. I've talked to my JCC and he says this does help to flush any sodium or sugar that might be extra in my MOMOs I sometimes have in lieu of my JC lunch/dinner. Remember, ANYTHING (even Free foods) you must add extra water.

Excellent advice! Restaurant chefs routinely season their veggies (or the water it's cooked in) with a lot of salt. So drink, drink, drink (water, iced tea, or plain coffee or water you've flavored with a packet of Crystal Light or a couple of drops of Mio). So like Eane said, yes, drink more than you normally do to flush out the added sodium.

Tip 6- Salads at restaurants? Great, eating a salad is awesome, but unless it's ONLY veggies and not the starch veggies, you could be adding extra calories to your diet. I talked to my JCC about salads and how some people are still having issues and he says that people don't realize that public dining salads, depending on what you get, could be 1200 calories all by themselves. So unless you know your veggies and have no meat or cheese in them, this might not be the best idea.

Even if it's not offered on the menu, you will be able to order a plain veggie salad with no carbs (no cheese, croutons or starchy veggies) and no dressing. Chefs are used to this type of order and they'll happily oblige. So if you don't see a "plain" salad or what they often list as a "side salad," ask for one. If you do want to order something like a Chicken Caesar, that's fine but understand that you need to remove most of the chicken and make sure that you tell the server that you don't want dressing, croutons or cheese on the salad). The other "nemesis" of salads is olives. Yes, we all love them, but you need to limit yourself to like three of them because they're high in fat and sodium. Bummer, yeah, I know.

Tip 7- Exercise. We're constantly exercising, from the minute we fall asleep to the minute we wake up and go about our daily business. If you're only intaking 1200 calories, you don't want to exercise anymore than 30-60 minutes a day. And you want to change it up. Do cardio one day and weight training the next. Like Mon, Wed, and Fri is cardio and Tues and Thurs is weight training. The more exercise you do, the more calories you need to eat. If your plan is the 1200 calorie a day diet, doing 20 miles 5 times a week will put your body back into starvation mode and you won't lose weight at all. Not fast anyway. Plus, if you're doing tons of cardio and weight lifting, you need to bulk up on protein and carbs. Unless you're planning to be the next female body builder, you don't need to overdo it. I walk to and from work at a brisk pace every day. And sometimes I'll add no more than 30 minutes of combined cardio and weight training. 15 min of cardio and 15 of weights. Doing tons of exercise will tone you up but won't make you lose weight any faster. Take it easy.

It's funny because I had this conversation with my JCC and several other clients in the waiting room just this morning because we all were doing different exercises and had different calorie counts.

Exercise is sometimes a tricky thing depending on what you're doing for exercise. You'll burn less calories walkinng for 30 minutes, for instance, than doing 30 minutes of Zumba or other strong aerobic activity or weight training. So tell your JCC EXACTLY what you're doing for exercise because depending on your age, size, weight and type of exercise (and especially if you're not losing a reasonable amount each week), your calorie count (or exercise) might need to be adjusted.

Tip 8- Self control. I know it's hard. My job constantly hands out free food left and right and is from 'expensive' dining areas. My response? I'm on a diet, I can't eat it, sorry. Sure, I would LOVE to eat everything in front of me. But that's one way I put on the weight. Always bring YOUR food with you. It's hard, believe me, but you have to stop and think, not only is JC expensive for the majority of us, but you want to look good in smaller clothes. Whatever you need to do to keep yourself from cheating, do it.

So true, so true!

Tip 9- Stress eating. Whenever I'm stressed to the point of wanting to hit someone or something, I either play my online video games, watch television or write. Find a hobby you love, knitting/swimming/watching tv/playing with kids/pets and do that. You eat to live, not live to eat.

More great advice!

One "trick" that has helped me a lot is a kitchen timer. When I'm ready to run to the fridge to eat something I'm not supposed to or I'm having a tremendous craving for something "bad," I'll set a timer for 30 to 60 minutes. Then I go off and do something else. By the time the timer goes off, the "need" to binge usually passes or at least I have given myself enough time to really think it through about what the consequences of my "splurge" will be. And more often than not, it "saves" me from not only the added calories but also from the resulting guilt.

Tip 10- Patience. It took however many years/decades to put on those extra pounds, they're not going to come off overnight. Believe me, I wish they did so I'd save $130 a week on JC meals.

Another truism.


As I said, these tips work for ME. They might never work for anyone else, but I've been on JC since 9/24/11 and I've lost 16 lbs. I've got 48 more to go until my goal and I still eat JC foods and the occasional MOMO. Not only that but I don't exercise like mad and I still drink my diet coke (though I've cut back quite a bit).

Yes, the Diet Coke "addiction" is a tough one to break. Whenever possible, do try to avoid it. If you can "train" yourself to drink something else, you'll be so much better off in the long run.

Hope this helps somewhat. But before you change anything ASK your JCC. I told him I AM eating Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I just have to have a tiny plate and small portions and tons of water.


Thanks, Eane, for doing this. I hope you don't mind my interjections. You've done AMAZINGLY well so far and I know you'll continue to do so. Keep up the great work and thanks again for sharing your tips and experiences!

Phyllis

[Eane]

I Called Jenny, on 01 November 2011 - 02:53 PM, said:

Eane wrote:

Thanks, Eane, for doing this. I hope you don't mind my interjections. You've done AMAZINGLY well so far and I know you'll continue to do so. Keep up the great work and thanks again for sharing your tips and experiences!

Phyllis

Of course I don't mind! I'm still fairly new to JC and I do know everyone is different. Some people could drink 1 oz of water and lose 30 lbs while someone like me has to drink almost 2 gallons a day since I have my diet soda addiction.

Your additional tips were great!!

*hugs* <3

[I Called Jenny]

Eane, on 01 November 2011 - 03:06 PM, said:

Of course I don't mind! I'm still fairly new to JC and I do know everyone is different. Some people could drink 1 oz of water and lose 30 lbs while someone like me has to drink almost 2 gallons a day since I have my diet soda addiction.

Your additional tips were great!!

*hugs* <3

Whew!

Hugs back!
Phyllis

[CMECRZN]

These are really great tips!! Thanks guys. I think the newbies will really gain a lot from these. Ok some of Us not so newbies too!!!

[amieteacher]

Right on this should be in the manual!  Great advice.  Salads can be worse for you than a burger in some places.  No croutons, cheese, meet etc....  Ask for nutrient guides before you order.  You might change your mind and don't be afraid to walk out of a restraunt (before you order) It's your body.

[manthony72]

wonderful...........thanks for sharing!!!!
Might I add that these are tips for a lifetime............I will be on maintenance and I will have to follow strict guidelines to stay at goal, so this is inspiring!

[CoCowgirl34]

Awesome, great advice... i myself do the 30 min walk it out dvd in the morning and a 45 min walk at night, i have done this for some time and it helps me alot.. the scale changes slowly but i have went from a size 14 to a size 7-8 ... so the numbers have not gone down much on the scale but in inches is where the difference shows... getting those last 20 or so pounds off are always the hardest...

[Kelly126]

I still walk/run at the track also I do resistence rope I been buy plenty of fruit veggies and put extra like baby atellna and watercress in my salad which I eat wihthout even JC Dressing twice a day

It works for me

I think I eating healthier in my lifetime now than before

[matt from nj]

I think they should pin this thread or put it on a welcome page for people coming to JC.  It truly is a lifestyle change as opposed to a diet.  I don't think enough people know some of these basic things.

I myself was drinking 4-6 cans of Diet Coke a day and have cut it down to 1 a day at work.  I have it with my lunch to complete it.  lol.  Little treats.

The weight didn't get put on overnight and it won't come off that way either.  We have a lifetime of taking it off and keeping it off from now on.