Jillian Michaels Fitness App and Starting Over

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Cinder333
Cinder333 Posts: 39 Member
in Getting Started
Hello everyone,

Yet again I am going to start over. I have been in this cycle for years, and I need to get healthier. I recently signed up for the free trial for the Jillian Michael Fitness App. It helped to get me motivated to begin again. I canceled before my free 7-day trial was over. I really liked some of her advice, but I feel the stuff on the app I can get for free on youtube/myfitnesspal etc.

A few interesting things she said that I am going to try to incorporate this time around:

*If I have my calories set too low I will most likely not succeed. I have to find a more reasonable, livable amount.

*I need to try to increase my metabolism by increasing movement and muscle mass. I am starting a beginner HIIT on youtube, and I have been weight lifting a bit. I am 50-years old so I need to focus on strength training. I have started walking at least once a day on my break at work. I am considering joining a gym near me with a swimming pool. There is a skating rink near me that I would like to try, and I also might take ice skating lessons.

*I have to also find some activities that I enjoy that are physical. I do like to swim and rollerblade/rollerskate. She says to do HIIT/strength training a certain number of hours per week, and the rest of the time do more laid back things like biking, walking, swimming.

*For her own personal diet she eats about 80 percent healthy. She recommends at least a 12-hour fast each day, and on the app it recommended 3 meals and a snack. For me it was around 1700 calories. I am pretty certain that would be too high. I do like the idea of trying a certain number of healthy meals a week, while also having a balance of not as healthy.

*Overall she splits health and weight loss as separate (I may be misinterpreting her), and said CICO are what matters by far the most. She cited some studies with people eating pretty unhealthy diets such as the Twinkie diet, and losing weight. She seems to feel overall you have to count calories and if you need to eat certain foods you like to go ahead while remaining in your calorie deficit.

*She recommends trying to cut out sugar. She said it messes up your hormones which messes up your metabolism. I'm not sure I agree with this one - any thoughts on it? I do know I have had a bad habit of trying to watch calories, but then not counting my sweets. This time around I am going to do better about planning all of it.

*I also recently signed up for the Mayo Clinic diet. I did not care for that one as it was very restrictive, but I did like eating vegetables so I plan to incorporate more of them.

I have tried this numerous times, but I know I can do it. I am doing my first HIIT workout in a few minutes. I am starting with 10 to 15 minutes. I am buying a new bike after my May vacation. I am going to start with 1500 calories a day and really increase my exercise.

Sorry for the long post. I am going to try to login every day here to track calories as I do believe that is key. Please wish me luck.



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Replies

  • Cinder333
    Cinder333 Posts: 39 Member
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    One more comment - I do believe most of my weight gain is from becoming extremely sedentary. I was very active when my kids were young as they both had high cholesterol from age 12. They were both thin, but I had to make sure we exercised religiously so they didn't have to go on medication. Once they moved out I got remarried to a lazy butt, and have also become lazier with exercise. My job is also sedentary.

    But my biggest issue seems to be my chronic insomnia and ambien. I don't know if anyone here is on it, but I am prone to binge after I take it. And I do mean BINGE. I also cannot sleep without it. I have always had severe insomnia. So that is something I need to figure out. I have even asked my husband to put locks on some of the cupboards and fridge, but he feels very uncomfortable doing it. He seems to think it feels controlling of him toward me if he does. So I am considering working with a sleep specialist or something. And in addition to the ambien I also take Nyquil and Benedryl at night, which I am sure is not healthy. And I still have difficulty sleeping.
  • colinscycling
    colinscycling Posts: 3 Member
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    Ya, I get it. The start, the stop, the re-start. What do you do?
    I know many face the same thing, as do I. Mutlpule times over the past many years. As I also turned 50 this year the body starts protesting in ways I never felt before😁. I get fed up with apps, especially ones that cost money because can we not find the same information for free?
    Yes. It is the support and the interaction with other like-minded people trying their best to also be and get healthy that we need.
    Welcome, I will add you as friend, because as friends we can help eachother stay on track and feel inspired to keep on doing.
  • healthierorbust
    healthierorbust Posts: 24 Member
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    Your sleep situation sounds really tough. I hope you find some answers! For me, I used to be very active when I was younger, but now less so (working full time with young kids). I sleep so much better when I’ve been very physically active, which is hard to find time for these days. I hope your increased activity helps with sleep.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    Nah, there's no reason to cut out sugar (unless you have specific health problems that demand it.) From my understanding, it's not easy to "mess up your metabolism." Your metabolism regulates itself to your body's needs.

    Eating sugary foods or drinking sugary drinks can be very easy to overdo (don't I know.) Once you choose a manageable calorie deficit (emphasis on manageable - not punitive), it may be difficult to fit the sugary stuff into the goal. A lot of people keep tempting or difficult-to-moderate foods out of the house until they have a better handle on eating within the goal. That can be helpful.

    And, sure, some folks DO cut out entire swaths of food groups in order to drop weight, but that wouldn't be for me, and it is not strictly necessary to do so to lose weight. I'd venture that you'll have longer term success by eating all the foods you love, but less of them over time.

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