As a former trainer on NBC’s The Biggest Loser and an all-around badass fitness guru, one might think that Jillian Michaels’ morning routine includes some sort of intense, hardcore, super early wake-up call workout at the crack of dawn. Think again.
Michaels told My Morning Routine that her mornings don’t really consist of any exercise at all — in fact, she doesn’t even set an alarm clock in the a.m.
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Granted, she does have a 5-year-old to wake her up every morning. “My alarm clock is a 5-year-old,” she said. “He jolts me from slumber at about 6:10 a.m. every morning for cuddles.”
Next on the to-do list? Feed the farm animals, of course.
“Then we get up, feed all the animals (rabbit, pig, dogs, bird, chickens, ducks, fish, etc.). Yes, I am serious.”
While the well-dressed and TV-versed L.A. personal trainer may not seem the type to live on a farm, Michaels, her partner, Heidi Rhoades, and their two children have tended to animals on their California farm for three years.
Once the animals are fed, Michaels gets some coffee in her system. “I have coffee, and then we all make breakfast. After that the kids get ready for school. Heidi, my partner, or I drop them off, and after that the workday begins.”
On days when the kids don’t have to go to school or when Michaels is traveling, she says coffee is the only constant in her morning routine: Lucky Jack Double Black organic Nitro Cold Brew with coconut milk, to be exact.
While she doesn’t specify her typical breakfast, Michaels does say that she eats breakfast about 30 minutes after waking up — a number frequently cited by fitness and nutrition experts alike to get your metabolism fired up in the morning.
Earlier this month, the fitness icon spoke to Women’s Health and offered some free, ingenious weight loss advice: When trying to lose weight, think of your body like a car.
Just as your car needs gas and the right gear to move forward, your body needs both a healthy diet and exercise to head in the right direction.
“Often people do one or the other, but not both,” Michaels says. “When it comes to weight loss, you simply must work out and eat right to get results.”
Back to this car analogy: Michaels says if you aren’t working out or dieting properly, you’re in “reverse” and you’re likely gaining weight. If you’re doing one or the other, consider yourself in “neutral,” maintaining your weight with no loss.
But to make substantial process and go the distance, you must put your body in “drive,” focusing on fitness and diet equally.
So next time you’re hitting the snooze button, channel your inner Jillian Michaels — but instead of getting up to feed the chickens, get up and make yourself a tasty, healthy breakfast.
