Jillian is who she is: Bob is who he is. But who gets better results?
 

Lots of discussion online as to whether or not the way people train on TBL is abusive or not especially Jillian this season seeming mean or different. I thought Id post here on the TBL forum cause this is the place for it I think.
Jillian has one approach hardcore lots of yelling and so on: Bob has another which seems to be kinder. Not gonna talk about Dolvett cause hes only been on a few seasons.
SO youd think if Jillians approach is so horrible shed have worse results for overall winners. If a kinder approach worked aka Bob, would Bob have better results aka more overall winners?
I dont know who has more "winners" per season -- Jillian or Bob when they compete head to head like each trains a team?
I think its Jillian for overall seasons winners. So does this mean that tough love Jillian style is more effective than Bobs? Assuming of course she has more overall winners than Bob :)

Still don't know about this season if she's changed or whatever, but yes Jillian had more winners in the beginning seasons- alot of the women that won Biggest Loser titles were trained with Jillian, so I believe that says something... she does know her stuff, especially getting the women's weight down and breaking them out of plateaus.

I'm sure most of the differences come from creative editing. Though some of the stuff coming out of her mouth this season has been astounding.

and my recollection is that Jillian has more winners. Doesn't seem to be working for her this time though.

When Jillian and Bob compete, she wins consistently. Bob tends to win when there is no Jillian to compete with.

On the 10 seasons where both Bob and Jillian were competing together, one of Jillian's contestants won 8 seasons, one of Bob's contestants won 1 season, and Ali Vincent, who worked with both of them and spent time off-ranch, won the final season.

I think this is mostly editing, to be honest, combined with the fact that Jillian seemed to have been assigned kind of a dud team member (seriously, who quits on the first day? After being given that opportunity?) which hurt her team's momentum. I'm sure if Bob or Dolvett had a contestant who got less than an hour into the first workout and quit, they'd be yelling too, but that's not the edit you'd see, since "Mean Bob" is not the storyline BL goes for, unlike "Mean Jillian".

And honestly, given the number of psych evaluations these contestants undergo, I would not at all be surprised if Jillian was given a contestant who really, truly was not ready and bound to quit, specifically to set up this kind of confrontation, so that BL could get the "Mean Jillian" edit and get everyone talking about her return.

shes only being "meaner" because its the start of her return and the show is going on this whole thing about her being bad and back. she'll tone it down as the season progresses, im sure.

Mind you, I don't watch the show, but these teams might not be assigned randomly either. Like on Dancing with the Stars - you can know from the beginning if a star has a chance or not and it has nothing to do with the professional they are paired with. Could be the same for these judges.

I have now worked with a trainer for two "events" at my gym in groups. And while a trainer has a lot to do with motivating the 'contestants', it's more the individuals mind-set and what they are willing to put into it than the trainer.

A trainer can go a lot farther with teams who REALLLLLLY want it and are willing to work for it than for other teams that are are more lackadaisical about it.

The team I'm on now had the winning Biggest Winner (name of our contest at the gym) individual last year. Well.... this year? Huh. The other women on my team are all like, "I don't want to do that." Or, "I like to read my book when I exercise" when the trainer suggested she rev it up some doing intervals instead... You can only do so much as a trainer - the people on the team have to want to do it!

In some instances, trainers are able to pick their teams (they have in the past) and usually they opt for the bigger guys and gals so they can pull bigger numbers and lead their team to victory, so there is a bit of that too, you're right.

Oh yes, then definitely. I was wondering about the teams set up with my gym too. There are about 70 of us, we are in groups of 4. About 10 or so are men. That means that no team should have more than one man on it. So, how come at least one team has two men?

And we were assigned without them having our weights, ages, anything. (they could be more organized about it).

My team? While a great bunch of ladies, we have no chance in he$$ to win anything. We are all women, and two are over 65.

The teams with the men on them have a better chance and the one with TWO men? if they don't win everything, then they aren't trying very hard.

I'm one of Jillian's biggest fans. Yes, she screams and yells. But these people would have given up already. She pushes them beyond anything they can imagine. She p***es them so off that they get angry and then they "want to show her" they aren't as weak as she makes them out to be. It's pshycology that she's doing. When you have so much weight to lose, like those people on the biggest loser, you need someone like Jillian to get you moving. GO JILLIAN!

Wait a minute. Are you really saying what it sounds like you are saying? Tough love is the only thing that works on people who are so fat?

See... that's why I hate shows like this (and refuse to watch) because people really do start to think that's how people 'need' to be treated.

For what it's worth. I needed to lose 115 pounds. And I never needed anyone to yell or scream at me or belittle me to do it. I have had supportive friends, family and now a supportive personal trainer. Who pushes me and can see when I'm working hard and when I'm not and knows when to stop and when to push with never raising her voice or making belittling comments.

Sure, I'm not losing as FAST as those are on Biggest Loser, but that's another problem with that show.

I would say that tough love is a good approach for the kind of person who self-selects to be on the Biggest Loser by applying and is subsequently selected for the show. Doesn't say anything about bigger people in general, only about the very specific subset of "People who apply for and are selected for Biggest Loser" (who are likely to a, believe that they can't lose weight without BL, and b, have big psychological "breakthroughs" to have, since the producers are looking for those sorts of moments for TV).

The number of people who say things like "I have been applying to get on the show for 6 seasons" always blows me away. I always think about the fact that they could be at goal already had they just started. But those people really don't believe that they are capable...and the quickest way to break that down is the tough love.

Now, it's not the ONLY way to break that down, but on BL, you don't have a few months to get them over that hurdle.

I have watched the show in the past, no more, I think Jilliam is crazy.

For those of you who are lucky enough to be brought up in a home where yelling and hitting wasn't the "way to bring up children" you are lucky. Screaming at someone may get them to do whatever, but it is no way to get it done, because it is "fear". If a person is not self motivated to lose weight, quit drinking, quit smoking, quit drugging etc. it won't happen, maybe temporarily, but not permanant. Jillian is crazy, I hope she is not bringing her child up using this 'tough" approach. OMG!

OK, this is true. Obviously, these people are screened and 'should' be mentally capable of handling such treatment, but what does it say about people that it takes that to get motivated?

For me (and many) it would be the sheer embarrassment of being on the show and coming across as lazy or a wuss or a quitter. I would shrink inside myself if I stepped on a scale and didn't see losses as the WORLD is watching me!

But we are all different. I've been the people pleaser. Others have different motivations, but to conjecture that all really fat people NEED to be yelled at to get with the program is wrong too. Most need self-love, support, enough sleep and the means to make good decisions.

One thing that was interesting in this weeks show was that a Red team member worked out with Jillian's team. They didn't specifically have her comment about the training but she seemed to be keeping up but didn't seem to be finding it too easy either. So it seems like physically at least, the training regimens are reasonably comparable.

I think the reason why Jills screaming is so effective though is because of WHAT shes saying. She gets very angry and hits things but says things like "Do it!" "Finish it!" "Youre capable of doing this" etc. Sometimes its straight to the point, sometimes its positive, but I cannot see how it can harm someones soul, she never puts people down and she never makes you double think and wonder if you're good enough. Shes just a little aggressive but shes reassuring you that YOU ARE good enough. And although its a lot to bear at first -- this is where all the crying comes in, soon after you're over it and you're thankful for it. And contestants DO get over it because they know nothing that was said left a mark.. it was just a verbal push.

I think it all depends on WHAT youre saying. Im all for tough love, but you DO need to be careful of the message you're sending.

I dont know if this is all the editing fault, but everytime we see Jills team shes always either mounting someone or standing on their knees/etc.. its always so intense, she seems to really focus on the weight lifting while doing the cardio but when we see Bobs team its always treadmill/bike.

Dolvetts still kinda new to me but so far Im loving his style.

Jillian has more winners as in "win the whole thing" but I think as a whole Bob's TEAMS do better. It seems almost consistently Jillian picks one person to focus on and the rest get left in the dust. Just more obvious than usual this season.

and lets not forget this is television, not reality. The yelling is scripted. It is her character.

Jillian scares the crap out of me. That's all I'm saying in this. She makes my body hurt bad.

When I was living in Los Angeles, I got the opportunity to meet Jillian. She was training some of the contestants (not on camera) at the gym I worked out at briefly. Yes she was yelling at them, but it was NOTHING like what is on the show. It was stuff like "Why are you taking weight off (the machine)? You can do that much!" when they would argue with her, she would just be like, "I know what you can do and you need to trust me and just do it!" Yelling? Yes. Mean? Not at all.

She actually had them spot each other while she stopped to talk to me real quick.

Oh how I wish she could see me now! When she met me, I had just lost about 40 pounds, but put it all back on, plus more:

Start (summer 2008): 290,
Met Jillian (January 2009): 250,
Highest weight (Oct 2009-Dec 2011): 350
Current (May 2013): 177!

I should e-mail her... I wonder if she remembers me????

I was reading this thread and began searching for an article that I couldn't find that traced the contestants who have had long term success and Bob tends to beat Jillian in that regard.

But I honestly think this is about personality. I personally would do better with a Jillian. When it comes to working out and eating I use to lie a lot. Just to myself but still. I think Jillian is better at catching that sort of behavior than Bob.

I wanted to 'weigh' in on this on a few levels. Because I actually think this topic has larger and broader implications.

I am a father of a 2.5 year old daughter. We want to encourage her in sports since she seems to like them. I can tell you this. If I observe a coach doing too much yelling that is going to be a no-go. There is no place for that ANYWHERE. If your boss at work did that, oh boy.

Second maybe without really realizing it the orginial poster drew a line in who wins. Is that the most important thing or is life long changes and health the most important thing?

Yelling can get short term results, even for a few months. Get this fricking person off of me. But it is NOT good for the long term. I'd be curious if Bob contestants have better long term results.

And as a dad I want to bring this up with spanking. A lot of people get emotional about this but I would encourage every parent or would be parent to google dangers of spanking. People confuse the short-term effects of spanking, it is effective in the short-term. With the long-term. It is mind blowing the studies on spanking. In the long-term spanking leads to more agressive kids (dah you are modeling violence as a solution), resentment (dah even though you are family who wants to be yelled at and HIT), and even possibly long-term irreversible negative changes to the brain.

Well Jillian from what I take in this discussion is kind of a spanking person. I am at the start of my current weight loss but I have never felt physically better. I have exercised for a month and half straight every day at least 30 mins of aerobics. I have never done this in my life and I feel great. It was all due to me coming to my internal 'breaking point' moment. I had had enough.

That internal motivation LONG TERM motivation is priceless. And no amount of yelling is going to give that to you. I am sorry but this is IMHO, yelling and spanking are weak. They are the easiest ways to go and you are not looking into alternatives. If her MO is yelling that is weak. That is the low hanging fruit and it will work short term. But it is not long-term.

I am glad people have mentioned editing. But not really watching the show if that is how Jillian truly operates that is a pretty sorry reflection on her.

I didn't read the post just above mine until just now. And it confirms what I was saying and I had no idea that was true in what actually happened but it was what I susepected from everything I have read and everything I know about myself and other people.

Yelling is not the way to go. Eventually somewhere we have to find the resolve inside. If Bob encourages that resolve then awesome. Yelling leads to resentment, resentment will lead to failure eventually. Neither of them can be there all the time for the rest of our lives.

Whoever does a better job at helping to find that inner lifelong motivation is the best trainer. Because 'winning' is all about what we do with the rest of our lives not a 3 month countdown.

Jillian is perceived to be tougher, but now and then Bob will say something to someone that I feel is out of bounds. I think that even if it was 20 years ago, Jillian has been obese and so she can empathize to a small degree with the contestants.

I guess the instance that comes to mind is something Bob said to Shay, I think that was season 8. They way in which it was judgmental was very subtle, but it came across to me that this is a guy who has never been fat.

The teams are generally chosen by someone who wins a mind game (or, really, loses one).

I've started watching Losing it with Jillian Michaels (it's on youtube) and I like how she helps people declutter as well as work out. It wasn't so entertainment driven, I guess that's why there was only one season. She probably crosses the line into psychotherapy, and I have mixed feelings about that.

I know this is an old thread, but have you folks seen this current season of TBL? Jillian isn't yelling nearly as much as she used to. Her training style has changed a bit and she's not screaming at people anymore.

I love Jillian and think I'd do well training with her. She gets results.

Don't get me wrong. I love Bob too. He also gets results. And so does Dolvett. I guess the trick is to find which trainer works best with you and work with that person. I remember several seasons back there was a person who just jived better with Bob's training so she decided to stop training with Jillian and train with Bob instead. That was totally cool with me. Each person just has to find what works for them and make it happen.

On many seasons, I have seen people, especially women, who were upset when they were not chosen for her team. By now, just about everyone here and involved in weight loss in one form or another knows who Jillian Michaels is from The Biggest Loser. They WANT her help, and/or Bob's. They sign up for this, knowing full well what she's like. It really stinks that they only show the hard *** Jillian on the show- she is such a fun and nice person off of the show, and I am sure that those working with her on the show know this of her- the majority of them respect her, even when she yells at them.

Now, this may not be for you and me- I totally understand what you mean about not wanting to be yelled at, but it really does help and motivate some people. Plus, we have to remember something- we are seeing meer clips of what goes on there- we don't see before Jillian starts screaming how nice and encouraging she is, but then folks might say or do something to piss her off, THEN we see screaming mi mi Jillian in action. There is just no way she would this much success with contestants if they didn't love and respect her- no way in tarnation. She's doing something right with them all, and many of them look amazing.

I've seen her posts on Facebook- she is delightful and funny to read and talk to. She confessed on there for all the world to see that she had no idea how hard it was to exercise while being a mother- kudos to her for saying and acknowledging that. she doesn't even sugar coat things for herself, makes no excuses or allowances for herself. Seriously, like her page and see who she really is in real life- I am just willing to bet folks would change their mind about her once they see how kind, caring, understanding and compassionate she is. She really does care about her contestants, and I am sorry to say, but you cannot fake that. Bob cares, too- he is wonderful. I love them both to pieces, they're opposites- like ying and yang, good and bad, fat and skinny, lol, but they are both successful in helping people get their weight off and get healthier. I just love them both.

I would actually even WANT to be on Jillians team cause my guts say shes got a hand for helping women lose weight.
If it comes to whom I want with my group of friends I'd go for Bob though :D

And that's why Jillian is awesome!