Turned down by Jenny Craig: anyone else?

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Permalink Reply by Cathy on October 27, 2009 at 7:10pm

Weight watchers has a program specially for diabetics. I don't also see what the difference is with Jenny because they are T2 that take insulin too. Lots of them. Jenny makes no sense at all. I would totally check out the WW for diabetics.

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Permalink Reply by Patra Philips on October 28, 2009 at 9:28am

Maybe I'm naive, but isn't denying you into their program discrimination? Would they turn away someone with a different problem, say, blindness?

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Permalink Reply by Andreina Davila on October 28, 2009 at 12:16pm

Yes, I kind of agree. We definitely felt discriminated. We are waiting for a letter with more explanation they say they will send.

At the end, after few days I am sure it is all for the best, we are going to do this (loose weight and get back on track) and we are going to do it right!!! We will keep you guys posted...

Now, analyzing ourselves, I think we were going with them because right now we have so much to do at work than when we get home we are so tired... we went for the easy route for a quick fix... probably not the smartest thing to do.

Anyways, I am exited at the possibilities. We are looking into WW and I thinking on getting back on The Zone, we tried the zone few years ago and Manuel's numbers were perfect, we both felt great and it is good for Santi too... As a guide, any of those programs will work.

At the end it what we need is some discipline back into our lifestyle... for that we need ourselves and our willingness, guide and support will help, of course...

Also, I feel less guilty with not doing Jenny Graig, since we actually believe on a low carb and more natural diet... With only the packages of all that prepared food... omg, not a green solution for sure... he he

I will write more on this, since before they turned down Manuel, I got accepted into the program (and since I never-ever thought they will no accept him and he was traveling) I decided to give it a try a week ahead of him... so I have been doing the program only for a week and will write about the whole experience, its pros and cons...

Thank you all for your comments.

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Permalink Reply by Robin Lynn Macke on October 28, 2009 at 5:40pm

I'm glad to see you mention the Zone, I'm a LADA who for 5 years ate strict Zone diet and had A1Cs in the 5.0-5.5 range with NO meds. Then when my pancreas quit I went right to Lantus and Humalog . The Zone works but give yourself a few meals a week to cheat a bit then it becomes doable for life. Robin

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Permalink Reply by Jess on October 28, 2009 at 6:05pm

Manny I'm doing Jenny Craig right now. They have this weird policy were they way to get a call from you to go through the process of clearing you with your doctor. They called me and then sent me a denial letter. When I talked to my doctor and CDE they told me to call the number in the letter and tell them that my doctor wanted me to be part of the program. As soon as I told their nutrition department that my doctor wanted me to join they pretty much immediatly got me started. For some weird reason they dont contact your doctor until you call them. I got started two days after I called, and have been on the program for about 4 weeks now and it's going great. Hope my long rambling message made some sense and if you have any questions let me know.

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Permalink Reply by Khürt Williams on October 30, 2009 at 9:44am

Under HIPAA rules they would need your signature on a form to be able to have access to your medical information and talk directly with your doctor.

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Permalink Reply by Jess on October 30, 2009 at 5:51pm

They had my signature from the begining. So I don't know why they needed the phone call.

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Permalink Reply by dargirl on October 29, 2009 at 6:55am

Obviously "Jenny Craig" the diet people/educators know nothing about how carbs, proteins, fats effect your body. Key components of dieting. They did not know that diabetics control their carbs and take medication according to that intake. Maybe you should educate them and tell them how diabetics do it. How they control diabetes.

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Permalink Reply by Heidi on October 29, 2009 at 9:44pm

Just to answer this question - I work for Jenny Craig as a Program Director. If you are a diabetic and your diabetes is controlled by diet alone - you can start the program. If you have diabetes and are using oral medication to control it, then JC requires a Dr. approval. If you are on insulin then we go through our cooperate office. Our dietitians review your health sheet. Then the dietitians contact your Dr for approval. They will rule out certain cases depending on your answers on the back of the health sheet. What age where you when you got diabetes? What medications are you taking? How often you check your blood sugar? Can you tell when your having a sugar low? and other various questions I don't have memorized. Program Directors are made to be fearful of letting anyone join who isn't suppose to. Due to the sue happy society we have - if PDs let people join who aren't suppose to due to the company's standards they could lose their job. And as a PD we all make mistakes. There is going to be that one person who slips by, and you get the scary - if this happens again we are going to have to let you go. I don't find any comfort turning someone away. And Jenny Craig does in fact know about carbs, proteins, fats - The program was put together by a medical advisory board. The exchange system Jc uses for starches, meats, fats, veg's, fruit and milk are biased off of the dietetic exchange system.

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Permalink Reply by MelissaBL on October 29, 2009 at 9:57pm

If an endocrinologist and/or nurse educator has cleared someone for a weight loss program, I find JC's line of questioning highly intrusive and highly discriminatory. These decisions have obviously been based on poor education in type 1 diabetes at their corporate level. Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder and we cannot apologize for the fact that we use insulin. That doesn't mean we're poorly controlled or can't manage our condition without a program director's supervision.

If I pay for your service, it's none of your business how I tell when I have a low blood sugar level or how often I test my blood sugar. A doctor's permission should be enough to save JC from liability. Type 1 diabetics sky dive, lose weight on The Zone/The Abs Diet/Weight Watchers/Nutrisystem/Atkins/South Beach, drive vehicles, have children, and run marathons. If we want to pay JC to help us lose a few pounds, that should be our business.

All type 1 diabetics are on insulin (as are all humans, for that matter), so I find it interesting that they ask about medications as though we're ticking time bombs.

And most type 1 diabetics have been off of a diabetic/dietetic exchange system for over a decade. In modern times, you'll find a majority of us count carbohydrates and take a certain amount of insulin per carbohydrate - which is clearly marked on a JC meal, so it should not be a problem.

Again, the only corporate entity who should have any access to my A1c and details of control is...wait, NO ONE. That's between me, my doctor, and not even my insurance company. When I join a gym, they don't need to know how often I test or that I have diabetes. When I renew my license, they don't do more than ask if I'm in good control. When I apply for a job, they don't need to know even that I have diabetes. JC needs to revise their discriminatory standards.

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Permalink Reply by Manny Hernandez on October 29, 2009 at 10:33pm

Hello Heidi,
I am glad you decided to join to help bring in JC's perspective.

I thought I'd share my answers about the questions you post above, since I was the person who got turned down:
-I am on insulin. Have been since 2003.
-I have been on an insulin pump since 2005.
-My highest A1C has been 7.1 and my most recent one was 6.7 (back in June 2009).
-I test my blood sugar no less than 6-8 times per day (I don't remember being asked this question when I applied).
-I wear a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), which goes crazy beeping before I can go anywhere near a dangerous low (my wife's ear has been tuned to hear it even if I miss it).
-I can definitely feel when I go low. As a matter of fact, recently I experienced a low in spite of the fact that the CGM showed a normal glucose reading (it was doing this because CGMs get crazy if you take Acetaminophen-based medicines and I had forgotten this and taken Theraflu b/c I was sick). I don't remember being asked about this when I applied either.

The director for the center where we went told us that the decision had come from corporate:
1) Because I used insulin.
2) Because I was on an insulin pump.

In short, I found the decision to be based on a lack of information and discrimination on the part of JC, not having a clue about what kind of control I had. As a matter of fact, I have yet to get a confirmation that my doctor ever heard from JC (maybe he has, but I haven't heard about it...)

I can only partly understand and relate to the argument you make about "the sue happy society we have" but, when you think that we individually are responsible for our food decisions and lifestyles, it seems to me that a document where JC participants release JC from liability in case of a low/high blood sugar episode should suffice to take care of this issue.

Instead, you guys opt to shut down the doors to people who come to you (like myself) for help when we need it: I didn't come to JC because I have a BMI of less than 25!

So in short, thanks for sharing JC's perspective, but the fact that the program was put together by a medical advisory board does little to make up for the fact that your attorneys got away with leaving people in need of help out in order to cover the rear of your organization. AND I should say that I fully agree with the post just written by MelissaBL: I find Jenny Craig to be highly discriminatory.


P.S. To top things, I received this morning not one, not two but THREE messages (see the screenshot below) in my Inbox, "welcoming" me to JennyCraig.com... I reported this to the @JennyCraig account on Twitter, since I couldn't find a way to remove my newly created JennyCraig.com account on the site or an explanation on how to do so. I am still awaiting an answer about this, since the person in charge of Twitter there needs to follow me before I can send him/her a private message with my username information.

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Permalink Reply by Heidi on October 29, 2009 at 11:14pm

My first guess would be because your on the insulin pump - but I don't work in the cooperate office to make those decisions so all I can do is guess. Jenny Craig doesn't just turn away people with Diabetes (which when Ive seen it happen, and its been rare in my 5 years working there, its always been someone on Insulin) - anyone with nut allergy's cant be on the program. If your on a diuretic they want a Dr. approval before you can get started. If your on coumadin you cant be on the program. If you have acid reflux you need a drs ok by the second visit with list of foods to avoid and frequency of meals suggested. If your breast feeding they need a Dr ok by the 2nd visit. If your and adolescent and on ANY medication other then birth control or acne medication you cant be on the program. (I had to turn away a mom and her child because she has asthama and it broke my heart, because I didn't get why she couldn't be on it.) Absolute worst part of my job is turning people away.

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