Jillian Michaels: "If It Takes You a Year to Bounce Back From Pregnancy, Who Cares?"

Sure, Jillian Michaels is the trainer who will make you do burpees until you nearly barf, but chat with the fitness phenom outside of the gym and you quickly realize that she's funny, caring, and—when it comes to the two children she shares with partner Heidi Rhoades, daughter Lukensia, 6, and 4-year-old son Phoenix — sometimes she's a total pushover (we were surprised, too). In addition to being a devoted mom, Jillian presides over a multimillion-dollar empire with projects including a new book about pregnancy (Yeah Baby!), her fitness app, even a cold-pressed coffee brand called Lucky Jack Organic Coffee Co. Plus, she's got an upcoming national live speaking tour, An Evening With Jillian. Like every busy woman, her life is a juggling act. The advice she gave us on how to pull it off and still take care of yourself is both forgiving and thrillingly sane.

(Psst... See Jillian Michaels in person! Win a trip for 2 to New York City to attend the live event "An Evening With Jillian." Enter for a chance to win.)

Why she's so committed to working out and being healthy: "I'm a 42-year-old. I still like skinny jeans. I still prefer a two-piece instead of a one-piece, but now I have two young kids. So for me, I want to be skiing down the mountain alongside my kids instead of waiting at the bottom for them. I want to see their children graduate from college. I want to meet my grandchildren's children. These are my whys."

On aging and why she's in better shape now than she was in her 20s: "I care more, and when you care more you train harder and eat better. People believe that aging is this slow descent into decrepitude. That's not true. When people say, 'Oh, I'm 40 now, and this is happening to me and that's happening to me,' it's the cumulative effect of years of neglect, which — by the way — can still be turned around."

Why she thinks there's too much pressure on women to get back to their pre-pregnancy bodies: "I was just talking to someone who was breast-feeding and already on a diet. I was like, 'Dude, you've got to chill. If you start dropping more than two pounds a week, you're going to compromise your milk supply.' The reality is that you can bounce back better than ever, but time frames vary for everyone. Everybody and every pregnancy is different. If it takes you a year, who cares?"

On finding balance as a working parent: "Maria Shriver once said something like, 'You can do it all, but not at the same time.' I say, 'You can do it all, but just a little bit more s--itty.' And that's got to be OK!"

For more from Jillian, pick up the February issue of Redbook on newsstands January 3.