First, Jillian finds a family in need of help – the Jones Family in Boston. Then she yells at them. Then they cry, for all the hurt built up over the years after losing a loved one and also, probably from the sheer humiliation of being yelled at. Eventually, in all that yelling, they find the message that they’ve been living terribly unhealthy lives and they deserve better. They lose weight, clean the house, eat better, enjoy each other’s company and thank Jillian profusely for yelling at them.
Did you pick up on all the yelling? Gah.
I felt like puking. I even cried a couple of times. Sure, the outcome was great! It’s everything you could want for someone who feels lost and used up. But am I wrong or is that nothing that couldn’t have been accomplished with some humiliation-free counseling?
I thought there was a lot of yelling, too! I’ll, of course, continue to watch because I love all things Bob-and-Jillian. This was Jillian’s response on Twitter/Facebook: “I see comments on here about my screaming at trainees. I’ll explain to clarify. When people give up I use fear (of me) to push them past old beliefs of failure into achievement. Once they’ve completed the workout they thought they couldn’t do i become irrelevant & they’re left w/ the accomplishment. That accomplishment redefines their self image & their potential. Notice after I yell, they stop quitting & get better.”
Drama, drama, drama…
It’s what “sells”.
Drama, drama, drama…
It’s great for “ratings”.
Drama, drama, drama…
Now don’t you feel better about yourself?
(To clarify: I like Jillian so, this isn’t a jab at just this one show.)
There is nothing real in “reality television”, that’s all I’m sayin’…
I watched just a clip and it was horrid. One can argue that yelling to get results is the shortest point from A to B, which is perfect for tv, but that was sickening to watch. I was thoroughly creeped out watching Jillian then take the sobbing woman and cradle her face in her hands. Eeeeek. Shivers.
What I found even more disturbing than the yelling was the fact that Jillian seems to fancy herself some sort of Licensed Professional Counselor. I don’t know that having a six pack for a stomach really qualifies you to make up dramatic(and kinda stupid) emotional roleplays (i.e., putting a weight vest on a 14-year-old to reveal her mother’s codependency) and act like you’ve solved a family’s deep emotional crises just because they cried and promised to do better. I hate it when reality personalities leave their realm of expertise.
All that being said, I’m still going to rock my Shred DVD tonight, because having a six pack for a stomach does qualify you to whip my JELL-O belly into shape.
No, yelling is not necessary to get through to people. Agreed.
Neither is physical activity necessary to work through mental health issues. There are lots of people who are unfit physically who have great coping skills. This is just one spin on how people can get help. Yes, Jillian yells. On BL, so does Bob. But she’s the one who gets called out on it. If you pay attention to the way that she uses the yelling I don’t think it’s unlike any other sports coach who, when a player enters their program, tears him down to be built back up.
The people on these shows have problems that they have not been dealing with, and one can assume that the people who surround them have either coddled them or grown weary of pushing them towards change. Sometimes it takes a shock to shake people out of their current perceptions, or out of their wallowing in the past. Physical exertion is one way to snap yourself into the current moment right quick.
Is the yelling something that I think I would enjoy? No. Does it seem to work for Jillian? Yes. She’s actually quite well informed and does her research (I would suggest listening to some of her podcasts online. She’s a quick thinker and knows her stuff off the top of her head). If she is trying things on the show (such as the weighted vest), I have a hunch that it was vetted first.
I’m with, I think,the first Sarah (ok, maybe both of them)…while Jillian is indeed knowledgeable of fitness, she is not a counselor. She may have suffered difficulties in her life due to weight issues, and thinks she is a counselor because she understands/identifies, she is not a counselor.
Regardless, I am all for people improving the quality of their lives and yes, it may come in different forms, I just really don’t get the whole yelling thing.
There’s a lot of people out there that won’t step foot near a counselor. Yet somehow they are willing to humiliate themselves on TV – makes for good television, methinks.
I think Jillian knows what she’s doing. I think the yelling is just a tool that is used to get ratings, and perhaps, it motivates some people. Still, it’d sit better with me if Jillian did actually get a little counselor-type-training, since she seems to be dealing with mental breakdowns all the time.
I find watching Biggest Loser or Losing It far less humiliating than The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. Still fascinating to watch, but MY GOD – how can people willingly do that to themselves, publicly or no? Boggles my mind. You’d need counseling after being on that show!
Cheers,
E!
I also think Jillian is treading on some dangerous ground here. Yes, yelling can get people motivated to work out (not me though, lol!), but when dealing with a family who lost a newborn and haven’t been able to talk about it for 20 years, you need to tread carefully. I only hope that family has gotten some real counseling. (Maybe the show’s producers could pay for it!)
I love Jillian’s workouts, but I don’t think I’d want her for my therapist, lol!
See? This is why I’m not a big fan of “reality” shows in general. I have only watched a handful of any of the shows (including the humiliation that was the “Brad Womack” season of “The Bachelor”), and I have decided to just say “no” to reality shows in general. Haven’t lost a single night’s sleep over it yet!!
Although I do admit: I, too, bought the 30 Day Shred video and (once I have actual energy in my body) plan to complete it.
As the WASPiest woman alive, anyone who yelled at me could guarantee getting zero results. Because I would stiff-upper-lip myself to a quiet place and then just burst into tears and freeze in place. I think this show would probably traumatize me, just watching it.
I have cried at both episodes that have been on! I don’t know if there is another way but I would want to freakkkkkkk out on her if that was me and I am in pretty good overall condition and weight. I exercise weekly and couldn’t withstand some of the things she’s is yelling and expecting them to do!
Yeah…I don’t respond so well to yelling. I never did, either.
As far as I am concerned, anyone who signs up for a reality tv show has whatever they get coming to them. People will do anything for their 15 minutes of fame. It’s utterly ridiculous. Counseling would be a much better way to go but sometimes it’s not about that.
I prefer my fitness gurus silent unless they are counting off the last five reps of some horrendous exercise.
I have a love-hate relationship with Jillian. She’s crazy abrasive, but she does seem to get the job done… However, when I’m doing her 30-day shred DVD I often wish it was me who was yelling at her and making her cry.
I am not normally a violent person but while watching that show I said at least a dozen times that I would punch her in the face if she yelled at me like that.
Haha! Well, if it was a big love fest and they just sat around and held hands and hugged the entire time, it wouldn’t make for “good” TV, would it? America is a country that feeds on the drama – the yelling, the crying, all of it!
-Q
http://qwithouttheu.wordpress.com