Jillian Michaels shares her rules. She’s our favorite hardcore coach and is never afraid of real talk. So many people struggle with their weight, whether they are losing too much weight or gaining it and more. However, Jillian is never afraid to talk about the rules you need to follow if you want to maintain a healthy weight.
Finding a balance between what is healthy and what is not is a tricky one, particularly if you’re new to the scene. And sometimes it can get even trickier if you’ve been in it for a long time. Mainly because the industry is always changing and confusing our choices. It’s easy to get stuck in an unhealthy rut, however, it’s just as easy to get onto a healthier path and then somehow get lost.
Who’s looking to change their unhealthy habits? If you are, then you’ll really benefit from some of Jillian Michael’s best advice and rules for maintaining healthy body weight.
Jillian Michaels Shares Weight Rules
Over the years, this trainer has become a huge role model in the health and fitness industry. And it’s all because of her firm approach to healthy living. She currently has a following of over 100 million, she’s sold millions of fitness DVDs, launched a popular exercise-streaming platform, and landed eight books on the New York Times bestseller list.
On top of all her achievements, she also has an app called, My Fitness by Jillian Michaels.
The app includes hundreds of fully customizable workouts along with meal plans. You can also download her easy healthy meals for weight loss recipes. Plus, the app was named one of the best apps of 2017 by Google and Apple.
And throughout her years of success, she has managed to inspire millions whilst keeping a fit and healthy frame. Yes, technically speaking she spends a lot of time at the gym. However, she believes in following a balanced diet and finding out what works for you, individually, rather than following commercial diet fads and detoxes. More importantly, do not compare yourself to other people, because your body is different from theirs.
Jillian Michaels shares that changing your life is changing your mind. And that this can happen at any time. Psychologically speaking, when you believe, you behave. And when you behave, change happens. She says she wants to help other people learn how to take the opportunity to grow and change their lives.
If you’re in need of some help then start following Jillian’s top rules for achieving your best self.
1. Know The Facts
This is something that I have also had to learn. No matter which diet you follow, whether it’s Keto, Banting, Vegan, or Gluten-Free. Either way, you still can’t avoid the science behind it. Food is ultimately food and your body recognizes it as energy. Yes, some food has more nutritional benefits to you, but at the end of the day, it’s still just food. Jillian Michaels shares that weight loss or weight gain is quite literally a biochemical equation of energy in versus energy out.
And the quicker you understand that, the easier it is to start your fat loss, weight gain, or maintenance journey.
She says the first thing that you need to understand is that fat is stored energy. Nothing else. And calories in your food are a unit of energy. So, if you consume more energy than you’re burning, your body will store that energy as fat. It is a very simple energy equation. When you reduce the amount of energy you take in and increase the amount of energy you expend, your body will burn fat and vice versa.
However, it is very important to understand that there are other factors at play like hormone changes and stress levels. Therefore, the scientific formula might not work well for you. Don’t stress about it, and rather find out what it does!
2. Apply the Formula
After you have learned the facts, you need to consider the two big aspects of health: nutrition and fitness. Both are highly important, but they are not equal.
Jillian Michaels shares that with weight loss or weight gain, it’s really 75 percent exercise and 25 percent diet. Your diet alone will work for maintenance, but not weight loss or weight gain because weight can’t be starved off or packed on per se. So, if you’re restricting food and not exercising, you’re signaling to your metabolism that food is scarce, and your body will hold on to those calories.
Why is nutrition the most important? Well, it basically keeps you focused and within a calorie deficit according to your goals. Many people make the mistake of justifying the large pizza they just shoved down by the fact that they just completed an intense workout. Ultimately, you might not gain any weight, but if fat loss is your goal that definitely won’t happen.
But, having said that, balance is crucial! If you’ve already reached your healthiest weight, this balanced approach is a very happy way to live.
3. Set Your Intention
Achieving your fat loss or muscle-building goals might be a straightforward formula on paper, however, it’s not as simple as that. And the reason it’s not easy is that anything worth having in life is work, Jillian Michaels shares. She adds that you have to have a purpose for your weight loss journey because working without purpose is just punishing. Keeping a vague goal in your head like “oh, I want to lose weight” isn’t going to stick because there’s no emotional connection.
The trainer says you really need to think about what you’re working towards. And realize that it’s different for everybody. Perhaps you ‘want to feel comfortable in a bathing suit for the first time. Or maybe you don’t want to feel insecure when you’re having sex with your husband, boyfriend, or girlfriend. It could even be that you want to be involved in your kids’ life by playing games with them rather than sitting on the sidelines cheering them on.
Jillian believes that maintaining strong, detailed incentives that you feel emotionally connected to are what’s worth putting the work toward, and that’s how you’ll keep your resolution.
She contributes a great tip: Setting goals that are not based on weight can help because your body can change as a byproduct of all your hard work. However, your motivation won’t be derailed by fluctuations in your shape.
4. Structure Your Goal Into A Pyramid
Jillian Michaels shares that it’s best to work backward after you’ve set your goal. For example, at the top of the pyramid, you would place your goal of losing 20 pounds. Then, ask yourself what a realistic time frame would be to achieve this. Let’s say two pounds a week is realistic. Therefore, you give yourself three months to get there.
The next step is to break that down further to seven pounds a month, which is 1.5 to two pounds a week. She explains that point, your goal becomes much easier to tackle, and you just need to find meals that fit your calorie allowance and exercise that you can fit in.
The best approach is to create a schedule to determine exactly how much you can fit in. If it doesn’t work, you can reevaluate.
However, if you’ve used the backward method, counted your macros, and realized you’ll have to cut out everything you enjoy it’s probably worth altering the goal or time frame. Life is simply too short.
5. Stop Being So Hard On Yourself
We’re only human. And there will definitely be times when you fall off the ‘healthy’ bandwagon.
That doesn’t mean you must give up or hate yourself for it.
Jillian Michaels refers to an old analogy, ‘if you get a flat tire, would you get out of the car and slash your other three tires? No! You patch the ****ing tire and get back on the road.‘
She says you have to expect that there will be bumps in the road, and once you have that expectation and understanding, you are equipped to deal with those things.
More importantly, your body is your temple, and you only have one! So respect it and don’t punish it.
6. Make Sleep A Priority!
There’s a misconception that your weight is purely due to what you eat and how much you move your body during the day. When in fact, getting enough sleep is crucial to hitting your goal. Jillian Michaels shares that you need a regular bedtime, and you need to prioritize it.
Too many people just laugh when you ask them if they get seven or eight hours of sleep in. Jillian adds that if she can do it, then you can do it! And it’s not that hard. All you need to do is go to bed at 10 p.m. or if you have the luxury of getting up late, go to bed at midnight.
Jillian Michaels shares that sleep is so important for maintaining a healthy weight because of the way it affects your body chemistry. It’s the number-one habit besides eating right and working out that you must prioritize for your overall wellbeing. We couldn’t agree more. We all need more sleep!
