Jillian Michaels is a joke!

BondBomb

Jillian is no longer just a personality. She has become a 'brand'.
And anyone that knows anything about brand management knows she is not personally involved with every decision that is made. Some are made 'for' her. They slap her name and picture on a product and thats about the extent of it.
Odds are someone on her staff threw a piece of paper in front of her and told her it made good business sense.
Maybe its somewhat irresponsible on her part - but thats every brand. And no one is perfect.

And just because she is a trainer doesnt mean she isnt interested in fame and fortune like most people. Well at least the fortune part. People have to take some personal responsibility. Are you going to sue Ronnie from Jersey Shore if Xenadrine doesnt work for you?

kyle4jem

Jillian is no longer just a personality. She has become a 'brand'.
And anyone that knows anything about brand management knows she is not personally involved with every decision that is made. Some are made 'for' her. They slap her name and picture on a product and thats about the extent of it.
Odds are someone on her staff threw a piece of paper in front of her and told her it made good business sense.
Maybe its somewhat irresponsible on her part - but thats every brand. And no one is perfect.

And just because she is a trainer doesnt mean she isnt interested in fame and fortune like most people. Well at least the fortune part. People have to take some personal responsibility. Are you going to sue Ronnie from Jersey Shore if Xenadrine doesnt work for you?

I've no beef with Ms Michaels... to be honest I was not that familiar with her until I joined MFP.

I know her fitness DVDs are exceptionally popular and have delivered some amazing success.

But what I do find flabbergasting is if she is as acclaimed a nutritional and fitness expert as has been suggested, surly she should not be endorsing any product she does not have full knowledge of?

edorice

She is just like every other get rich capitalist. I'm glad that I downloaded her workout videos from a Torrent website and didn't give her any money!

So, you advocate stealing and are against trying to make money. :huh:

tiggerbounce411

MMMkay..so when did this turn into a slam fest? If you don't want to do her videos, then don't. If you get hurt doing any workout video, you are doing it too hard, or you didn't stretch enough first. If you feel like you need to stop, stop. Your body should've told you that you were at a limit before you injured yourself. As for the pills, there is no "get thin quick" solution. You HAVE to make yourself learn self control and you HAVE to put effort into it. People that sue for not losing weight after taking any kind of pills have one problem..they haven't put down the fork and made better eating choices. Period.
Just sayin.

tiggerbounce411

AFAA is a rubber stamp cert. A trained monkey could get one.

Funny how the governer of my state also said about correctional officers..which was my profession...could be trained from monkeys also and boy is he wrong. I like how those that live in glass houses throw stones. Lets all stop the bashing, it's VERY negative.

tammihart

Lol, this is like blaming Ronald McDonald for selling fat-filled lard burgers that makes kids obese...

I agree!

GreenLifeGirl

Jillian Michael's DVDs are excellent. They get the job done and I have actually bought them, rather than attaining them illegally. I think it is a judgement call, but I would find out more info before blasting her.

The first lawsuit was from a woman who was mad that the "magic" pills wouldn't make her loose weight, while eating whatever she wanted. Seriously. What do you expect?

The second lawsuit is related to an herb (citrus aurantium, often found in marmalade jam - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitter_orange) that is found in many diet pills as an appetite suppressant and because it is an herb, is not regulated by the FDA.

Diet pills are ridiculous. I don't care who recommended them, even a doctor...I wouldn't take them. But I wouldn't knock her great training that has been extremely effective for thousands of people. Just check out countless success stories on the forum.

One article that might be helpful....

http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/02/19/jillian-michaels-sued-over-weight-loss-pills/

liftingbro

I don't have a problem with Jillian wanting to make money, heck I'd be grabbing every dollar I could get if I were her. However, the issue here is that she's totally selling out. She has stated very clearly, serveral times on TBL that supplements are bad, then she turns around and sells them. She slaps her name and face on crap quality products.

She has a huge amount of influence on people from doing the Biggest Loser show. A lot of those people don't know that the products are crap or that the supplments may be harmful/useless. A lot of people will buy her products thinking they're good products because she's a fitness expert.

I think if she wasn't basically going against everything she made herself out to be on the show, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

daniellesb1

Seriously - it is very well divulged now how ANY type of Diet Pill is harmful for you. If you pay money for them, and take them - it's YOUR choice.

And it's YOUR choice to pay for her DVDs (of course you can also just steal from her with illegal downloads...).

But bottomline is : there is no magic pill for weight loss.

It is all about hard work - be it in dieting with healthy choices and exercising, how ever you chose to do so. And once again - this is all about what YOU chose, and how YOU chose to live your life.

To me, I have decided this will be a lifestyle for me - and this lifestyle will NOT include any harmful diet pills. And hey, I am not a Jillian lover, by far (she REALLY annoys me!) but one of the DVDs that I do workout to has been her 30 Day Shred. And it has worked for me.

But I also have other DVDs by other people that I paid money for - and not once am I thinking : this person is a Capitalist and out to steal my money...

If you dont believe in her - just dont buy her DVDs or anything else from her, for that matter.

It is YOUR choice, you know ?

I dont mean to offend anyone with this post, and apologize in advance if I have - but I am just surprised at all the replies, with a lot of them being negative and slightly disrespectful..... Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

But at the end of the day - YOU chose what you want to do.......

Debbe2

Wow, I had no idea. Got a Jillian Michaels publicity education this morning reading the comments.

vick9180

Also, she is a trainer...she's a certified trainer with the same certification that I hold through AFAA...

AFAA is a rubber stamp cert. A trained monkey could get one.

Regardless of how you feel about AFAA as a certification, it's a nationally recognized and accredited cert to hold. Unfortunately, certs mean more in the fitness industry than having an education. I currently hold an AFAA cert....do I think it's the best? No...but I don't feel like I could have just walked in off the street with no education and passed the exam either. And people believe what I say more because I have a cert to back my education....seems a little backwards, but oh well.

People would still slam Michaels if she held an ACE or ACSM certification because of who she is. She's famous! She has people who love her and people who despise her. Same thing with Twilight movies, Nickelback and Wal-Mart! It just goes with the territory.

I set up a profile before on her website with nutrition info, and never once did any of her nutrition advice say "use my cleanse" or "take my pill" as part of her fitness or nutrition plan. Everything that was set up on there included whole foods, recipes, and balanced exercise and strength routines. And none of her routines said, "use my 30DS"...it was all stuff you do at the gym or at home. IMO, her website would have been the prime place to implement those products into her fitness and nutrition recommendations, but she doesn't do that. The only product I ended up buying because of her website are my K-Swiss Tubes, and I just thought they were cute!

My whole point is really that people will believe whatever the media puts in front of them. We hear things in the media and people believe it all! Fitness experts get sued all the time....so do doctors. It's why there's a product called liability insurance. We tend to only see the lawsuits that happen to famous people because they're famous and publicized. Granted, when you're a no name, you're not gonna get approached to endorse any products that are ineffective, but someone might get injured while working with you and go talk to a lawyer. It's the nature of the profession.

Quilled

Did a bit of looking into this (le gasp!)

This lawsuit is on a detox and cleanse supplement. You can call it a 'diet pill' if you want but its not the typical "Take these pills and you will lose 50lb doing nothing!" pill. Its supposed to be a 'flush' pill, that takes down bloat and helps to remove toxins. From what I can gather, its basically a diuretic with some other herbs that may or may not be helpful.

The items in the pills are NOT poison, its the lawsuit CLAIMING they are poison they have not been ruled as poisonous by diet and toxocologists, all of which ruled that the amounts in the pills and the length of time the instructions say you are supposed to take them were safe. There are 3 ingredients causing controversy

Chinese Rhubarb- can cause cramping and diarrhea but is usually fine if not taken for more than 8 days (the supplement is only supposed to be taken for 7 days)

irish moss- can cause ulcers if taken over a long period of time (supplement is only 7 days)

bearberry-can cause nausea and vomiting

The bottle warns people to stop if they get diarrhea or vomiting from taking the pills.

I dont like the idea of diet pills either but this is far from being poisonous as long as people follow the instructions, not to mention the doses of the questionable items in the pills is so low that toxicologists basically said its not lethal or even really dangerous but could cause some digestive issues.

The worst ruling on all the studies on these pills so far is that the pills wont help you 'flush' your system just flush a few pounds of water weight thus making the pills pretty well useless, but far from poisonous.

amsandin

Seriously - it is very well divulged now how ANY type of Diet Pill is harmful for you. If you pay money for them, and take them - it's YOUR choice.

And it's YOUR choice to pay for her DVDs (of course you can also just steal from her with illegal downloads...).

But bottomline is : there is no magic pill for weight loss.

It is all about hard work - be it in dieting with healthy choices and exercising, how ever you chose to do so. And once again - this is all about what YOU chose, and how YOU chose to live your life.

To me, I have decided this will be a lifestyle for me - and this lifestyle will NOT include any harmful diet pills. And hey, I am not a Jillian lover, by far (she REALLY annoys me!) but one of the DVDs that I do workout to has been her 30 Day Shred. And it has worked for me.

But I also have other DVDs by other people that I paid money for - and not once am I thinking : this person is a Capitalist and out to steal my money...

If you dont believe in her - just dont buy her DVDs or anything else from her, for that matter.

It is YOUR choice, you know ?

I dont mean to offend anyone with this post, and apologize in advance if I have - but I am just surprised at all the replies, with a lot of them being negative and slightly disrespectful..... Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

But at the end of the day - YOU chose what you want to do.......

THIS COMPLETELY!!
It's really frustrating that people are harping on her. Yes she can be annoying, yes her name is a brand, yes she makes mistakes, and yes she wants to make money. I personally could not find anyway to work out regularly. I couldn't lose weight and was beginning to take anti-depressants because of my weight. My doctor suggested buying a workout video to do at home and the 30 DS looked good to me so I BOUGHT it. Since then I have lost 28 lbs, gone from a size 16/18 to a 12 and all in 5.5 months! I haven't hurt myself and all I did was follow her instructions on the video. I stayed in level one for several months until I felt comfortable with moving into level 2. I'm stronger now and coming off the anti-depressants. I would hate for any person like me who is searching desperately for a solution to come across this thread and be turned away from her videos. They have worked great for me and I plan to continue doing them into level 3. Then when level 3 becomes too easy I plan to move onto her Ripped in 30 days video. Her videos may not bring results to all people, but I am definitely a success story, and if I ever met her in person I would tell her thanks!

jocraw66

Exactly. Personal responsibility has gone out the window anymore... and if you make money, you must be an evil person.

Whether people choose to take the pills or not is their own stupid decision, her workouts DO work though and can be a means to a healthier, natural weight-loss program. I think she's a cocky jerk but I'm just starting 30 DS and can see a difference in my body already.

I agree. People take no personal responcibilty for anything anymore.

I can't speak to her supplements as I've never taken them and I never will. I'd never buy anything simply because it has been marketed by a TV personality. I have however done both her 30 Day Shred as well as the Biggest Loser workouts. I have found that both of them are challenging and give me results. I'll take my chances with injury resulting from them. I know my body and I know the difference between discomfort and pain so if I choose to do something that would result in injury I should bear responcibility for that.
I should note that in the videos there are disclaimers if you care to note them.

sofaking6

I can't imagine why anyone would willingly take anything into their system without knowing what it was. I stood in front of the shelf at Walgreens for several minutes trying to figure out what was in her supplement pills. I was baffled that it was all claim and no evidence. Now, I do like her chocolate shakes, but I can't find them anymore :ohwell:

But I never found a single think listed on her pills that made me comfortable. There are things listed, but not amounts. That doesn't scare people? I can't fathom spending money on a product without questioning the ingredients. That just seems irresponsible to me.

OMG are you saying that you actually did your own research and made a decision independently instead of just believing whatever a television ad told you to believe? Why do you hate America?

danapearl

Occupy Biggest Loser Ranch?

redraidergirl2009

I know this is old news but I just heard about it. Jillian Michaels has been sued numerous times for endorsing diet pills that have been found to have potential lethal ingredients in them. Then the company tried to hide the ingredients from consumers!

Why is it that the people we try to look up to and that inspire us are secretcly doing devious crap behind our backs? It seems like everyone has a dark side and there are no true people out there passionately trying to help others.

She is just like every other get rich capitalist. I'm glad that I downloaded her workout videos from a Torrent website and didn't give her any money!

If you're so against her in the first place why even download her torrents?