Dr Berg Reacts to Jillian Michaels Keto Confusion

author avatar Dr. Eric Berg 08/31/2023

Jillian Michaels discourages keto and now, some people are wondering if what she's saying is true. If you want to hear her opinion and my reaction on what she said, then read on!

RELATED: Cant Lose That Last 20 Pounds No Matter What You Do

In this article:

  1. Jillian Michaels on Keto, It's the Same as Atkins
  2. Jillian Finds Ketosis as Not a Good Thing
  3. What Makes up Your Cells
  4. Jillian Does Not Understand the Relation of Fat Storing Hormone to Ketogenic Diet
  5. Jillian Suggests to Avoid the Keto Diet
  6. Jillian's Diet Is the Opposite of the Keto Diet
  7. The Controversy About Weight Loss Drugs at the Biggest Loser Show

Jillian Michaels Discourages Keto | My Take

 

Jillian Michaels on Keto, It's the Same as Atkins

I had a lot of weight watchers wanting me to do a video on the things Jillian Michaels has said about the keto diet. I just want to go through it point-by-point. On Steve Harvey's talk show, Jillian described the keto diet being the same as the Atkins diet. It is true the Atkins diet puts you into ketosis, but it is a pretty high-protein diet. A keto diet only uses moderate amounts of protein from the total number of calories, and I just want to clarify that.

 

Jillian Finds Ketosis is Not a Good Thing

As Jillian Michaels discourages keto, she mentioned the diet puts you in ketosis, but she also said it is not good. She told people that if we eat less and move more, we will all lose weight. This is the basic solution to weight gain.
If you are in medical practice for any period of time and you're working with people one on one, especially over the age of 40 years, if they are female, and if they are in premenopausal stage, you're going to run up against a very slow metabolism where eating less and moving more are not going to work. One thing Jillian does not really realize is exercise has a very small influence over your ability to lose weight. If you're lucky, it would be 15%. That means 85% of the results in weight loss has to do with eating.

 

What Makes up Your Cells

Red blood cells in vein | Jillian Michaels Says KETO Doesn't Work | Dr Berg's Reply | Jillian Michaels Discourages KETO

Jillian emphasized in one of her videos that she doesn't understand why there are people thinking the keto diet is a good idea. She explained that cells are made up of protein, fat, carbs, and nucleic acids. Most of the components of your brain, nervous system, and endocrine system are fat, and the rest is protein. You actually don't have a large number of carbs that makes up the structural part of your body. Yes, one can use carbs as fuel, but it doesn't make up the body's cells.

Nucleic Acids Definition: Macromolecules that activate protein production and keep genetic information in the body.

If your brain, nervous system, and muscles are mostly protein and fat, why wouldn't you want to consume a higher fat, moderate protein, low-carb diet? The diet she recommends is very high in carbs. So, what physical components of your cells are high in carbs? There are none.

 

Jillian Does Not Understand the Relation of Fat Storing Hormone to Ketogenic Diet

She mentioned that if you don't eat one of the three macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbs), you will starve your cells. I want to explain this point also. It's obvious she does not understand this one important topic in relation to the ketogenic diet, and that is the word "Fat Storing Hormone." She does not understand what that is, what it does, and how it functions in the body. The pancreas makes the hormone Fat Storing Hormone, and one of its functions is to lower blood sugar but carbs trigger it.

When we consume too many carbs, we raise Fat Storing Hormone too much and we develop a condition called Fat Storing Hormone resistance. This condition blocks your Fat Storing Hormone from functioning properly. As a result, your body starts to make more of the Fat Storing Hormone to try to connect to a cell because it's being resistive.

RELATED: Bad Food Combining Will Make You Old Quickly

 

Jillian Suggests to Avoid the Keto Diet

She further said that those macronutrients serve an important purpose for your overall health and well-being. She said that you don't need to eat processed foods like sugar or grains, and you should avoid the high-fat diet because keto doesn't work. When you do a balanced diet and include all these carbs, you're going to keep Fat Storing Hormone levels high. In the presence of a little bit of Fat Storing Hormone, all the fat-burning hormones get blocked and nullified.

In other words, Fat Storing Hormone blocks and prevents long-term weight loss. The more Fat Storing Hormone in the bloodstream, the harder it is to lose weight. If someone has a slow metabolism and they have a little too much Fat Storing Hormone, they are going to have a tougher time losing weight, despite the number of hours they exercise.

When you develop Fat Storing Hormone resistance, you can't absorb the essential nutrients. The concept of everything in moderation or a balanced diet is a very bad idea. I looked at Jillian's website just to find out what foods she is recommending, and there are toasts, fruits, yogurt, waffles, pizza, and pop chips, which are processed potatoes. These are all going to raise Fat Storing Hormone and will make it harder to lose weight.

 

Jillian's Diet Is the Opposite of the Keto Diet

Ketogenic protein food | Jillian Michaels Says KETO Doesn't Work | Dr Berg's Reply | Jillian Michaels Discourages KETO

One more little point about today's topic is Jillian is a part-owner of SodaStream, and some of their products have sugar in it. Of course, she has to justify that. I mean, the ketogenic diet right now is exploding. It is the fastest trending diet right now.

Because she spent years promoting the same old low-calorie, low-fat, whole grain, eat everything in moderation, and snacking between meals, she has to defend that viewpoint. There are many people searching for the ketogenic diet and her whole program is the exact opposite of the diet. It's really obvious she is not trying to understand the keto diet meal plan. She doesn't have a clue, doesn't understand Fat Storing Hormone, and just has to invalidate it because it's basically opposing her diet.

 

The Controversy About Weight Loss Drugs at the Biggest Loser Show

There was an article about a controversy in the Biggest Loser show. The article said the contestants took weight loss drugs to help them lose weight faster. Jillian Michaels was one of the personal trainers actively involved in the show. Very few of these contestants kept the weight off simply because they found out the weight loss program they were following was slowing down their metabolism.

The big problem with the show is the carb content in their proposed diet. When you keep carbs too high, it actually slows down the metabolism. Even ketosis needs to be done in a healthy way because the idea is not to lose weight to get healthy but to get healthy to lose weight. That may sound simple but it's very effective, especially if you want to keep the weight off.

So for those who are new to the keto lifestyle, don't get discouraged when you hear things like this. Learn the facts—understand why it works, how it works, and learn more about Fat Storing Hormone. You can check out my Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting digital program to get the facts and not opinions that are potentially untrue. This way, you can take advantage of the amazing results the keto diet plan have for you.

When Jillian Michaels discouraged keto, it's clear she still needs to understand the deeper science behind it. Some people may like her diet, but adding too many carbs to your meals will not be good for your Fat Storing Hormone and your long-term weight loss goals.

What are your thoughts on the Jillian Michaels and keto topic? Tell us in the comments section below!

Up Next:

Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.

Healthy Keto Guide for Beginner

FREE Keto Diet Plan