By Leanne, editor and founder
We have all heard the adage that less is more. But what if less is sometimes just… Less. I've recently been pondering the idea that limiting certain things isn't the best method, and that has certainly rang true in the past few weeks.
As most of you know, we’ve been doing some big lifestyle changes these past few weeks in an effort to lose this baby weight and just get healthier. Even through multiple blog events, trips, and vacations, we’ve managed to lose weight each week and get closer to our goal, which is really exciting. 
So exciting that we were actually happy to return home and get back to our new healthy eating after our 10 day international trip where we were at the mercy of whatever foods we could find in airports, at resorts, and in brand new towns.
Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time eating new foods and indulging a bit, but we both breathed a sigh of relief when we were home and could resume our Jenny Craig foods. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. The foods we’ve been eating don’t feel like “diet foods”, they taste like real foods in the right portion sizes that help you have more energy and lose weight.
This is why we made the decision to bring some Jenny Craig foods and Anytime Bars with us on vacation. It might seem like a strange choice considering that we were in foodie heaven with all-inclusive restaurants at every turn, but it ended up being really awesome. Yeah, this Cookie Dough Bar was a little melted from the hot Caribbean sun, but it was still delicious.
So, besides learning that I love the foods on Jenny Craig and still am not sick of the program after weeks of following it, I’ve learned a ton about food, what kind of eater I am, and how to continue with weight loss in the coming months.
Here are just a few myths I used to believe before I started my weight loss journey.
Myth #1: Eat less and lose more. Truth #1: Eat the right foods and make sure you eat enough for your activity level. Like many people, I've always thought weight loss was as simple as restricting calories. I've come to realize through the Jenny Craig program that eating too little is a bad thing. By me restricting calories during the day only to overindulge during dinner, it actually signaled to my body to store fat. Basically, my body didn't know when the next meal was coming, so in preparation for famine, it was storing fat. Yeah, that's exactly what I didn't want.
Myth #2: Only diabetics need to worry about blood sugar. Truth #2: Doing the Jenny Craig program taught me that blood sugar is incredibly important for maintaining weight as well as feeling great. Weight management is about what kinds of calories you are consuming as well as when you consume them. Yes, it matters when you eat almost as much as what you eat. Meaning that you can't save up calories, you can't starve yourself and then gorge yourself, and you have to keep a stable blood sugar. By avoiding blood sugar crashes, you will not only feel better, you will also help maintain a healthy weight.
Myth #3: It doesn't matter why losing weight has failed before. Truth: Life change comes when you learn what your food triggers are and how to avoid them. Learning about myself and knowing that I'm a social eater has been really important in creating plans that work for me. I'm not someone who hides or waits until I'm alone to overindulge, my weakness is parties, social events, and eating out with friends and family. Knowing this helps me come up with plans to make good choices when I'm in groups just like I do when I’m at home. Since food is a part of many of my social interactions , I just need to be mindful about not overindulging when I do eat out or go to an event.
Myth #4: Skip meals and extra calories whenever possible. Truth: While it’s true that you don't want to overdo calories and food, sometimes not eating enough calories can be just as destructive. Around my third week in to the Jenny Craig program, I found myself skipping a snack or meal here or there and I was certain I would see extra losses on the scale those weeks. Trust me when I say that it was very disappointing to then only lose a fourth of a pound or nothing at all when you were clearly not over eating. Once I figured out that I lost more weight the weeks that I ate every single thing allotted on my menu, it was like a light bulb went off.
Myth #5: Eating well is all or nothing. Truth #5: Everyone is going to slip up every now and then and the trick is having a flexible plan that allows for life. With the Jenny Craig plan, they understand that life happens, and if your nutrition guide doesn’t allow for deviations, you will fail. They build options into the plan so you can live your life while staying healthy.
Myth #6: Losing weight is only about science. Truth #6: Losing weight is also a very mental process. Succeeding isn’t just about what’s on the scale, it’s about a feeling of success that comes from knowing that this isn’t a “diet”, it’s about making positive changes for good. Doing this program has made me realize how off my portion sizes were before. Not like heaping plates of fried foods, which I knew better than to do, but heaping plates of healthy foods that just had too many calories for one sitting. Relearning portion sizes and seeing food in the Jenny Craig trays trains you to see foods in the sizes they are meant to be served in. 
I get that seeing past these myths may sound complicated and hard to achieve on your own, which is why I'm eternally grateful I haven't been on my own these past few weeks. Having Jenny Craig with me as I figured out why I had been failing at losing weight has been key.
Jenny Craig helped me hit the reset button in a way on these destructive diet blunders. By working with me to change the way I look at food and when and where I eat, I emerged happier and with a much healthier view on food. I know now that I will feel better in the long run if I don’t overindulge at social events, and that it’s better to eat balanced throughout the day instead of eating all of my calories in one sitting. 
I now eat 6 times a day, eating in much smaller portions. I'm enjoying eating much more fruits and veggies than ever before {which I actually happened to eat a lot of before}, and I'm learning to make good choices on my own. Having taken a 10 day vacation during our journey and dealing with life and social events that have come up, I know it’s possible to keep on losing well after the Jenny Craig foods are tapered off and I start cooking on my own exclusively.
Knowing that I'm a social eater and the holidays are coming makes me so much more aware of ways I can keep pounds from creeping back on between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Getting tips on which foods to pick in the buffet line, what size plate to choose {which also matters a whole lot more than I thought}, and what to do before the party so I never arrive with a growling belly means that I might just avoid the holiday weight slump.
Besides the amazing Philly Cheese Steak sandwich that I will miss terribly when we're done with Jenny Craig foods, the other thing I will miss is the Jenny Craig trays that the foods come in. Although I eat off of real plates more often than I use the trays the food comes in, I love having the visual of the food in the trays to help me gauge portion sizes. If I were Jenny Craig, I would be selling ceramic trays for this purpose. I know I would buy them instead of washing and reusing the disposable trays over and over again! 
Starting weight: too much
Week 1: -4.4
Week 2: -.2
Week 3: -2.6
Week 4: -.4
Week 5: -.6
Week 6: -3.4
Week 7: No data
Week 8: -2.2
Total -13.80
That last measurement was right after our 10 day vacation. I'm super proud that I still managed to lose 2.2 pounds with unlimited desserts and food options everywhere I turned on our vacation. I attribute most of the loss to the amount of walking, swimming, and snorkeling that we were doing while taking advantage of all the resort had to offer.
In addition to pounds lost, I also have lost a total of 10 inches around since my second week. Three of those inches are in my stomach and none were in my bust, which I couldn't be happier about. I may not be to my goal weight and size, but I can already see progress and it makes me want to continue towards my goal.
With 600 company-owned and franchised centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico, there just might be an office near you so you can experience the one-on-one support. But, if you don’t have an office near you, you should read about the Jenny Craig Anywhere program where you can get the same support via video chat or over the phone from a dedicated consultant and have meals shipped right to your door. There are two plans to choose from: All Access or As You Go. Food costs vary but typically range between $15 – $23 per day, plus the cost of shipping.
You can find out more about the Jenny Craig program by visiting their site, or you can check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Results not typical. Members following our program can expect to lose, on average 1-2 lbs per week. I received promotional consideration. I was provided a free trial Jenny Craig program and meals. However, the opinions expressed are entirely my own.
What a great article