Jillian Michaels Diet Review

I am a 35-year old mother of two, and I work as a nutritionist.

My clients usually seek my advice when trying any new diet (1), and this is how I came across the Jillian Michaels diet.

However, I did not want to recommend a diet without being absolutely sure it worked.

So I followed this diet program, and shed some weight successfully.

The Jillian Michaels Diet

If you don’t know about her already, you should.

She is a personal trainer, a TV personality, an author, and on top of it all, an inspiration for millions around the world.

She is also now a mother of two, but I urge you to have a look at her recent pictures.

Her fitness is better than that of any Hollywood movie actress.

In her childhood, she was short and fat – that’s why she calls her childhood a traumatic journey.

Things changed, and Jillian now holds two personal training certificates.

Her diet program is not about quitting all fats and carbohydrates.

In fact, it is a perfect blend of physical training, mental grooming, and a healthy diet.

Jillian’s diet revolves around understanding your metabolic system and creating a plan for it (2).

There is physical activity involved in the program.

In fact, you are required to exercise for 4 to 5 hours every week.

This is an intense workout regimen, so you are going to face some challenges just like I did.

But I have to admit, when you listen to her motivational words, it becomes easy to overcome this hurdle.

What I liked about her diet is that it is easy and simple.

The main idea of the diet revolves around how many calories you take in and how many you burn.

You are strictly asked to keep away from any fad diets.

Rather than focusing on what you can’t have, you should be focusing on what you can have.

With this program, you work with a personalized exercise routine, and you get access to dozens of tools to lose weight, and recipes that make eating fun.

The recipes are designed to meet the requirements of your metabolism.

How Does It Work?

The basic principles of Jillian’s diet program are self, science, and sweat.

What do these three principles really mean?

Let me explain in detail so you not only understand the program but Jillian’s passion for and perception on helping people lose weight and becoming healthier than before.

Self

This part of the program focuses on your mental health.

It takes into account your emotions in relation to your weight.

Here, Jillian specifically focuses on eating-related problems that arise from a person’s mental state.

For example, you might be eating too much not because you are hungry but due to stress.

Not to mention an overweight person may have other mental challenges around obesity itself.

Her inspirational words are part of her program, so you always feel strengthened to accomplish your weight loss.

Science

When you eat food, you take in calories in the form of nutrients.

It does not matter what type of nutrients you eat; it all comes down to how many calories enter your body on a daily basis.

In this part of the program, you have to keep a count of the calories you are putting in your body daily.

At the same time, you have to count the calories that you are burning.

While counting calories, Jillian’s focus is on knowing your metabolism and then coming up with a personalized diet routine based on your metabolic type.

She divides metabolism into three different types:

• slow oxidizers
• fast oxidizers
• balanced oxidizers

After identifying your metabolic type, Jillian suggests a particular combination of carbs, proteins, and fats that are best suited for your type.

A fast oxidizer is quick at obtaining energy from carbohydrates.

This can cause sudden surges in their blood sugar levels.

For the fast oxidizers, Jillian suggests a diet made up primarily of fats and proteins.

The slow conversion of fats and proteins into energy allows fast oxidizers to have a stable repository of energy available to them during the day.

Slow oxidizers, like me, take a long time to convert carbohydrates into usable energy.

People from this category should eat diets that are made primarily of carbohydrates.

Balanced oxidizers, as the name suggests, are the ones who have a moderate metabolism that converts carbohydrates into energy at an ideal speed.

To identify which category you belong to, you will have to take a quiz.

Sweat

This is the most challenging part of the Jillian Michaels diet program.

However, this is also what sets her program apart from most other diets and fads.

You cannot have good health without exercise.

How your health is directly related to the exercise you do can be understood from this research published in Current Biology (3).

In this program, you are required to exercise for at least 5 hours every week if you want to see the promised results.

Every day, you will exercise for an hour; 10 minutes will be dedicated to warming up, and 50 minutes to intensive exercises.

The exercises you do will be based on the type of dieter you are and your fitness level.

Jillian explains the various muscle groups in your body and tells you which exercises will impact which muscle groups.

The best thing about her exercise routine is that it is a mix of many different workouts.

You will be doing a combination of aerobics, kickboxing, Pilates, yoga, weight lifting, and much more.

What makes her exercise routines such a favorite for so many people is that they can be done at home with ease.

The Jillian Michaels Diet Meal Plan and Exercise Routine

What many people find challenging about the Jillian Michaels diet is that it is not just about your diet, but also about physical training.

Keep in mind that Jillian is a physical trainer first and a diet instructor second.

The diet-related information that you need to do the program is as follows:

• What to Stay Away from Completely

Whenever you start a diet, the first thing you hear is what you have to quit eating.

For this diet, Jillian is really against the use of sugars and added fats that are in almost every packaged item that people eat today.

Preservatives and artificial sweeteners also don’t have a place in the Jillian Michaels diet.

Glutamates and high fructose corn syrup are other ingredients forbidden by this diet.

Any product that has trans fats should be avoided, too.

• What to Eat Rarely

There are certain foods that Jillian does not ask you to completely quit.

But she definitely asks you to reduce them in your daily life as much as possible.

Canned fruits, fat-enriched dairy products, potatoes, etc., are in this category of food.

The big problem here is that people love potatoes in many forms, e.g. mashed potatoes, French fries, etc.

The research on potatoes and their contribution to diabetes shows that regular consumption of potatoes can increase the risk of diabetes type 2 (4).

In addition, you will also have to reduce your use of fatty meats and take as little caffeine as possible in any form.

Jillian Michaels also wants you to eat organic foods as much as possible.

If you are not able to get your hands on organic food, she is “okay” with inorganic produce as well.

However, you should do your best to get access to organic vegetables and fruits.

• What to Eat More

Jillian has created a list of 10 food groups called the power nutrient groups (5).

In these groups are foods like low-fat dairy, seeds, and nuts, fruits, and vegetables, cabbage, and broccoli, whole grains, berries, beans, and peas, eggs and meat, leeks and onions, leafy vegetables, etc.

These are the foods that you should have in your diet regularly.

In the program, she also tells you how you will create combinations of these foods to train your metabolism.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you will be required to eat every four hours.

Another important thing is that you will not eat anything before sleeping, i.e. after 9 pm.

You will never think about skipping breakfast.

It does not matter whether you are eating snacks or your full meal, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins have to be a part of whatever you eat.

Of course, there are many recipes from her to help you prepare great foods.

Packaged foods are a no-no in this diet and so people who need to eat gluten-free can easily follow this diet plan.

Jillian personally loves to eat fish, especially salmon for its protein content.

She also encourages you to eat olives to increase the good cholesterol in your body.

• Exercise

As I told you above, exercise is an important part of Jillian’s diet program.

You will have to exercise for at least an hour every day, and the exercise regimen you follow will include yoga, Pilates, cardio exercises, weight lifting, etc.

The most amazing thing about her exercise program is that the schedule you follow is tailored according to your body and strength.

You won’t require any special equipment for doing her exercises.

People love her exercises because they can do them at home easily.

The Cost of the Jillian Michaels Diet Program

If you research online you will find sources with ample information on how you can follow the Jillian Michaels diet program.

These sources are free, and so the only cost you will have will be for what you will buy when you go grocery shopping.

I had trouble finding the right items in the beginning, and you may have too.

I was also shocked to realize how hard it was to find organic food.

You can join Jillian’s program on a subscription basis from her website.

Of course, to become really fit you have to make healthy living your lifestyle.

This is why I recommend you buy the three-month subscription.

The monthly subscription would cost you $9.99 every month, whereas with the three-month subscription you save $5 at only $24.99.

And if you are really serious about bringing permanent change to your life, there is a yearly subscription for just $89.99.

No matter which plan you choose, there is a free 7-day trial period for you to see if the program is right for you.

If you are passionate about making healthy lifestyle changes, you will not be bothered by the intensity of this program.

And if you are on a diet program that does not seem difficult to you at all, it is a big sign that it may not work.

How is the Jillian Michaels Diet Unique from Other Diets?

First, what sets the Jillian Michaels diet program apart from many others is the fact that it is as realistic as a diet program can be.

There are no false promises and no shortcuts for subscribers of this program (6).

Many fad diets make claims such as losing weight by eating a certain food or completely quitting a particular food type.

There is nothing like that in this diet program. You can eat any natural food.

However, you are strictly told to stay away from preservatives and similar ingredients that have no nutritional or health benefits.

Cost is another great aspect of the Jillian Michaels diet.

Jillian’s diet does not require you to order expensive food from her.

You just pay a small monthly subscription fee for the program and eat according to her instructions.

No more paying double for the food that’s easily available in stores near you.

There are diet programs that revolve completely around meal plans.

They will ask you to quit fats as a whole and start eating a very limited combination of foods on a daily basis.

Jillian never liked this idea.

She believes if your food is free from unnecessary sugars, preservatives, and other unhealthy ingredients, it is good food.

She encourages you to eat organic food but does not put a big “stop” sign on inorganic foods.

Moreover, throughout her program, you focus on calories coming in and calories going out, which is as easy as it can get.

Her diet plan requires you to eat every four hours and enjoy all different types of foods.

You just have to be moderate, and keep an eye on those calories.

Lastly, her diet program is not complete without intensive physical training.

Studies show that most people who lose weight have to make changes not only to their diet but their physical activity as well.

Reviews about the Jillian Michaels Diet

Most customers find Jillian’s words so motivating that they agree to change their lifestyles, even though they had quit the idea permanently after previous failed attempts.

Moms who gain weight after giving birth are special admirers of Jillian.

A 34-year-old mother recalls her worst times during pregnancy when her weight went up to 270 pounds because she could not stop eating.

This woman, with Jillian’s help, was able to reduce her weight to 134 pounds.

Don, a retired Coast Guard, recalls the time when during jobs he gained weight so fast that, within a few years, he was 256 pounds.

This man started the Jillian Michaels diet program as well and shed weight to come down to 190 pounds.

He even lost 12 inches (that’s one foot) around his waist and is able to wear his old pants now.

Most reliable reviewing websites on the internet also agree that Jillian’s diet is not a scam.

However, they all believe that her program is most suited for people who are serious about losing weight.

Precautions

Food and exercise in this program can greatly help you with your overall body health, and certain conditions such heart disease or diabetes.

However, it is best that you talk to your doctor before starting the program.

The intensive exercises can be challenging at times, so people with heart disease should take the necessary precautionary measures before doing them.

Another important note is that you should stick with your medications, even if you feel that your overall condition is getting better after starting the program.

Pregnant women should be even more cautious when trying out this program.

They should take it easy with exercise to avoid injuries.

For diet, too, they should talk to their doctors because they have to eat for their bodies and the babies inside them.

The space you choose for your exercise should be completely flat, and it’s best if there is an exercise mat.

Lastly, it is best if you take the quiz and then go on the diet and exercise plan that is suggested for you.

Don’t make assumptions, because dietary and physical requirements can differ from person to person based on gender, age, health, etc.

Conclusion

Jillian is a trainer who thinks in the most realistic way possible.

She makes a connection with her trainees because she understands their personal goals, preferences, and priorities.

Research has proven that different people can have different perspectives when you ask them about what healthy eating really is.

Simply, you can’t impose your food choices on people, and Jillian understands this.

This is why she is able to help so many people change around the world.

There are thousands of customers who have given positive feedback about the program, and how they were able to lose hundreds of pounds.

Knowing that Jillian’s program requires us to make not only dietary changes but mental and physical improvements as well, this program really works.

However, the most important ingredient for success in this program is commitment.