Jillian Michaels, Under Fire, Threatens Suit Against LA Times

A war of words is heating up between "The Biggest Loser" trainer Jillian Michaels and theLos Angeles Times, which earlier this month published an editorialcalling Michaels "an actress playing the role of fitness trainer on TV and in a line of popular DVDs."

The column was written by James S. Fell, identified as "a certified strength and conditioning specialist in Calgary, Canada," who says he has "an internationally respected fitness certification." Fell says that "the collective jaws of professional trainers hit the floor after witnessing [Michaels's] regular displays of poor technique and unsafe training practices."

Fell was talking about Michaels's latest DVD, entitled "Shred-It With Weights," which purports to teach viewers how to use "kettle weights," ball-shaped weights with an oblong handle on top. The weights are a relative novelty and apparently somewhat difficult to use; in his column, Fell says that, despite his extensive experience, "I lack the audacity to pretend I am qualified to teach kettle bells."

Criticism on multiple fronts

Indeed, Mark Cheng, chief instructor at Kettlebells Los Angeles, tells Fell that Michaels's "technique is appalling."

"She doesn't break things down into manageable pieces that prompt people to get the correct form, so instead she is enabling bad form," Cheng says. "I would not recommend this from a safety perspective."

And Fell quotes Jude Howe, an instructor based in Austin, Texas, as saying that Michaels's technique "couldn't have been more dangerous." Howe went so far as to post a rebuttal video on YouTube "to show people proper form."

Fell also takes issue with Michaels's claim that DVD viewers will lose "up to 5 pounds a week!" Through simple mathematical calculations, Fell arrives at the conclusion that, for a 190-pound middle-aged woman to lose five pounds per week on a kettle weight regimen, she would need to exercise for at least four hours a day, seven days a week -- suffice it to say, an unimaginably demanding, and probably physically impossible, proposition.

Battle heats up

Michaels wasted little time in firing back.

"Shame on theLos Angeles Times for saying I'm a fraud and not a trainer," Michaels said to UsMagazine.com on October 14, three days after the column was published. "I currently own two certifications, one of which doesn't expire. I developed my own continuing education program for trainers, with sports medicine doctors. I've been a trainer since I was 17-years old for 19 years."

As to the Times' editorial, Michaels told Us, "I'm going after them," a statement that Us took to refer to "legal action."

Dietary supplements also under fire

All of this makes for good theater, of course, although so far no lawsuit has been filed, and Michaels would face an uphill battle in any event -- celebrities face a much more stringent legal burden than average citizens in trying to prove up a libel suit. But the uproar does raise a serious and worthwhile question -- how much should consumers who want to lose weight look to celebrity trainers for guidance or advice?

It is becoming ever more apparent that quick-fixes and extreme diet supplements are often ineffective, and that in some cases they can be dangerous or even deadly. Several of Michaels's own dietary supplements provide worthwhile examples. In February, a suit was filedover"Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control," a supplement claiming that it would "restrict your caloric intake automatically." The plaintiff in that suit, Christie Christensen, quickly found that "her appetite did not decrease, her caloric intake was not automatically restricted, and she did not lose any weight."

A disappointment, to be sure, but not as serious as allegations in a subsequent lawsuitclaiming that Michaels's "Triple Process Total Body Detox & Cleanse" supplement contains a "potentially lethal combination of toxic ingredients." Another suit said that Michaels's "Maximum Strength Fat Burner" contained ingredients -- including citrus aurantium -- that combine to form a "toxic cocktail."

And prescription drugs haven't fared much better. The Fen-Phen fiasco probably remains foremost in consumers' minds, but it bears repeating that Meridia was pulled from the marketearlier this month after clinical trials showed that the drug is linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

At this point, gastric bypass surgery looks like one of the best alternatives for morbidly obese individuals; a January 2010 studyin the Archives of Surgery determined thatmost morbidly obese individuals would probably live longer if they underwent the procedure.

Consumers should always talk to a doctor before taking any dietary supplement or medication, and should carefully read all warnings and interaction notices.

Christensen's lawyer, Melissa Harnett, summed it up well by noting that most dietary supplements promising instant and painless weight loss are "inherently ... contrary to the notion that you need to exercise and eat right to lose weight."

Exercise videos are probably, on balance, more innocuous than supplements -- but, again, consult a doctor first, and be sure you trust the trainer and the source, and don't overdo it, no matter how much you want to fit into that old pair of jeans. It's hard to manage four hours of kettle weights every day with a herniated disc.

Read more about Weight Loss