Well … I knew it was coming but I’m disappointed all the same. While some of the New Year New You winners were invited to continue on program for free till their goal weight – I was told today that I would not be continued. It’s not so much that the promotion is ending for me … but it was just such an anti-climatic ending to the whole thing. It would have been nice to have heard directly from our contact at Jenny Craig corporate. Perhaps a thank you or something for our time this year on the LHJ blog – and my interview with Daytime. I understand why they don’t want to continue me – I’ve not been able to lose weight in 5 months even though I stuck to the program – for the most part. Yes there were a few weeks I rebelled – but for the majority of time I was on program!!

ETA:  I did receive an e-mail from Jenny Corporate at 5:02pm tonight – about 1 hour ten minutes after I made this post, and about 1 hour 30 minutes after my local center called – to let us know to make other arrangements for ourselves.

I don’t think I’ll continue on with Jenny Craig. I was waiting to see if they offered to continue me .. and now that I know they are not … I’m not going to continue with them. I’ll finish up the food I have here and work on my own menus this week in my free time. Then next week I will be ON MY OWN.

It’s scary .. but I think I’ll feel more satisfied being in control of my food again. And won’t it be nice to eat dinner with my son and family when they visit!

So … I’ve heard through the grapevine that our Jenny program will come to an end at the end of the month. I’ve not heard anything official yet … this is just talk among us girls. Now I’m faced with a decision – do I continue with Jenny Craig or do I attempt to do this on my own.

Pros for Jenny Craig – it’s pre-packaged, pre-portioned, convienant food! I can’t mess up my calories unless I stray from the program. It’s dummy proof – and I don’t really have to think about what I’m doing. Best of all – there’s really no clean up of all those pots and pans. Cooking for 1 person is a breeze!

Cons for Jenny Craig – the food almost all has soy in them – and since I’m taking synthroid this could be screwing around with my medication. Those on synthroid are supposed to avoid soy. Also, since to food is pre-packaged there are alot of preservatives and sodium in the food. I’m not really learning how to cook in a healthy manner.

Pros for cooking myself – well … basically all the cons for Jenny. No soy, no preservatives and less sodium, and I’m learning to cook in a healthy manner. I can control what I want to eat and am not stuck on the same fixed menus. I can even chose to eat out every once in awhile without feeling guilty of breaking free from program.

Cons for cooking myself – I”ll be cooking for just myself – and my son when he’s home from college. The mess of the pots and pans. It’s easier to stray away from the 1500 calories a day, so I’d have to be diligent in writing down everything I put in my mouth. Basically, cooking for myself creates more work for me. The lazy gene is resistant to this.

Though I’ve lost 40 pounds on Jenny Craig – it’s been 5 months really since I’ve lost anything – and I can’t help but wonder if I were eating on my own would I cheat less? I’m very thankful for them jump starting my weight loss – and reminding me tha tI am important! Showing me that I can lose weight by cutting calories and exercising. But I don’t think there’s much more I can learn from the program. Once I start working again it will be difficult for me to get to a center and purchase food.

I guess my decision really is made for me .. bu then I get an overwhelming feeling of guilt for even considering dropping out of the program. Because Jenny Craig has been so good to me – am I obligated to see it through for them? I’ve got this romantic notion in my head that I could be the next Jared – and I think that notion is just so very unrealistic. Do I prove to the world that you don’t have to be a celebrity to have success on the Jenny Craig program? Can I prove to the world that it is possible to lose 145 pounds while on Jenny Craig? And then really .. would I be losing the weight for me at that point – or would I be doing it out of a sense of obligation? What would be the greater motivation?

So what do you all think? DO I stick with Jenny because it’s easier and I have a better chance of sticking to program, or do I try and do this on my own – learning as much as I can about healthier eating – and really make that lifestyle change? Would I be successful doing it on my own? Right now I have serious doubts that I can succeed either way.

From my Please Login or Register to see the link.blog:

This post marks the one year anniversary of my joining Jenny Craig. Sure – it’s posted two days too late – but I’ve had other things on my mind. Some of the other New Year-New You winners have posted their blogs already, and I thought I should probably mark the occasion in some way as well. This will also mark the last day I’ll be posting to the Ladies Home Journal web site. Anyone wishing to follow along my weight-loss journey can do so at my personal blog – Please Login or Register to see the link..

It has been an interesting year to say the least. The excitment when we all first won the prize, the bit of confusion when we found out only 5 of us were headed to Beverly Hills, the reality that we were going to be learning the tools we’d need to take back control of our eating, and the every day struggles to stay on program! I am very proud of my “Paradise Sisters” – as we’ve grown to call ourselves. While some have lost a bit more than others – we’ve all survived through this crazy year and are much stronger women because of it!

When I took a look back at my year I was at first disappointed that I hadn’t worked harder at losing weight. But as I was thinking today – this year … this journey … has been about far more than just losing weight. It’s been about me coming to peace with myself, to heal my mind and my spirit. I often reference things I see on TV .. I watch far too much of it .. but I watch a new show called Eli Stone. On it was a man dieing from cancer, who claims that God told him to stop chemotherapy and live his life. He said that it wasn’t so much a voice he heard, but a feeling of overwhelming peace that had come over him. That he had prayed for an answer – and when the response came it lifted a weight from his shoulders and he found his peace.

That’s the way I feel at the end of this year. I’ve found my peace. I made a tough decision to stay here in Florida with my son … it’s where we both belong. I know this without fail now … this is where I am meant to be at this moment in my life. I made plans at the beginning of the year … and I am following those plans. They are working out … and I’m starting to feel happy again. I’ll move into the new house, I’ll get my son off to college, and I’ll start looking for work. I’m seriously thinking of doing Temp work so that I have a flexible schedule. I’m also seriously considering working for Jenny Craig .. if they’ll have me.

I lost 40 pounds over this past year, and I have 105 pounds to go. If I lose 50 pounds by the end of this year I’ll be happy, and then the final 55 pounds next year. I don’t have to lose the weight at rapid speed. I just need to take this battle one day at a time, and in the end I know that I WILL win!

My journey continues with Jenny Craig, as I feel this is still the best way for me to lose weight. Once my son goes to college I’ll have no more junk food laying around to tempt me. The convenience of the Jenny program will work best for me, I won’t have to cook and I won’t have big messes to clean up! When I reach my half way mark I’ll start to incorporate “real food” in to my program. But I know that right now I still have a lot to learn! I’ve still got to make it through one week maintaining 1500 calories a day without snacking on junk food in the afternoons. That is my focus these next weeks. I’m gonna take it just one day at a time!

A huge thank you goes to the ladies at Jenny Craig corporate – for selecting our ten videos and changing our lives. To my local Jenny Craig center for making me feel right at home … and my Jenny consultant for just being a wonderful person. To Ladies Home Journal for hosting the contest, and for the surprise package filled with the magic beauty advice we all can’t wait for – that I am sure will arrive any day! To Charlie – the BEST PR person you’ll ever come across – and my wonderful opportunity on Daytime. It is an experience I’ll never forget! And finally to those 9 other beautiful and strong women who have taken this journey with me. You have all touched my life in ways I can not explain. You couldn’t put together a group more different than we are .. but I think we’ve learned that though our personalities are unique – we are all facing the same battle. I think that bond will be part of my life forever.