So I got my hands on Jillian Michaels' new book, Master Your Metabolism. I'll admit that while I like Jillian overall, I was a little skeptic before reading this book. Mostly because I am skeptic when it comes to most diet books; mostly because I find all of them in the end say much of the same information in a different way. However, I read most of them for education and professional growth and experience. Its always good to know what my clients are reading and curious about!
So here's the deal on the book. Its captivating and well written. Jillian co-writes the book with a doctor and the beginning of the book focuses on her personal life as a chubby kid, a troubled teenager and a addicted personality (food, exercise, and probably some illegal activities as well...) . I actually found this information to increase Jillian's credibility to me. I never knew her personal story before and only knew her as TV's toughest trainer who unfortunately gave the incorrect way to use a kettle ball on The Biggest Loser a couple of weeks ago. .haha :) However, this was eye opening to me. She struggled for years to keep her body the way it is, and after years and years of yo-yo dieting, psychotic exercising and calorie tracking, she realized that she was missing a huge piece of the puzzle... hormones.
I've always been interested in the hormonal effect on weight and this book is a good review of scientific studies as well as personal experience on how hormones affect the metabolism, and how toxins in food and the environment can effect these hormones. Kinda scary really!
The only thing I will say negatively about this book is that I do think you have to take it lightly. It can scare you into never buying another canned good, but the reality is that most of us cannot afford to live and eat like Jillian and most of us cannot avoid the environmental pollutants completely (unless you live in a black hole)... BUT what we can do is pay more attention to what we put in our bodies. What we put in our children's bodies. What we do with our waste. The few key points I took from the book that I plan on implementing are:
1. Eat as fresh as possible. Although its not realistic nor possible to eat perfectly, making fresh choices when possible are great.
2. BPA plastic.
3. Eating every 3-4 hours to keep the metabolism booming.
4. Not counting calories; listening to our bodies about hunger, health and happiness.
5. Exercising is not only for health but for mood as well
6. Staying away from as much processed food as possible. (again not perfect here)
7. Encouraging my clients/friends/family to eat ENOUGH to keep their metabolism booming (a constant struggle honestly.. my clients like to not eat enough all the time... its a viscious cycle...)
The actual diet part of this book is a non-calorie counting approach, but no matter how you see it, its still simple and controlled. The only bad thing I see with it is that it could get pricey to get all the products considering she wants you to go all organic and it could be difficult at times.
I definitely will still use this book as as reference for my job, and recommend it to anyone who likes to read the health/wellness books like I do. Definitely worth the read!
And if you're interested... you can get the book for $4.95 here. You also get a free 2 week trial of her online program, which you can cancel as soon as you sign up to save yourself that monthly fee.
Let me know your thoughts about the book and/or topic! I'm interested in what you all have to say!
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