The whole Jillian Michaels craze, I'm gettin it. Jillian appeared on the Joy Behar show last night and I was charmed by Ms. Michaels to no end! While I'm not a big fan of Joy Behar, I happened to catch her show while flipping through the channels at the precise moment Joy said that she is interested in diet and exercise for her introduction to "Joy's Anatomy". That too is where my interests lie so the Joy Behar show is where I stayed. Ms. Michaels rocked. She did not over speak, she was articulate, humble and charming, tackling each of Joy's questions with an easy candor that has won me over. To be honest, I've always kind of been drawn to the drill sergeant in her.... I don't know why??? But last night I saw another facet of Jillian Michaels that I adore. Her honesty about her own workouts and the RESPECT she has for the hard work that the Biggest Loser contestants put in blew me away. And what kind of relationships is she cultivating??? Season 4 Biggest Loser contestant Bill Germanakos was quick to defend Ms. Michaels after she offhandedly dismissed her own workouts over that of the contestants. That says A LOT, about Ms. Michaels as a person, that such great loyalty is instilled with the people she trains. It reminds me of Proverbs 13:24 -"Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." Through Jillian's "tough love" with these contestants, she nurtures a very strong bond showing each and every one of them that she cares. I personally love it! But I want to get to Ms. Michaels' response to Joy's question about 2 pound-a-week weight loss being the guideline for healthy weight loss. Ms. Michaels' response was, "Who says that?.... The proof is in the pudding" referring to the Biggest Loser contestants losing 10, 12 or 15 pounds a week, being healthy and becoming athletes in some cases. Is that the pudding?Yes, the contestants are medically supervised. Yes, they may be gaining immediate health, but the world is concerned with their ultimate health. How many contestants from first and second season have kept it off today? Because if the majority have put it back on then the pudding would actually not be proof at all. In most cases with this epidemic of obesity in America, the battle isn't taking it off, it's keeping it off. I'm reminded that I haven't actually SEEN this pudding. The Biggest Loser only shows people GETTING to their goal weight (in some cases getting BELOW a healthy weight) to win money. I want to know how many stay at a healthy weight for the long term.... THAT is where the pudding is at.
Side note: I just want to add that there IS proof that there are people who kept it off. Those are the people who are featured on air quite a bit. So there IS proof that the Biggest Loser has changed lives (even one life is a success). But for the rest of the contestants who haven't... how many are there and what exactly IS their health condition today? Did losing a HUGE amount of weight only to put it back on compromise anyone's health? Did anyone develop any life threatening conditions from hanging skin (as a result of quick weight loss)? Do the few Biggest Loser success stories represent the majority or minority of contestants? Show me the pudding (low cal fat free please)!!!!
PS. The pic posted is of the book that Jillian plugged on Joy's show. Once again, I TOTALLY love that she said health and fitness IS IN your diet!!! That is a VERY eastern way of thinking that I'm ABSOLUTELY on board with! "Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be thy food." ~ Aristotle. I'm sooooo getting this book! :)
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