Social Workout

Scientific

Extensive Study Shows Weight Loss Supplements Might As Well Be Sugar Pills

Not a huge surprise, but a new study of nine different types of weight loss supplements — ranging from pills that promise to trap fat and block carbs to those that simply promise to speed metabolism — showed that none of the supplements were any more effective than a placebo. Maybe Jillian Michaels will discontinue her weight loss supplement line after reading this study. Though probably not, since Europeans and Americans collectively spend about $3 billion a year on unregulated weight loss supplements.

The Meanest Trainer

Jillian Michael's Softer Side Turns Out to Be Crazy

Remember how we told you Jillian's new show, "Losing It with Jillian," was supposed to showcase her softer side? The video evidence is in, and Jillian's "softer side" appears to be a maniacal bully who taunts and beats her victims till they cry, at which point she swoops in and creepily pats their cheeks and whispers about action plans while NBC cues touching instrumentals. I feel like I need to shuttle her victim to a battered women's shelter STAT. 

SW Book Club

Jackie Warner Thinks You're Fat

Jackie Warner wrote a book. Unfortunately Jillian Michaels already wrote the same book. Yep, This is Why You’re Fat is pretty much the literary doppelganger of Master Your Metabolism.

Key points include: Your hormones are making you fat. Fat-making hormones are insulin, estrogen, cortisol. Skinny-making hormones are human grown hormone, testosterone, progesterone. The way to balance all these hormones is to always eat organic, sleep, drink lots of water, no carbs for dinner, whole grains, limit caffeine, eat a low fat diet, and always remember that sugar is made of Satan and cancer and never-ever-ever eat it.

Other Places

Shake Shock

Your Protein Shake Could Be Poisoning You

Gulp any number of popular brands of protein shakes, from Muscle Milk to Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein, and you could be consuming alarming amounts of arsenic, cadmium, and lead, so say the results of a new Consumer Reports lab test. Just a reminder, lead causes neurological problems, cadmium causes kidney damage, and arsenic rose to popularity as a poison during the Renaissance since it nicely mimics cholera. Despite this, terrorists are unlikely to start sending envelopes laced with protein powder through the mail anytime soon — you have to consume three or so servings a day to reach heavy mineral overload. But would-be body builders and other people too lazy to chew their meals should watch out. You can develop a three-a-day habit faster than you think. (via NPR)

Workout

<3 Jillian

In an attempt to spread my minutes over a wider range of categories, I decided to stay home from the gym yesterday and do a workout dvd instead. I selected Jillian's No More Trouble Zones, which I hadn't done since last summer and of which I had almost no memory. 

Doh!

Bisexual Jillian Michaels: No Baby Gonna Mess Up This Body

Scandal! Jillian, inspirational host of the Biggest Loser and top fitness DVD seller in the known universe, rejects child birth on aesthetic grounds. Here's Jilian in recent Women's Health interview:

I’m going to adopt. I can’t handle doing that to my body. Also, when you rescue something, it’s like rescuing a part of yourself.

Our political correctness-o-meter is spinning wildly. Adopting: Cool! Adopting for fear of ruining six pack abs: Weird! You know you've cross some basic cultural fault line when both Fox News AND BeliefNet line up against you. Look, there may be some deeper feminist rationale at work here, or perhaps an admirable acceptance of vanity. Yes, a formerly obese girl (turns out Jillian was a fat teen) can do whatever she pleases with her body. In the same interview, (not yet online), 36 year-old Jillian also fesses up to liking girls and boys. So, maybe this is just her way of saying she'd rather settle down with a girl. Just as likely, it may be that she's not about to let anything come between her and a shot at being the next Oprah. (Her daytime talk show goes on the air right as Oprah steps down....)

Still, it seems to me that the great pleasure in being human is to use your body, not to admire it, or be admired in it.

Workout

JM Fitness Ultimatum 2010...

As I've mentioned several times before, I love all things Jillian Michaels. Up until this week, though, I had yet to try her Wii game, Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010. I had high hopes for this one when I checked it out from the library, but the first session ended in frustration when I got stuck on a set up screen.

Workout

Sneaky Shred workout did my thighs in!

TH.  30 minutes of 30-Day Shred plus 5 sun salutes. 

Brekky:  Bircher muesli with banana and berries.  Lunch:  bean soup with rye bread at Madigan's.  Lots of beer at the pub.  Dinner:  2 lentil patties on rice cakes, some cottage cheese and a palmful of raw almonds.  A couple glasses of red.

Workout

Killer workout!

Okay, so the whole pull up feat made me realize that I really need to focus on strength a bit more. I have been so intent on becoming a better, faster runner that I've neglected my poor little muscles! I did my push ups, sit ups, and squats in March, but it's gotta be more than that if I wanna be able to finally conquer the pull up! So I'm shifting my focus and building these muscles, baby.

Snapshot

Shayne Worships at Jillian Michaels' Tiny Muscular Feet

Every day, we give you a snapshot of one fellow striver in fitness. We ask personal questions, he or she boldly answers. Today's snapshot: Shayne, aka shaynet. 

• What's your number one workout spot? When it's nice out, outside! My favorite thing to do is explore a city by running it. I don't think I'll ever give up my gym membership though, because I also really appreciate a good treadmill run, and I'm into gym culture. I'm moving back to New York in May and need an awesome gym, so send your suggestions my way! 
• What's the healthiest thing you eat? I'm vegan, but that definitely doesn't mean everything I eat is healthy. I do start every day off with a huge bowl of oats with almond butter, though, and lately my snacks have been mostly raw nuts and prunes. (I swear I'm not 70.)