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Definition
The Jillian Michaels diet focuses
on self, science,and sweat to help dieters achieve weight loss, toning, and
increased health and fitness.
Origins
 Jillian
Michaels is best known as one of the stars of the popular television program
‘‘The Biggest Loser.’’ ‘‘The Biggest Loser’’ aired on NBC, and pitted two teams
of significantly overweight individuals against each other to see who could lose
the most weight. Jillian Michaels was the strength trainer and life coach for
one of the teams of contestants. The strategies that she used to help her
contestants lose weight are some of the techniques that inspired her diet and
exercise program.
In addition to being a television
personality, Jillian Michaels is also the co-owner of the Sky Sport and Spa
fitness club in Beverly Hills, California. She is certified by two programs that
certify personal trainers, the National Exercise and Sports Trainers
Association, and the American Fitness Association of America. She also has been
doing martial arts since the age of 14, and is experienced in Muay Thai and
Akarui-Do, two forms of martial arts. She has achieved the status of black belt
in Akarui-Do. Michaels believes that she brings a special understanding of the
needs of people struggling with their weight to her program because she has not
always been fit herself. At one time she reports that she was 50 pounds
overweight. She used her own experiences becoming fit and healthy to help her
design a program that would help other people reach their weight and fitness
goals.
Description
Jillian Michaels’ diet begins
with a very basic premise. This premise is that for weight loss to occur
calories going out have to be greater than calories coming in. Calories out
include all calories lost through basic day to day activities and the calories
burned providing energy to the body’s cells during the day. This base line
caloric use is added to the number of calories that are burned during exercise.
Calories in include all calories
from any food and drink consumed during the day. To lose weight the calories out
need to be greater than the calories coming in. This way fat will be broken down
to provide the additional calories needed by the body.
The diet can be customized to allow a dieter to
determine how many calories should be consumed each day based on how many
calories are being expended during the day generally, how many are being used
through exercise, and what a person’s specific weight loss goals are. A pound of
fat is comprised of about 3500 calories. That means that to lose a pound each
week a dieter would have to use up 3500 more calories than are taken in that
week. Spread evenly thought the week this means that each day 500 more calories
should be used than are taken in.
So
if a dieter calculates that he or she is using 2000 calories a day that person
should consume 1500 each day to lose one pound per week.
Jillian Michaels breaks her diet down into three parts: self, science, and
sweat. Each of these parts comprises one of the parts she feels is important for
successful, long-term weight loss and better health. Her diet provides
information, recommendations, and opportunities for the dieter to customize
their program in each of these areas.
By ‘‘self’’ Michaels means all of the psychological and
emotional issues and problems associated with eating, bad habits, and being
overweight. She shares many of her own insights that she gained from when she
was overweight, and ways that she managed to overcome her own problems. Michaels
focuses largely on ways to change problem behaviors. Problem behaviors include
any kind of eating behaviors that stem from reasons other than hunger or
necessary nutrition. These include eating
when a person feels stressed or upset
instead of when they are hungry. Michaels believes
that it is important to identify and change these problem behaviors
because these are often the reasons that people have difficulty controlling
their calorie intake. She provides suggestions for ways to change these
behaviors, and offers alternative ways to deal with the underlying issues such
as stress. She also deals with issues like the emotional aspects of being
overweight. Throughout all of her diet and exercise program she provides
inspiration to help the dieter overcome any setbacks and find the inner force to
keep going and meet their goals.
‘‘Science’’
means information about basic nutrition and how the body uses food and calories.
Michaels believes that the reason many diets do not work for most people is that
they are general, and not designed to meet the individual needs of the dieter.
To this end she believes that there are three different ways that people
metabolize food, and that the diet cannot be successful unless it is
specifically designed for the dieter’s metabolic type. The three types she
identifies are fast oxidizers, slow oxidizers, and balanced oxidizers.
 Michaels
believes that dieters with different metabolic types need different combinations
of fats,
protein, and carbohydrate to make their
meals the most efficient for that dieter. Fast oxidizers change the
carbohydrates in their food to energy
very quickly, and so tend to have spikes of blood sugar right after meals.
Because of this Michaels says that people who are fast oxidizers should eat
meals that have higher levels of protein and fats, which are converted to energy
more slowly, and lower amounts of carbohydrates, so that the energy levels are
more stable during the periods after and between meals.
Slow oxidizers are the opposite of fast oxidizers, and they have metabolisms
that break down carbohydrates
into energy very slowly. Michaels suggests that slow oxidizers should eat meals
that contain large percentages of carbohydrates, and lower amounts of fats and
proteins. Balanced oxidizers should eat balanced amounts of all three, fats,
proteins, and carbohydrates.
This is because their metabolism
converts food neither very quickly nor very slowly. Michaels provides a detailed
quiz to determine what kind of metabolizer a dieter is so that menus can be
customized effectively.
‘‘Sweat’’
refers to exercise. Michaels believes that not only is exercise the most
effective way to increase the number of calories going out, but that in addition
to the calories used during the actual exercise, the
average number of calories going out
during regular daily activities increases as overall fitness and muscle mass
increases.
Michaels believes in a balanced
combination of cardiovascular exercises and strength training. She suggests
exercising for 60 minutes a day, with five minutes at the beginning and the end
being used for stretching, warm up and cool down, and 50 minutes being used for
the rigorous exercise. She provides many different exercises and routines that
be customized for the fitness level of the dieter. She also provides information
about how muscles work, what the main muscle groups are, and which exercises are
best for training which areas of the body. Her exercises and routines draw from
many different areas of fitness such as Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, weight
lifting, and traditional aerobics. One aspect of her exercise routines that she
finds very helpful to many dieters is that her exercises are designed to be done
at home, and she says that there is no need to join a gym.
Function
Jillian Michaels’ diet and
exercise program is intended to allow people to lose weight, become more fit,
and achieve better overall health and well being. She also intends it to give
people the ability to feel better and more empowered in their daily lives as
they take control of their weight, appearance, and health.
Benefits
There are many benefits to losing
weight and being more fit. The benefits of weight loss can be very significant,
and are even greater for people who are the most obese. People who are obese are
at higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, and many other diseases and
disorders. The risk and severity of these disorders is generally greater the
more obese a person is. Weight loss, if achieved at a moderate pace through a
healthy diet and regular exercise can reduce the risk of these and many other
obesity-related diseases. Increased exercise can also reduce the risk of
cardiovascular and other diseases.
Precautions
 Anyone
thinking of beginning a new diet and exercise regimen should consult a medical
practitioner. Requirements of calories, fat, and nutrients can differ
significantly from person to person, depending on gender, age, weight, and many
other factors such as the presence of any disease or conditions. Pregnant or
breastfeeding
women should be especially cautious
because deficiencies of
vitamins
or
minerals
can have a significant negative impact on
a baby.
Exercising too strenuously can
cause injury, and exercise should be started gradually until the dieter knows
what level of intensity is appropriate. It is especially important with this
diet to remember that the contestants on ‘‘The Biggest Loser’’ did work out many
hours a day and adhere to strict diets, and that although they lost a lot of
weight in a relatively short amount of time this will not necessarily be the
result for all dieters.
Contestants on the show were were
closely monitored by physicians and other professionals, and had diet and
exercise plans were specifically tailored to their dietary needs and level of
fitness.
Risks
With any diet or exercise plan
there are some risks. It is often difficult to get enough of some vitamins and
minerals when eating a limited diet. Anyone beginning a diet may want to consult
their physician about whether taking a vitamin or supplement might help them
reduce this risk. Injuries can occur during exercise, such as strained or
sprained muscles, and proper warm up and cool down procedures should be followed
to minimize these risks. It is often best to begin with light or moderate
exercise and increase the intensity slowly over weeks
or months to minimize the risk of
serious injury that could occur if strenuous exercise is begun suddenly and the
body is not sufficiently prepared.
Research and general
acceptance
Jillian Michael’s diet has not been the
subject of any significant scholarly research. It was the diet followed by many
of the contestants on NBC’s ‘‘The Biggest Loser’’.
Many of those contestants had problems with obesity-related diseases and
conditions when they began the show. These included diabetes, sleep apnea, and
high cholesterol levels. By the end of the show, when large amounts of weight
had been lost and better fitness had been achieved, many of the contestants no
longer suffered from these conditions, or had reduced symptoms, and some were
even able to discontinue many of their medications. These results do not
necessarily represent what is likely to occur for a person following the more
general form of the diet on their own at home. These results also did not
necessarily result from this specific diet, but were more likely to be the
result of the weight loss achieved through reduced caloric intake and increased
exercise.
There is, however, no reported scientific evidence to suggest that people can be
fats or slow oxidizers. These terms and quiz are created BY Jillian Michaels.
Although this diet has not been studied specifically, limiting caloric intake,
eating a diet low in fats and carbohydrates and high in vegetable and plant
products is generally accepted as a healthy diet for most people. As of 2007 the
U.S. Center for Disease Control recommended a minimum of 30 minutes per day of
light to moderate exercise for healthy adults.
Following Michael’s fitness and exercise program would exceed these minimum
recommendation.
Resources
BOOKS
Michaels, Jillian. Making the Cut: The 30-day diet and
fitness plan for the strongest, sexiest you. New York: Crown,
2007.
Michaels, Jillian. Winning by Losing: Drop the weight,
change your life. New York: Collins, 2005.
Shannon, Joyce Brennfleck ed. Diet and Nutrition
Sourcebook.
Detriot, MI: Omnigraphics, 2006.
Willis, Alicia P. ed. Diet Therapy Research Trends.
New York: Nova Science, 2007.
ORGANIZATIONS
American Dietetic Association. 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000, Chicago,
Illinois 60606-6995. Telephone:
(800) 877-1600. Website:
<http://www.eatright.org>
OTHER
Michaels, Jillian.
‘‘Jillian Michaels: Real Weight Loss for Real People.’’
Waterfront Media Inc.
2007. <http://www.jillianmichaels.com>
(March 20, 2007).
The Biggest Winner - How to Win by Losing: Cardio Kickbox.
DVD. Genius Entertainment, 2005. |
