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Tough Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels is drawing criticism for some comments she made to Women’s Health. Michaels isn’t my favorite person, and I’ve called her to task for making arguably derogatory comments about the contestants on The Biggest Loser. (She’s called them “half dead” and “monkeys.”) In Women’s Health, Jillian says that she’ll adopt before bearing children because she doesn’t want to put her body through pregnancy. Some exercise professionals are calling out Michaels for what could be considered reckless comments discouraging women from having children. Michaels is a media personality and people pay attention to her opinion on physiology and weight gain. Still, at least she’s being honest about her self-absorbed reasons for not having biological children. Michaels is not married and is thought to have a same sex partner. She told Ladies Home Journal that she could fall in love with a man or a woman.

There is no doubt that “The Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels has one of the best bodies in America, and given her childhood history of being overweight, it’s something the 36-year-old has worked ultra-hard to achieve. So hard in fact, that she’s not willing to let it slide even to become a biological mother.

“I’m going to adopt. I can’t handle doing that to my body,” Michaels told the new issue of Women’s Health magazine. “Also, when you rescue something, it’s like rescuing a part of yourself.”

Michaels’ words surrounding pregnancy and her figure have been met with criticism from several experts (who have not worked with her) in the health industry.

“She is teaching people about body image and self-esteem. Women who have children all the time and get right back in shape [sic] particularly if they exercise,” Dr. Leslie Seppinni, a Los Angeles-based Family Therapist & Clinical Psychologist told Pop Tarts. “If this is how she truly feels, she should seek counsel before coaching others on issues of body image.”

And Dr. Mike Bishop, Executive Director at Wellspring health/weight loss camps pointed out that Michaels’s own self-esteem may have too much emphasis on aesthetic.

“Jillian’s self-worth seems to be tied to her appealing appearance, and her appearance isn’t necessarily reflective of overall health and happiness,” Bishop said. “There is certainly nothing unhealthy about pregnancy itself, although many women would argue after childbirth it is challenging to get their pre-pregnancy body back, these are the beliefs Jillian is reflecting.”

TV’s toughest trainer also admitted that she weighed 175lbs when she was just 12 years old, and felt “abandoned” after her parents separated, which could have a bearing on her current feelings toward birth and adoption.

“When individuals have dealt with weight issues in their life, they tend to focus on how they feel in their own skin and their level of comfort. In the case of pregnancy, some of these women desire the experience of being a parent, but do not want to risk the possibility of gaining back previously lost weight/losing the ‘new’ body they worked so hard to achieve,” explained Sloane Veshinski, Doctoral Candidate in Counseling, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist & Certified Addictions Professional. “Adoption gives these women the ability to be a parent and to provide a loving home to a child.”

But in her defense, Michaels may just be committed to holding on to what has made her a source of inspiration to millions of others.

[From Fox News]

Katherine Heigl said something similar about not wanting to gain weight through pregnancy, but it wasn’t this clear cut. She didn’t say “I’m adopting because I don’t want to get fat,” and ended up adopting a baby girl from Korea. Heigl also has an adopted sister from Korea, which probably explains her reasoning more than a fear of getting fat. Does Michaels really want to have a child and to give a home to an adoptee? I doubt it. She said “when you rescue something, it’s like rescuing a part of yourself.” A child is not “something” like a pet, it’s “someone,” like a person. Plus children are not there for personal fulfillment as in providing a missing “part of yourself.” Maybe I just don’t like Michaels and am reading too much into her comments, but it just doesn’t seem like she wants to have kids. There’s nothing wrong with that, and there’s nothing wrong with admitting it, either.

Michaels is shown on 3/13/10. Credit: WENN.com

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