It’s so surreal, but I saw Jillian Michaels last night on the DC leg of her Maximize Your Life tour!!! It was such a fun night and boy do I have a lot to share…
Before the show, I met up with my Katy, Jessica, Becky, and Jennie at Matchbox in Chinatown.
It was so great hanging out with my girlfriends and meeting Jennie for the first time!!
For dinner I ordered the black bean burger, which was fantastic! I ate the whole burger and probably 10 fries. I was pretty proud of myself for not eating all those fries.
After dinner we walked over to the Warner Theatre and waited for the show to start.
Left to right: Becky, Me, Jennie, Jessica, and Katy.
As I listen to Jillian’s podcasts, I had a good sense of what the show would consist of. I expected some talk about diet and exercise, as well as a focus on making the most of our life.
When Jillian walked out on stage I had a mini freak out moment. She’s so fit and I just love her sense of humor. I totally want to rock skinny jeans like her when I’m 39!
Jillian started the show revealing the secret to losing weight. She explain that it’s exactly what has helped her clients and those on the Biggest Loser lose hundreds of pounds. The key to weight loss is …
EAT LESS, MOVE MORE!
It’s really that simple. She went on to explain that we have to “turn on the bullshit meter and start reading between the lines”. If a diet is too good to be true, it is. If it cuts out major food groups, don’t do it. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it.
Nothing she said about calorie intake was new to me, but what really hit home was what she shared about the need to eat more organic and natural foods. I have never read the ingredients list on the nutrition label, as I’m always focused on the calories, fat, and protein. Realizing that most of the ingredients are chemicals in our processed foods really hit home. It’s definitely something I want to think about and work on.
Next, Jillian talked about exercise.
She encouraged us to workout at 85% of our max heart rate and to do cardio and strength training together whenever possible. Her recommendations were straight out of Body Revolution, which I loved.
After intermission, Jillian’s talk took a turn. She began to talk about living a life we want and figuring out why we struggle. Fun and games went out the window if you ask me…
Jillian started by asking us to think about our “why”. Why do we want to lose weight? Why do I want to wear skinny jeans? Why do I want to be able to do x, y, and z?
To reach that point, Jillian said to…
- Be present. Live in the moment instead of living in the past or future
- Emotionally attach yourself to your goals
- Be proactive
- Determine why you’re keeping the weight on (there is a reason!)
- Ask yourself “what does my weight afford me?”
The show ended on a womp womp note to be honest. It took a weird turn at the end when she started talking about personal issues we might have and needing to “get rid of the cancers in our lives”. It was just a weird note to end it on.
Overall though I learned a lot and loved hearing Jillian speak! Here are my favorite quotes from the night…
- “We live the life we think we should live instead of the life we want”
- “If you love it and enjoy it, do it more”
- “Don’t be scared of the possibility of things working out”
- “Where you’re at at this point in your life is your responsibility”
- “When you break down your goals you are left with a road map that is achievable”
- “Once you change things, they stay changed!”
- “I never played with Barbi as a kid because I hated that b*$@&”
