Jillian Michaels life and biography

Jillian Michaels was born on February 18, 1974, in Los Angeles, California. By the time she was 12 years old she was overweight, weighing in at over 175 pounds. Her parents got her involved in martial arts to boost her confidence and help her work off the pounds. Michaels found that she loved exercise and was soon down to a healthy weight.

The experience of being a heavy child and learning how to lose the weight gave Michaels a new purpose. She became a personal trainer, with the goal of helping others transform their lives and become healthy. Michaels focuses on a blend of kickboxing, Pilates, yoga, and weight training to get people into shape.

In October 2004, NBC premiered their weight loss reality show The Biggest Loser. The show features overweight contestants who are divided into two teams and compete to lose a dramatic amount of weight. Each week there are challenges and the losing team must vote out one of their own. Teams each have their own personal trainer who teaches them about healthy eating and pushes them to exercise.

Jillian Michaels started out as the trainer for the red team on the show. She quickly earned a reputation for being hard on the contestants while pushing them to extremes with their exercise routines. While she was portrayed as being overly tough with her teams, many of them have gone on to lose weight and credit Michaels for their successes.

Michaels was a trainer for the first two seasons of the show and left before the third season, citing the way she was being portrayed as the reason for her departure. She was replaced by trainer Kim Lyons. She returned for the fifth season of the show, however, and a third team was created to accommodate her. During season six Lyons left the cast, returning the show to its original format. In each season that Michaels has appeared on the show, a member of her team has won.

At this point in the Jillian Michaels biography, brand recognition becomes a huge factor in her success. Her return to The Biggest Loser was good news for fans of the show, as she had gained a loyal following during her first two seasons and became instantly recognizable. After contributing to the lines of Biggest Loser weight loss products, which included books, videos, and other items, she branched out and started creating her own fitness programs and products.

Michaels has written three books, two of which have hit the New York Times bestseller list. These books include:

* Master Your Metabolism
* Making the Cut
* Winning by Losing

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