The Return of Jillian

It finally arrived... the day I had been waiting for ever since I heard it announced (on my Birthday of all days) that one of my most favorite fitness hero's ever - Jillian Michaels was set to make her return to The Biggest Loser after a two season hiatus.

I had been so excited all through the holidays as it was getting closer and closer.  Tick tock, tick, tick tock.  Today when I woke up I felt like a kid on Christmas.  You see not just for me, but for so many people who love fitness and working out and even those who have yet to make that change in their lives, Jillian is an inspiration.

Those of us who watched saw that she did not disappoint.  She steamrolled back onto the show by throwing not one or two but three contestants out of the gym.  She does not take any bull, and she does not want to hear excuses.  Over 10,000 people submitted applications to be on this season, and I do not blame her.  If a contestant is there they should be grateful for the spot and the opportunity to once and for all fix what is broken and change their lives forever.  If they are giving her resistance, not doing what she says, whining, complaining, and still having a victim mentality then they should leave.  They are taking up a good spot that one of those 10,000 would only love to have.

Yes it is hard, yes the people have health issues, yes it is going to hurt.  The thing that Jillian whips into each and every contestant if they have the backbone to dig in and really grasp what she is there giving her time to show them is that - there is no "TRY" you either do something, or you don't.  It's that simple.  All the chatter in your head, if you do not tap into your will and find the why - you will not find out how strong you really are.

We have seen it season after season.  Just when you think you have seen it all, in comes another heartbreaking story and inside my head at least I'm thinking, my gosh my heart is breaking for these people who have lost their will.  Jillian has a way to break through all the crap and get to the heart of person and help them to find their "why" and push and push them to reach their goals.  That is, if they can get past her tough exterior.

There are those that like to bash her in the media for this or that, methods, yada yada.  Muckery I say.  I used to be a little fat kid, just like she was.  The kids picked on me, and I struggled with weight my entire life until I was an adult.  (That is until I discovered my love for sneakers ;) ) Her methods - they work.  Because I like to workout at home (as I'm not really into being ogled at the gym when my face is all red like a tomato head) I have every single DVD she has put out, and trust me I have every workout system you can think of just about.  P90, p90x, insanity, slim in 6, tapout, turbofire, rev abs, urban rebounder, the firm, tae bo, Bob Harper, Jackie Warner, and on and on.  I love them all, and I always no matter what I'm doing incorporate Jillian's workouts.  Why? Because Jillian's workouts are effective and do not waste time.  You do not have to be super coordinated or able to do a bazillion push ups in order to do them.  You just have to keep going even when you do not "feel" like it.  She has workouts as short as 20 minutes, from beginner on up to advanced, all give results you can see and feel.

Anyone can go buy any one of her DVD's or systems, put in the DVD, push play when the calendar says to and see the results for themselves.  The best part, they do not cost a fortune.  So literally anyone can workout at home and watch along with the Biggest Loser week after week and see her help people while they are getting in shape at the same time.  I don't know about you, but for me, it is so inspiring.  To see people with serious weight issues change their entire lives.

Some Awesome Jillian Quotes:

"Unless you puke, faint or die, keep going." 

"Transformation isn't a future event, it's a presant activity." 

"Pain is fear leaving the body." 

"Your legs are not giving out, your head is giving out, keep going." 

"When you have a Why, you can tolerate any amount of How." 

So it's no surprise that this Greek Girl gives The Return of Jillian (also a Greek Girl) a great big Giamungo Thumbs up!  Can't wait to see what this season has in store.  Happy losing.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com

Biggest Loser, Life Without Jillian

Do you see what I see?.... Something is definitely wrong with this picture, NBC someone's got some splainin to do.

Speaking the title of this blog actually hurts me in my heart, yes I am serious.  Anyone who knows anything about the Greek blonde girl knows that The Biggest Loser is my favorite show and this one other thing, that I love my Jillian Michaels.  In fact I admire her so much that I even named one of my cars after her... Jillian Jetta. ;D (yes I name my cars, doesn't everyone?)

Back to the Biggest Looser.  So it stands to reason that I would not be a happy camper to settle in and watch the first episode without one of it's best assets.  Why do I like Jillian so much you may be thinking? Well the answer is simple really, she is real. If you know or have known or encountered any Greek people at all in your life, you know one thing: we are very direct.  We say what is on our minds, if you want to hear it or not, and that is the beautiful thing about Jillian. She tells people what they "need" to hear, not what they want to hear. The things that are in most cases glaring them right in the face, but they have spent years burying or avoiding.  These things usually end up being hidden in poor and unhealthy eating and or exercise habits and then people end up on the Biggest Looser for help.  That is what is so amazing about Jillian, she has a way of cutting through all the crap and getting to the issue and dealing with it. Life is hard and every choice we make effects the quality of our life. Loosing weight is really simple in principle and it is not building a rocket.  Calories in vs. calories out and exercise. It is the "doing" part and the "sticking to it" part that most people struggle with.  Jillian has a way of staring down the truth and presenting the choice to people and challenging them to do it.  It is honest, blunt and yet caring at the same time.

Some of my favorite Jillian quotes:

"I know you're tired, wah wah wah - You want to be skinny, shut up and do your mountain climbers."       

"Remember I can always see you, kind of like a horror movie and if you don't do it I'm going to come through that TV."


"If it is not burning, then something is definitely not right, it should be so hard you should be cursing at me in your living room right now." 


"You have no idea what you can accomplish until you try, you might just surprise yourself at how strong you are." 

Can the Biggest Looser survive without Jillian?... Of course it can because at the heart of the show it is about the contestants. What we love to see is people figure out how they got to that point, then make the transformation to change and then see them do it. The trainers are a really big part of the show and no not all trainers are going to be as enjoyable to watch as Jillian, no one can argue with that. However at the end of the day in the early days of Biggest Looser Jillian and Bob were not the big dogs and the people still lost weight and changed their lives.  

Do I think they could have made a better choice? Well... that remains to be seen. I would never want to discount anyone just because I do not know too much about them yet. Just the same way I wouldn't want anyone to discount my music just because they have not heard it yet? ;D 

Now if they decide to get rid of or if Bob decides to leave, then that my friends is a whole other story, and I may just have to change the channel.  Happy loosing.

Have a wonderful day!

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com