Entertainment Weekly says last night was The Biggest Loser’s best episode of the season. Old contestants squared off against young contestants, trainers played favorites, there was a field trip to the circus and the drama/betrayal level was high.
I won’t tell you exactly what happened in case it’s still waiting on your DVR, but suffice it to say that Shay and Daniel were on Jay Leno last night.
Losers, losers, losers. They work their butts off every week – usually at the behest of trainers that jump back and forth over the line between encouragement and emotional abuse with ease – and then stand up to see who has earned the privilege of staying for another week. And, as with many reality shows, there are alliances and sabotage, game-playing and tears. Always, always, tears.
The biggest winner in all this? Well, NBC does pretty well, considering that the show is in its fifth season and often high in the ratings. And the contestants, most of whom lose many, many pounds – do come out ahead, with a jumpstart on their futures. But the biggest winner of all may be Jillian Michaels.
Michaels is the lean and toned female personal trainer on The Biggest Loser. She pushes contestants to work out for hours a day on the show, pulling no punches when it appears someone might be slacking. And in her spare time, she sells books (“Master Your Metabolism”, exercise DVDs (the “30-Day Shred” -- see what I mean about attitude?) -- and dietary supplements like mad.
An excerpt from a Time article earlier this year:
Q. You recently said that by the time The Biggest Loser contestants come to you they're half dead. What did you mean by that?
A. Yes, I said "half-dead" And everybody was like, "oh, I can't believe she said that." Are people just not tuning into the show? We've got 30-year-olds whose internal organs are 60. If we were having this conversation about somebody who was a drug addict or somebody who had anorexia or bulimia, we would openly admit that it was suicide.
Q. So what do you think is the number one worst thing people are doing to their bodies right now?
A. Oh my God, they eat processed food and it is horrifying to me! You look at people, they'll be having a sandwich on white bread with turkey. Okay, well, the turkey's probably processed, meaning it's got nitrates in it. And of course white bread doesn't grow white. It's stripped of all its nutrients and all its fiber. High fructose corn syrup: poison. Artificial sweeteners: poison. Artificial coloring: poison. MSG: poison. Nitrates: poison. Unload all those things and you're off to a good start.
Q. Tell us about the three diet secrets from your new book.
A. People tend to think that metabolism is genetically predetermined. That you're either cursed or you're blessed. And that's not true. You can dramatically affect the expression of your metabolism and your biochemistry by the way you eat and the way you live. So, the first part of the plan is to remove all of the chemicals in your environment — your cleaning supplies, your beauty supplies and your food supply. The second part is to restore power nutrients to your diet. The third part is to make some easy changes to rebalance your life, everything from getting enough sleep, to working out correctly, to what time of the day you should work out, to how much you should be eating.
Michaels has a weight-loss site of her own, and offers a newsletter you can receive in email. She has Facebook and MySpace pages, and 62,643 followers on Twitter (Recent tweet: “I’m so sore I want to cry. Still have level 2 of kettlebells left today and “yoga meltdown” all day tomorrow. Kill me.”). She certainly isn’t a slacker herself.
But is she the key to your weight loss?
One of the most popular threads on EmpowHer is one where readers are discussing Michaels’ weight-loss supplements, comparing their experiences. Results vary, of course; some people are very happy, others report no change. As with any weight-loss program, it’s a certainty that those who reduce their calories and increase their activity are going to do better than those who just take the supplements and wait for results. But even with that in mind, readers’ experiences vary vastly. It’s just plain hard work. Take a look:
https://www.empowher.com/community/ask/jillian-michaels-diet-pills-do-they-really-work
What about you? Are you a fan of The Biggest Loser? If you had the chance, would you go on the show? Have you read Jillian Michaels' book or tried her DVDs? Lost weight on her supplements? We'd love to hear your thoughts.
The Time Q&A with Michaels:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1897204,00.html
The Entertainment Weekly recap:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20318980,00.html
NBC’s Biggest Loser site:
http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/
The EmpowHer thread:
https://www.empowher.com/community/ask/jillian-michaels-diet-pills-do-they-really-work
Jillian Michaels’ weight loss site:
http://www.jillianmichaels.com/