 "Photo: Photo courtesy of http://nutritionunplugged.com")
“So often we are told, just take the stairs,” roars Jillian Michaels, trusted trainer and star of NBC's “The Biggest Loser,” during her “30 Day Shred” DVD.
“That is a false message of lethargy! If you want results, they ain't comin' for free!” Michaels continues.
This routine (and yes, it's “level one”) will most likely make you break down mid-way and weep. As for the next day, keep the ibuprofen within arm's reach.
Her Web site, not surprisingly, dictates a similarly simple yet physically exhausting sentiment:
“There are no gimmicks or get-skinny-quick schemes here...eat right, and exercise!”
In other words, one can say that Michaels doesn't mess around when it comes to fitness and nutrition.
…Or does she? Contrary to her signature all pain, no gain approach, Michaels has been marketing “weight loss products” to the drugstore set for some time now. (Her comment about “not coming for free?” A QuickStart and Detox & Cleanse Combo™ will set you back $85.49. Oh, the irony!)
This hypocrisy – or, more specifically, "Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control” – has recently come under fire. While the product claims “Two Capsules Before Main Meals and You Lose Weight...That's It!” Christie Christensen of Lake Ellsinore, Calif., claims that isn't it.
After buying the product in January, Christensen claims her appetite has never decreased and she has not lost any of the promised pounds. Christensen has even gone so far as to file a class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles against “America's Toughest Trainer” (as the product's packaging claims) and Basic Research, the Utah firm that produces and publicizes the pills in question.
The lawsuit, however, is undoubtedly frivolous. Christensen's team is seeking “unspecified damages,” also known as a potential $5 million payday. Strangely, however, Christensen does not claim that the product inflicted any actual harm – just that it simply didn't do what it claimed it would. Imagine that? A weight loss product that doesn't work!
Christensen's lawsuit claims, “Ms. Michaels knows better – taking two pills before eating does not miraculously cause weight loss."
This is obviously true. Judging from Michaels’ appearances on NBC, her killer workout DVDs and her ultra-inspirational Web site, a pill will never replace hours of hard work at the gym. Of course Michaels knows better, but it's a little thing called “selling out” because it usually pays a lot.
The day after Christensen filed suit on Feb. 11, a woman named Stephanie Creer did the same regarding the same product. Not to be outdone, a Kathy Hensley filed a third lawsuit in Los Angeles on Feb. 16, according to the New York Daily News, claiming that, “the supplements are made with a 'potentially lethal' ingredient, citrus aurantium, that can in rare cases cause heart problems and high blood pressure.”
To date, the Food and Drug Administration has not backed the diet pills or their claims, nor have they warned against them. Michaels, however, has staunchly stood by her products, telling US Weekly that “the claims against her supplements are 'entirely without merit.'”
In 2006, CBS News estimated that Americans spend roughly $35 billion a year on weight loss products. If they all worked, why is such a disproportionate number of the United States obese?
Fitness freaks, stay tuned to see who'll prevail!
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