Losing It with Jillian Michaels and Executive Producer Ellen Rakieten by Troy Rogers
Given
the success of The Biggest Loser and the tangible
results Biggest Loser competitors have seen from
the help of trainer Jillian Michaels, the no-nonsense
Michaels will soon be stepping into the homes
of everyday Americans in her own series, Losing
It with Jillian, to help people become healthy
in a way that fits their daily lifestyle. With
eight episodes ordered by NBC, fans of The Biggest
Loser will see more of Jillian Michaels on the
airwaves as people like you and me try Losing
it with Jillian.
Although we haven't heard on an air date for Losing with Jillian, we did get some time with Losing It with Jillian executive producer Ellen Rakieten and trainer Jillian Michaels shortly after the official Losing It with Jillian announcement to get the scoop on the new series, how the Michaels approach will be different than The Biggest Loser, and how Losing It with Jillian will fit into the homes she visits.
THE DEADBOLT: I like the title. It's a nice play on words.
JILLIAN MICHAELS: [laughs] Oh, you can thank Ellen for that.
ELLEN RAKIETEN: Yes, you can thank me. Can you make your headline say. "Thank you Ellen Rakieten for your genius brilliance."?
THE DEADBOLT: [laughs] How will you be approaching the intensity? I'm guessing we won't see you dropping F-bombs around little kids.
MICHAELS: No. You know something? Again, I only use that word when I'm trying to scare somebody. The only reason I was trying to scare Shay is because, again, when I use the F-word, I'm dealing with a woman that's 476 pounds. So if I have to scare her into achieving something to show her that's she's capable and create an epiphany, that's what I'm going to do. But this show is not called "Life or Death".
RAKIETEN: Also, Jillian, I would say this: If you come across a family or parent that are really behaving in a bad way so that you have to swear at them - We all know that it's children - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - because there will certainly be some tough love. But it might not be the F-bomb.
MICHAELS:
Truthfully, I'm going to do whatever the situation
calls for. Ellen's right. If it requires me
getting intense, then I'm going to get intense.
If it requires me being soft, I'll be soft.
And I am soft on The Biggest Loser, it's just
not my character. So that's why it doesn't make
the show a lot of the time. And I get that's
what The Biggest Loser is and that's okay. It's
another reason why it's going to be more interesting
to watch this show because I think you'll get
a really good idea of who I truly am and what
the method is behind - I hate to use madness
- But to be cliche, the method behind the madness.
RAKIETEN: I think it's really important that what Jill is saying is that Loser is amazing and all of those things, but she has a specific job to do with people [who] are really facing a critical [decision]. In some cases, a life or death decision. We might find some of that in her new show. But what Jillian has in that quality of being inspirational, motivational in all ways, from crying with somebody to yelling at somebody, or doing whatever she has to do, that's what you're going to see. You're going to see the 360 Jillian. The 360 Jillian.
MICHAELS: [laughs] Ladies and gentlemen, this is why she produced Oprah for 23 years. Very well said.
THE DEADBOLT: Since most people don't have gyms like the ranch, where will you be working out?
MICHAELS: I'm going to use whatever is available to them. So if I'm dealing with people that don't have any money and can't afford gym memberships, I'm going to teach them to build a DVD collection and create a little home gym in their living room. I'm going to utilize their environment if they live in beautiful area with good weather. If there is a gym in their local area, then we're going to negotiate a deal for them to get a gym membership.
RAKIETEN:
You know, Jill? You had that great idea. The
fact is, a lot of people can't afford memberships.
But what they do is, they end up spending and
wasting lots of money on junk food. So Jillian
is really going to go through, bit-by-bit in
their lives [so they] realize that, "Oh, you
can go and afford your $7 coffee every day but
really put that money toward a health club membership."
And I thought something that keeps repeating
over and over again, that there is the relatability
factor. You can go into almost every American
home and everybody, including myself, and I
don't know who else is on the phone, but most
of us would maybe lock the doors if we saw Jillian
coming and run and hide [laughs]. But at the
end, know we could really use that.
THE DEADBOLT: I've been talking to the former contestants of The Biggest Loser and everyone says that the best thing about the ranch is that you're not distracted and taken away from the focus of getting healthy. How realistic is Losing It with Jillian going to be [on an everyday level]? Do the people still go to work?
MICHAELS: Yeah, and that's why I'm so excited about this, because of the very excuse they gave you. So it's like, "Well, it's because I didn't have anything to focus on." Yeah. And you know what? You lost 100 pounds in 7 weeks. But we don't need Americans to lose 100 pounds in 7 weeks. I always call The Biggest Loser the Olympics of weight loss. That is not realistic. I'll take 100 pounds in a year. What I'm going in to show them is, "Okay, this is how we do it with your work, your kids, your whole entire family dynamic." We're going through their health emotionally, physically, financially as a family and essentially rebooting them. That's my point. There are no excuses. I'm going to show you how to do it given your schedule, your finances, your time frame, the whole thing.
Hi my name is Launa and i'm 23 years old and a single mother of two.I work a full-time job and have no time to workout,i'm not motivated, not enough will power to say to myself hey i'm fat don't just sit here,i'm 5'8 and 265lbs and am scared! this is the biggest i've been out of my whole life. I'm to young to die early due to high blood pressure,diabetes,or any other health risks that come along with obesity.Reality T.V is my last result i want to be able to live a normal life for me and my children,but i'm not as fortunate as other.You guys will be coming to Nashville soon and i can't wait to see you guys. In the mean time i'm sending you my video and i hope you guys understand what my point is. I also think the show is a great idea as well.God bless!
Teresa – Virginia
October 29, 2009 - 08:35
Subject: losing it with Jillian
I love this idea and I think Jillian is the best trainer ever!!!!!
If I went on the biggest loser I would have no trouble choosing my trainer, look at her track record!
I think her new show sounds interesting but I hope she doesn't stop doing the Biggest Loser.
Angela – Modesto, Ca.
October 21, 2009 - 00:47
Subject: Losing it with Jillian
I think this show is a great idea. It will allow people to work out a lifestyle for themselves using what is feasible for them in thier own environment.
I do have a question though. I only have about 20 lbs to lose & I would love to be more toned. I'm working on doing that myself, but I have always wanted to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser. Unfortunately, the show only accepts people that have large amounts of weight to lose. I'm wondering if perhaps Troy Rogers may happen to know if Losing It will follow that same guideline. I hope not. Because most Americans have only 10 to 50 lbs they need to lose in order to be considered healthy (weight-wise). I think contestants of this caliber would give more Americans someonethey could relate to. And you don't have to lose hundreds of pounds to see the physical effects for getting in shape, or the medical effects, like a drop in blood pressure or reversal of type II Diabetes. These are benefits that could inspire other people that have less than 100 lbs to lose. It's surprising how many people don't believe that a 10 to 20 lb weight loss can lower bloodpressure from very high to healthy. If they see it, they can't deny it.
Given
the success of The Biggest Loser and the tangible
results Biggest Loser competitors have seen from
the help of trainer Jillian Michaels, the no-nonsense
Michaels will soon be stepping into the homes
of everyday Americans in her own series, Losing
It with Jillian, to help people become healthy
in a way that fits their daily lifestyle. With
eight episodes ordered by NBC, fans of The Biggest
Loser will see more of Jillian Michaels on the
airwaves as people like you and me try Losing
it with Jillian.
MICHAELS:
Truthfully, I'm going to do whatever the situation
calls for. Ellen's right. If it requires me
getting intense, then I'm going to get intense.
If it requires me being soft, I'll be soft.
And I am soft on The Biggest Loser, it's just
not my character. So that's why it doesn't make
the show a lot of the time. And I get that's
what The Biggest Loser is and that's okay. It's
another reason why it's going to be more interesting
to watch this show because I think you'll get
a really good idea of who I truly am and what
the method is behind - I hate to use madness
- But to be cliche, the method behind the madness.
RAKIETEN:
You know, Jill? You had that great idea. The
fact is, a lot of people can't afford memberships.
But what they do is, they end up spending and
wasting lots of money on junk food. So Jillian
is really going to go through, bit-by-bit in
their lives [so they] realize that, "Oh, you
can go and afford your $7 coffee every day but
really put that money toward a health club membership."
And I thought something that keeps repeating
over and over again, that there is the relatability
factor. You can go into almost every American
home and everybody, including myself, and I
don't know who else is on the phone, but most
of us would maybe lock the doors if we saw Jillian
coming and run and hide [laughs]. But at the
end, know we could really use that.