There are few things that get my goat worse than people who sell magic beans to desperate people. And fitness expert Jillian Michaels just joined that group.
She’s best known as the tough-love trainer on The Biggest Loser who’s made herself a household name through her weight-loss books and exercise DVDs. Generally her advice falls in the sound “eat less and move more” category. Her best-selling book Master Your Metabolism has been praised up and down by health fanatics for her balanced approach to weight control and not relying on anything other than good old diet and exercise.
So imagine my disappointment when I found out she has now plastered her face on some hocus pocus diet pills:
My new proprietary, scientifically developed weight-control and body-shaping formulations are designed to cut through all the diet jargon and help you get the results you want.
This is where you start to change your life, to get thinner, stronger, and healthier, shedding excess pounds by changing your eating and exercise habits, and finding the emotional support that will turn failure into success.
My new formulations can help you make it all possible. Believe me, you can change your life. I know it, I’ve lived it, I understand it, and I changed it… YOU can too!
That formula, by the way, is based on bitter orange extract — an unregulated herb. The National Institutes of Health is pretty clear that they think it’s suspect: “There have been reports of fainting, heart attack, and stroke in healthy people after taking bitter orange supplements.”
Not to mention that at $87 per bottle, the only weight you’re guaranteed to lose is in your wallet.
Related posts:
- Biggest Loser’s Jillian Michaels Sued Over Fraudulent Diet Pills It’s fine and dandy to laugh at the expense of...
- Jeremy Piven Sticks to Fish-Free Diet, B.S. Story About Needing Fish-Free Diet You’ve been wondering whatever happened to the ol’ Pivenator, right?...
- Michael Phelps Is A Sore Loser Swimming champ Michael Phelps has lost his first race since...
- Kirstie Alley Headlines Weight-Loss TV Show, Book, Website Kirstie Alley is reportedly at her all-time heaviest weight at...
- Kim Kardashian Credits Quick Cure for Killer Curves Kim Kardashian made her appearance at New York Fashion Week...
I have never liked this woman. As a personal trainer myself, her behavior towards her clients is terrible. I don’t know one trainer who would keep their clients if they spoke to them and about them in such a negative manner. That she is shilling something that is unsafe and contrary to what personal trainers are taught is of no suprise to me. That people look up to her is a big suprise to me.
And on the snide side – what is up with the adams apple?
Typical I’m-going-to-be-overtough-because-I’m-a-woman woman.
I’d hit it…but I’d be afraid she hit me back!
Jrod, unless you have a vagina, you’re probably right.
I heard that her implants are made of bitter orange extract.
She’s a celebrity personal trainer on TV–which already indicates she’s in it for herself, right? So since we’ve already established that all she does is for Numero Uno, it makes perfect sense that she’d sell diet pills to snag an extra buck or two.
Because it’s alll about her. Right?
I’m hypnotized by her teeth.
Well, you got to admit…after several seasons of The Biggest Loser, if someone got on the show its not like they don’t already know what to expect from her. She’s made enough people cry that it’d be hard to miss out on that, unless you live in a cave somewhere. Not taking up for her, just saying……
I think she’s angry and bitter because she has a tiny little penis.
So, has anybody read this paragraph properly?
That formula, by the way, is based on bitter orange extract — an unregulated herb. The National Institutes of Health is pretty clear that they think it’s suspect: “There have been reports of fainting, heart attack, and stroke in healthy people after taking bitter orange supplements.”
Isn’t this stuff being marketed to overweight / “unhealthy” people? Why are there reports of healthy people taking it? Wouldn’t that be like people who have no trouble sleeping, taking sleeping pills?
Rogueydog: You can be overweight and still be healthy, have no history of stroke or heart disease, and then boom — you take the pills and they make you sick. And normal weight people take diet pills, too, usually to lose “vanity pounds.”
That’s right, a large percentage of diet pill users aren’t overweight at all, they just have a poor self-image of themselves and feel that even with exercise they don’t look as thin as they want to. Diet pills prey on these insecurities, it’s pretty sick.
I just took a look at the label of her diet pills. The bitter orange extract or other citrus extracts are not what I would be worried about. You would have to be on a medication where you couldn’t consume grapefruit, it contains grapefruit extract, or other citrus components to worry about have a bad interaction. The top half of the components have legitimate medical uses if used in combination with a healthy diet AND for a limited time. However it would be the bottom part of the ingredients label that I would be concerned about. Three of the ingredients are: coffee (bean) extract standardized to 70% caffeine, Guarana (seed) extract standardized to 12% caffeine, and kola nut extract (seed) extract standardized to 12% caffeine. A legitimate weight loss supplement should include nutrients that are necessary for fat metabolism, liver function, digestion and/or proper metabolic function. There is no need for caffeine to be in a diet pill. If your metabolism is not functioning properly is due to some form of malnutrition – i.e. bad nutrition. Your body needs the nutrients its lacking not a stimulant. If you guys get a chance go to http://www.westonaprice.org/ to get some proper info on health.
Adding to the snide side here, and kinda also related to Beige’s comment: What’s that pendant around her neck…umm…err…?
The pendant around her neck looks like an ancient Incan tool that was used to cut through skulls, if I have correctly remembered some of my Grade 6 studies on the Incas. They may have been an ancient civilization, but they were pretty advanced in medical sciences, I think.
Holly Won’t & The Irish: I completely understand that even if you’re overweight, you can be healthy, and also that healthy people with low self-esteem/body image may take these types of gimmick pills.
What I was actually trying get across was that if we are going to scrutinize a person for what they do, then is it not fair to scrutinize what groups do as well? i.e. this website.
Yes, we should all know by now that nobody is all that they’re cracked up to be. Everything in the media should be taken with a grain of salt. I don’t frequent these websites, I was just sent a link to this by someone, and I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. To me, this website is almost borderline Perez Hilton-ish, but with a different twist.
She’s a moron, but I really hate how most people’s first gripe about her is always how ‘mean’ she is. I’ve caught a few episodes of the show over the years and frankly I think more trainers should have the balls to call people out.
If you’re fat and you get a trainer, it’s obviously because you don’t want to be fat anymore. That means their job is to make you not fat, not to be your friend, or your support group. Does my doctor make sure my self esteem isn’t going to be effected before telling me to stop with the damn smoking already? No, because it’s for my health. Same with trainers, because lets face it, if you don’t kick their ass a little bit most people just don’t have the self control to stick with anything for more than a few weeks, and again it is their job to make sure you stick with it.
That’s the problem most people have with weight loss to begin with – they expect it to be easy. Just like diet pills :~) See how I tied it all back into her being a hypocrite after defending her? That’s what backbiting looks like when a pro does it.
Scott – I have to disagree with you there. I deal with very heavy clients (with BMI’s over 40) and they realize they must loose weight. They do work hard. They get disappointed in themselves for not being able to things. They fall off the wagon, and like most people who have hired a personal trainer, they get back on that wagon and try again.
There is being firm and consistent with the information you give to your clients, and then there is being rude and disrespectful. (I do understand that she is shilling a tv show, but look at what she has said when she thought the camera and mikes were off.) It is the total lack of respect for the clients that makes me upset because it doesn’t help someone who already had major self esteem issues in the first place.
Not to nitpick because I actually agree with you, Scott, but there’s really not a lot a personal trainer can do to make you lose weight. Unless they’re following you around 24/7 to make sure you’re not chasing your workout with a box of Twinkies, it really does come down to how committed you are deep down to changing your body.
(And just to disclose, I built this particular soapbox because I lost a few pounds while working with a personal trainer and everyone was like “oh, it’s because you have a trainer.” No, it’s because I worked my ass off. The trainer was just there for motivation/accountability and correcting my lifting form.)
Is she related to Kirstie Alley? Just looking at facial features. . . of course the irony factor would be WAYYY high. . .
I’m with ya Jrod. And I don’t even care if she hit me back.
She’s smokin’.
I don’t know guys, those bulging biceps and shark teeth would put a serious hurt on you. Of course, I’d take the chance. I live life on the wild side!!!!!!
*** STILL haven’t seen Chris Brown on the freeways, and the veggies are getting rancid!***
I loved my personal trainer; I think if she’d been more critical I wouldn’t have been able to keep coming back. She was incredibly encouraging and helped a ton with my self-image. But I was also going to her to change my body composition, so I was getting more “Eat more protein!” than “Put down the Twinkie!” Still, I couldn’t see her being very critical with ANY of her clients – that isn’t usually a good way to motivate people.
Ln, you can be my trainer any day.
Also, I am jealous of her arms. I’m not gonna lie. I want some Battlestar Galactica chick arms.
Swede, the more rancid they get, the better the effect! Just make sure you put ‘em in something that’ll conceal the odor until the glorious moment you see that most eloquent artist picking up trash on the side of the road.
My sentiments exactly with this post. And of all people it’s the eat right/move guru. I’m actually a long-time Jillian Michael’s fan, but concur that PILL & DRUG “Formulations” are not generally necessary (when partaking in a balanced diet), specifically “fat burners”.
I wish every stupid magazine that has fawned all over her and asked her for diet advice knew about this. As someone who has issues with body image and tries to lose weight all the time, I’m infuriated that someone who appeared to have good advice is just another hosebeast trying to sell me diet pills.
Our local gym is owned by a personal trainer who has degrees in nutrition and biology, and she told me once that she has met so many people who claim to be personal trainers and not only have no background in nutrition or even anatomy, but they also tend to set their clients up with dangerously bad diets and workouts. There’s very little, if any, regulation or formal training; Women’s Health reported that clients are starting to sue in droves, whether for “cleanses” that made them collapse or workouts that damaged their kidneys. F$#! you, Jill, and f$#! your herbal speed pills!
I’d love for the media to call her out on this, but they’re all a bunch of wusses. I don’t think any TV show or magazine would take this on.
you said that bitter orange is an unregualted herb…well guess what ALL vitamins, supplements, diet pills, and stuff like that are unregulated. the FDA does not regulate those things so even if you take a multi-vit it is just as unregulated as te bitter orange.
I’ve lost almost fifty pounds with Jillian’s work-out videos.. and of course eating right. Being able to mute the tv and turn on some music is a lot better than having to handle her in person. She’s tough.. but her work out videos work, not to mention they’re pretty easy for giving such great results. I was pretty surprised to see she had diet pills as well, but she’s gotta make money somehow and diet pills are pretty much the only thing she hasn’t done yet. I support her. I may not like her personality and I tend to dodge watching The Biggest Loser so I don’t have to hear her man-voice or see her putting people down, but she does give results and she’s good at what she does. I can’t blame her or hate on her for anything.
She is a complete sell out. She partnered with a Licensing Agent and he is the CEO of her company. If you set up as the CEO of your company a person whose only job, only claim to fame is matching vapid celebrities looking for a paycheck with useless unmarketable products you are clearly only looking to make money off of your fame.
I laughed my way through these comments, but I want to point out something even more disturbing. Jillian Michaels defends her products as being all natural. Everyone seems to want to take her ingredient lists on good faith. I wrote a blog entry about her cleanse + detox (seriously though a cleanse isn’t enough of a scam, you need to double it up by making it a cleanse + detox, how greedy can you get in the world of scams), and she tweeted me to state that her cleanse was developed by one of the leading bariatrics doctors in the world, Dr. Arnold (sic, it is Arne) Astrup, and I should educate myself if I was going to comment. The blog entry is here: http://youarenotafitperson.com/2009/09/29/jillian-micheals-say-it-aint-so-jill/
I looking into it, and found out that her cleanse is made by Basic Research, the company that settled with the FTC for making ‘Fat dissolving gels’ and children’s diet pills!! She lied about who developed her cleanse!! I wouldn’t believe a word about what is in it. You can read about the whole story here: http://bit.ly/RQ6pS
Arne Astrup responded to my email asking if he was involved in the cleanse and he said he was not involved in developing her cleanse and detox.
I can’t believe that we aren’t reading this information from the large news sources, but all we hear from them is that Jillian Michaels has a new tv show… I am not sure who the bigger sell outs are.
I came across this site because it bugged me that she was hocking “diet pills”. If I remember right she was all mad at some peeps from like season one or two of BL for takeing them at all and now she promotes them. Oh… they must be supplements,like a vitamin, and that’s differant right. Whatever. I still believe in a balanced exercise program, cardio & weights, and good nutrition for a healthy body. I am just lazy and no diet pill, even caffine, is going to cure that. That is something I need to do on my own. Well I am off to my exercise class… maybe. A shout out to all the PT’s that taught me proper form, my back thanks you.
can’t agree more and so glad someone said it! I was so disappointed to see her face on a bottle of diet pills and it really lessened her credibility for me, a healthy and fit fan who often recommends her workout DVDs and use them myself! Shame on you, Jillian!
First of all the maturity of the post is astounding! For one I agree Jillian is tougher probably than she needs to be on Biggest Loser, however I’m sure the people’s lives she has saved by the dramatic weight loss could care less if she was hard on them. As for the post about nutrients her supplements are not toted as vitamins. You should be taking daily vitamins whether or not you choose to add a diet supplement is a seperate issue. Natural caffeine i.e coffee bean extract and guarnana are good for you by helping to create energy which we can probably all agree when someone is out of shape and trying to start a diet and exercise program extra energy can make or break your success. Bitter orange extract is NOT bad for you when used in moderation. I love the people who freak out because it’s an unregualted herb. Yes I would much rather take some lab generated synthetic medication that is making drug companies millions until someone dies from it. Herbs are much better and safer if you know what you are doing and don’t take 100 times the amount you are supposed to. Just the Ephedra, people fainted and had strokes due to their own idiocy thinking if one is good 10 is better. When thinking about starting anything whether it be diet, exercise, supplements do your own research folks and quit relying on doctors shoving a pill down your throat, and hit the pavement!!
Angela- 1. It’s still hypocritical that Ms. Jillian is hawking diet pills (or supplements or whatever the crap she’s calling them. 2. NO, you do NOT need to be taking vitamins everyday. If you have a healthy, nutritious, well-balanced diet, you DON’T NEED vitamin supplements.
I agree w/all as I find the fact that she is ‘hawking her goods’ should not be allowed by the Biggest Loser program – as a personal trainer – she needs to go – scary that Bob – other trainer is now hyped in the ads as a villianous person.
Hope her attitude didn’t rub off on him – the contestants will not only lose weight, but ‘inner’ self-esteem as there is ‘no taking back the words’ even if only all are only acting!
I have some real issues with Jillian Michaels. Here is the rant from the AntiBiggestLoser.com blog about the hypocrisy of Jillian Michaels hawking diet pills:
“It should be noted that Ms. Michaels is currently being sued for endorsing the weight loss product “Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control” because the product and a Web site ad include the claim, “Two Capsules Before Main Meals and You Lose Weight … That’s It!”
Perhaps she forgot what she wrote in the “Dispelling Myths” section of her book Winning by Losing:
“Diet pills and surgical weight loss options are two more examples of detrimental quick fixes. Diet products and procedures are simply gimmicks that target people’s apathy and hopelessness about their own health.”
I guess targeting people’s hopelessness is only OK if the buck lands in your pocket.”
Thank you all so much for blogging and educating me. I was on my way to buy Jillian’s diet pills from GNC. Yes, I do know that there are no quick fixes. I have been working to change my eating habits and increase my workouts, but the weight loss is so slow. I got a little desperate and visited GNC. The sales person told me that Jillian’s products were good and that no one had returned them the way they returned the Kardashian’s diet pills. I am so glad that I read this blog along with others that clearly slapped me back into reality. All diet pills contains similar ingredients and have risks.
I am a little taken back that Jillian would promote diet pills for weight loss when she’s said that weight loss takes hard word, healthy eating and regular exercise. Wow, things are really about the money and selling reputations to the highest bidder.