Losing It

Have you heard of Jillian Michaels? Well, about 6 months ago I hadn't. Then I was scurrying around Wal-Mart one day looking for some protein powder, when I saw that the least expensive brand was one demarcated with a buff-looking super woman on the front label. Evidently her name was Jillian.

I was soon informed that she was one of the personal trainers on The Biggest Loser (ooohhhh okay, I've heard of that!). Well, now she has a show to herself called Losing It With Jillian and it airs on NBC every Tuesday night at 7 CST. Why am I telling you this? Because I believe that watching this show can potentially change your life.

This is more than a tv show, people. This is about changing the way you eat, think, and do. The families selected for the show are ones with chronic health problems. Quite frankly, they are dying. Not in the sterilized, hospital gown, chemotherapy way you might think of, but in the sudden heart attack kind of way. Essentially, the families in the show are walking time bombs, plagued by a lifetime of poor health behaviors combined with either ignorance or shame. Jillian has made it her mission to intervene in each such family and change their life. Or rather, give them a new one.

I can't encourage people enough to take notice of this show. This is where we must start, as a nation, to turn the obesity epidemic around. Supposedly, we all watch hours of tv, right?* Well let's start watching something that can actually improve and help our friends, families, neighbors. Watch Jillian fight the obesity fight, and then take that inspiration and give it to those around you who need it. One character in last week's poignant episode said to his best friend, "I love you. I would be really really sad if you died." This is the kind of caring and love we need to show those among us who are slowly killing themselves. Health is NOT something worth taking for granted.

*Note. While I actually don't really watch tv anymore, this is one show I plan on making an effort to tune into, simply so that I can glean some inspiration for myself to keep active and healthy. Plus, I want to give this show as much viewership as I can!