I don't think I have read Women's Health lately but I read this month's interview with Jillian Michaels. In case you don't know who she is, she is trainer on the show Biggest Loser. She is also being sued because of claims her diet pills don't work as advertised. In the interview she doesn't really talk about her pills but she does say she won't ever get pregnant because she loves her body so much. Knowing she sounds conceited, she tries to make up for it by then saying it is better to adopt. I think adoption is great, but if you are doing it because you are self centered than maybe it is best if you just don't become a parent.
"I'm going to adopt. I can't handle doing that to my body," she told the magazine. "Also, when you rescue something, it's like rescuing a part of yourself."
She also says that she dates both women and men and has been in love with both. Interesting.
At least she was honest about why she doesn't want to get pregnant. I don't get it, though. That is a crazy, obsessive world she lives in.
ReplyDeletenow if only jennifer aniston could admit the same thing re kids, we could stop seeing magazine covers every month proclaiming THIS IS THE YEAR she's gonna do it.
ReplyDeleteI hope this narcissistic bitch doesn't have pets, let alone children.
ReplyDeleteDoes Enty find her sexual preference interesting because, perhaps, she is the subject of a blind item?
ReplyDeleteRescuing something is taking something that no one else wants. Adopting a white infant that has 10,000 other people waiting to adopt it? Not rescuing.
ReplyDeleteIf she were to adopt a hard to place child - like an older child or one with disablilites - then I might get over the fact that was one of the most douchetastic phrases I've ever heard.
And this is coming from someone who is adopted.
She's a pig. I can't think of anything nicer to say.
ReplyDelete@ Idiot Watcher, I wondered the same thing. Or maybe he thought it was interesting because claiming to be bi is more mainstream than saying you're a lesbian. I just don't know enough about her or the show.
ReplyDeleteIf Anniston ever admitted she didn't want to have kids the whole world would be turned up side down! And imagine if women ever got the idea they didn't have to get pregnant if they didn't want to do it!! It's her choice, so whatever. Who cares. Jillian can't say she just plain doesn't want children any more than Anniston can, or anyone else who is a public person - such as Kay Bailey Hutchinson and the kid she "rescued". Really, who cares.
ReplyDeleteIf the women who don't want kids would just say "I don't want kids" without giving some half-baked excuse for why they don't want them, I'd have a lot more respect for them. It's okay not to want kids. It's not okay to lie about it.
ReplyDeleteI've watched the show since the beginning and Jillian has basically gotten too big for her britches so to speak.
ReplyDeleteShe's gets overdramatic with the psychoanalysis of the contestants. Her Mother is some kind of therapist, but still it's no excuse for Jillian to go all Dr. Phil on these people. I realize some people have serious addictions and problems with food, but that doesn't mean that Jill has to bully them into spilling their guts on TV.
Jill doesn't strike me as the maternal type and unless she finds a partner who wants kids, I can't imagine her being a parent.
That comment is errrr weird and wrong. I mean, it's her life and she can do anything she wants with it. But giving birth to a child is a natural process, why does she reffers to it as "do that"? Her body will age anyway. How is she gonna take that? Is her fine body the highest virtue in life? Deciding not to have children is ok, but it should be made for different reasons
ReplyDeleteI was thinking, too, trouble - "that's what your body was designed to do, you dumb twit". We can't stay perfect little hardbodies forever, sooner or later, no matter whether you do "that" to your body or not, everything will soften and start to head in a southerly direction.
ReplyDeleteJillian is probably going to be like that old woman with the saggy, leathery skin, and excessive implants. Just let it go, you know? It's over.
ReplyDeleteI don't want biological kids and I don't ever want to be pregnant (and, thankfully, never have been). It's amazing how people look at you when you say that...even the doc who tied my tubes kept asking me "are you sure?", like I was going to change my mind--I've known this since I was 12.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the big deal, other than she didn't spin it right. Good for her for realizing that.
I don't understand the venom. She works on a show that I believe fired, or bugged the first host so much about her weight that she chose to leave. Of COURSE she is concerned about her body. I have never wanted to do that to my body either, but it doesn't mean I don't want children. Not just the getting fat, but I have met few women who have enjoyed being pregnant and/or giving birth. So, yeah, I am paying more than what I paid for my first house to have a surrogate. I wasn't aware that people who choose not to get pregnant are self-centered "pigs".
ReplyDeleteAs a former fat girl, she has Issues. I think she's scared that if she loses control even the tiniest bit, she's going to lose everything.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I'm a former fat girl like her and I can sympathize. When you're overweight until your college years, you want to stay thin and not revert to your old size. It may be selfish, but I can understand *shrug*
ReplyDeleteI see nothing wrong with this statement. Too blunt for some people. And I hate how people get called selfish whenever they say they don't want kids for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteBeing a parent is not the only way to a fulfilling life!
Messystation, I didn't think about it from that perspective. I think a lot of us are seeing it as another example of the pressure in our society to be thin at any cost, and that's why we had a negative reaction. You reminded me of my friend who had two extremely miserable pregnancies. She didn't love the weight gain, but that was the least of her troubles. If she could've afforded a surrogate she would've done so in a heartbeat. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be a parent, or not wanting to go through pregnancy. The problem is when people feel forced to make enormous decisions like that based on how people will judge their looks.
ReplyDeleteI agree w/ her.
ReplyDeleteI don't she how she is selfish for not wanting to have kids....and I'm glad she is admitting that she just doesn't want to get fat...that's her business.
Continue judging.
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ReplyDeleteThe whole "interesting" thing is because Jillian is a lesbian but I guess these days it is still more socially acceptable to be "bi" -- as for her work -- her 30 Day Shred workout DVD is amazing as is the work she does on Biggest Loser. If she would just stop talking about subjects that she doesn't know about (and people don't care to hear her opinion on) and stop selling junk diet pills that would be great . . .
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with her not wanting to have kids, for any reason. Her "rescuing" comment though is what pisses me off. Not only is she trying to falsely appeal to people, but adopting children has nothing to with being a 'hero'. THAT'S what makes her a selfish twat.
ReplyDelete@mygeorgie
ReplyDeleteShe'd be a hero to the kid she adopted, but I understand your perspective and the point you're trying to make.
Honestly, I can see where she is coming from. I am a mother but firmly believe that we need to step away from the idea that every woman WANTS to be a mother. That isn't the case. I have complete respect for the women who choose not to have children. It is really an unfair world to them in some ways with everyone asking them- especially the married ones- why they don't want children, or when will they have them?? It's rude.
ReplyDeleteShe is in the public eye and wants to continue to have a career. So she has to be (1) in great shape to do so and (2) be identifiable to the "every" woman. Well in this society, its not really OK not to want to have kids. Its OK to have kids and drag them around like luggage or use them as an accessory- but to admit that you just want your life to be about yourself- that is something few women have said outlout in the public eye.
And to @mesasystation- I LOVED being pregnant. I was so happy throughout- until the last two weeks where I got uncomfortable. But there are women out there that do enjoy it.
I applaud anyone who chooses not to parent, and is brave enough and self-aware enough to be honest about it.
ReplyDeleteMaking and raising kids are/were the hardest things I've ever done. It totally affects your body shape and self-image. I would say don't criticise anyone for not wanting to get pregnant unless you too have experienced the joys of pregnancy, birth-giving and recovery.
My daughters have a few friends whose parent's shouldn't have had kids. I give her kudos for knowing she doesn't want them and saying so. Much better than having a kid she later resents. I call that being a responsible non-parent.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of those that have no desire to procreate… I always joke that I’m missing that gene that makes me want to reproduce. I also admit I struggle with eating disorders and I cannot deal with the thought of getting fat. I just can’t. I’m entirely too self-absorbed and selfish to have children. I know that, I’m ok with it, and rather than torment a child I’m choosing to be child-free. The thought of getting huge and all those stretch marks/saggy boobs/leaking fluids etc. makes me want to break out into hives.
ReplyDeletePlease, no nasty comments. Anyone else can have kids and I have NO prob with it. I don’t have a prob with overweight people, either. For MYSELF and myself alone, I cannot and will not do that to my body. I am also a former fatty (who went to the exact opposite extreme) and now I struggle to maintain my weight >100 lbs. I understand what she means. She just has no tact and can’t ever word anything for shit.
I have only watched a couple of episodes of the show, I can't stand it - in fact, I hate the show and its whole premise, with a burning passion. And when Jillian comes on, I want to throw things at my TV (I won't because it's new and big and flat and my husband might cry).
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether I hate her or feel sorry for her. She seems like such a deeply unhappy person, just bitter and mean to the core. I had guessed she used to be fat and probably struggled to get to where she is now - and I was right apparently -, but instead of being proud of who she is and loving her new body, she takes it out on the fat people that come on that show and struggle to lose weight so they don't have to feel ashamed on the cattle scale at the end of the show (only to put all the weight back on again after, that means IT'S NOT WORKING, PEOPLE!).
I hate this show, I hate the weight loss industry, and I LOATHE Jillian Michaels.
But, I can accept not wanting to have children. Too many unwanted ones out there already.
@Just Another Blonde
ReplyDeleteTook the words right out of my mouth. I am in recovery from an ED too, but I know there are certain things I have to do to stay in that place. One of those things is not to gain a significant amount of weight like one has to do in pregnancy. Some may call that not being recovered but I think of it as an alcoholic not walking past his favorite bar every day or putting himself in situations where he's around booze. I cannot be pregnant because I know what I would do to myself just because of the physical changes the body would go through. Fortunately, I have never wanted kids so this is not a big sacrifice, but yeah, the idea of gaining that much weight scares the heck out of me. Also, in my personal opinion, I think that Jillian has eating issues herself. I work in show biz and it seems that most actors have them, so to be in the business AND be a fitness personality has to warp your mind when it comes to food and health.
I used to like Jillian's tough love approach bc I think this society spends too much time making excuses and justifying why it's ok to be hugely overweight. But then she went into the diet pill business which any fitness professional worth a damn would never advocate. Then my respect for her went out the window.
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ReplyDeleteSo I might make some enemies with this post, but I'm ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of pregnancy because of what it does to your body. Not because of a selfish image perspective but because that's an insane amount of change a woman goes through. The weight gain, the stretched skin, the hormones and the actual DELIVERY...OMG. I think it's so common that people tend to discount the amount of sacrifice and trauma (for lack of a better word) each woman endures just to bring a life into the world. Scares me shitless. I'd love to have a baby but this fear has held me back so far and I don't see it ending anytime soon.
ReplyDelete@ Sue Ellen
ReplyDeleteYou're right, she would be a hero to the child/ren she adopted & judging by her attitude, she'd be constantly reminding them how "Lucky they are to have been 'rescued'"
I know you see my point, I only reiterate because I get so riled up by sanctimonious asses that think that being a parent means they deserve an effing medal. It's a blessing to be entrusted with someone elses care, not the other way around! (at least until you're 25, then show some damn gratitute towards your parents, you snot nosed little bastards!) ;)
I am digging this trend of bi-sexual women coming out. Hope it continues.
ReplyDeleteAs for "adopting", yeah have to agree. Being a parent means committing yourself to another life. Making sure its needs precede yours. If Michaels isn't willing to risk looking fat for a pregnancy, I find it hard to believe she is willing to sacrifice parenting over going to the gym.
It's funny how she thinks "doing that" (pregnancy) will ruin her body. I have 2 boys & am 40 yrs and am in awesome shape due to balanced diet and hard exercise. With her abilities she does not have to lose her body at all.
ReplyDeleteIf a woman does not want kids that is TOTALLY fine. too bad she feels the need to make an excuse about it.
I too do not want to have children - yet, I don't want to make excuses or explanations. It's not about what I can or can't handle, I simply have chosen not to make a life in that way.
ReplyDeleteI just object to her fake a** diet pills. It is so smarmy and hypocritical for a trainer to endorse these types of crap products and take advantage of people. At her day job she's telling you to sweat it off, and at night she urging quick fixes. That annoys me far more than her statement about children. She also sounds like she's talking about a rescue dog when she talks about adoption. Disturbing. Why comment at all?
I am a fan of hers on FB and she posted a slightly different quote that just said she thought pregnancy was amazing BUT not for her b/c of her body issues. I cannot say I blame her for saying this as I have often thought the same thing (and have body issues myself). I think its scarier that people have a negative reaction when a woman says she doesn't want to have biological children.
ReplyDeleteThe diet pill debacle was BAD BAD but I am a huge fan of her DVD's. They are the only ones I have ever consistently done and they work!
@ChasingHeaven - Try not to worry so much. If you're a fit person going in, don't eat everything in sight, and find a way to exercise after, you're body will recover, and it you want a baby, the pregnancy and delivery are SO worth it.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason that it's harder to stay in shape after having a baby is because you're busy taking care o your baby, and they need to come first, not your rocking bod. And that is true whether you adopt of have a baby.
I have to say though, Jillian's DVDs are the BEST. First ones I've tried and gotten real results.
OMG. I am way late to this party, but this topic has been burning a hole in my brain since I read last night Jillian's comments.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I am a HUGE fan of Jillian's 30-Day Shred and her other workout programs. They are awesome. They have kept my size 2 bod, a size 2. When I learned she was hawking diet pills and that bullshit, I did scratch my head. Diet pills just seem evil and wrong and so not Jillian. Guess girlfriend was trying to make a quick buck.
Meanwhile, I am 11 weeks prego. Ironically, I was on a huge fitness workout kick as a way to distract myself from not being pregnant (it took like 4 years.) And now, I'm going to be wearing mumus on the beach rather than bikinis. Grrr.
Anyway, I am dreading getting fat via pregnancy. And when I think these thoughts, I tell myself that I'm already being a bad, selfish mommy because I should just accept the changes that are about to come my way thanks to the gift in my belly.
But, yeah. I'm just looking forward to my due date - Nov. 8 - and the time after I can nurture my baby, and nurture my body hopefully back to its tiny self.
I found Jillian's comments about adoption to be a bit wishy-washy. I am so all for adoption. They just didn't ring true to me.
I think the commenters mentioning "control" issues are rigiht on. I do not nor have I ever had an eating disorder, but I do feel like pregnancy is making me lose control of my body. So, I can see that tripping out a control freak such as Jillian.
You know what, I think that it is another sign of our times that women are scared to say they don't want to get pregnant because they don't want to lose their body. I don't see that as an "excuse". I see it as the truth. They don't want to do it, because they don't want to do that to their body. Period. It is no ones place to say that is selfish, in my opinion. I am the same person that gets pissed off when people say "don't have fourteen kids, because then you kill the fucking Earth." FUCK YOU! Women didn't fight for years to get voting rights and half-way equal civil rights just to have OTHER women tell them they should or should not have kids and why or why not they should. Excuse me? I, too, am sorry if this offends anyone, but quite honestly this bullshit that women do to each other is the same reason that it is RARE that I find another mom that I like. I am so tired of this shit, as if you couldn't tell.
ReplyDeleteSusan - you can totally wear a bikini while pregnant! It's not FAT - it's a BABY growing in there! It's a human life, not blubber! Be proud of your bump at every week and lose yourself in the awe of your body creating a small human being.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and a healthy and happy pregnancy!
She won't be having kids because she won't be having penis.
ReplyDeleteShe's a lesbian, why doesn't she just say that? Or not. Either way stop saying stupid things like this.
Who is Jillian grinding it out with now?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Monica! You're totally right. LOL.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree with J. I kinda think Jillian is a lesbian not bi, but doesn't want to come right out and say that for whatever reason. But, of course, I could be way wrong. I don't know.
And I totally applaud women who want to have 1 kid, 10 kids or zero kids. I mean, it's your choice. I do not dig it when society makes judgments on our decisions to procreate. Step off!
I fully support Jillian's sentiment here. Her wording was awkward, perhaps, but I'm sick of it not being ok to flat out say "I have no desire to have kids" for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm another one who never ever wanted to be pregnant (the thought grosses me out) and I can barely tolerate children. Just not my thing. Our society has become so baby-crazy it makes me uncomfortable sometimes. I had to have a hysterectomy a few years ago. I was 31. Every single doctor I came in contact with acted like the impending infertility was a DefCon5 issue. They offered me therapy referrals, drugs, lots of "so sad for you" pats and encouraging smiles. And I was all like "YeeHA!! Bring it on mofos! I am getting rid of SOOO many problems all at the same time here!! Can't wait!" I'm pretty sure most of them either didn't get it, or didn't believe me.
I thankfully have never struggled with eating disorders or anything. I do struggle to keep at a healthy weight and have to be vigilant about food and exercise. That level of vigilance requires a little insanity just to maintain things for me. I can imagine that Jillian, a public figure whose career is built on and depends on her body, has to be exponentially more vigilant. That takes it out of you. And maybe you say something that comes out garbled because you tried to blend a politically correct statement with what you really wanted to say.
I'd just like to point out that once you have the baby, you can get your body back. If she is re-shaping people who have weighed 400 pounds, she knows what the human body is capable of.
ReplyDeleteA healthy pregnancy is just a temporary body change. Most women I know have bounced back beautifully, even though most of us were well past 30 when we had our first.
Another thing is that if you have a healthy body image, you might actually love your body more, post-baby. I do. I realized that my body is more than window dressing. It did something amazing by creating and feeding my three kids. And even though I have some stretch marks, it is better than ever and I am more confident about the way I look.
I'd also say that she might not impart a realistic or healthy body attitude to a child.
She also says that she dates both women and men and has been in love with both. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteMe too.. so I understand. Not a fan of this women, but she seems to be on the right track.
I have to admire her honesty. Pregnancy changes bodies. Not all, but most. That being said, she works to change bodies every freakin' day. She know what it takes to get back in shape. Most fitness people workout during their pregnancy so they can bounce back quicker. Personally, I think she may be scared to go through a pregnancy. Just because you have the capacity to give birth doesn't mean you're automatically attuned to it. And it sure as hell doesn't make you a mother.
ReplyDelete