Jillian Michaels is perhaps the most famous personal trainer in America. Her take-no-prisoners approach on NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and "Losing It With Jillian" has made her a household name in fitness and weight loss. She hosts about 1.6 million visitors a week on her website and a million followers on Twitter hang on her every tip.

In addition to having created a library of workout DVDs and video games, Michaels, 39, is the author of four best-selling books, including the most recent, "Slim for Life: My Insider Secrets to Simple, Fast, and Lasting Weight Loss" (Harmony, $25). In the book, she offers simple solutions to every diet and fitness challenge she has heard over her 20-year career.

Jillian Michaels and her Maximize Your Life Tour stops in San Jose on April 12.(Lobeline Communications)

We caught up with Michaels in advance of her Maximize Your Life Tour, which stops at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts on April 12, to chat about fasting, motherhood and the perfect kettlebell swing.

QYou come out with a new health and fitness book almost every year. How is this one different?

AI wrote this new book to help answer every challenge I was hearing, from, "So, I'm going on a paleo diet" to, "How do you get to the gym every day?"

Are you kidding? I haven't been to the gym in two weeks. I wanted to write a book that said, "I know you're confused or strapped for cash or limited on motivation, and here's what you need to do." "Slim for Life" is my simplest approach to help educate people to lose the weight and keep it off.


QAs trends go, Gwyneth Paltrow's new gluten-free, sugar-free cookbook is getting a lot of buzz. What are your thoughts on this type of diet?

AIn a perfect world, it would be great. But I can't live like that. I can't imagine never having a scoop of ice cream again, or bite of brownie. You cannot go the rest of your life without sugar. Instead, you can pick versions that are healthy, like the Unreal Bars; they are chemical-free versions of the candy bars we grew up on with 50 percent less sugar.

As for going gluten-free, once you start on that path, the foods start getting less nutritious and more expensive and containing less fiber. Unless you have celiac disease, you don't need to be gluten-free.

QWhat about intermittent fasting? "The Fast Diet" has quickly become a best-seller since it came to the United States.

A Oh no, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I never fast. I can't work or function when I don't eat, let alone work out. Is it safe? It depends on the person and their health issues. Before you do something so stupid, you should absolutely talk to your doctor.

QYou are certified as a kettlebell instructor. What's your advice for an optimal kettlebell swing?

AIt's in the hips. Your hips are navigating the movement instead of your shoulders. In order to get the momentum going, your tailbone should be tucked into your spine, and your hips should be popping up.

QHow did your philosophy on fitness and weight loss change when you became a mom?

AMy philosophy on fitness is the same. But the reality of what you can do to yield the results you want has changed. It's not easy to make all the healthy meals and go to the gym five days a week. My Utopian ideal is not possible for most. The results are going to be slower. If you give me four 30-minute slots a week, I'll make them count like an hour and a half each. That's what my new book is about.

QHow do you handle so many demands as a mom?

ALook, I'm not a young mom. I'm 39-year-old mom of a 1-year-old. When my son is 11, I'll be 50. He's going to need me on the surfboard and at the ski lesson. I want to be engaged and not on the sidelines. That's what motivates me.

QYou're coming to San Jose on April 12 for an interactive show. What can we expect?

AYou're going to come out of there eating right and working out better. I want people to believe in their ability to live their dreams, to believe in themselves and live the life they've always wanted.

QYou took two years off from "The Biggest Loser" to fight childhood obesity. What have you learned, and what is left to do?

AI don't want to come at this from a place of cynicism. But we have got to lead by example. As parents, we gotta walk the walk. If our kids see us eating well and exercising, they will too.

We take our kids to this organic cafe down the street when we're too tired to cook. We'll get my daughter the whole-wheat pasta with meat sauce and order the beet-and-goat-cheese salad for us. When she sees what we're eating, she pushes her pasta aside and says, "I want that." She wants what we're having.

back story