Jillian Michaels | Advocate Now

"When you feel strong physically, it gives you strength in other areas," Michaels says, adding, "In order for somebody to be healthy, they have to actually love themselves because only from a place of valuing yourself and believing you're worth it, can we make that effort and make that investment in who we are."

According to Michaels, the fitness world hasn't always made an effort to appeal to communities of color, particularly the Black community. The problem, she says, is lack of understanding.

"I was speaking to this trainer in New York named Purcell Dugger, and we were talking about how to court the black community more with fitness," Michaels shares. "And he was like, you know, so many of these corporations and so many people who aren't black don't understand black history with the medical community. And if you really want to court that community ... you need to understand [it] better."

She adds: "And I think that was really smart, and I think it applies across the board— whether it's someone that struggled with weight their entire lives or somebody who's black or somebody who's brown or whatever, it's somebody who we need to try to just understand them a little better."

Low-income areas, a majority of which are also minority communities, often lack access to proper healthcare. Michaels says the fitness community could help provide an outside resource for them.

"What's so discouraging is that obesity and obesity related health conditions are disproportionately affecting people of color. And at a time where people of color should be getting the most support," she explains. "It's like, okay, how can we make health care more affordable and accessible? How can we make fitness to speak to this community? Everybody's so intimidated and they don't really know what to say or how to say it."

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