In Jillian Michaels’ opinion, there is no easy way out when it comes to weight loss.
The former "Biggest Loser" trainer spoke with Fox News Digital about the Ozempic fad that seems to be sweeping Hollywood, noting if it was a truly successful option, she’d throw her clout behind it.
"If it was the easy way out, I would recommend it," Michaels said. "I'd be like, ‘Fantastic, let me get in the business. Let me get my app on board. Let me sell these drugs through my app.’ Just like Weight Watchers.
"Of course, I would get in line and profit like crazy if I didn't really believe these things were bad, based on the research that's already out there."
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Ozempic was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, but the medication has increasingly been prescribed off brand for weight loss, along with several other similar medications.
Some celebrities, like Sharon Osbourne and Oprah Winfrey, have been open about using weight loss medication, sharing the impact it’s had on their lives.
"All these celebrities are not health experts," Michaels said. "They're not nutritionists. They're not fitness experts. And they don't spend all day talking to doctors."
Michaels was adamant that people research Ozempic and any other medication they may want to take.
"Every medication, whether it's antibiotics or vaccines, have a cost-benefit analysis. They all have side effects," she noted. "So, when we look at Ozempic and all of those drugs there are many side effects from extremely nefarious to just absolutely s---ty, no pun intended."
Michaels encouraged people to visit the brand’s own website to see the list of side effects for themselves, which does include side effects like pancreatitis, changes in vision, kidney problems (kidney failure), gallbladder problems and more common side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.
There’s also the more outward changes to a person’s appearance.
"We're starting to hear about ‘Ozempic face,’ which is accelerated facial aging, hair loss," she said, adding those side effects are still "anecdotal."
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But the 49-year-old is more concerned about the long-term effects of Ozempic and other weight loss medications.
"Here's the problem with this: [It’s] that you can never get off these drugs. If you do get off of them, all of the meta-analysis shows us that you will gain all the weight back, and then some, two-thirds of it within the first year," she explained.
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According to a study published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism: A Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2022, "participants regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss" following the stoppage of treatments and other lifestyle changes.
Michaels further explained that staying on a drug like Ozempic "forever" is not a likely option.
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"You will plateau on Ozempic. It will stop working right around the 18-month to two-year mark. It's going to stop working. Now what are you going to do? Because now you're literally beholden to it. It's expensive. Insurance isn't going to cover it forever. Are you going to be on it forever? So, we don't even know what this looks like five years down the road, ten years down the road."
While she has many reservations about Ozempic, Michaels can see a silver lining to the increased interest in weight loss driven by it.
"It has proven what I've been saying for three decades, calories in, calories out is weight loss. Health is a different conversation, but it facilitates weight loss.
"Second thing, we know that women and men of all ages can lose weight because most of these people on Ozempic are 40-plus. And they’re shrinking, so it looks like you can still lose weight if you’re eating less food."
"And the third thing," she added, "is now we’re allowed to say that obesity is deadly again because the pharmaceutical companies have shaped that narrative one more time. So, those are the only good things about it."
Michaels has been in the health and wellness space for years and gained national attention for her work on "The Biggest Loser" as a personal trainer.
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Since her time on the show, she has launched her app, The Fitness App, the No. 1-rated diet and exercise app, which includes workout classes led by Michaels, diet and meal planning advice and progress tracking.
She also hosts two podcasts. On "Keeping It Real," she interviews experts in the field of wellness and offersinformation and empowerment. On her other show, "Back in the Saddle with Jillian and Janice," she and her friend cover a wide variety of topics, including the "absurdities of daily life."
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Michaels is confident people can achieve their health goals with tried and true methods.
"I'm going to tell you that if you can find a way to eat less food without these drugs, you will lose weight, and [there] will be nothing but upside," she said. "Instead of all the negative side effects, you will have a list of positive side effects from improved cognitive function, improved heart health, improved hormone balance and on and on and on."
The mom of two has more in-depth advice to offer as well, No. 1 being to "have a goal that you feel passionate about."
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"It's obvious, but sometimes I think messaging is so cliché. People tend to negate it because they've heard it before, but they don't really think about what it means. We take on goals because we think we should, and the ‘shoulds’ in life can feel like more work, extremely punishing. And when the going gets tough, adding more punishment on to it is just a no-go," she explained.
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Specificity is key as well.
"It doesn't matter if it's profound or superficial as long as you care about it," she said. "Because if your goals reflect the things you want instead of the things you should, then they're based in purpose, which is a labor of passion and love as opposed to punishment."
Michaels encourages finding fitness you enjoy, noting it doesn’t have to be the kind of high-intensity or resistance training she usually opts for.
"If you like hiking, if you like dancing, if you like yoga, paddleboarding, I don't care what it is, if it's an activity you like, do more of it. Because the No. 1 key to fitness outside of intensity and volume and all the terms is consistency."
Her final big tip she considers to be "common sense" but reiterated the importance of a cleaner diet.
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"Eat real food. As little processed food as possible, minimally processed," she said. "It should have a mother or come from the ground in some sort of recognizable fashion."
There is one thing specifically Michaels wants people to give up.
"Added sugar. Not a banana. The crap in a box, high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, all the crap. All the different names for sugar.
"It is literally killing us. And you would have caught me. I don't know, up to five years ago, I was like, ‘Well, you know, just balance it,’" she added, explaining that her stance has changed due to its contributions to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, inflammatory issues, autoimmune conditions and the aging of skin.
Michaels knows major changes take time and just wants people to "baby step it."
"Nothing has to be perfect. You don't have to give up all sugar. Maybe give up soda for the month and build on top of that," she said.
"Progress is progress. Any step in the right direction, literally and figuratively, is exactly that."
